Beneath a Beating Heart Read online

  The text message on her phone this morning from Vivi Anne made convincing him to preserve his legacy all the more imperative.

  She topped a small hill. One that hadn’t seemed so steep in her car, but the way the backs of her legs screamed proved the incline was more than what she was used to walking up. Her heart skipped a beat as buildings came into view. Here too, she saw more than on her previous trips. Or maybe, because she wasn’t driving, she had the time to look. To appreciate the house, the barn, the other out-buildings. How they filled her with an uncanny sense of welcoming. She’d never had a place that she’d truly considered home, but instinctively knew, if she did, this is what a homecoming would feel like.

  Leave it to her to find that in an abandon piece of property.

  Not completely abandoned. Rance was there.

  “A ghost. A haunted house is your dream house. You are beyond help.”

  She started walking forward again, but as she neared the wide, faded board stretched between two tall poles, she had to smile.

  The words Rocking L had been carved in the wood so long ago they were barely readable. But she knew they were there, and how much they meant to Rance. They’d meant that much to Beth, too.

  After walking beneath the sign, she stopped and turned around to gaze up at it. The name had been carved on this side too, which also made her smile. He’d worked hard on that sign. Had built it to last for generations.

  On impulse, she pulled out her phone and clicked a picture, and then took out a bottle of water and enjoyed a long, much needed, drink.

  The night’s rain may have turned the grass greener, plush beneath her sandals or maybe she’d been focused on other things and hadn’t noticed it before. Either way, she enjoyed the soft comfort as she cut across the lawn rather than staying on the circle gravel driveway. On the porch, she dug the key out of her pocket and unlocked the door.

  The mirror on the kitchen table made her heart quicken and a smile form. “Good morning,” she said brightly.

  As the mirror floated into the air, her happiness faltered. She was glutton for punishment. No one in their right mind purposefully inflicts pain upon themselves. Yet, that’s what she was doing to herself. For some ridiculously stupid reason, she’d expected to see Rance the moment she stepped into the house. In the flesh.

  Closing her eyes, she swallowed against the disappointment of how that could never, ever happen.

  A steady hum had her lifting her lids and taking a hold of the mirror handle floating in front of her.

  His smile weakened her knees more than the mile walk had. He was so flipping handsome. His dark hair was wet, as if recently washed and still had comb marks in it. He’d shaved, too, and his shirt still had fold marks in it.

  “Good morning,” he said. “Sleep well?”

  Not at all the truth, but she went with, “Yes, you?”

  “Nope.” His gaze had turned deeper, intrusive, but kind. “And you didn’t either.”

  Letting out a sigh, she shrugged. “You’re right, I didn’t.”

  “Missed me?”

  His teasing tone and the hope in his voice made her grin and her heart pound. Her head refused to shake.

  He grinned. “I missed you.”

  She sighed again. There was no sense putting it off, no sense torturing herself. “Have you had your coffee?”

  “Yes, why?”

  “Because we need to talk.”

  “All right,” he said. “In a minute.”

  His smile never faltered as he leaned closer. So close she could no longer see his face. As his image become little more than a fuzzy blur, a powerful wave of bliss overtook her. An unexpected yet divine heat covered her lips and that made her lose coordination. She didn’t go down. Didn’t hit the floor and crack open her head or break an arm. God knows why.

  Her upper arms tingled, and her sides and the small of her back, as if his hands roamed over all those places. It was all as real as it wasn’t. She closed her eyes, planted her feet into the floor, and let her body, less her damnable brain, completely accept his ghostly kiss.

  Chapter Ten

  “Two kids?” Rance wanted to squeeze his temples. His head throbbed as if it had just been sliced open with a dull knife. “You want me to have two kids with Nan’s niece?”

  “And marry her,” Beth said, as serious as when she’d told him a man had walked on the moon.

  Something he still couldn’t fathom. There was no way to get to the moon. There was no way he’d be having two kids with Nan’s niece either.

  “You two really should get married before she becomes pregnant. And yes, two kids. That way you’ll be sure to have an heir. Hopefully several so Nate and Lou—”

  That about did it. “I’m not going to marry Nan’s niece, and I’m not going to have children with her. Not one. Not two. Not any.”

  “But you have to,” she insisted.

  “No, I don’t.”

  “Yes, you do.”

  Arguing with her was useless, but the betrayal eating his insides wouldn’t let him give in. He reached out to grab her by the upper arms, but his fingers just curled into his palms.

  Damn it.

  There was nothing to grasp onto. He’d felt her earlier, with his hands and his lips. “Damn it,” he repeated, this time aloud. “I’m already married! To you!”

  “I can’t hear you when you aren’t holding the mirror,” she said sternly.

  More flustered than he ever recalled being, he reached for the mirror she held by the handle, but something internal stopped him before he grabbed the side of the mirror. The rush of love that struck him was so great, so powerful, his chest tightened. Those skimpy little outfits she kept wearing were growing on him. He didn’t like the idea of other men seeing so much skin, but he enjoyed the daylights out of it. Her skin was more golden now than it used to be, as if she spent more time in the sun, but he knew her flesh was as silky smooth as ever. Every inch of her.

  A tiny smile curled her lips. “I know you’re still here.”

  The bond the two of them had since meeting had been a spectacular thing, and visible to all. Others had told him so, with envy at times. He’d accepted it, exalted in it, and above all cherished the love that had immediately sprouted and grown between them. As he had her. He still cherished her. Grasping the edge of the mirror, he had to swallow against the swelling in his throat. “Why do you want me to marry someone else?”

  She hesitated, her mouth opened, then closed as she lifted her chin. “It’s not that I want you to marry Cindy. It’s what has to happen.”

  “No—”

  “It’s the only way, Rance. The only way for you to change the future. Not just yours, but the future of your family, your legacy.”

  He was still flustered as hell but couldn’t help admire her diplomacy. She’d always been good at that. Negotiating. Making people listen. It wasn’t what she said, but how. With all her heart. His irritation melted. Family, and them building their own together and a legacy to leave behind, had been her passion from the start. It had been his, too, still was, and he wasn’t going to give it up.

  Hiah didn’t know why or how she’d come back as herself but in a different time. Rance didn’t understand either, even when his uncle had said it wasn’t for them to understand, but to believe. Hiah insisted if the two of them—him and Beth—worked together, believed together, they would be reunited.

  He closed his eyes for a moment and told himself that he believed. Believed with all his heart and soul that would happen. Then, holding onto the mirror with one hand, he placed his other next to her cheek. A mystical warmth filled his palm as she tilted her head toward his hand. The connection was as real as any he’d ever felt, even while his eyes told him differently. That they weren’t touching. His eyes hadn’t believed they were touching earlier, when he’d kissed her, but his heart had. He’d felt her lips beneath his. Just as his hand felt her cheek pressed against his palm right now.

  Not being able to o
ffer a solution, he softly said, “We have no control over the future, or the past, just the present. The here and now.”

  “We aren’t in the same here and now. We aren’t in the same present. Right now, we are in two different worlds. The past and the future. Don’t you see we’ve, you’ve, been given the opportunity to change the future? The one I’m in, the one you will soon be in. That has to be why this is happening.”

  He bit the inside of his cheek to combat the pain in his chest. If he could change something, it wouldn’t be the future. It would be the past. The one that had stolen her from him. Stolen the future they’d dreamed of together. The legacy they’d been building together. He’d had it all at one time, the world in the palm of his hand, and then, in a split second, everything had been stripped away.

  Given the opportunity, he’d make sure she never got on that train. Never let her travel to Billings. Never let her out of his sight.

  The side of his face grew warm from her hand against his cheek, yet she wasn’t really touching him.

  “Just hear me out,” she said softly. “Please?”

  He sighed heavily, but nodded.

  She closed her eyes and whispered, “Thank you.”

  He could’ve sworn he heard her intake of breath and a deep sigh before she opened her eyes.

  “The answer to the future is always in the past,” she said. “Vivi Anne told me that last night, and I didn’t understand, but now I do. You will too, as soon as I explain everything. Let’s sit down at the table.” A coy smile overtook her lips, and a perceptive glint flashed in her eyes. “You may need a cup of coffee for this.”

  She’d always teased him about that. How he liked coffee. Strong and hot. She was right, too. He could use some. The pot was still on the stove. Not knowing when she’d arrive, he’d done the morning chores after Hiah had left, and had been pouring a cup out of the pot he’d made afterward when she’d walked through the door. “I’ll have to let go of the mirror.”

  “I know. I’ll wait until you’re back at the table to start explaining.”

  “No, go ahead and start talking. It’ll only take me a minute.”

  “Your coffee is already made, is it?”

  “Yes.” He stopped before offering her a cup. Even if it had been possible, she’d decline. She rarely drank coffee. When she did, she’d added so much cream and sugar it tasted like syrup. He’d never complained though, because it had made her lips, her kisses, that much sweeter.

  He waited until she was seated at the table before letting go of the mirror.

  “Well, Nate is claiming the people interested in buying this property are planning to build a resort here, but my friend Vivi Anne has discovered that’s not true. It’s also not true that Lou was interested in having the place preserved.”

  He checked the temperature of the coffee he’d poured in his cup by taking a sip. It was lukewarm, but drinkable. He crossed the room, sat down and touched the mirror. “What is the truth?” Whatever happened to his property a hundred years from now wasn’t on the top of his worry list. He’d be long dead. It was a worry to her, and that’s why he was willing to listen. Then he would tell her about Hiah, and how the Shoshone believed in rebirth. How that had happened to her, but she was in the wrong century and that they would have to work together to bring her back to the right time.

  He set his cup down. She would never believe that.

  “It’s not a resort developer who wants to buy this place. It’s a company out of Texas looking to buy land for a radioactive waste site.”

  “A what?”

  “A radioactive waste site,” she repeated. “In my time we have nuclear energy. Basically, electricity created through a process of splitting atoms. Once thought to be a solution to reusable energy, it’s no longer looked upon so favorably because of the radioactive waste it creates. Nuclear power plants built years ago are no longer safe to use and everything about them, from the steel and concrete they are made out of, to tools and clothing worn by workers are contaminated and need to be disposed of. They do that by burying it, but the places set up for that are full, and more sites are needed because more and more plants are being shut down. There’re agencies that oversee the disposal of all the waste and claim its safe, but the jury is still out on that. Bottom line is no town wants a nuclear dump near them.”

  He didn’t comprehend everything she was saying but got the gist of it all. It also explained her involvement. When Buffalo Bill had asked about investing in drilling the oil wells, Beth had gotten on her high-horse, became a crusader for preserving the land and the wild horses that roamed the hills. He’d agreed with her, to Bill’s disappointment, and would now, too, whether it directly affected him or not. That’s what a man did, stood beside his wife through thick and thin. He just might be the only husband to stand beside his wife through centuries.

  Wrapping his mind around all that was close to impossible. “How will marrying Nan’s niece stop any of that?”

  “Because you’ll have legitimate heirs, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren who’ll love this land as much as you do.” She waved her free hand. “Raised here, a part of all this, they’ll understand the importance of preservation. Lou and Nate don’t. They were raised to love themselves and money.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “It’s obvious.” She nodded. “You’d agree if you could meet them. Since that’s not possible, you’ll just have to trust me. You’ll have to trust me in other ways, too. That I know best.”

  He fought a smile. She always thought she knew best. He picked up his coffee cup and took a drink of the now cold brew. “Including this notion you have about me and Nan’s niece.”

  “Yes, and her name is Cindy.”

  “I know her name.” Frustration had him balling a hand into a fist. “And no matter what you think is best, I won’t marry her.”

  “You have to.”

  Switching, in order to hold the mirror with his right hand, he held up his left, showing her the wedding band on his finger. It had taken some getting used, wearing a ring, but he hadn’t taken it off since the day she’d slid it on his finger. And wouldn’t. “I can’t. I’m already married.”

  Her face paled as she stared at his hand, specifically the ring. She started to shake, too. He lowered his hand, slowly, wishing he could reach out and touch her. Comfort her. As he reached toward her, she snapped her head toward the door.

  His fingers curled into a fist, as she pushed her chair back. He understood why even before she spoke.

  “Someone’s here.”

  A regret-filled sigh left his chest. “Yes, there is.”

  “You can hear the car?”

  “No, I can hear a wagon.” It was a buggy to be exact. That’s what it sounded like, and unfortunately, the sinking of his gut told him who was driving it. He had a pretty good idea who was in the car, too, either Nate or Lou. Two fellas he’d like—well, it didn’t matter what he’d like to do to them. Getting his hands around their necks wasn’t likely to happen.

  Liz didn’t know if she trusted her legs to hold her. They were trembling along with every other part of her. Inside and out. The car outside had to be Lou. The interruption annoyed her, that was a given. The timing couldn’t have been worse. Her gaze went back to Rance’s hand. She’d never noticed the ring before. That just hadn’t been a place her eyes settled. She slipped her hand into her pocket. The hand that wore a ring identical to his. They were simple enough. Just gold bands, but the odds of his matching hers, couldn’t be that great.

  Could it?

  To add to the craziness, a flash of a memory said she’d seen his ring before. Held it. Examined it. With excitement. Which was more than completely impossible. There was a small jewelry box upstairs, but it had only held a couple pairs of clip on earrings. No man’s ring. Or woman’s.

  He’d pushed his chair back, now stood beside the table, with one hand still on the mirror. “You wait here,” he said. “I’ll be right back.
”

  The slamming of a car door had her reaching out to grab his arm, but her hand found nothing, even though he hadn’t move. “Who’s out there? In your time, who’s out there?”

  “Stay here. We aren’t done with our conversation.”

  He disappeared before she could protest, which was okay because she didn’t want Lou or possibly Nate, to hear her talking. The next moment, when the door opened, she questioned if she saw a very faint illusion of Rance walking out the open doorway at the same moment Lou walked in. Besides both having brown hair and eyes, the men were similar in size and shape. It was almost as if the two men merged into one, and then separated. One going out, the other coming in.

  “What the—” Lou grabbed the doorframe and wobbled slightly. He also spun around to look behind him. When he turned back around, he was frowning.

  “Hello.” If things were different, she might have grinned at how dazed he looked. As if he’d seen a ghost. Or felt one. The fact Rance was a ghost didn’t hold any humor today.

  Her thoughts stalled for a moment. She’d never seen Rance before—not without him holding the mirror. Which was lying on the table. She pulled her hand off it but couldn’t take her eyes off it. Couldn’t. The patina of the silver was slowly changing from old and used, to old and unused. It only took a matter of seconds, but it had happened. She’d swear to it. Cautiously, she touched the edge and waited, but nothing happened. Nothing changed.

  “Do you have an obsession with that mirror?”

  Though he was speaking to her, Lou was looking at the doorway.

  She ran a finger along the handle before she pushed the mirror into the center of the table. “Maybe, I’ve never seen one quite like it.”

  Moving closer, Lou scanned the room more intently before he grasped the back of the chair Rance had sat in moments ago. “Looks pretty ordinary to me.”

  “It’s not.” The mirror was far from ordinary. She wished she could climb into it. If that was possible, she’d know instead of wondering who’d arrived in Rance’s time. That certainly wasn’t possible. Regretfully, she pulled her eyes off the door. “What are you doing here?”