Page 4 of The Girl Out of Time
Fine, it wasn’t fair to call herself stuck; this was her time, after all. But it had been twelve years since she’d been blocked from timetraveling, and her bouts of optimism about fixing her issue were getting shorter and spaced further apart. One of Will’s children would become Emily’s great-great-grandparent, but she’d likely never get to meet them face-to-face. An expected fate for a normal person; a sad one for a time traveler.
The front door slammed shut, bringing Emily out of her reverie, and rapid steps approached the living room.
“Guess what!” James stopped in the open doorway, beaming as he held up several pastel-colored bags. His copper hair was damp from the snow outside, giving him the look of a model ready for a magazine spread. “I went baby shopping. I know we said we’d go together, and we will, but I passed by this store and—look!” He pulled a tiny, lime-green onesie out of the bag. “Isn’t it adorable?”
It was cute as heck, but … “We don’t even know the gender yet.”
“It doesn’t matter. It’ll fit the baby either way”—James approached and gave her a quick kiss—“because it’ll have its mother’s eyes.”
Emily rolled her eyes but smiled anyway. “Don’t get carried away. A onesie here, a onesie there, and before we know it, there’ll be enough of them for the baby to wear a different one each day of the year.”
“Hard stop at ten. Sprouts’ honor.” He raised a hand with three fingers extended.
“Scouts’,” Emily corrected him with a laugh.
He glanced at the table. “Did I miss a call with the family?”
“Just. Will is going to call us again when they’re in the States.” She couldn’t wait for them to come back. With Will being a Leader, like she used to be, he could time travel to any era, but he’d appear in the same spot he started the travel in, meaning he couldn’t visit Emily in Connecticut while he was vacationing in England.
“And, how is sister dearest?”
“Getting annoyed over Emmeline’s ‘unladylike’ behavior—pretty funny, I gotta say.”
“Have you told them yet?”
“No, but it’s still early. We’ll break the news when the time is right. Maybe when Will comes over.”
“Should we do the confetti thing with the gender reveal?”
“Where did you—no, no.” She stood up and hugged him. “Bad modern-day practice.”
James smiled. “Got it.”
She might be unlucky and never able to time travel again, but at least she had him here. He more than made up for it. She lifted her chin and puckered her lips. “I’m feeling like ice cream.”
“Can’t you go get some? There’s a bucket in the freezer.”
“Yes, but I’m pregnant. You have to serve my every whim and need.”
“And you have at least five months to go before you can pull that one on me.”
She grinned and fluttered her eyelashes.
“Fine, I’ll get your ice cream,” he conceded. “You put on the Bills and Vikings match from yesterday.”
“Gotcha.” Her eyes lingered on retreating James for a moment—she shouldn’t be surprised a former cowboy could pull off wearing jeans this well—and then she sat down as he disappeared into the pantry.
Will and Sylvia had made the choice not to tell their children about time travel. It made sense since none of them could become time travelers themselves, but Emily still wished they knew. Then she could be the cool aunt from the future, not some poor, supposedly bed-stricken soul with a disease that made her too sensitive to leave the house.
Or maybe, a few years ago, when Emmeline first asked why she couldn’t visit Aunt Emily, Emily should’ve made Will come up with a better excuse.Oh, Gramps.He did always suck at lying.
But it made her wonder … When the right time came, years in the future … Would she tell her kid about time travel?
***
Late in the evening, Emmeline, dressed in a lavender skirt and jacket, tiptoed to her bedroom door and peeked out into the hallway. The few still-lit lamps cast a soft glow onto the paneled mahogany walls, but nothing, and no one, stirred. She grabbed her purse, opened the door wider, and—
Steps pounded up the staircase. Emmeline gasped and shut the door as a figure—Cousin Reggie, or one of the male servants—came into view. She leaned against the door and exhaled softly.
