Three fifty-five.
Four fifty-six. Dawn was too close.
His eyes blinked open, heart racing.
Four fifty-eight. He’d missed a whole minute.
He held one eye open. Just over an hour left. No way would he fall asleep now.
Jake woke with bright sunlight against closed eyelids. Strange. Usually someone or something woke him before the sun got so high.
He ran his hand forwards to feel the surface. Ground or bench?
Cotton sheet?
He bolted upright and spun. “Kara?” He was in her apartment, but where was she?
Oh, Lord. What had he done? What if she were now travelling across the centuries in his place?
His heart pounded, and pain flooded every pore in his body. No. No. No.
“Coffee?”
He looked up. Kara was standing in the door to the bedroom, his hideous suit jacket over her otherwise naked body.
Joy rushed over him and in one leap he had her in his arms. “Is this real?”
She held up a newspaper to show him the date: April 18, 2009.
“How? Why?” Without giving her an instant to answer, he kissed her. Nothing had ever felt so right.
Even if he’d never know the answer to how, he knew why.
Why was because he belonged here. Belonged in this place, in this time. Belonged with her.
Kara pulled her lips away, took his hand and drew him towards the bed. “Listen, mister, lots of time to ponder the secrets of the universe. Right now, I plan to cash in on that promise.”
Stepping Back
Sara Mackenzie
1905
Victoria, Australia
She lifted her long skirt away from her riding boots with one hand, and stepped up on to the mounting block. Her horse waited patiently as she settled herself on the side saddle.
Helen glanced up at the sky.
It would be a fine day, one of those crisp, clear autumn days, perfect for riding. And she desperately needed to clear her head, to decide what she was going to do. What had seemed impossible only weeks ago was now dangerous reality.
She could not remain here.
But if she was to save herself then she must plan carefully, she must choose her moment, and she must not make any mistakes.
She set off at a slow trot along the lane that passed between the paddocks, soon increasing to a gallop. The chill wind whipped away any lingering doubts, crystallizing her determination.
“ Tomorrow we will leave this place,” she told her horse. “ Tomorrow we will go.”
