Willow guessed the reverend thought it would remind her of them. She missed the sound of the name, and hearing it again brought back many memories, the good ones and the bad. Then she realized that he’d been a constant force through all of it. Of course, she could trust him with the truth.
“Thor is from the future.” Her admission came softly. “He was born in 1957. When he came here, the year was nineteen hundred and eighty-five in his world.”
Brown was quiet for quite some time. “Do you believe him?”
“He showed me proof. I wasn’t sure at first, but what I saw is nothing like anything I’ve ever seen or heard about, and he’s different. Haven’t you noticed, Reverend? His ways are different. He uses words and phrases that are strange to me, but seem natural for him.”
He nodded. “Did he say what brought him here? To us? Now?”
Willow paused. She remembered the pocket watch and the awesome energy that surrounded it. If the timepiece did indeed bring Thor forth, how would the reverend view it? Would he look upon Thor with more censure than he already used? Would his religious fervor cause him to accuse Thor because of the watch’s possible abilities?
Perhaps, she said too much. It was too late to take back her words, but she could try to protect Thor.
Willow shook her head. “He wasn’t certain. He fell asleep at the creek near the Magnusen cabin, and when he woke up, there I was. He hasn’t told me too much about the future. He is afraid anything he says will alter his time. I think I understand his reasons, but I couldn’t help but be curious.”
“I imagine so,” he said. “Did he say why he was at the cabin?”
“He didn’t go into detail, but he’s related to Mr. Anders and Miss Eva.” She leaned close to his ear and whispered, “He’s their great-great-grandson.”
He exhaled a low whistle. “Well, I’ll be.”
“Do you believe me?” Despite her misgivings at speaking out of turn, Willow felt lightheaded and giddy with anticipation. “Do you think it’s possible?”
“I already know that you do.” A smile came through in his voice. “I saw the resemblance with him and Anders right off. Come to think of it, he has a bit of Eva in him, too. The foreheads are just about the same. I don’t know, Willow. It seems to me it goes against God and nature.”
“Not to me. Only God can perform a miracle such as that.”
* * *
“So, she’s a black girl?”
Thor gave his father a strong look. “Willow is a woman. She is not a girl. The life she’s had has made her anything but childlike. Slave patrollers killed her parents in 1847, a few weeks before her eighth birthday.”
“I don’t recall anything about that. Don’t remember Grandpa mentioning anyone by that name. He should have known her, considering she was so close to his Ma, Eva.”
Cal rolled his eyes. “You’re indulging this trip into the
Twilight Zone
? I can’t believe it.”
“I don’t give a damn what you believe.”
“That’ll be enough out of both of you,” Bo advised his two sons. “I can’t say that I don’t believe it, and I can’t say that I do. What Thor’s said… I don’t feel right about disputing.”
“Why not?” Cal rose from the sofa and planted his hands on his hips. “Where’s the proof?”
“Look at his pants and the shirt. We’ve seen them in the trunk, and we know they’re Anders.”
“So?”
“Right about now, I’m wondering who the true knucklehead is,” Bo growled. “Calvin, look at the material! It isn’t worn or threadbare. As Thor said, if he put on the old pair, there would be moth holes all through it. These pants look and feel like new.”
“And that was enough to convince you?”
Thor gritted his teeth. Irritation set him on edge. They were discussing clothes when Willow’s life hung in the balance? The nitpicking wore out his patience.
“Who cares? Either you believe or you don’t. Right now, I really don’t give a rat’s ass.” He looked at his father. “Sorry, Pop. No disrespect, but this is driving me crazy. I’m not making any of this up, and I’m not losing my mind. Willow Elkridge is real. I really met Anders and Eva. And I
really
need to get back there!”
“Well, what brought you back, or is that forward, in the first place?”
Thor’s eyes narrowed as he assessed his brother’s sincerity. He saw no humor in Cal’s eyes and heard no mockery in Cal’s tone. He supposed Cal, the great thinker of the family, decided to consider the improbable.
“I don’t know what brought me back or what took me there. I think it was the pocket watch, but I’m not sure.”
“Well, what were you doing?” Cal stooped in front of him. “Were you thinking about the past? Did you have a beer instead of breakfast? Were you asleep? Awake? What?”
“When I woke up in 1860, I was sitting where the creek used to be. You know, where it has dried up. Anyway, Willow was there getting water.” His lips curved into a faint smile. “Her braid fell straight down her back to her waist. She has a smile that could melt steel and a heart the size of Texas. If she was sold into slavery because of me. . .”
“Get a hold of yourself,” Cal advised, patting his brother’s shoulder. “We’ll find out what happened to her.”
“How?”
“I’m a History professor, knucklehead! We’ll go back into town, and I’ll stop by the university library and do some fast research. I can find it for you in no time.”
“I don’t have that kind of time. I have to go back as soon as possible. Driving back to Atlanta will take too long.”
“I have an idea,” Bo said. “We can do the research here.”
“How?” Cal asked.
“We can pull out the old trunk again and see what turns up. If Thor really traveled back to Anders’s day, there’ll be proof of it in there.”
Chapter Thirteen
Floorboards creaked from the weight of her worry. Mindless of the activities around her, Willow paced in front of the fireplace. The swooshing of her skirts failed to deafen the roaring turmoil in her heart. Almost an hour ago, Reverend Brown left her at the Magnusen cabin while he and Anders hurried to reunite Big Nat with his children. They planned to direct the runaways to their next Station and later return with Olivia, leaving the three women together as there was safety in numbers. Then the men would double back to where they found Willow in the hopes of locating Thor. The plan seemed sound to Willow, and she wanted nothing more than to join them on their search.
“Won’t you rest?” Eva implored. “You haven’t eaten anything since you’ve come back. There’s a pot of stew on the stove. Stir up a bowl and sit down.”
Willow paused at the window. She adjusted the spectacles on the bridge of her nose and pulled back the curtains. Her other hand rested on her flat midsection, trying to soothe the nervous fluttering inside. “I couldn’t eat a bite. I doubt if anything would stay down. Would you like a bowl for yourself?”
“I’m fine.” Eva waited a moment before she added, “Looking out that window won’t make the time move any faster. Wouldn’t you like to peek at little Dorothea and maybe hold her awhile?”
“I’m sorry, Miss Eva.” A faint smile of contrition parted her lips. “My mind hasn’t been my own with so much worrying. Of course, I’d like to hold her.”
Eva stood and nodded toward the rocking chair in a silent invitation for Willow to sit. She did and Eva placed the sleeping child inside the cradle of Willow’s open arms. The baby settled there with a small amount of squirming, and Willow was enthralled. She’d never held such a small infant before.
Maternal yearnings replaced the nervous fluttering inside her lower belly. She remembered Thor’s warning that she could be with child.
His child.
Her heart raced with untold emotion. An image of a little boy with skin the color of milk-sweetened coffee and large round eyes the color of a dark blue midnight sky flashed before her eyes. What wouldn’t she give to experience the joy of giving birth to a child of her own—hers and Thor’s.
“It’s amazing how having a child changes you. I can see it on your face. You want one of your own.”
“She’s precious. I’m so happy for you and Mr. Anders.” Willow tore her gaze from Dorothea’s sleeping form to look upon the child’s mother. Tiny white lines that Willow hadn’t noticed before stretched from the corners of Eva’s eyes. Eva’s ivory complexion appeared ashen from strain. “The reverend told me the delivery was difficult. How are you now? Maybe you should lie down a spell.”
“I think I will.” Eva limped to the bed and gingerly sat. She shifted until she lay across the bed on her side, facing Willow and the baby. “This feels nice. I didn’t want Anders to worry, but I’m sore all over.”
“You should have mentioned it earlier. Rest yourself. Little Dorothea and I will be just fine.”
“I’m not sleepy. Whenever you want to rest your arms, you can lay the baby right here.” She patted the empty space beside her on the bed. “In the meantime, I want to hear all about your adventure.”
Willow’s eyebrows arched. “You weren’t keen on me going with him as I recall,” she teased.
“Now that you’re back safe and sound, I can have a change of heart. I’m praying that Anders and the reverend will find him.”
“So am I.” Willow sighed deeply. A sharp pain shot across her midsection, and she winced. The rush of air awakened the baby, who responded with a soft cry. Despite her own discomfort, Willow gently rocked the infant until she fell asleep again. “If I knew what happened to him, I could rest a little easier.”
“What do you think happened? Of course, if you’d rather not say, I can respect your privacy.”
“I can tell you, but I’m not sure if you’ll believe me. The reverend seemed to take me at my word, and that surprised me.”
Eva pulled the quilt around herself and snuggled deep in the covers. “This sounds mysterious.”
The constraints of worry loosened, Eva’s curiosity eased the tightness in Willow’s chest. “I suppose it is in a way. I think I may know where Thor is, but then again, I’m not sure. Maybe he went home. Just as mysteriously and just as quickly as how he arrived.”
“You’re not making a lick of sense.”
“What I’m about to tell you won’t make any sense, and it will seem impossible. Thor asked me to keep this to myself, but I don’t see how I can now in light of his disappearance.” As the words began to flow, her confidence grew. “He’s from the future, Miss Eva. Thor Magnusen isn’t just a relation of Mr. Anders. He’s your great-great-grandson.”
Eva bolted upright as if lightning struck her. “I don’t believe I heard you correctly.”
“You heard me just fine. I said he’s from the future; from nineteen hundred and eighty-five to be exact.”
Intense disbelief touched Eva’s pale face. “A dose of laudanum would do you a world of good. I should have realized those bruises on your head—”
“The blows to my head have nothing to do with what I’m telling you. Thor told me this the first day he came, and he spoke a little more about it while we were on the road. I don’t believe he spoke out of turn. He was telling the truth.”
“B—But that’s impossible.”
“Is it?” Willow remembered the objects he showed her. The vibrant colors on his photograph came to mind. Brilliant, intelligent blue eyes shone vividly in contrast to his ruddy face. The image was perfect as the man himself. Surely, that alone provided proof of his origins!
Expression uncertain, Eva chewed on her bottom lip. “You believe he’s my grandson.”
“Yes. He looks so much like Mr. Anders, and he has your compassion. Can you not see the resemblance?”
“I suppose I can, it’s just hard to believe. Maybe if you told me more of what he’s told you, I’d be able to understand.”
Willow repeated what Thor told her about his life, and as she reached the conclusion of her recount, Reverend Brown and Anders arrived with Olivia. The men stayed long enough to gather food and ammunition. Willow didn’t ask to accompany them. While talking to Eva, she decided to stay with the women. She was not sure why. It was just a feeling she had. She would do better to stay there.
After the men left, Olivia handed Dorothea to her mother and drew Willow into the circle of her arms. Her hands rubbed the younger woman’s back in warm, brisk strokes. Her voice shook with tears. “We were worried sick about you. How could you run off and do such a foolhardy thing? Do you realize what could have happened to you? My God! What
almost
happened to you?”
“I’m sorry, Miss Olivia, but I did what I felt was right,” Willow said as their hug ended.
Olivia’s finger lightly stroked Willow’s swollen eye and other bruises. “Look at your face, child. Sit down and let me look at you.”
The examination was thorough. The older woman’s gentle touch did little to alleviate the pain of Willow’s wounds. Thor’s disappearance far outweighed the importance of her injuries.
“I didn’t want to worry either of you, that’s why I just took off. Those children need their father, and he needs them. What happened when Big Nat and the children were reunited? Were they surprised?”
“You are always more concerned about others than you are about yourself. Do you realize that your ribs are badly bruised? Eva, where’s your scrap material or an old shirt? I need to wrap her up before more damage is done.”