Magical Weddings (94 page)

We arrived at the cemetery, and Jonas stopped the wagon just inside the entrance. He helped me down and tossed the jacket and blanket into the back of the wagon before coming to my side. He wrapped an arm around me as I studied the cemetery for a moment, wondering how on earth to transport us forward in time.

“No matter what happens, don’t let go,” I whispered.

“Never,” Jonas murmured. He kissed the top of my head, and I leaned against him and closed my eyes for a moment to see if I could will my way forward in time. Nothing happened, and I opened my eyes.

A breeze blew through the oak trees as it always did.

“Wishing and willing isn’t making it work,” I said huskily.

“Where was my headstone?”

I sighed, took his hand and led him toward the spot where I remembered his tombstone had stood.

We looked down at nothing but green meadow. No graves had been laid out in that section.

Jonas stared at the spot for a few minutes while I closed my eyes and prayed for a miracle. I clung to his hand. And still, nothing happened. The wind blew, the trees rustled, but we continued to stand there.

“It is a lovely spot to be buried in if one has to be buried at all,” Jonas said.

I opened my eyes and looked up at him. His dimpled smile, so sweet, told me he was trying to make me feel better.

“Not today, not tomorrow,” I said firmly. Careful not to let go, I turned to scan the cemetery. I saw Molly’s stone nearby, and I led Jonas to it.

Molly Hamilton

28 years 2 mos 4 dys

Born 1 April 1851 Died 5 June 1879

Beloved Daughter

Across the Winds of Time

You Will Always Live On

“A beautiful stone,” Jonas murmured. “I heard about her death, which happened just before I arrived. A terrible tragedy.”

I nodded.

“You said you helped Darius rebuild the house. Did he ever mention her?”

“No, and I did not wish to pry. However, as I study the stone, I realize you said your sister’s name was Molly. Molly Hamilton? Surely a peculiar coincidence.”

I squeezed his hand.

“No coincidence at all if you ask Darius and Molly. Molly is my sister, and my sister is this Molly. That’s their story.”

“Did this Molly then not die, but travel through time?” He shook his head. “No, that is not possible, else, how could she be your sister? Unless one believes in reincarnation.”

I smiled mistily up at him. What if I never saw Molly again? What if I couldn’t return and take Jonas with me?

“I believe in almost anything at this point. There is no way of explaining it. According to Darius, my sister and the first Molly look exactly alike. I believe this Molly did die, but maybe her spirit was born again in my sister. My Molly never knew of her until she came here to Lilium, but she said that she met Molly once, here in the cemetery, when she traveled to the past, and that Molly shared all her memories. I know that all sounds confusing, but that’s how they’ve explained things to me.”

I looked up at Jonas, knowing he probably couldn’t understand any better than I could but hoping he wasn’t such that everything had to make sense. Given his fairly easy acceptance of my appearance and time-traveling story, I suspected he had a vivid imagination. And the next few minutes proved me right.

I knelt down in front of Molly’s grave and pulled Jonas down beside me. He did not protest but instead wrapped his arm around me.

“Do you believe in a love that never dies?” I asked him.

“I believe two souls can come together and love only one another forever,” Jonas said. “So yes, I suppose I do believe in a love that never dies.”

I said nothing more but stared at Molly’s grave and silently begged her to help me, help us.

Help me, Molly, wherever you are. I don’t want Jonas to die. I know I was sent back in time to stop that from happening, but I don’t know how. Help me!

“How can I help, Sara?”

I lurched backward at the sound of the female voice so like my sister’s. Jonas held on to me, preventing me from falling over.

“Molly?” I said. I jumped to my feet, pulling Jonas with me. “Jonas, do you see her?”

I swung around, and there she was, walking toward us from the direction of the sapling that would someday grow to be the large majestic oak tree under which Darius and my sister would marry.

“Yes, I see her,” he said in a low tone.

“Molly?” I asked again.

She looked just like my sister, but different. Her dark hair, so like mine, was caught up in a bun. Soft tendrils blew in the breeze, as did the folds of her dark-gray skirt. A white shirtwaist blouse with a high-necked lace collar displayed her long neck. She smiled with full, generous lips and stretched out her hands as she approached.

I couldn’t let go of Jonas, but I couldn’t resist reaching for her hands.

She was my sister, and yet she wasn’t. Her dark eyes sparkled as she clasped our conjoined hands with warm hands.

“Sara,” she said softly. “Sara, my sister, it is so good to finally meet you. You have traveled in time from the twenty-first century, as Molly did.” She released our hands and took my right hand in hers.

“You are so beautiful,” I couldn’t resist saying.

Her cheeks flushed to a rosy red, and she looked from me to Jonas.

“Thank you,” she said sweetly. “Though I look very much like you.”

“It is true,” Jonas said. “The resemblance is remarkable.”

“You are Jonas Ramsey,” Molly murmured. “Darius mentioned you when he came to replace my stone.”

Jonas removed his dark hat and nodded.

“Yes. It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Hamilton.”

In my practical world, I might have thought the situation absolutely bizarre, but on this hill, in this cemetery, with the wind blowing around us, I felt that this was the nearest I would ever come to magic, a miracle, something truly enchanting.

Molly was like my sister, but a sweetly charming and utterly old-fashioned version, and I loved her instantly. I could not bear to see her disappear, and I instinctively clutched her hand harder.

She looked down at our hands and then to my bare legs.

“Like Molly, I see you are also not bound by the voluminous skirts which nineteenth-century convention dictated I wear. I envy you!” She laughed, and her features settled into a wide smile.

Jonas chuckled at my side, and I responded in kind.

“There was an urgency to your plea, Sara. You said you were sent back in time to prevent Jonas from dying. What can I do to help?”

I told her the story of finding his stone and being thrown back in time, and that I didn’t know how to prevent his death since I had no idea how it would occur.

“Neither do I,” she said mournfully. “I do agree that you were probably sent back in time to prevent his death though. When will that unfortunate event occur?”

“Tomorrow,” I said.

Jonas squeezed my hand.

Her eyes widened, and she tightened her lips.

“I assume you wish to take Jonas forward in time to prevent his death.”

I nodded. “But now that we discuss it, I know you probably can’t effect that,” I said.

“We will not know until we try,” Molly said. “Come, take my hand, Jonas.”

I still held on to her left hand, and I pulled away for a moment. She looked at me in surprise.

“But I don’t want to say good-bye to you yet. I can’t bear to.”

She smiled softly. “And I will miss you too, Sara. Come with me to the edge of the hill. I want to show you something your sister and I both once loved.”

“The wind,” I said. “She loved the wind.”

“Yes,” Molly said. “As do you.”

“I do, I just never realized it.”

Together we walked past the infant oak tree and reached the edge of the hill. Beyond lay a valley with thick soft grass, which I knew would someday be cultivated into fields of corn. The wind blew up over the top of the hill with a force that made one feel as if they might take off.

I looked at Jonas, and he smiled at me.

“Come, let us fly,” she said. She raised her arms, pulling my arm upward. To my surprise, Jonas laughed and followed suit. There we stood, the three of us, the wind whipping about our clothing, pulling my hair loose from its bun.

We laughed and laughed as I had not laughed in some time.

“Good-bye, Sara,” Molly said.

I woke up sprawled out on the edge of the hill, my hand still locked with Jonas’s. I sat up and looked for Molly, but she was gone. Tall oak trees towered above me, their leaves rustling loudly in the wind. Rows of headstones filled the cemetery.

“Jonas!” I cried out. I leaned over him, and he opened his eyes. He pushed himself upright with one hand and then stood, helping me to my feet.

He turned around and looked upward to the immense oak trees hovering over the cemetery before dropping his eyes to the tombstones.

“I think we are no longer in 1881,” he said. I moved into his embrace and hugged him tightly.

“No, I don’t think so,” I whispered. “Let’s go see if your stone is still here.”

I led him toward the spot where I had seen his headstone. We passed Molly’s stone on the way, and I stopped to bend over and rub my hand along the surface of the marble. A sense of grief accompanied my gesture.

“Perhaps someday,” Jonas said, intuitively knowing how I felt. “She certainly has extraordinary powers, either she or the wind, I do not know which.”

“I think it was Molly,” I said. I straightened and moved over to find his stone.

“It’s not here,” I said. “I know this is where it was.”

In its place stood a headstone belonging to a woman who lived a long, long life. I did not recognize her name. I finally let go of Jonas’s hand and studied the nearby stones in case I had mistaken the location, but no stone bearing Jonas’s name materialized.

I turned to him with a bright smile.

“You’re alive!”

He shook his head with a rueful smile and turned to survey the cemetery once again.

“I am,” he affirmed, “but when?”

“Now!” I sang out. “Here and now. Come, let’s go find out what year it is.”

I pulled him along toward the entrance to the cemetery and hurried down the road toward Darius’s house, hoping I wouldn’t arrive to find them as senior citizens or, worse yet, dead.

As soon as I reached the driveway, I knew I had returned to my own time. My rental car stood in the driveway. Was this still their wedding day?

Jonas paused for a moment, staring at the car and the house.

“This is most certainly Darius’s house, but what is that piece of machinery?”

“A car,” I laughed. “My rental car. Oh, Jonas, we’re going to have so much fun!”

I hurried up to the front door and rapped loudly on it. They never locked their door, but I had no intention of barging in...not if this was their wedding day.

Molly pulled open the door and greeted me with a smile so like the first Molly. She didn’t seem particularly worried though. I suspected I might not have been gone long. She sported a pair of walking shorts and a pink T-shirt.

“Did you change your mind about Council Bluffs?” she asked. She blinked when she saw Jonas behind me.

“Oh, hello,” she said. “Darius,” she called over her shoulder, “I think you’d better come here.”

“You traveled back in time, didn’t you?” she asked me with an intent look.

I nodded, thankful I didn’t have to explain anything.

Darius appeared in the doorway, dressed in jeans and a plaid shirt.

“Jonas!” he exclaimed. He stepped out onto the porch and enfolded Jonas into a tight bear hug.

“Darius, I thought you were dead,” Jonas said.

“No, and I think I need not explain where I have been.”

Molly stepped out of the house and led me to a chair on the porch.

“Tell me everything,” she said.

Darius and Jonas sat down while I haltingly filled in the details. When it came time to talk about the first Molly, I faltered, and Jonas filled in the blanks. I couldn’t speak of her without tearing up. I missed her, and I’d hardly known her.

Molly, sitting next to me, took my hand in hers.

“I know,” she said. “She’s hard to leave behind.”

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.

“Did you sell your farm? It is leased to a corporation and well managed,” Darius told Jonas. “I once asked about it, hoping to acquire it, but I was told it was not for sale and never would be.”

I looked at Jonas in surprise.

“Did you do that?”

He grinned, relief palpable on his face.

“Yes, I arranged that with my lawyer. Does the house still stand?”

Darius quirked an eyebrow. “It is a relic,” he said. “If you are staying, you will have to rebuild it. Of course, I will help you.”

Jonas looked at me.

“Yes, I am staying. My future is here now.”

Darius and Molly eyed Jonas and me and then smiled at each other.

“I am happy for you both,” Darius murmured.

“You said ‘if’ he was staying, Darius,” Molly said. “Do you think there’s a possibility of traveling back and forth? Given that we now know there are other catalysts that initiate the travel? The headstone? Molly?”

Darius shook his head.

“I do not know,” he said. “I do not think I want to take the chance.”

Molly eyed him with love.

“No, me either.”

“Nor I,” echoed Jonas.

“Not a chance,” I finished.

“Is it still your wedding day?” I asked.

Molly nodded and smiled brightly.

“Well, yes, it is, and it appears we’ll have a full house!”

“A fitting end to a wedding across the winds of time, is it not?” Darius said with a laugh. We all looked at one another, remembering the inscription on Molly’s tombstone, and we smiled.

Bess McBride is the bestselling author of over fifteen time travel romances as well as contemporary, historical, romantic suspense and light paranormal romances. She loves to hear from readers, and you can contact her at
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www.bessmcbride.com
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