No Future Christmas (21 page)

“Run like hell.” Mike snapped a look at Shauna and saw the
grim determination on her face.
Her lips were drawn in a straight line, her
eyebrows lowered.
“I’m not going back to prison.”

“Neither am I.”

“Skycar 42068.
Pull over and hover.”

The green and white came out of nowhere.
“Double shit.
Autopilot off.” He took the controls and shoved the vehicle into a nosedive.
The seat harness snapped against his shoulders so hard he knew he’d be bruised.
He ignored the pain.
“You okay?”

“Just add another few bruises to my bruises.
Got a plan?”
Shauna scanned the passenger-side monitor.
“The green and white’s approaching.”

“Warning!
Warning!
Laser lock.
Attack imminent,” the
computer blared.

Mike rolled the skycar to the right and dived.
Luckily the
skycar lanes weren’t crowded but he had to do a corkscrew maneuver to get out
of the sight of the laser.
Screech horns blared from the few skycars nearby.
Mike flew the craft like a fighter pilot.
He’d seen enough movies and played too
many computer games not to have a few moves up his sleeve.

“Skycar 42068 land now.” The Global Guardians flew a
straight line to intercept them.

Mike dived to the ground.
“If we dump this craft maybe some
people will hide us.”

“We won’t have time to land.
They Guardians will have us
surrounded.”

Mike flew up and turned left over land.
“Damn, we almost
made it.”

The green and white put on a burst of speed and came up
behind them.

“Fly back over the water.
I have an idea,” Shauna said.

“Morning Star to skycar 42068.
Sending up decoy vehicles to
confuse pursuers.”

“Good idea,” Mike muttered.
He saw five skycars shoot up to
meet them.
All of them were shocking pink and orange.
Mike almost laughed.
The
skycars flew around the Global Guardians craft, crossing in front and back,
flying parallel.

“If I know Mom, they’ll use the same frequency signal that
we have to complicate the navigation system locked onto us.”

“Great.” Mike concentrated on his flying.
He watched the
duplicate skycars and blended in with them.

“Laser lock off,” the computer droned.

“That’s a relief,” Mike murmured.
“Now all we have to do is
find out how to land without a welcoming committee.”

“I have an idea,” Shauna said.
“We’re not landing,”

“What?”

“Morning Star this is skycar 42068.
Thanks for the
assistance.
Do not be alarmed.
I repeat, do not be alarmed.
We’ll meet up with
you as soon as possible.
Send coordinates to frequency 131.5 immediately.”

“Coordinates sent.
What do you have planned?” Louise
Wentworth asked.

“Diversion to place Global Guardians can’t reach us.” Shauna
lowered her voice.
“I love you and Dad.
Over and out for now.”

The ocean was deep blue with curves of white from the
swells.
Mike saw the pink and orange ballet above and to the left of them.
The
green and white skycar suddenly shot out of the mix and headed in their
direction.
“They’re after us.”

Mike watched Shauna judge the timing of the Guardian’s
arrival.
“Grab my wrist.
Now.” She punched the right button on her device and a
tangerine glow filled the skycar.
The walls started to shimmer and a
high-pitched whine filled the interior.
Mike saw the green and white flying
straight at them, then nothing.

Chapter Twelve

December 23, 2004

Mike didn’t know how she did it.
They materialized on the
same street in Bend in front of the same electronics store that he’d left from.
Only it was night time.
Few cars drove along the snowy street.
Mike glanced
around and saw Christmas decorations in the windows.
“How’d you do this?” He
inhaled a deep breath of clean, fresh air then shivered.
They had no coats,
hats or gloves.
They’d escaped with only the clothes on their backs.

The mountains that he loved looked like dark shapes hulking
in the distance.
A flake of snow landed on his nose and he wiped it away.
“Are
we back in 2004?” He rubbed his hands together.
“Come here, you must be
freezing.”

“Yes we are and yes I am.” Shauna huddled into Mike’s
embrace while she finished a calculation on her time travel device.
She looked
up at Mike.
“Your face is still puffy and bruises are showing.”

“Don’t mind me.
Your shoulder’s still dislocated.
I’ll have
to take you to the hospital.”

“Don’t bother.” Shauna pulled out a four-inch rolling pin
device from her waistband and waved it in Mike’s face.

“You brought the rolling do-hickey!” He laughed and grabbed
it from her.
“Tell me how this works.”

“Just push this yellow button.
A blue light appears.
Roll it
slowly over my shoulder.
And hurry before I freeze.” Mike moved to get closer
to her so he could use the device.
“Wait.
Let me sit down first.
It’s going to
hurt.” She wiped snow off a nearby bench and sank onto it.
She took a deep
breath.
“Okay, I’m ready.”

He pushed the yellow button and a blue light shone along the
length of the roller.
“Here goes.” He rolled the thing up the front of her arm,
over her shoulder and down the back of her arm.
Shauna sucked in a sharp
breath.

“Do it again from the back.” Shauna’s voice was hoarse, her
eyes were closed, her teeth clenched together.

He rolled it along the back of her arm, up her shoulder and
down toward her breasts.
“That it?”

“Yes.” Shauna let out the long slow breath she’d been
holding.
“Let me catch my breath.
Then I’ll do your face and my ribs.”

“Good thinking.
I don’t want to frighten anyone.”

Mike marveled that he was back in Bend in his time.
“What day
is it?
Wait…don’t get up, I’ll find a paper.”

“You don’t have to, Mike.
It’s December 23, 2004.”

“How do you know that?”

“The travel device is programmed to go out on December 21
and come back on December 23.”

“But I’ve been gone for three months.” It felt like years.

“I know.
It’s a bug I still have to work out.
When I
originally programmed the device I used that morning’s date.
But I didn’t
program the return date thinking I could do it from wherever I was at the time.
I guess there’s a calculation that automatically returns the traveler two days
later, like a fail-safe feature.
I have to look into it.” Shauna shifted her
shoulder, testing it.
“Seems okay.
Thanks.
The pain’s gone.”

“Good.” Shauna positioned Mike on the bench and rolled the
thingy around his face.
He felt a light, sharp tingling, then numbness.

“Done.” She patted his face.
“No need to mar that handsome
visage.” She kissed his cold lips.
Shauna unbuttoned her shirt leaving the top
button closed and a blast of frigid air hit her skin.
She shivered and
hurriedly rolled the device around her ribs.
“Why does it have to hurt so
much?” She snapped off the light and put the device in her pocket quickly
buttoning her shirt.

“What’s that called?”

“Don’t laugh.” She snuggled into Mike’s arms again for
warmth and put her hands under her armpits.

“Okay.” The overhead street light showed Mike the teasing
light in Shauna’s eyes.

“Roll Away.”

Mike laughed.
“Pain Away.
Roll Away.
Made by the same
manufacturer, I presume?”

“I told you not to laugh,” Shauna said.
“Yes.
And the
inventor obviously had no sense of humor.”

“Come on.
Let’s go home and get warm.
Hopefully my car
wasn’t towed from the lot I parked it in when I was shopping for Scott’s
present—”

“What’s the matter?”

“I don’t have his present anymore.
It’s lost in the
twenty-second century.
What am I going to get him for Christmas?” He took a
couple of steps then stopped.
“Wait.
I called him from your island after
Christmas.
Won’t he remember that call?”

“No.
How can he remember what hasn’t happened yet?” Shauna
asked logically.

“Oh.
Right.
God, this is confusing.” He wrapped her arm in
his.
“Come on, let’s go.”

They walked around the shop to the parking lot in the back.
A few streetlights lit the asphalt lot to keep thieves away.
“Oh, good.
It’s
still here.” Mike reached under a wheel well of a dark blue truck and pulled
out a small magnetic box.
He opened it and grabbed the spare key.
“The wonders
of the twenty-first century.”

They arrived at his apartment after ten that night.
When he
got to the front door he reached under the mat and took out another key.
“Luckily there’s not much crime in this town.” A blast of cold air reached them
when they walked through the door.
Mike pulled his shirt closer and reached to
turn on the heat.
“I’ll get this place warmed up in a few minutes.
Go ahead,
make yourself comfortable.”

He turned on lights, checked his recorder and straightened
up his bedroom.
It was weird to be back here after three months and see the
items he’d left out only a couple of days earlier.
He felt the heat begin to
warm the apartment.
“Hungry?” Mike rummaged in the refrigerator.
“I have frozen
dinners, leftover Chinese takeout or canned tuna.”

When Shauna didn’t answer he glanced into the living room.
She was sound asleep on the sofa, her knees curled to her chest, bundled under
the down throw he’d left over the back of the sofa.
He closed the door to the
refrigerator, walked to the bedroom and pulled back the covers on the bed.
Then
he picked up Shauna and carried her to his bedroom.
After settling her under
the comforter he turned on the electric blanket.

Mike didn’t know how long he stared at Shauna as she slept
peacefully.
He knew she’d faced an ordeal, as he had but she’d kept her will
and her humor throughout it all.
Mike pressed light kisses on her face, gently
wiped his finger over her full bottom lip then took off his clothes and lay in
bed next to her.

* * * * *

Exhaustion claimed him.
Mike slept with his arms wrapped
around Shauna until a noise startled him awake.
He pried open his eyes and saw
gray light around the edges of his vertical blinds.
Dawn.
The noise continued
to blare and he realized it was the phone.
“Hello,” he barked.

“Well, good morning to you too!” Scott Forrester said.
“I’ve
been trying to reach you for two days.
Where’ve you been?”

“You’ll never believe it.
Can I call you back?”

There was a moment of silence then Scott laughed.
“Oh, ho.
You’re busy.
Yep, big brother, you can call me back.
But I want the ‘he-said,
she-said’ as soon as possible.”

“Right.
Later.” Mike hung up the phone and saw Shauna
looking at him with sleepy eyes.
“Hi, beautiful.” She looked stunning, all warm
and sleepy.
Her aqua eyes had golden flecks that he’d never noticed before.

He leaned over and kissed her.
Shauna groaned.
The minute he
opened her mouth with his tongue Shauna thrust her tongue back with passion.
Desire raced through Mike and every part of him hardened.
He’d never become
aroused so fast.
His fingers plunged through her short hair feeling the soft
texture of it without the gel she used to spike it up.
Her heart raced in
tandem with his.
He kissed her back, filled with love, admiration and a blazing
arousal.

This wasn’t going to be a long, gentle lovemaking.
They had
already accelerated to a hot, passionate and furious fever.
Mike felt wave
after wave of burning desire rush through him and knew he wouldn’t be able to
hold back.
He kissed her face, her neck, the hollow at her throat.
His hands
found her breasts and lightly kneaded and rolled the nipples.
A long, drawn-out
groan came from Shauna.
It spurred Mike on.
He kissed her rib cage and stroked
the bruises there, then followed the invisible line down past her belly button
to her center.
Shauna’s legs opened and Mike kissed her.

She reared up on a gasp.
Mike felt as if he were struggling
to breathe.
He kissed and licked until he felt the beginning of her orgasm.
Before she could catch her breath, Mike entered her.
He set a pace only a
sprinter could match and knew the second Shauna caught fire.
Amid thundering
hearts and frantic thrusts he rushed with her to the peak.
Suspended for an
agonizing moment, his heart beating frantically, he stared into stunning, wide,
desire-filled eyes.
“I love you,” he groaned.
He thrust into Shauna and sent
them spiraling over a sensual crest with a cry of release.
Waves of ecstasy
pounded through him.
He felt the mind-numbing release all the way to his toes.
With Shauna cradled in his arms and still gasping for breath Mike knew she had
followed him back to earth.
They lay in a red haze of gentleness, warm and
safe.
Nothing felt more right.

“Did I feel the earth shaking?” Shauna asked.
“That was
incredible.”

“Yes.” Mike couldn’t say much at the moment.
He still felt
the rush of pleasure race through him and wanted to hold on to it as long as he
could.
His heart felt tight and his hands were gentle as he stroked Shauna’s
wet forehead.
“I’ve never felt that way before.”

“Neither have I,” Shauna sighed.
“Man-made earthquakes like
that could happen at least once a day and I’d be fine with it.” She laughed as
she snuggled into Mike’s neck.
“Really amazing,”

“That it was, sweetheart.” Mike smiled like a loon.
When the
last vestiges of the best sex he’d ever had drained away, he pulled Shauna into
his arms.
“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Good.
Now that that’s settled, let’s eat.
I’m starved.”
Mike gave Shauna a light rap on her rump and got out of bed.
“Hmm.
I don’t feel
too bad.
How’s my face look?”

“Too handsome to be real.” Shauna leered at him.
“There’s a
slight tinge of yellow and green but for the most part you’re fine.”

“How’s your shoulder, ribs?”

Shauna wiggled her shoulder.
“Feels almost perfect.
Tomorrow
I’ll be one hundred percent.
The ribs have a touch of soreness but that’ll be
gone by tomorrow too.”

“Okay, lovely woman.
The order of the day is shower, food,
get back and help your parents.”

Shauna didn’t say anything for a moment.
She made the bed
then turned.
“You don’t want to stay here where you’re safe?”

“Sweetheart, I’m going with you.
I want to be with you.
I
love your parents and they need all the help we can give them.
He strode naked
into the shower not letting her reply to his statement.
He turned the knobs to
let the water heat.
“Sure miss the instantly heated water of your time.”

He stepped into the shower and Shauna joined him.
She placed
her hands on either side of his face and turned him to her.
Staring deeply into
his eyes she said, “You are a remarkable man.
I know there’s a God because he
sent you to me.”