behind him. Near enough to feel his heat. This man she’d only dreamed about was here. Flesh and blood. “Reno, do you know what year it is?”
“Yes.” He turned to answer with confidence. “The year is 1869.”
Journey turned in a circle, seeking some way to convince him. Going to the wall, she flipped the light switch. “Electricity. I don’t think it’s invented for another ten years in your time.” Going to pick up the phone, she held it to her ear. “Telephone, the first one was invented in 1876.”
“What are you saying?”
“There have been two world wars. One began in 1914 and the other in 1939. We can fly now, in airplanes. We sent a rocket to the moon. Men walked on its surface. Now, we have computers that can access all the information in the world. We’ve even created artificial intelligence.”
“You’re speaking gibberish,” he protested.
Journey could only imagine how all of this sounded to him. “Reno, the year isn’t 1869. This is 2019.”
Reno blinked, holding her gaze. “2019?” He threw back his head and laughed. “No, it’s not.”
“Yes, it is.” She held the gaze of the man she’d idolized for years, her heart beating ninety miles a minute. “Somehow, Reno, you’ve traveled through time. A hundred and fifty years into the future.”
CHAPTER SIX
“Two thousand nineteen?” Reno repeated the number. A very large number. “Two thousand nineteen.” The very sound of the words was alien to his ears. “I don’t understand.” He’d sure repeated those words more than one time tonight.
“Neither do I,” Journey answered him. “That’s why we need to figure this out together.” She unlocked the back door and held it open for him. “Come on. Let’s go.”
“I don’t like this,” Reno muttered – but he followed her anyway.
Once they saddled up, Journey took the lead. “We’ll go through the gate again and into the park. You can decide which way after that.”
“Why do you call this land a park?” he asked as he took care of the latch on the gate as he’d done before.
“The land is protected so it can’t be developed.” Knowing he wouldn’t know what that meant, she elaborated. “The states and the federal government have reserved beautiful tracts of wilderness to keep them from being bought up and filled with residential communities and strip malls.”
“Strip mauls?” he chuckled, repeating the words as he heard them. “I’m sure that doesn’t mean what the words imply.”
“No. I’m sure it doesn’t. A strip mall is a shopping center. Stores. Where people go to buy things.” When he didn’t say more, she let it go. Suddenly, she spotted something in the distance. Flashing red and blue lights. “Look. Police lights. They found those two idiots who were chasing me.” As they watched, the lights began to move. “There’s no way they drove a pick-up into the area, they must be on ATV’s.” When her observation was met by silence, Journey realized she was still speaking Greek to Reno. “Uh, basically pick-ups and ATV’s are horseless carriages of different sizes. They run on gasoline powered engines.”
“Like I said. I need an interpreter with you.”
“I’ll try to do better.”
“That’s okay. There won’t be time for that.” Reno kept his eyes focused on the lay of the land before him.
“We’ll see.” There was no use arguing. Whatever would happen, would happen. As she observed the flashing lights fade into the distance, Journey didn’t really know what else to say. If she wasn’t in the real honest-to-God company of her dream guy, she could easily define this scenario as twilight zone material. Stealing a glance at Reno on his horse, she reveled in the fact that he was here with her. Not merely a fantasy or a daydream. He was here, dressed in all black, a red bandana, and that sexy mane of dark hair which made him look like a Greek god.
“I don’t mean to be rude, Journey.” He turned to glance at her, the bright, full moon giving them enough light to see by. “I’ve never heard that word used as a name. I like it.”
“Thanks. My mom said it fit me. She said I was always ready to walk a new path. Sojourner means someone who resides in a place temporarily, you know.” She held onto the saddle horn, thankful all her horse needed to do was follow Reno’s. Riding at night wasn’t something she’d done before.
“My mother always said we were bound for a better place.” He laughed at the irony. “And look at me now. I