she muttered under her breath. What am I thinking?
The skirt, blouses, and jacket would suffice. Still, that gorgeous ensemble … those leather lace-up ankle boots … she could wear the period clothing while volunteering in Garretsville. That would lend the tours a bit of authenticity.
She leaned back in her chair and pursed her lips. How would the Historical Emporium get the clothing to her? Their cabin didn’t have an address registered with the post office. Oh, but the ranger station did. She could call Park Ranger Geller and ask if she could have things delivered there.
By the time she forced herself back to her record search, she’d practically drooled over her keyboard at the cart full of historical clothing. She sipped her lukewarm coffee and shoved aside the impulse to pull out a credit card. Spending money for a trip to the past that might not happen made no sense.
After another forty-five minutes of fruitless searching, Meredith threw in the towel. Daniel would be waiting to hear what she’d discovered, and she had nothing to offer. Meredith shoved her things in her backpack and hoisted it to one shoulder. A stop at the grocery store—the collective list and combined food allowances in her wallet—and then she’d head back to Garretsville.
Just as she climbed into her Jeep, her phone rang with Regan’s ringtone. Meredith’s pulse surged as she hit speaker phone and accept. “What did Boann say?” she blurted.
“She won’t get involved.”
Meredith’s stomach dropped. “I figured.”
“You care about Daniel Cavanaugh, don’t you?” Regan said.
“That’s … weirdly difficult to say.” Meredith’s throat tightened, and she swallowed a few times. “Would you have admitted you had feelings for Fáelán when you believed he was a ghost?”
“I get what you’re going through.” Regan gave a short laugh. “It’s this awkward gray area where you know in your heart if the man were alive you’d fall for him, but he’s not. Still, as you get to know him better, those feelings grow, and all the while you’re thinking it’s wrong, stupid, foolish, impossible—”
“But you just can’t help yourself,” Meredith finished for her sister. Now her eyes stung, and the tightening in her throat turned into a lump.
“Exactly.” Regan went quiet for a moment. “All is not lost, Meredith. Do you remember Alpin?”
“Fionn MacCumhail’s fae cousin? Of course I remember him. Isn’t he helping Brían’s clan?”
“He is. Naturally you and your Irish ghost were the topic of conversation at our dinner the other night. Alpin happened to be there, and it turns out he’s a romantic at heart.”
“Okay.” She frowned. “Don’t the same laws against meddling apply to him?”
“They do, but Alpin says he knows a way you can travel back and forth in time without having one of the Tuatha dé Danann directly involved.”
That same breathlessness she’d experienced when she’d first read the bureau’s article overtook her, and once again she felt like she might faint. Was this feeling a premonition about her own future? She’d always sensed things about those she cared for, but never about herself, and never like this. “Really?”
“Yes, really. It’s an ancient method using magically infused, flawless, uncut diamonds. He says using diamonds was very popular back when their laws also prohibited time stepping in the human realm. For some reason, the energy trace created when the gem is infused either dissipates completely or remains inside the crystal once the magic is spent. The fae who casted the magic can’t be traced.”
Anticipation won out over the anxiety, and a flicker of optimism flared to life. “He’s willing to provide me with that kind of magic?”
“If that is what you want, he is willing to provide you with two crystals: one to travel to the past and one to return.”
“I want that. Regan, if all I can do is prevent Daniel’s murder, if I can give him his life back, that would be—”
“I’m not finished.”
“Sorry.” With so much jazzed up energy coursing through her, she could barely contain herself. “Go on.”
“Alpin says time travel by this method is not as reliable as traveling via portal created by one of the Tuatha. The risks are much greater. It’s possible you won’t end up where you intend to be, or maybe not at the exact time you mean to be there. I want you to give this a great deal of serious thought. Discuss it with Daniel before you commit.”
“If something goes wrong, would Alpin be willing to help me?”
“He might be willing, but I don’t know that he’d be able to. He,