Be the good man that I know you to be and love those in your circle fiercely. I want you to be happy, Daniel. If you’re happy, that is reward enough.”
“That is what I want for you as well, Meredith MacCarthy.” And should I be so fortunate, I’ll love you with every breath and with every beat of my heart for the rest of that full life.
He must be in a dream. How could he feel this strongly about a woman he’d met so recently? More than likely his feelings were due to decades of aimless emptiness. Still, it could also be that fate had brought them together, and this was not a dream but reality. After all, look at the way her sisters had met their loves.
“Well, I have plans to make, sisters to call, and more online shopping to do,” Meredith said. “We’ll talk again tomorrow.”
“When and where?” Daniel wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice.
“At dusk in the saloon?”
“Grand. I’ll see you then.” And he’d count the minutes until they were together again.
The ranger had set her two packages on the floor before heading off to do his rounds in Garretsville. Meredith thanked him, then waited until he’d left the park before moving her deliveries to the kitchen table. She headed for the utensil drawer for a knife to cut open the boxes, or at least the larger box holding her clothing. The other held a calligraphy starter kit, complete with several plastic vials of ink, three fountain pens, and an instruction book. That package also held twenty sheets of antique-looking vellum in a goldish tone.
“What’ve you got there, Meredith?” Oliver asked as he descended the stairs from the loft.
“I bought a few mid-nineteenth century outfits,” she said. “I thought it would be fun to dress the part when I lead tours and work in the giftshop.”
“Cool!” He said, joining her as she returned to the table. “Maybe we should all dress appropriately for the era.”
“That would be fun,” she said. “I’ll text you the website where I got mine, and you can take a look. We can have things delivered to the ranger station in care of Jake. He says volunteers do that all the time.”
“Good, good. I’m off tomorrow. I’ll check it out.”
“Lucky you to have two days off in a row.” The park was closed today, which was Monday, and she had plans to meet Daniel at the saloon in thirty minutes. He wanted to be with her to talk to Alpin when he called at their appointed time. She figured Alpin must have the ability to see and commune with ghosts since it was Tuatha dé Danann DNA that enabled her to do so. If not, she’d be the go-between.
Meredith opened the box and pulled out the first plastic-wrapped item of clothing. When she removed the blouse from the bag, she was a little disappointed. The quality of workmanship didn’t match the pictures on the website. The blouse was cheaply made. “Oh well. This will have to do.”
“It’s not bad,” Oliver remarked.
“No, but it’s not as well made as something from the mid-nineteenth century.” She continued to unpack the rest of her things. The Edwardian suit was made of a thinner fabric than it should’ve been, but the ensemble seemed to be of slightly better quality, and she loved the color and style. The lace-up ankle boots were the best thing in the box. She’d wear them in any century.
What did the quality matter when she’d only be using these things for a week tops? A sudden wave of sadness stole over her, and she blinked against the sting at the back of her eyes. How easily she forgot. Daniel would only be a part of her life for a short time, and that reality hit her like a punch to the gut.
Meredith bit her lip, unwrapped the rest of the garments, and folded them into a neat pile. Then she busied herself with slitting the tape on the other package, though she left everything inside. She didn’t want to explain the calligraphy kit to Oliver. She and the Schultes had agreed to keep Meredith’s time travel plans a secret.
“Where are the Schultes?” Oliver asked as he dumped the old coffee and added water to make a fresh pot.
“They went to Missoula for the day.” She glanced at him. “What are your plans?”
“It’s my turn to use the washer and dryer, so this is laundry day. Other than that I plan to