he leaned over to gather the wood used for cooking.
“Sure.” She went to the now stocked shelves and found the basket of onions, and the Mason jar of molasses.” She set those on the counter. “Where do you keep the bacon?”
“I’ll get it.”
Soon the delicious smell of the baked beans cooking filled the cabin, and all they had to do was give it a stir now and then. The activity felt so … domestic, and she basked in the afterglow of the newly born intimacy growing between them. His words echoed through her mind. I won’t lose you. One way or another, she didn’t intend to lose him either.
14
Meredith decided to wear her Edwardian walking suit for their dinner in town. Dressed and ready to go, she retrieved one of the gold coins she’d hidden and slid it into her pocket. The weight of the gold settled beside the small pouch holding the remaining diamond. As she made her way down the narrow steps, she pressed her fingers against the leather pouch. The hardness of the gem within offered reassurance, a talisman against the possibility of disaster.
She found Oliver waiting downstairs. “I have something for you,” she said.
“Hmm?” His brow rose.
“I know you’ll want a few souvenirs from the past to take home with you.” She fished out the gold piece and held it out for him to see. “Here.”
“Really?” he asked, his tone excited.
“Really.” She placed the coin in his outstretched palm. “I also have a favor to ask.”
“Cool.” Oliver turned the gold piece over and over in his hands. “What’s that?”
“Take a few pictures of me and Daniel together and a few of me, Daniel, and Charles.”
“Sure, sure. Thanks.” He slid the gold piece into his pocket. “You have your phone on you?”
“I do. I plan to take a picture of Garretsville as it is today. John and Judy will get a kick out of that. I might try to sneak a few pictures of her ancestors while we’re at the diner.”
She lifted her drawstring bag with her phone inside. “I figured I could let Daniel and Charles scroll through pictures on the way to town. I’ve turned off the wi-fi and cellular, so it won’t take a lot of battery life.”
Oliver’s cast her speculative look. “I see the way you and Daniel look at each other, and I know what went on here between the two of you when Charles and I left you alone yesterday.”
Mortification burned through her. “Oliver, that’s not—”
“You’re in love with Daniel,” he said, cutting her a pointed look. “Aren’t you?”
“You definitely lack boundaries.”
“You’re not the first person to tell me that.” He shrugged. “Your feelings for each other are obvious.” He continued to study her, his gaze assessing. “What are you going to do?”
“You mean after the thieves are caught? I honestly don’t know.” She headed for the front door. “I have a life and a family in the twenty-first century. Daniel has a life and a family in the nineteenth century.”
“But … you do love him, right?”
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”
“You do.” Oliver nodded to himself as if something had been resolved in his mind. “And he loves you.”
Why this mattered so much to him, she had no idea. Meredith sighed. “Daniel and Charles are waiting. Let’s go.” Meredith opened the door and walked out. Oliver could try the patience of a granite slab.
The two men stood beside the wagon, and both had gone to some effort to look presentable for their evening out. Daniel wore his hair slicked back with pomade. He’d shaved again, and he wore what she guessed were his best clothes. She preferred his hair without product and curling naturally. Daniel in his rough work clothes was something to behold. “Would you mind if Oliver took a few pictures before we set out?” she asked.
“Doesn’t that take a great deal of time to set up?” Charles frowned.
Meredith took her phone out of her bag. “Nope. This will only take a few seconds.”
“Aye,” Daniel said, his eyes riveted on her phone. “Come Charles.”
“I thought we could stand on the porch.” She tapped her phone, clicked on the camera, and handed it to Oliver. “I’d like a few of just the two of us first, Daniel.” To remember him by? Her throat closed. Oliver’s probing had unsettled her. “And then Charles can join us.”
“Of course.” Daniel hurried to her side and reached for her hand. He gazed down at her and smiled.