Leaving Lavender: A Time Travel Romance (Lavender, Texas Series Book 3) Page 14

  She understood. He didn’t want his brother or any of the others to get even a glimpse of that book.

  She smiled at the joke that only she knew. “No danger,” she said. “I hear it’s in a very safe place.”

  She began to be afraid they had spent too much time on this subject. These people were bright and suspicious. They must not guess what was going on. “Jerry said to tell you how much Einstein misses you. He does his best to keep him content and active, but nobody can take your place with that dog.”

  He followed her lead. “I’d like to have him here, but the ranch has got to be a better place for him.”

  She nodded. If the big retriever were here with Zan, then she’d have two to rescue, instead of Zan alone.

  “If anything happens to me, tell Jerry I’m leaving Einstein to him.”

  “Don’t say that! Don’t give up!”

  He hugged her close, than Geoff came to tell her it was time to go.

  Chapter Twenty

  Once a decisive man, Zan found in the weeks ahead that it was increasingly difficult to even choose what he wanted to eat or if he wanted to eat. His will lessened, weakened, but somehow he managed to hang on to the notion that he must not reveal any of the research that was locked into his brain.

  Geoff seemed to have aged a half dozen years and took to joining him for meals just so he could urge him to eat. He accompanied him on walks around the base and tried to get him to use the exercise equipment in the apartment. Zan did what he was told; it didn’t seem to matter to refuse when he was hanging on so hard to keep his secrets his own.

  He sat looking at the fancy French food on the little table placed by his brother in front of his chair, hardly more interested in the gourmet dishes than in the latest movie showing on his screen.

  Geoff sat down to his own food, chatting about the beautiful star of the film. Zan barely heard him.

  So much time had passed since he’d seen Eddie. He only hoped they were leaving her alone. She’d wanted to tell him something that she couldn’t say with others listening. She’d seemed to think it was important. He couldn’t think clearly enough to guess what that would be.

  “She’s not as pretty as Eddie,” he mumbled, responding weakly to his brother’s conversation. “I want to see Eddie.”

  “Soon,” his brother promised as he always did. Zan wasn’t sure how much time had passed since that last visit, but he figured it must be as much as a couple of months.

  He’d heard one of the servers talking about the holidays. It was cold outside; it must be Thanksgiving, Christmas, even New Year’s.

  Maybe she’d given up on him. Maybe she didn’t want to see him again.

  “We can’t find that a copyright ever existed for a book called Adventures with Uncle Tyler,” his brother said. “In fact we can’t even find a history for a young woman named Eddie Stephens.”

  “Her name’s actually Edith.” He took a single bite of the entree, than

  put his fork down. He wasn’t hungry, not tonight.

  “Not Edith either. Oh, there’s plenty of women by that name, but they’re not her, not your Eddie. You’ve got to face it, Zan, she’s a phony , probably a spy sent by the enemy to get info from you.”

  “A popular sport,” Zan returned with a touch of his old cynicism. Then he looked up, alarmed. “You won’t hurt her?”

  “Don’t be a dimwit. She’s small potatoes, probably doesn’t know much. Just a pretty girl sent to seduce you.”

  Zan laughed.

  “Who is Uncle Tyler?”

  Zan shrugged. “How the hell would I know? I want to see her, Geoff. I have to see her.”

  “A little cooperation . . .”

  “Not going to happen. Not even if I never see her again.” The thought swept him with despair.

  “They’re going to up the dose, Zan. It’s not meant to be used that way, but your resistance is amazing. The larger dose could kill you.”

  Zan shrugged again. “Maybe that’s the best answer. You can’t get secrets out of a dead man.”

  “Zan! You’re my brother. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”

  He examined Geoff’s face thoughtfully. “I could almost believe you.”

  Of course I mean it. Remember when that big guy picked on you at the playground . . .”

  Zan nodded. “You knocked him flat. You were suspended for weeks. No tolerance for violence. Not at that school. I tried to tell them you were only trying to look after me.” His smile was a terrible one. “The Alston brothers, the closest of buddies.”

  Geoff’s face went white. “Remember the Christmas when I got you your first bike?”

  Zan nodded. “I felt like I was flying when I rode it.” He stared at his food with distaste. “How are Nancy and the girls these days?”

  “Okay. I’m trying to talk them into coming back to me.”

  “Good luck with that.”

  “Zan, why are you so bitter?”

  Zan just looked at him, finding it incredible that under the circumstances his brother would say such a thing.

  Geoff abandoned the pretense of enjoying his meal and got to his feet. He paced to the windows, staring out at the windswept grounds of the base. “Mom and Dad are coming for Christmas. They want to see us both.”

  “Okay. Are you going to let me see Eddie? I need to know she’s all right.”

  Geoff whirled to face his furiously. “Is that all it means to you that your parents are coming to see you after all these years?”

  In spite of his drug-induced lethargy Zan couldn’t help being amazed. “They dumped me not long after I was born, Geoff. Just because people give you their genes, doesn’t mean they deserve to be called mom and dad. Don’t try to kid me; it’s you they’re coming to see.”

  Geoff could hardly argue with that. “I’ll try to arrange for you to see your little spy,” he finally said. “Christmas gift.”

  Lynne’s parents and her brother were coming for Christmas so the household busied itself with preparations. The tree didn’t compare with the one they would be having at home where it would be brought in from the countryside making the whole house fill with its scent. In fact, this wasn’t an actual live tree and any smell around it came from what Lynne sprayed around the room. It was more perfect, more beautiful , but, Eddie thought, nowhere as good as the real thing.

  Moss told her that you had to have a special permit to cut down a tree these days, even on your own land, and that cutting one for decorative purposes was considered a crime.

  She tried hard not to be the spoilsport of their holiday, but when Lynne’s delightful family members arrived, it was hard to even pretend to good spirits. Eddie missed her family and her home and kept reliving scenes from holidays past. At the same time her fears for Zan grew day by day until they were like monsters hovering over her.

  With the help of the Caldecotts and their lawyers, she had petitioned in every way possible just to see him. Her pleas were ignored and lately she’d been questioned every two or three days as government agents vainly tried to draw information from her. Fortunately she knew none of Zan’s secrets and they didn’t seem to suspect that she had any of her own.

  She could only pray that he was still alive.

  She was out in the pasture with Moss, Jerry and his cousins from his mother’s side of the family, about to go horseback riding, when a dark, official looking vehicle approached the front gates. Since it was no one they recognized, Jerry and Eddie stood close together while Moss when out to greet them.

  Before long he allowed the auto to enter, than got inside with the visitors. They went past the house, than opened the pasture gates to drive down to where the young people stood in their boots and hats. The horses shied away at the unfamiliar auto. Like most farm animals, they knew the sights and sounds of the family cars and trucks.

  Even though he wasn’t fifteen yet, Jerry put a protective arm around Eddie as though he sensed danger approaching her. She felt grateful for the supp
ort.

  Moss got out of the auto first and was followed by Geoff Alston. Eddie was suddenly so sick she thought she would vomit. Had Geoff come to tell her that Zan had passed on.

  Surely not. Surely not. They wouldn’t have granted her that courtesy. “How is your brother?”

  “Not as well as I would like,” Geoff answered gravely, just as though he didn’t share a major part of the responsibility for his brother’s ill health. “In fact, I believe you’ll find he’s lost considerable ground since you last saw him.”

  She drew in a deep breath. At least he was still alive. The worst hadn’t happened.

  Geoff changed positions slightly to address himself to a less than friendly looking Moss Caldecott. “I’m here to ask if we can borrow Eddie for a bit. Zan, and the rest of us too, would like her to join us for a Christmas Eve dinner, if that won’t interfere with your plans.”

  Moss didn’t look like the idea. “We have family here from New Jersey,” he said, nodding to his two nephews.

  “Just one evening,” Geoff urged. “Our mom and dad are here on a rare visit and naturally they’re anxious to meet Zan’s girlfriend. And as for Zan, well, it would make his holiday.”

  Moss looked at Eddie. From the first he had treated her as though she was as much his niece as Betsy and obviously he didn’t think this was a good plan. She wasn’t so sure it was herself. Zan’s parents here! That seemed out of character. She’d gathered there was next to no relationship between them and their younger son.

  But she wanted so much to see him. “I’ll go,” she said. “And I’ll look forward to spending Christmas day with you and the family, Uncle Moss.”

  “Awwww,” Jerry protested. “It won’t be any fun without you, Eddie.”

  She smiled at him. She loved the way the Caldecotts make her feel part of their family. “I’ll get back as soon as I can, Jerry. And don’t you dare open your presents ‘til I’m here to watch.”

  It turned out that Geoff intended her to go with him immediately so she went in the house to collect her belongings, not even taking time to change out of her western riding gear. Lynne was loud in her protests that this was such an unsafe thing for Eddie to do and Cynthia would never approve, but Eddie just kissed her and said, “I’ve got to see Zan.”

  The drive out of the northern Oklahoma ranch country didn’t seem to take long. She was lost in thought and barely responded to Geoff’s attempts to make polite conversation.

  She only tuned in when he said, “I’m really worried about Zan.”

  “Then let him go,” she responded sharply.

  “I’m afraid that’s no longer in my power.”

  Her scathing look told him what she thought of that excuse.

  The spaceport looked as dreary as ever with its combination of aging structures and shiny new ones, a display of a split personality between old times and now, if ever a site showed it. The area where Zan resided was in the new part, square sectioned blocks with little in the way of greenery outside, though an opulent interior as she was well aware.

  She thought of the gracious home where she’d grown up in Lavender and felt a sudden sharp pang of homesickness.

  Vaguely Zan was aware that he looked better physically than when he’d last seen Eddie. Not only did Geoff do what he could to make him eat, they pumped nutrients and vitamins into his body, and the regular walks with his brother had toned his muscles. He no longer had the will to resist their efforts to keep him alive and reasonably well.

  But they’d also added new medicines and, to the dismay of his captors, his mental hold on reality was less and less so that they couldn’t even be certain the information they did extract from him was reliable. His memory was fading, his mind no longer sharp. He sensed this with both relief and terror.

  Geoff had told him they were bringing Eddie to him so he wasn’t surprised when she suddenly stood before him.

  She stared at him. “You look great,” she said weakly as though this was the last thing she’d expected.

  He didn’t want her to think that he’d given in and stopped fighting, that he’d revealed the scientific discoveries that so far were locked in his mind, but Geoff was standing right there beside her. He must not allow his brother to know that he still had enough of a mental grip to be acting from deliberate defiance.

  More than anything he wanted to kiss and hold her, but he was afraid she might find his affection repugnant. She might think the kisses came from a traitor.

  Geoff seemed uncomfortable. No doubt he’d expected them to rush into each other’s arms. Instead the three of them stood together feeling uncomfortable and awkward.

  “You’re looking well,” Zan finally managed. His social skills seemed minimal these days and the actual fact was that she looked thin and strained. “How’s your family?”

  He’d meant the family back in Lavender, but she glanced at Geoff and quickly covered the mistake. The last thing she wanted, he suddenly remembered, was for Geoff to know any of her grandfather’s secrets. “They’re fine. Celebrating a big Christmas at the ranch with Lynne’s family.”

  Lynne? Oh yes, he remembered. Betsy’s aunt. Her uncle was named Moss. And their boy was Jerry, who was his friend.

  “Your brother suggested I bring Einstein with me, but I thought he’d be better off with Jerry at the ranch.”

  He didn’t have to work hard at remembering his big furry friend. He missed the dog every day.

  Geoff intervened. “You need to introduce Eddie to your family, Zan,” he prompted and when his brother didn’t react, he called, “Mom, Dad, come join us.”

  A man and a woman came in from another room, both smiling broadly at Eddie. He’d heard Geoff coaching them about how to act toward her. They were to treat her as the sweetheart of their beloved son.

  Zan observed with the interest of an outsider as they greeted her with pretended warmth and welcomed her to their holiday celebration. These people were virtual strangers to him. They’d put him in the hands of others from his earliest days, had been embarrassed at his strangeness and what they’d originally thought were his mental shortcomings. He supposed the way he was now only confirmed all their original misgivings.

  He didn’t blame them much. He didn’t know them well enough to hold them responsible, though once he’d become adult he realized how so many parents loved and fought desperately for the best possible lives for children with all sorts of differences.

  He supposed they’d done the best they could. They’d loved and admired their other son and, he’d once thought, Geoff had passed that love on to him.

  Chapter Twenty One

  By the time they sat down to a Christmas Eve dinner of roast turkey and all the trimmings, prepared and served by staff members from a nearby restaurant, Eddie felt better able to access the situation.

  Zan looked strong and healthier, but the essential personality of him was barely there. He looked at her as though he almost remembered how much he loved her and at the others as though they were strangers. She began to realize that second only to reassuring herself that he was not near death, she’d hoped to find a fellow conspirator. Zan wasn’t up to that. He was barely hanging on to his thinking mind. She wasn’t sure but what he’d already given away more of his special discoveries than he’d ever intended.

  A chill feeling of fear crept through her being, though she was able to keep up with the polite conversation and made a good attempt at appearing to be a woman delighted to be reunited with the man she loved.

  After a dessert of what she was told was an English plum pudding, they went back into the living room where a piano had been brought in during their absence. Zan’s mother sat down to play traditional Christmas carols while Geoff and his father sang in their deep voices and Zan was pointedly silent. With a glance at him, she moved to his side, and taking his hand began to sing in her own passable soprano. He didn’t join in, but watched her face with an unfathomable expression.

  Some of the songs were, of course, new
and unfamiliar to a girl who had grown up so many years ago, but when a recognizable one echoed from the piano, she blinked back tears. At home she and Betsy had always gone caroling together at Christmas time, walking from house to house with their friends to serenade their neighbors. As she heard the familiar words, face after face of people she’d known all her life passed through her mind.

  She’d thought her attachment to the place where she’d so often felt a misfit very thin, but now it was different. Now that she would most likely never see them again, her true feelings emerged.

  Zan touched her face with one finger, feeling her tears. He smiled at her. “Everything will be all right,” he whispered.

  She smiled at him. How could he promise that, considering how things stood?

  Well, she would just have to do her best. She still had one secret in reserve that might make all the difference.

  “I found that book,” she whispered, the sound covered by the singing voices, though she was entirely conscious that Geoff watched their every move.

  Zan frowned only slightly. “Book?” he asked.

  Oh, dear Lord! He didn’t remember. She hardly knew how safe it was to push at all. If he was that heavily affected by the medication, he might just break out and tell them all about Lavender and her great-grandfather’s theories.

  “It’s all right,” she assured him. “We’ll talk about it later.”

  After the singing, Geoff announced that he was taking Zan for his evening walk while his parents had a chance to get acquainted with Eddie. She wondered what was going on now, but didn’t protest.

  Zan did as his brother told him, though she was a little reassured by the wistful glance he cast in her direction as he looked back from the doorway. Maybe he hadn’t entirely forgotten her.

  His mother and father sat in chairs across from her own. Mr. Alston seemed stoical, as though now that his first born son had left the room, nothing left there interested him. Mrs. Alston, however, smiled at Eddie. It was easy to see where the brothers had gotten their good looks. Though in their middle years, both parents were tall and slim with regular features and well cared for hair and skin.