Read Online Love Across Time by B. J. McMinn - Free Book Online Page A

consideration for her privacy.
    Of course, he wouldn’t knock you idiot, he thinks you’re his wife.
    “What be the problem?”
    “The lass be bored.”
    Annoyed, she glared at the woman. Ursula ignored her, slid her arm from around Maggie’s waist, and tucked her under the covers.
    “That be easily solved. I received a message that yer family will be traveling here for a visit. I’ve sent yer father word on yer progress each week.”
    “You have found my family?” Relief washed over her, easing the hopelessness she’d lived with each day. Now she’d have answers about the night of her accident: her name, why she’d been out alone at night.
    An indefinable look passed between Liam and Ursula. The old woman shook her head and turned away to retrieve the tray beside the door.
    The edge of the bed sagged. Liam’s large hand engulfed hers. “Aye lass, they were here for o’er a week, but had to leave afore ye woke.”
    Raw grief ripped through her heart. She jerked her hand back and stared at him. For a moment, her joy at the mention of her family had overshadowed everything else. She’d forgotten she wasn’t in the twenty-first century, that she was among strangers.
    I be sorry, lass.”
    “Go away,” she wanted to scream. “I don’t know you.”
    Instead, she fought the helplessness that threatened to consume her. Nothing was familiar; the family coming to see her wasn’t hers, nor was this the room at the Therapy Center she’d grown accustomed to over the last few weeks. Abby wouldn’t be strolling in to check her vitals and laugh over her most recent harrowing escapade. Mrs. Bixby didn’t wait down the hall to fill her mind with fanciful stories of knights of old.
    Tears welled in her eyes. With her eyes closed tight, she willed the tears behind her lids not to fall. But, tears have a will of their own. When one wormed its way free, others followed. The warm liquid ran down her cheeks in rivulets. She covered her face with trembling hands and gave vent to the agony of her loss.
    Fingers gently caressed her hair before the weight on the edge of the bed lifted. The sound of the door opening and closing failed to penetrate her sense of despair. Being left alone had no affect on the misery she felt of hope found, then lost.
    Her eyelids flew upward. Left alone?
    She dabbed at her wet cheeks with the edge of the blanket. Now was her opportunity to retrieve the gown, to find the brooch. She sagged back against the pillows and sighed. Only Liam had left. Ursula sat in a chair, head bent as she painstakingly sewed on a frothy piece of material.
    Ursula glanced up and smiled. “’Er ye o’er yer wee pout?”
    “I was not pouting, just disappointed.” If the woman wondered why she would be disappointed to see her family, she was kind enough not to mention it.
    “Weel none the less, I thought I’d do a bit of mending and give ye time to settle things in yer mind. I ken ye nae remember yer family, but young Morag will want to tell ye yer life history.”
    “Morag?”
    “Aye, yer sister.”
    “You have met Margaret’s sister. I thought only Liam and his men went to the Campbell’s.”
    “Nae. Where e’er me lad goes, I go.” She lowered her head and sewed several stitches.
    “Liam is your son?” He must have taken after his father because she saw no resemblance at all to Ursula.
    “Nae, but I’ve had the care of him since he was a wee lad. Me only lad died when he be ten. Fell to the ground from the barn roof he did. No matter how hard I prayed, he ne’er woke up.” Moisture gathered in the old woman’s eyes. The loss of her child still had the power to devastate her.
    Is that why Ursula spent so much time nursing Margaret? She refused to lose another victim to a deadly fall. If she knew of the wonderful medical care Maggie had received, she’d understand how she’d survived her accident. But, Liam insisted she not tell anyone that she came from the future, including Ursula. She gritted her