A Different Time (Guardians of Now Book 2) Read online

  Table of Contents

  A DIFFERENT TIME

  Acknowledgments

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Epilogue

  A DIFFERENT TIME

  Guardians of Now, Book Two

  DONNA STEELE

  SOUL MATE PUBLISHING

  New York

  A DIFFERENT TIME

  Copyright©2018

  DONNA STEELE

  Cover Design by Rae Monet, Inc.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, business establishments, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials.

  Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  Published in the United States of America by

  Soul Mate Publishing

  P.O. Box 24

  Macedon, New York, 14502

  ISBN: 978-1-68291-709-1

  www.SoulMatePublishing.com

  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  This book is dedicated to Daddy

  who led me into the land of science fiction,

  even though I was a girl,

  and showed me so many possibilities.

  And of course always, to Darwin.

  Acknowledgments

  Many thanks to my Uncle Frank, Chief of Surgery for years at Valdese General Hospital for letting me listen in on conversations—especially about the healing properties of honey, used in Another Time. He was a great source for when I need a medical procedure explained. I will miss Frank and his fascinating conversation at all of our family gatherings, but he left us doing something he loved.

  Prologue

  The Guardian rose as she felt the presence of the Elder approaching. It was unprecedented for an Elder to seek her out in her personal chambers. For an instant, apprehension touched her. Had her secret been uncovered before she could make a report?

  “Daughter.”

  The Guardian bowed, then straightened her flesh-colored robe and faced her mentor. “You honor me with your presence. How may I be of assistance?”

  “I am here for a report on your project.”

  An Elder came to her for a report? Did the Elder know of the contact the Guardian had received?

  “Of course. Please sit. Refreshments?”

  With a wave of her hand the Elder declined both.

  “Is there anything specific you would wish to know?” A stall tactic, for the Guardian realized the time to reveal all had come.

  “I have seen the change in you, Daughter. Others have discussed this new vitality you possess. Is it caused by this project?”

  “Yes, Elder. I am honored you would seek me out. These humans I now study . . . excite me.”

  The Elder’s eyebrow rose but she waited.

  “They are a young species, maturing at an accelerated, nearly fantastic rate. There have been missteps and backward slides. I believe it is why I was assigned to watch and if necessary, assist them. After observing many of their generations, I located a pair of humans who appeared to be a step above the others in terms of evolution.”

  The Elder listened with interest in her eyes. “We were apprised of your plan to remove the pair from their time stream in an attempt to repair some of those missteps.”

  “Yes, and the plan was approved. Shall I continue?”

  The Elder inclined her head.

  “The couple, a male and a female, relocated to a strategic time and place in their society’s past and the planet itself has benefited from the changes they instigated. The atmosphere and water are cleaner, and the health of the populace has improved from the resulting modifications.”

  “There was talk of an evolutionary step.”

  “Yes. The couple has mated. It is my hope their offspring will become our first direct contact with this species.”

  “Is there an offspring?”

  “At this time there are only cells, no consciousness. I sensed an . . . an Essence waiting to see if the cells become viable. If these do not, it will wait until one does.”

  “Why did you choose to bring them back to their present?”

  The Guardian looked down for an instant, the unfamiliar feeling of guilt rising. It was time for these facts to be known and studied beyond her. “I did not.”

  “I do not understand. Are you saying you did not return them?”

  “No, Elder. I have investigated the phenomena thoroughly. When my study did not reveal a way for this to have occurred, I prepared a report for the Elders. Before I could submit it, I was . . . contacted.”

  “Contacted? By whom? By the entity that did return them?”

  The Guardian nodded. “Yes. I hope the communication will continue. I am not able to direct it at this time.”

  “Who are you in communication with, my daughter?”

  “The Essence.”

  Chapter 1

  Washington, D.C.

  Dusty Williams let himself into the condo he shared with Dee Stevens. Removing his suit coat, he ran a hand through his hair and smiled.

  I’m home.

  He’d had no home since his mother died—not in a real sense, anyway—until Dee. The two of them had formed a family when it had been just them, lost in 1891.

  We time-traveled.

  He still thought of it as impossible, except he’d done it. They had done it.

  How the hell could they tell their families what had happened to them?

  Dee would pick her father up at the airport—no, jetport—when she got off duty at the hospital. For a first meeting with his future father-i
n-law, Dusty admitted to a small dose of nerves. The women he’d hooked up with in the past hadn’t come with families he’d ever had occasion to meet.

  Dee was in a category all by herself.

  Soon they’d be married, though she already felt like his wife in every way. So beautiful, with her long red hair that always caught his breath when he saw it all disheveled and spread over his pillow, and her bright blue sparkling eyes. Brilliant, too, strong and loving. A trauma doctor, what had been called an ER doctor prior to their adventure, Dee fascinated him. She always would.

  He’d had the opportunity to witness her skills more than once in very difficult circumstances . . . in the past.

  As a physicist, he dealt in number theory and engineering designs, while she worked with human bodies. Of course, many of his designs were now in everyday use with the proliferation of green energy, so he’d helped people too.

  Dusty headed for the bedroom to change into something more casual. Most of his clothing and miscellaneous possessions had already made their way to Dee’s apartment. Once he disposed of some furniture, he’d be here permanently.

  The small office next to their bedroom would soon become the nursery. To his surprise, the thought of decorating a space for their child thrilled him.

  He’d never lived with a woman prior to Dee. Getting used to such a lifestyle change had been made easier by the unique circumstances leading them to one another.

  His thoughts turned briefly to the entity in the flesh-colored robe. Thin, tall, bald . . . and completely androgynous. He’d only seen her a couple of times and never clearly. He wasn’t entirely convinced she existed. Either she, or a shared hallucination of her, had something to do with their adventure.

  Thinking of the entity as a “she” was his impression. The wispy robe had seemed to float around her when she’d appeared to him during his icy water rescue of his ancestor, Daniel Sutton. However, the robe had not moved in harmony with the water. She’d been an illusion of some kind. Her eyes had caught his attention. Prominent in her face, they were large and dark like black glass. She had a small nose and thin lips, which gave only a hint of a smile, not unlike the Mona Lisa. Had Dee seen the same? They had never really discussed her appearance or their perceptions.

  Why was that?

  He would never have been able to find Daniel in time in such dark, icy water without the entity.

  His time travel with Dee had changed the future for the better. Everywhere Dusty looked, he found evidence of improvement. There were so many things to investigate he was nearly paralyzed by the thought. Dee, too.

  The time they spent studying in their own fields, to understand and become current, had bonded them in ways he’d never known possible. Dee brought out the best in him.

  Green engineering had gone beyond what he had imagined before their adventure. The root ideas he and his student, Silas Jordan, had worked on were being utilized. Math still held true, and physics. He hadn’t made a fool of himself yet, though he listened to others more closely now, asking questions and engaging in discussions. He’d seen co-workers watching him in wonder at the change in his attitude.

  After putting his clothes away, Dusty wandered into the kitchen, taking in the aroma of Dee’s lasagna, one of her father’s favorite meals. Dusty hadn’t eaten her cooking until after they had returned from the past. Mrs. Masters, the housekeeper who ran the house they had used in 1891, hadn’t allowed Dee in the kitchen.

  Since returning they’d been too busy to do much more than catch up on a hundred and fifty years without raising suspicion.

  This oven was designed to keep the dish cold until time to cook, would turn off when it sensed the meal was complete, and hold it warm until they were ready to eat. Helen Lathan, the woman who had prepared such delicious meals in 1891, would have loved the technology of this kitchen. Known to Dusty and Dee as Cook, she’d had only a cast iron stove and an icebox to work with and still turned out meals that made his mouth water in memory.

  As he reminisced about the folks in the past he missed the most, the door opened and Dee entered with her father, talking excitedly.

  Dusty took a steadying breath and moved toward the living room.

  Showtime.

  Chapter 2

  Dee Stevens was used to handling whatever was thrown at her. Though she considered herself a good trauma doctor, right now she suffered from an attack of nerves. She hadn’t introduced a man to her father in a long time, and never one this important.

  Dusty was a completely different person than the pseudo ladies’ man who’d picked her up in a strange bar. The time travel thing was still disorienting, though Dee was coping. Whether they’d been together for over three months under intense circumstances in 1891, or a little over a week here in the present, she knew this man.

  “Dad, I’d like you to meet Dustin Williams. Dusty, this is my father, Benjamin Stevens.”

  Dusty held out his hand, smiling. “I’m very pleased to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.”

  Dee saw the look of surprise, quickly hidden, on her father’s face. Dusty’s words were true. During their nightly sessions in Mrs. Tillman’s sitting room, learning more about one another, Dee’s father had played a major role in her stories. Was he also surprised to find Dusty already here and waiting for them? Blatantly living with a man even at her age might be a little more than her father would want to know at a first introduction.

  “Please, call me Ben. You have the advantage of me, though I must say you seem to be good for my daughter. I don’t think I’ve seen her this happy in years.”

  “I’m pleased to hear it,” Dusty said with a grin. “Dinner’s almost ready. The timer went off a minute ago, so I’m letting it sit. Could I get you some wine or a drink?”

  Dee nodded, taking her father’s coat. “I need to set the table.”

  “Already done.”

  “Thanks. Let’s have a seat.”

  Dee could see her father sizing Dusty up. Dusty appeared unaware as well as undaunted, as secure in her love as she was in his. It felt good.

  Her father and Dusty engaged in small talk, the trip, weather, while Dee checked on dinner and brought in hors d’oeuvres. The subject moved on to Dusty’s latest project, a paper-thin solar collector to replace the heavier and less efficient cells on older buildings. Dee took a seat beside Dusty and smiled when he casually tucked an errant lock of her hair away from her face as she started to take a bite of cracker. He didn’t break from the conversation, acknowledging her with a quick wink.

  Dee noted her father paid close attention to Dusty.

  Dad looked good, healthier than the last time she’d seen him, with better color in his cheeks. Nearly as tall as Dusty, he’d dressed in slacks and a sport shirt. Not a hint of his thickening waist, something she had warned him about, remained. He wore his silvery hair a little longer than she remembered from the past. His blue eyes, so like her own, were trained on Dusty, assessing and categorizing him.

  Good luck with that.

  When she called them to eat, Dusty gave her father the seat at the head of the table and poured him a glass of wine. Dusty had become a consummate host while entertaining their many guests in the past, including Marcus Grant, the minister and head of the board of education in Braddock’s Crossing. Following the traumatic rescue of one of the townspeople, Marcus had become a true friend and supporter.

  Dee gave herself a little shake to return to the present. There would be no more dinners with Marcus and Elizabeth.

  The aroma of hot lasagna and warm garlic bread flavored the kitchen. With her two favorite men, Dee relaxed.

  The meal stayed lighthearted and friendly though she could feel her dad’s eyes gauging their relationship as he split his attention between her and Dusty.

  Her father knew people. As a psychologi
st it was his job. He came by it intuitively. There had been little she’d gotten away with as a child.

  Dusty, however, was throwing him for a loop. Dee hadn’t thought about that. Of course, he knew too much about her for only dating a week. She should have been more vague about when they had met.

  Too late now.

  ~ ~ ~

  Dusty poured Ben another glass of wine, emptying the bottle into his own glass.

  He saw Ben eye the bottle. Before he could speak, Dee said, “I’m so glad this worked out for me to have the weekend off. I’ve really wanted you two to get together.”

  Ben laid his fork down on his plate and folded his hands. “I don’t want to put a damper on the evening. I’m having a good visit, but I need to know what’s going on.”

  “Excuse me?” Dusty placed his glass back on the table without taking a sip. Dee appeared surprised as well.

  “I’ve never known my daughter to lie to me and I’m not accusing her now. However, something is off.” He tossed her a look. “I get a phone call from you a few days ago sounding as though you hadn’t talked to me in ages. From your voice it was like you thought you’d never see me again. We’d spoken only three days earlier.” Ben met Dusty’s eyes squarely. “Dee told me she’d met you the night before. That was less than two weeks ago. I’ve watched your body language, your unspoken communication. No way did you get this close in less than two weeks.”

  He picked up his glass and swirled his wine. “And this is Dee’s favorite, yet you haven’t offered her any. You set the table and didn’t put a wine glass at her place. You don’t seem to have a problem drinking, yet you don’t want her to.”

  “Dad . . .”

  She turned a beseeching look toward Dusty. They had discussed this. How could they tell her father what they had experienced without fear of a jacket that opened in the back, with extra-long sleeves?