Another Time (Guardians of Now Book 1) Read online

  Table of Contents

  ANOTHER TIME

  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

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Epilogue

  ANOTHER TIME

  Guardians of Now, Book One

  DONNA STEELE

  SOUL MATE PUBLISHING

  New York

  ANOTHER TIME

  Copyright©2017

  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: 978-1-68291-318-5

  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.

  To Char

  who pushed me into this madness in the first place,

  To Nancy

  who made me think in time travel,

  And always to Darwin

  for making my life so wonderful.

  Thank you all so very much.

  Prologue

  Gazing at the scene before her, the Guardian studied the two humans one more time. It had taken much research to locate these individuals; generations of research by their standards.

  Currently the Guardian watched in linear time as the two of them converged on the location where they would meet. Waving a hand, she extended the mildest of bindings to them. These two might not even need that.

  Different individually, they would complete one another. The success of their venture was not assured, but after studying the situation in both linear and non-linear time, the Guardian had determined this pair had a greater chance of success than any other she had explored.

  Since being assigned this planet, the Guardian had become invested in it and its inhabitants’ future. There was so much potential, but she had seen where more than one unfortunate decision had led to future catastrophic results for the species.

  This world had finally risen to the level of consideration; after much study, the Guardian was now fascinated. The experiment could very well correct many of the missteps taken as well as the possibility of an evolutionary step forward for the genus.

  She rose, her flesh colored robe falling into place. She could report the initiation of her task to the elders. This flush of excitement was new to her. In the millennia she had worked with The Guardians, she had never attempted such a mission.

  The Guardian had done what she could within the parameters of her abilities. She could only—what was the concept these beings employed? Ah, yes. Hope.

  She could hope for their success.

  The rest was up to them.

  Chapter 1

  The atmosphere in Ginty’s was nearly as dark as Dusty Williams’ mood.

  Hunched over the scotch in front of him, he peered at his hazy reflection in the shiny wood counter. In the midst of wondering if he had time to change jobs before tomorrow, he gave the trendy bar the once-over.

  A first-timer to the place, Dusty had come here tonight for a self-pity drink or two. Wouldn’t do to be hungover—in addition to the problems caused by his already abrasive personality—for tomorrow’s presentation. He’d zeroed in on Ginty’s tonight like a long-sought destination, bypassing others more familiar to him. Maybe he’d wanted the anonymity more than he realized.

  Dusty longed to ditch the suit, trash the briefcase, and get the hell out of Dodge. Unfortunately, none of that was an option. Tomorrow he had to board a plane—with his boss as babysitter—and head west.

  Having a watchdog bugged Dusty, though it was probably necessary. He was better at research than meeting with talking heads. So why did they continue to trot him out for this kind of thing? His social skills sucked, therefore he should stay in the damn lab.

  His ideas sold. If the idiots couldn’t follow his designs, then maybe they weren’t capable of using the product.

  Rather than contemplate the pending business disaster, he needed a distraction. Anything to keep his mind off the upcoming meeting.

  Time to think about something else.

  Only one other patron shared the space, a redhead at the far end of the bar. She appeared about as happy as he was to be here.

  Ah, what the hell. He turned away from watching her to speak to the bartender. “A drink for the lady.”

  “I don’t think she wants a drink, but I’m happy to sell it to you,” the young smartass replied.

  When delivered, the redhead raised her hand to refuse the drink, giving Dusty the excuse to move in her direction.

  “Thank you,” she began before he could speak, “but—”

  “If your day turned out as lousy as mine, maybe we could commiserate.” He was close enough now to take the seat beside her. But he paused, and glanced around. There was a vibration, an electrical hum of some kind, and the buzz grew stronger. She seemed to notice the disturbance too, yet the bartender hadn’t reacted.

  After a tiny hesitation, he took the seat next to hers.

  “Do you feel that?” he asked as he settled on the stool.

  “Yeah. Weird.”

  His hand brushed hers on the bar, an accidental touch, but the jolt at their contact was real, like a spark they both shared at the same time. His eyes met hers, a pretty, soft blue. She looked as startled as he felt.

  �
��What the hell?” Dusty blurted. She hastily withdrew her hand from the bar. “Sorry.”

  He felt lighter somehow, like a bulb had been turned on in the background. Something about her made him feel better.

  “Thank you, but I don’t think I’d be very good company today.” She started to rise.

  “I’d like you to stay.” Had he said those words aloud? They were true. His mood lifted just sitting beside her. And she smelled good, like cinnamon and ginger. “I, uh, I could use some company right now.”

  She hesitated again, then relaxed into her seat and examined the glass of wine he had purchased. “I guess I could, too.”

  “My name’s Dustin. Dusty to my friends.” He offered his hand.

  “Have you discharged all of your static electricity?” she asked with a faint smile, turning slightly to face him.

  “I don’t think it was static electricity. Let’s find out.” Damn, there was still a small buzz as they touched, not as scary as the first one, as though someone had adjusted the intensity. “Mutual attraction,” he declared and she gave a startled sounding chuckle.

  “Why don’t we grab a table?” Those words surprised even him. He hadn’t planned to talk to anyone tonight, only a couple of drinks before he forced himself to return to his apartment and study his notes for the meeting.

  Again that slight hesitation, but she nodded and his hand settled on her lower back to lead her to a small nearby table. She wore slacks and a royal blue T-shirt, and Dusty could see strength in the way she walked, shoulders straight and head high. Pulled back into a clip, her dark auburn hair reached below her shoulders.

  Dusty seated her and pulled his chair next to hers rather than across the tiny table.

  “Would you be willing to share your name?”

  “Sorry.” She looked slightly flustered at his words. “I’m Deanne Stevens. Just Dee.”

  “Just Dee, wanna talk about it?” When her shoulders instantly drooped, he took a mental step back. “Didn’t mean to bring you down. We can switch to something else.”

  “No, it’s—I work in an ER. Today was one of those bad days.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Three kids, not drunk, only buzzed. I’m sure they thought what they were doing was no big deal. All dead. There was nothing we could do.” Dee took a sip of her drink and closed her eyes.

  “That doesn’t make you a bad doctor.”

  Her eyes flew open. “Most people assume I’m a nurse.”

  Dusty shook his head. “I’m sure the gender thing plays out a lot, but you’re a doctor.”

  “Yes. I worked on two of them.” She visibly shook herself. “Why was your day so rotten?”

  “You’ve put my situation in perspective for me. I’m flying out of town in the morning with my boss to salvage a contract. I was feeling sorry for myself since they wouldn’t leave me alone to do my work.”

  “What is your work?”

  “I’m an engineer. No trains.” Her tiny smile encouraged him. “I work on number theory, propulsion. I’m getting into sustainability, green work.”

  “Recycling?”

  “That too, but you better not get me started. It’s my passion and I’ll cause your eyes to glaze over talking about solar batteries or wind farms. If they left me in the lab, everyone’s life would be easier. My social skills aren’t the best.”

  “You’re doing all right,” she assured him softly. “I’m feeling better.”

  He blinked. They were having a real conversation instead of him trying for a hook-up. Connecting with another human being felt damned good.

  “Where do you have to go?” she asked.

  “Denver. A meeting of bigwigs I ticked off because they weren’t able to follow my design.”

  “It happens a lot.” She didn’t seem to be asking a question.

  Dusty studied her for a long minute. “You can tell by looking at me that I tick off a lot of people?”

  She laughed again and the sound lightened his mood even more. He had the strongest impulse to move closer, touch her.

  He didn’t, as a rule, get too close to women in places like this, though he’d had his ass grabbed more than once in bars. She’d done nothing to draw him to her, but he couldn’t deny the attraction. Strange.

  “No,” Dee replied. “I bet people aren’t able to follow your logic. I think you’re smarter than a lot of people and maybe not especially patient with those of us who can’t keep up.”

  “You could. Keep up, I mean.” Why had he said that? He knew nothing about her.

  Dee blinked at his words, but after a moment she nodded. “I hope so.” She touched his hand and they both felt the buzz increase. Expecting it this time, Dusty let himself enjoy the sensation, and her company. His mood soared.

  Having ignored the rest of the world, they both jerked as a loud party descended on the bar, taking more room with their noise than their bodies. He glanced around, annoyed. “Cliché time. Want to go somewhere quieter?”

  She hesitated and he feared he’d lost her. Inexplicable disappointment flooded him.

  “Please.” Her smile stunned and warmed him.

  As she gathered her purse, Dusty slipped some money on the table for the smartass bartender. They moved outside into the quiet.

  “Where, uh . . .” He glanced around.

  “Not another bar. Doesn’t feel right this evening.”

  “Have you eaten?”

  She sighed. “Food wasn’t much of a priority for me when I got off duty.” On cue her stomach gave a diminutive growl and he grinned.

  “Food it is. What’s your favorite?”

  “Asian—Chinese, Japanese, Thai. They all have vegetables.”

  Dusty steered her to a small Thai restaurant nearby and they were seated quickly at an outside table. Dee regarded her surroundings, taking a deep breath of the aroma wafting from inside. “I should get out more often.”

  “You’ve not been here?”

  “I’ve never been to this area at all. I haven’t lived here long and I usually eat near the hospital. When I finished my last residency rotation at Cornell, I applied to Georgetown Trauma Center and they accepted me. I wanted to stay at a teaching college and I’d heard great things about their program. So far, from what I’ve seen it’s true.”

  She paused, then blurted, “I’m not sure why I’m over here tonight. I don’t know why I went into that bar.” Her confusion rang clear. “A bar was the last place I wanted to be after this afternoon.”

  “I’m glad you came.”

  Those blue eyes met his again, and Dusty realized how deeply he meant it.

  ~ ~ ~

  For the first time all day, Dee relaxed. None of this made sense. When she had left the ER for the evening, she’d been numb. She couldn’t even remember how she’d gotten to the bar. She’d walked away from the hospital, too exhausted to think. Now, out to dinner with a complete stranger, thoughts of attractive serial killers came to mind but drifted away as she watched Dusty.

  He was attractive, not to mention tall and well built. If this had been planned, she might have worn heels. She certainly wasn’t dressed for a date. With a jolt, Dee realized she hadn’t even changed her footwear when leaving the ER. Tiny flecks of blood decorated her work shoes. He hadn’t noticed so she pushed it aside.

  For some reason Dusty’s presence lightened her mood. Maybe the fact he hadn’t turned away when she started to leave. The gloom of the day had dissipated as soon as he walked toward her and that weird buzzing started.

  She eyed him discreetly, noting how his dark chestnut hair flopped over his broad forehead, nearly to those hazel eyes. The style suited him, though longer than she’d have considered appropriate for meeting clients. Those short curls over his collar, so full and soft, and .
. .

  Okay, where the hell had that come from?

  Get a grip, Dee.

  She continued her inventory as he checked the menu. Casual clothes, which he wore well. Athletic appearance. Intelligent, for sure. She got the impression of a reticence, maybe a hint of shyness when not in that lab he’d mentioned, since he’d acted kind of wary of approaching her.

  Something about the man made her feel better.

  ~ ~ ~

  Dusty gave her a subtle perusal.

  Petite. Lovely, and somehow real with a hint of exhaustion in the faint shadows under her eyes. Slender yet curved. Strands of her red hair casually escaped from the barrette holding the thick mass at her neck.

  Bare, gorgeous lips.

  And why the hell did he stare so intently at the lips of a woman who was nearly a stranger?

  The food arrived quickly and hot, the spices tickling his nose. He didn’t usually order Thai, but Dee had led him through the menu and it was easy to find entrees he figured he’d like.

  This evening’s shaping up to be pretty damned good, after all.

  Finally, the waiter left them and Dusty resumed their conversation. “So, you haven’t been in D.C. long.”

  “A couple of months. Moved from Ithaca when I was accepted at Georgetown. You?”

  “Been here for years. I commute to Florida or California for business when I can’t avoid it.”

  They were still talking when Dusty noticed the restaurant sign wink out. They were the last ones there and the annoyed expression on the proprietor’s face was now unmistakable.

  “Did we close this place? That’s a first for me.” He’d never wanted to spend so much time with someone.

  “I think we did.”

  “I’m not ready for the evening to end,” he admitted, and she held his gaze.

  “I’m not either.” Her voice grew soft, wondering.