The Sunstone Brooch : Time Travel Romance by Katherine Logan (comprehension books .TXT) 📗

throat tightened, almost strangling him, if that was even possible.

“I wouldn’t leave you, either,” Ensley said. “How old are you? You look like you’re ten.”

“I’m three, ma’am. How old are you?”

“I’m twenty-eight.”

“Dad’s older,” Joseph said.

Tavis cringed. He hadn’t aged well, spending so much time outdoors in the cold and wet climate, and now he looked at least ten years older than he was.

Elliott clasped Tavis’s shoulder. “I’m sorry we didn’t arrive earlier. We might have been able to save your family.”

Tavis glanced out over the sea, just as he always did when he talked about his wife and daughter. “Even if you’d arrived in time, Astrid wouldn’t have left here. She’d heard too many stories growing up about wars and famines in the future, and nothing I could say assuaged her fears.”

“That had to be frustrating,” Ensley said. “How long ago did you lose her?”

“Two months. Not long, but yet a lifetime ago. Especially around here, where the wind blows constantly, and you rarely get a moment of silence.”

No one said anything, as if pausing to pay their respects. Then Remy plowed ahead, giving the conversation a restart. “I guess you haven’t seen the other teams.”

Tavis had compressed his lips in remembrance and now opened his mouth in surprise. “No. How many are there?”

“Four teams. Twenty of us. David is Six Alpha. Connor is Six Bravo, and Pete is Six Charlie.”

“What’s Elliott?”

“I’m Six,” Elliott said.

“Radio Six Alpha and tell him there’s a commotion down at the cove. We heard clashing weapons and flapping sails. I didn’t want Joseph to go back to the settlement until I knew what was happening.”

“Robbie and I’ll go see what’s up,” Henry said.

“No. Stay right here until we find the others.” Remy handed Tavis a duffel. “If you’d rather wear utilities, I brought a uniform for you. You’re more muscular than you were, but it should fit.”

“Thanks. Now tell me about JC,” Tavis said, addressing Elliott. “The last word I got was that you and Meredith were returning with him. What happened?” The pain in Elliott’s eyes startled Tavis, and he backed off immediately. “Never mind. It can wait.”

“Ye should know. It could influence what happens here. Erik’s brother found James Cullen in Chicago. He tortured him, but thankfully, Erik arrived in time to save James Cullen’s life. The cloak healed his body, but he’s struggling emotionally. We took him and Paul to the monastery, where they’ll remain for a while.”

Damn. The hits kept coming. Knowing Viking culture as Tavis did, the torture would have been horrific and not survivable. “I didn’t know Erik had a brother. Where is he now?”

“Erik killed him. His name was Sten. Their father kicked him out of the settlement years ago, and he’d become an influential member of the Illuminati.”

“Fuck!” A slow burn exploded, and Tavis threw his helmet. “God damn it. Why didn’t Erik tell me? I could have helped.”

Ensley reached out to touch Tavis’s arm but withdrew it when he looked at her with the remnants of his fury.

“He should have,” she said. “He traveled back and forth between the Badlands, Chicago, and no telling how many other places, cutting it razor-thin with both James Cullen and me. A minute here or there, and we both could have died.”

Joseph crossed his arms in front of his chest until Tavis picked up his helmet and brushed off the dirt. “Are you done, Dad?”

“Yeah, I’m done, Joseph.”

“Sometimes Dad gets so mad that it has to come out. He never gets mad at me like that. He gets mad because Mom and my sister died. And he gets mad at Arne because he won’t let us go to Grandpa Elliott. But then we go hunting, and he smiles.”

Tavis tossed Joseph’s unkempt blond hair. “Joseph has never had the chance to be a little boy and kick a soccer ball. Life is harsh, but he’s adapted like a true SEAL. I couldn’t be prouder of him. And”—Tavis pulled in a deep breath to slow the burn in his gut—“he’s the only one who gets to call me out on my behavior.”

Tavis gave Ensley a slight nod before stripping off his shirt, and she turned her back to him. “Joseph likes to look at the pictures in the books I brought here for Astrid. He knows the world as it exists in the future and what little of it is known now. He wants to fly to Scotland and see Fraser Castle. He wants—”

“—to go to the Kentucky Derby,” Joseph interrupted. “And I want to drink wine in Napa and watch Austin play basketball.”

Austin laughed. “I’d like to see that, too, buddy.”

“I’ll take ye to the Derby next year.” Elliott grinned. “It’s looking like we might have another winner.”

Tavis finished dressing and took the SIG Sauer from Remy, automatically doing a pistol press check before holstering the weapon. For the first time in three years, Tavis Stuart—Navy SEAL—was back.

“Dad, you look funny, but you look like the drawing you made for me. Are you going to your time and leave me here?”

Before Tavis could pick up his son, Elliott did. “I don’t leave my kids behind. Ever. It took me time to get here, but the brooches control when we arrive. In our time, we left only two weeks after yer da disappeared. So we arrived when we were meant to arrive.”

Tavis took Joseph from Elliott and hugged him before setting him down. “If the Council won’t let us both go, then we’ll stay here. I will never leave you behind. Never! Now stay close to me. You must do whatever these people tell you to do, or anyone dressed like them. Tell them you’re Joseph Stuart, son of Tavis.”

“And Keeper Elliott Fraser is my grandpa.”

“Yes, you can tell them that.”

“But Erik is my real grandpa.”

Tavis cupped his son’s cheek. “There are no real or unreal grandpas. Only loving ones.”

Ensley took Joseph’s hand. “Erik was my father, too. That makes you my nephew.”

“Dad told me you were his sister, and you would