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

and me close to Mark and his family and the plantation, but Jean and Joseph have decided they’re twins and should live together. They don’t like being apart. So maybe Napa.”

“I’ve heard them talk about being twin brothers.”

“They can’t figure out why their eyes aren’t the same color.”

“Joseph’s are an unusual blue.”

“The same shade as Erik’s.”

“Aye. At some point, we’ll have to bring Mark into the fold. He’s Erik’s son, too, and I promised to protect all his children.”

“I don’t think we should bring Mark in out of the cold yet. He’s happy and content. Worrying about the Illuminati would bring unnecessary stress into his life, and I don’t want that for him.” Tavis waved his cigar, leaving a trail of smoke in the air. “I’ve set up a college fund for his son, but if he follows Mark and me, he’ll end up at one of the academies and won’t need the money for tuition.”

“Let’s revisit it annually. I’d like to add to the college fund.”

“Sure. But if you drop a bunch of money in there at one time, Mark will think we’re both dealing drugs.”

“I’ll tell Kevin to be conservative.”

“I heard Paul sent a message. Anything you want to share?”

“James Cullen’s outbursts are less frequent, but he’s still troubled. Paul says they have a routine that gives them time for meditation, study, and exercise, and he doesn’t anticipate coming home for a while.”

“Did he say how long that was?”

“No, but he gave me the impression it could be eighteen to twenty-four months. If living in the Georgetown house works for ye, I think it’s a great idea.” Elliott pointed with his cigar. “Here comes Meredith—and look who’s driving.”

Tavis waved at his son, and the cigar left a trail of smoke in the air. “At least Meredith’s hands are on the controls, too.”

“They probably did a switcheroo when they got closer.”

They watched Meredith park the snowmobile, then she and Joseph entered through the mudroom to strip out of their winter gear. Elliott glanced at his cigar, using how much he’d smoked of it as a measure of time. Meredith would be calling him in to change clothes soon.

“I still owe you an explanation about his mother.”

“When ye’re ready. No rush.”

“I know everybody’s curious but polite enough not to ask. So here’s the deal.”

Elliott held up his hand. “If ye feel like ye need to get a load off yer chest, then I’ll listen to anything ye want to say. But don’t do this for me.”

“I’m doing it for both of us.” Tavis flicked the ash again. “I was betrothed to Astrid when she was fourteen, but I refused to sleep with her until she turned eighteen, which was late for her culture, and she missed several of her best childbearing years. I think about that a lot. Maybe she was too old to have another healthy delivery.”

“Maternal mortality doesn’t occur in the majority of deliveries,” Elliott said. “Most women who get pregnant and get past the first trimester deliver a live baby.”

“Thanks, Dr. Fraser, for that bit of information. I thought your specialty was Thoroughbreds.”

“When JL had a placental abruption and delivered Lance early, I learned more about pregnancy, childbirth, and neonatal care than I ever wanted to know.”

“And I didn’t know enough.”

“Even if ye’d known what to do, ye couldn’t have saved her. Astrid needed to be in the hospital.”

“I know. I wanted to bring her home, but she wouldn’t even consider coming for a short visit.”

“I wished ye’d told me. I would have given ye a brooch to come and go as ye pleased.”

“But that would have come with the expectation that I spy on them. I didn’t want to do that. I regret not demanding answers from Erik. The Council meetings I attended never gave me any insight into the brooches. After a while, I got the impression Erik was the only one who knew the history in any detail, and I suspected the other Council members were afraid of him.”

Tavis took a short draw, then removed the cigar from his mouth and studied it. “Erik was brilliant and knowledgeable in every subject. It’s no telling how many colleges and universities he attended. Once he hinted that he’d been far into the future but never gave any specifics. It occurred to me that he might have taken JC to another time when skin harvesting is more advanced and doesn’t depend on cadaver skin or autografts.”

“That makes more sense than believing in a magic cloak. I wonder if James Cullen will ever remember what happened to him.” Elliott shifted the cigar from one corner of his mouth to the other. “How many times did ye see Erik?”

“I couldn’t count them. He’d randomly show up, mostly during my years at Annapolis. He’d say, ‘Let’s go,’ and we’d pop off to another century. Sometimes we were gone for days, sometimes weeks, and several times we were gone for months. But when I returned home, I’d only been gone less than a minute. I went to classes at universities all over the world. We ate exquisite meals prepared by world-renowned chefs, drank expensive wine, slept with beautiful women, and saw some of the great wonders of the world that no longer exist. Places like the Pink and White Terraces of Lake Rotomahana in New Zealand, the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing, the New York Hippodrome, London’s Crystal Palace, Rotbav Fortified Church in Romania. I could go on and on.”

Tavis looked down at his cigar, then pulled his Swiss Army knife cigar cutter out of his pocket and used it to trim the ash evenly. Then his gaze lifted. “I’ve never discussed so many esoteric topics with anyone else. I felt like Peter Pan. I never wanted to grow up.

“After I graduated, I reported to my ship for my first tour of duty that lasted twenty-four months. I only saw him a handful of times during those two years, and each year after that, I saw him less often.”

“He gave ye an