This Moment In Time by Nicole McCaffrey

Author:Nicole McCaffrey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Published: 2012-08-31T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

A bloodcurdling scream tore from Josette a split second before she went totally limp in Jamie’s arms. Only then did he realize what happened. He’d stepped backward into his own time and somehow she’d come along with him.

He lifted her fully into his arms, aware of the sound of footsteps pounding up the stairs. Three of the restoration workers scrambled to a halt in the doorway, staring at him in confusion.

Directly behind them was Len. “Where have you been?” She elbowed her way into the room. “They said you were up here, but I couldn’t find you. When I call your cell I just get your voicema—who the hell is that?”

“The lady is a friend of mine,” Jamie explained quickly. Every one of the workers knew there hadn’t been a woman up here a few minutes ago. “She had a bad scare, that’s all.”

“I was just in here and the room was empty,” Len insisted.

“I can explain,” he said under his breath. “Just let me find someplace to—” Josette stirred in his arms and he glanced down at her. A wave of tenderness washed over him when her coffee-dark eyes fluttered open. “Can someone bring her some water?”

He breathed a sigh of relief as everyone but Len left the room.

“My house,” Josette murmured. “What have you done to my house?”

Jamie glanced around the room, at the walls stripped to the studs, the floor torn up on one side of the room, the paint that hung in strips from the yellowed ceiling. This was exactly what he hadn’t wanted her to see.

He heard footsteps again and then Len handed him a cold bottle of water.

“Her house?” Len repeated. “What does she mean her house—and why is she in that costume?”

Jamie uncapped the bottle and handed it to Josette. “It’s not a costume. And this is her house.”

Len said nothing. A quick glance at her showed she’d gone completely pale. “You faint and you’re on your own,” he warned. “My arms are already full.”

“Jamie,” Josette said, her voice thick with emotion. “What have you done to my house?”

“Shhh…” he said. “Don’t try to talk right now.”

“That’s the lady from the portrait downstairs, isn’t it?” Len knelt beside him, studying Josette with sudden interest. “Is she a ghost?”

“She’s as real as we are.”

Josette glanced at Len, then back to Jamie. “Am I…is this…”

“My time,” Jamie said gently. “Don’t worry, I’ll take you back in a few minutes.”

Len’s jewel-bedecked hand appeared between them to hesitantly touch Josette. She pulled back as if she’d been burned. “Saints preserve us, she is real.” She made an elaborate show of crossing herself.

“You’re Jewish,” Jamie reminded her. Still in his arms, Josette wriggled to a sitting position. He turned his attention back to her. “Do you feel dizzy?”

“I’m fine. Is this your mother?”

“Not by birth, but she’s more or less appointed herself that over the past ten years. She’s actually my CFO—Chief Financial Officer of D’Alessandro Real Estate. Josette Beaumont, meet Lenora Goldman.”

“I’m very pleased to make your acquaintance,” she said.

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