Garrett and Laura had gone to town to see the doctor, and Bree wanted to make sure everything was as it should be with the baby before she went anywhere. It worried her that Laura had time travelled while pregnant and although she couldn’t think why it should affect the baby, she couldn’t leave until she was sure all three Davises were healthy and happy.
And anyway, she still had more preparations to make before she was ready to travel. Bree decided she’d continue her work on her travel outfit and made her way into the secret room at the back of the basement, where the costumes from all eras were housed.
Stopping at the section where her aunt Di had helped Bree choose the clothes, she would wear to meet her father, she frowned at the dress. With a groan, she plucked theemerald-green dress and black cloak off their hangers, picked up the ankle boots and stockings, and made her way back out of the room, her heart raced at the thought of wearing the clothes and going back so far in time. Taking deep breaths, trying to get her anxiety under control, she plonked the clothes on the bench next to the orbs and sat on the stool.
What was she doing? Surely so much time had gone by that there was no reason for her to go back to her father now. After all, he hadn’t seen her since she was six years old. He wouldn’t even know her.
She snorted. Aunt Di had said she and Mark travelled back to the year 682 to see how Garlain was doing. Bree frowned. She realized they never said how Garlain was, other than that he was still grieving over the loss of his wife.
She wondered then if that was why he hadn’t returned for her. Maybe he didn’t want to be reminded ofherevery time he looked at Bree. Except for her red hair, Bree looked exactly like her mother.
Scrunching up her nose, she thought how selfish that was of her father. He should have still loved his daughter; he should have still gone back for her;he should have still come back to me.
But all that didn’t matter now. All that mattered was that she goes back to the past, ask him to explain why he had abandoned her, and come back to the present.
She wondered if she even wanted to know the truth, even wanted to hear that her father preferred to live his life without her. No wonder she had panic attacks just thinking about it.
She delved into the material before her and finding one of the secret pockets in the cloak, she pulled out a heart-shaped locket and opened it. Inside was a small photo of her father, mother, and her as a child. She sighed. Aunt Di had told her he knew of the locket and knew that only his daughter wouldhave it, but Bree wasn’t so certain he was openminded enough to believe such things. Yes, he came back to the future to be with his wife and child and he must have learned many things, but he was still a seventh-century man, with seventh-century superstitions and all that went with that.
Would he be able to comprehend that she was now a grown woman, not the six-year-old he’d left? To his mind, his daughter would be not much older than the child of five in the picture. Bree let out a laugh at her silliness. Of course, her father would know she had aged, just as he would have done over the course of twenty-one years.
Bree pushed the locket back into its hidey hole and began cutting and sewing.
She didn’t know how long she’d been working when Garrett crashed down the basement stairs two and three at a time.
“Guess what?”
Bree put down the dress she’d been working on and grinned. By the smile on Garrett’s face, she surmised all went well in town. “What?”
“We know what the baby is.”
“Human?”
“Ha ha.”
“So, are you going to tell me or am I supposed to guess?”
“Guess.”
Laura, holding tightly to the railing, descended the stairs. “Stop teasing her, Garrett.” She stepped onto the basement floor and rubbed her stomach. “It’s a girl.”
“Oh.” Garrett sulked. “I wanted her to guess.”
“I’m sorry, but she had a fifty-fifty chance of getting it right anyway.”
Bree laughed. “I was going to say girl.” She hopped off the stool and rounded the long wooden bench, holding out her arms to Laura. “I’m so happy for you.”
After a long hug, Bree turned to Garrett, who had a wide smile pasted to his lips. “Weren’t you hoping for a boy?”
“I was, at least I thought a boy would be easier to raise, but a girl? Wow, I am over the moon excited to have my own little daughter.”
Bree gave him a hug. “You’ll be a great dad.”
The moment she let him go, Laura ducked under his arm. “I think so too.”
“Well, I’ll try anyway.” He looked around the basement and his gaze rested on the bench where Bree had been sitting. “What were you doing anyway?”
“I thought I’d add more hidden pockets. Your parents only had two in each outfit.”
