I kissed him, wrapping myself around him. I didn’t care who was watching. I’d never missed anyone so much in my life. Tears of relief flooded my eyes. He tightened his hold and kissed me in return.
When at last he broke it off, he said, “I take it you missed me, too.”
With a dorky grin on my face, I nodded, and he set me down.
“Ready?” he asked as he took my hand.
“Before you leave, Elizabeth, I’d like to meet your young man,” said Dr. Maeve from across the room. A faint smile played about her colorful lips.
I switched my hold to Christopher’s left hand. I didn’t want to let go. When we turned back toward the Doctor, I glimpsed a furtive movement as someone ducked into a nearby office. Had Meghan been watching?
“Dr. Maeve.” He shook hands with the doctor. “I’m Christopher. I appreciate you looking out for my Lizzie.”
“I haven’t heard her called Lizzie before.” Dr. Maeve turned her thoughtful look on me. “I’ll remember that. She probably hates it.” She winked.
I shrugged. Only Christopher called me by that name. From anyone else, it would be wrong. I used to hate it, but now it was special.
“She has appointments every two weeks. Please make sure she logs in on time. They’re on Zoom and she has no excuse to skip them.”
He squeezed my hand as I nodded. I wouldn’t skip them. Dr. Maeve had done me a favor in accepting everything I said and tracking down Christopher. She’d spared both of us worry.
“Be careful, you two,” she said as we left.
When we got to the car, Christopher still had the white SUV. He must have used this one because it was harder to follow.
“Your dad was home. I picked up Ember but didn’t tell him anything about your release. I was angry, and he was pretty sheepish.” We drove out of the lot and headed for home. “I wasn’t sure he was going to give me the cat, but I insisted. You said she could stay, but I’d rather we have her, so we don’t have to go back.”
I squeezed his arm in thanks.
“You must have questions,” he said. “Because I sure as hell do.”
I nodded and held up my phone to show him it was dead.
“That’s okay. I’ll go first, if that’s alright with you.”
It was preferred. I’d been so worried about him. I nodded.
“They had nothing on me, but they weren’t talking at first. They stuck me in a cell and said they’d be back to let me make my phone call, but it took all night. In the morning, they stalled again. It took my lawyer most of the next two days to get access and permission to view the security footage of the Museum. He had to find someone with the authority to have me released, and that seemed harder than it should. Turns out, someone used your missing key card to plant your belongings in my office. The person kept their backs to the camera the whole time, but was too small to be me and was too big to be you. I’m betting it was Eric or someone he hired.”
We were on the mountain and on vacation at the time my card was used.
“We paid for gas and groceries on the way to the cabin, and coffee on the way back with my credit card, placing us far from the scene. I made a fuss about your security card being stolen in your break-in. It was on record with the Museum’s security that you had to have it replaced. They should have deactivated the old one. I’m reporting that in the morning. Once we had that, they had to release me, even if they stalled until this afternoon. They had nothing.”
He stopped at a red light and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel in time to the Foo Fighters’ song on the radio. “Even their so-called fingerprints consisted of a partial, smudged set. My lawyer had them thrown out in a minute. It was easy to show that they could have been transferred from somewhere else. He did a trick with tape as proof.”
He glanced at me. “The whole time, I worried about you on your own. I was afraid that sick bastard would come after you, which was the whole reason he framed me. He wanted me in jail so he could get to you. He’s probably fuming that you ended up out of his reach. I don’t know where Eric lives, or I’d kick his ass.”
Christopher’s knuckles gripped the wheel, and when he turned, he stomped on the brakes.
He glanced at my face. “I won’t do anything stupid. I just hate that asshole. I’ve been angry and unable to show it for days. I kept it bottled up, so I didn’t get in more trouble.”
I could relate. I’d been livid, but also on my best behavior.
“Let me guess,” said Christopher. “You told your family about the time travel and they didn’t believe you.” He rested his hand on my leg.
I looked out the window and blinked back tears. I couldn’t fool Christopher, nor did I want to. I just wanted to get control of my emotions.
“They could have said they didn’t believe you and left it at that.” He sent me a sideways glance. “They didn’t have to have you put in the psych ward. That’s pretty cold.”
