I took a step toward him, not wanting him to think I was a monster. I had to swallow my astonishment and try to breathe. “No one has ever guessed the truth.”
We stared at each other, and then he finally came to me, putting his hands on my arms, as if anchoring himself to meto make sure I was real. “How is it possible, Maggie? How does it work?”
I swallowed hard, surprised he had figured it out—and even more surprised that he believed me when I said it was true. Would he believe me when I told him the details? “I was born with this gift. My parents in 1941 have the same gift—”
“1941?” He put his hands to his head and lowered his voice. “You live in 1941?”
“I also lived in 2001, until a month ago.”
“2001?” Gray kept his hands at the back of his neck, staring at me in complete and utter amazement. “That’s a hundred and forty years from now. You know what’s going to happen in a hundred and forty years?”
I nodded, knowing what his next question would be.
“You know how this war will end?”
“I do, but I cannot tell you anything about the future. Please don’t ask.”
He turned from me, his hands still on his neck, and paced. Suddenly, he looked back and said, “What do you mean you lived in 2001 until a month ago?”
We had come this far, and I knew he’d never let me rest until he knew it all. “Let me start from the beginning.”
My legs felt weak, so I sat on a pile of crates in the nearby alley. I told him about Mama and Daddy and how they each bore a mark that sent them through time and space—the ones I had inherited. I told him all about each of my families and each of the paths I had occupied.
The entire time, he paced, asking questions, making comments, and staring at me whenever it was too much to believe.
When I was done, he didn’t say anything for a long time. I wanted to know what he was thinking, but I didn’t want to push him. I’d just given him the surprise of his life, and it was a miracle that he even believed me.
Finally, he stopped pacing and sat next to me on another pileof crates. We looked at each other for a long time before he took my hand in his. “I knew the truth would be remarkable. I just had no idea how remarkable.”
I threw my arms around him and pressed close to him in a hug. “Thank you for believing me. I didn’t realize until now how much I wanted you to know.”
He hugged me back, holding me with the same tenderness that he had in my parlor.
“Maggie, I admire you for sacrificing your dream to be a doctor in 1941 for your sister.”
I smiled as I pulled away from his embrace. Out of everything I’d told him, that was what he had focused on? “I would do anything for Anna.”
“Just as you’d do anything for your father here.” He shook his head. “You are living an amazing existence.” He frowned, as if a new thought had struck him. “You said your marked parents only live in 1941 now, and they no longer live in the 1700s. Did they die there too, like you did in 2001?”
“Yes. My father was hanged as a spy in the American Revolution, and my mother forfeited her life there trying to save his.”
“Forfeited?” His frown deepened.
I swallowed and looked down at my hands, wishing I didn’t have to tell him the next part. “I am only given until my twenty-first birthday to choose which path I want to keep and which path I want to forfeit forever.”
He sat up straighter. “You have to give up one of your lives on your twenty-first birthday?”
I nodded. “On January first, I must decide. If I choose my life in 1941, my body here will die—and vice versa.”
Gray shook his head, almost in denial. I could already see him putting the pieces together. “Your marked parents and your sister and your work with the navy are in 1941.”
“But I have Papa in this path, and my work with the militaryhospital, and my desire to help the Union.” I paused, my heart pounding harder. “And you.”
Gray studied me in the dim light, astonishment in his eyes. “You would list me among your reasons for choosing 1861?”
“May I?”
He touched my cheek, his hand gentle. “I hope I would be a reason for you to stay, Maggie.”
