I gently squeezed his hand, wishing I were healthy enough to walk out of this hospital with him right now. But that would come in time, and we would be married and start a life together near my parents. I would write, and together we would start a flying school. “I could not ask for more, either.”
He kissed me again, and this time I put my hands up to his cheeks to hold him closer a little longer.
It would take time to understand all that had happened, but I knew one thing for certain: I would not take this life for granted.
And tomorrow, when I woke up in 1692, I would tell Hope that I had made my final decision. As much as I loved her, my life—my love—was here in 1912.
A new kind of pain pressed against my heart—the pain of saying good-bye.
31
HOPE
OCTOBER 11, 1692
NEW YORK
A rooster crowed somewhere in the fort. It woke me up, but I didn’t want to get out of bed. Not now—maybe not at all today.
Isaac lay behind me, warm and strong, his arms around me. I had slept deeper and longer than ever before, my dreams sweet for the first time since losing 1912.
He must have felt me stirring, because he pulled me closer, nuzzling his face into my neck. A shiver of pleasure ran up my spine, and I let out a happy sigh.
“Do you think Grace would notice if we stayed here all day?” he asked.
I smiled. “I believe she would.”
He groaned. “How many hours until ’tis acceptable for us to go back to bed?”
I laughed and rolled over to face my husband. “Thankfully,the days are growing shorter, so a few seconds earlier than yesterday.”
He joined in my laughter but eventually let me go to get dressed. The smell of frying bacon and something sweet wafted up the ladder, telling me that Grace had been awake for a while. She would never come looking for me, but the longer I stayed upstairs, the more my cheeks would color when I finally made an appearance.
“Take your time,” I told Isaac as I started down the ladder.
Grace was busy at the hearth, turning the bacon on the griddle. There was a lightness in her step as she moved from the hearth to the cupboard to take out the plates.
But it was the smile on her face that stopped me in my tracks.
All thoughts of being embarrassed faded as I stared at my sister. She was happy, glowing, vibrant. Grace had returned to me.
When she finally saw me standing there, her smile grew even more brilliant. “I woke up in 1912!”
“What?” I frowned, stunned. “What do you mean?”
She set the plates on the table and rushed across the room to me. She took my hands in hers. “I was unconscious from the aeroplane crash—I wasn’t dead. Because my body couldn’t wake up there, my conscious mind stayed here. Until yesterday. Mama explained that my brain had swollen but had finally returned to normal, which allowed me to wake up.”
“You didn’t die?” I couldn’t believe it.
“Luc was there when I woke up.” Tears sparkled in her eyes, but they didn’t spill over her cheeks. She was too happy. “He asked me to marry him, Hope.”
My legs felt weak, and I took my hand out of hers to grab the back of a nearby chair. Though I knew she was unhappy, I had thought she would be here with me forever.
Her smile slipped and was replaced by concern. “Do you not think I should marry him?”
My heart broke as I faced the truth. I couldn’t fathom lifewithout Grace. Yet how could I ask her to give up the man she loved? Especially when I had such happiness with Isaac. I could make her choose me—but I didn’t want to force her. God had given us the gift of choice, and it wasn’t my job to withhold it from my sister.
I mustered a smile, though my heart wept. “You must stay with him.”
