“You need to listen to me and leave.”
I’d had so many questions for her since I discovered she was a time-crosser, but none of them came to mind as I stared in surprise.
“Go home,” she said.
“But I need that book. I need to see how history plays out. Are Sam and I supposed to die on November 3rd?”
“You don’t need to worry about that.”
“I do.” Panic clawed at my heart. “My twenty-fifth birthday is November 2nd, and if I give up this path and need to change history to save Sam in the other one, I will forfeit that path, as well.”
“Trust me when I tell you”—she dipped her chin, staring at me with her wide blue eyes—“you do not need to worry about it, Ally.” She glanced over her shoulder quickly before asking, “How is Johnnie?”
“He misses you.” I let out a breath. “But he started speaking again yesterday.”
She closed her eyes with relief, but it was quickly followed by grief. “I miss him with every breath I take.”
“Why did you leave him?”
“I had no choice. He either lost me and kept Sam, or he lost both of us.”
“I spoke to Cole. I know that you changed history by promising to meet him at the dock.”
She frowned. “Was it you who spoke to him? History has changed twice now, and I wasn’t sure why.”
“Do you mean the movieGold Rush!?”
“Yes. Last year, I was living in New York when the first version of it came out. That was when I learned that I was going to die, and Sam was going to hang for my death. I couldn’t believe it was true, especially because it made Cole look like the hero, when I knew differently.” She swallowed her emotions. “I don’t know what Sam has told you about mine and Cole’s relationship.”
“Very little.”
“Cole was a good man when he first arrived in San Francisco, but he soon got caught up with English Jim, and he gave in to all the vices the city had to offer. For whatever reason, he set his sights on me, and I enjoyed his attention, but I was never interested in a romantic relationship. One night, he caught me off guard and took things too far—” She pressed her lips together. “Sam almost killed him when he found out.”
Sam had said that Cole had taken advantage of her but hadn’t told me how far it had gone.
She shook her head, as if wanting to clear her thoughts. “I tried to research in New York, but I could find nothing, so we came out here to see what we could learn.”
“We?”
“My husband and me. When we came to California, it took us a while to learn the truth, but eventually we discovered the real history. Cole was supposed to come to me again that night, and when Sam found him, Cole would set his hotel on fire. According to history, I tried to put out the fire, to save our hotel and restaurant, and was overcome by the smoke and died.” Pain sliced across her face. “Somehow, Cole convinced everyone that Sam had been the culprit. I couldn’t let that happen.”
“The day I walked in on you and him in the kitchen, you offered to run away with him instead and changed history.”
“Things did change,” Bess said. “But then, one day, I woke up and realized there was a new version ofGoldRush!, and Cole had gone on to write other novels.”
I frowned. “My mama told me that only people who exist in both times know when something changed. How did you know, if you were only here?”
“Somehow I remember both versions of history.” She shrugged.
“I encouraged Cole to leave San Francisco. He was torn up over your death, and I didn’t want to see him throw his life away with English Jim.”
“I’m surprised he listened.” She frowned. “When did you realize I was a time-crosser?”
“When I prepared your body for burial.”
She nodded. “I realized you were a time-crosser from the moment you entered the hotel the day you arrived. I recognized you from your movies. I was still here in 1929, so I did a little research the next day and confirmed it was you.” Her eyes were filled with tears when she said, “After I changed things, I needed to know how it would all play out. I went to the library on Hollywood Boulevard and foundThe Annals ofSan Franciscoand realized that you and Sam would fall in love.” Her smile was sad as she wiped a tear that slipped down her cheek. “I don’t blame you. I loved him, too. But after what happened with Johnnie’s father—his brother—I knew I could never have Sam.”
“He told me what happened.”
