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“We’ll call an ambulance right away, dear. The medics will help you.”
“What is an ambulance?” Simon’s voice was fading again.
“It’s a big car with flashing lights that takes people with serious injuries to doctors who can heal them.”
His answering smile was faint, but it was there. Isla’s heart felt like it might burst. She leaned over and softly kissed his forehead. “Come with me,” she whispered. “And when you are well again, I will teach you to drive a car.”
“I would like that more than I can say,” he murmured.
“You have only to walk through the door,” she said.
He turned his head until he could see the exit. “That door?”
“Yes. Mrs. McQuivey and I will help you.”
“To enter the future, never to return?”
She nodded. It was a prospect they’d never considered. And it was a lot to ask.
He managed a crooked smile. “Martha would miss me terribly.”
An ache filled Isla’s chest. Martha was probably going to lose him no matter what he decided. “She would.”
“Almost . . .” He winced and pressed his hand to his wound. “Almost as much as I would miss her.”
Isla battled a new rush of fear. “Simon?”
He moaned, but when he looked up, fresh determination filled his eyes. “Martha . . . she belongs with Maidstone and the boys, Isla. And no matter what century it may be, I belong with you.” He reached for her. “I wish to go.”
With tears blurring her vision, Isla took his hand. “Hurry, Mrs. McQuivey!”
The older lady set the Wendy dress on the table beside a small bundle of food, and then returned to Simon’s side. Sliding one arm beneath his back, she took ahold of his left arm with her other hand. Isla mirrored her position on Simon’s right.
“On the count of three,” Isla said.
Mrs. McQuivey did her part with extraordinary ability. And though Simon groaned in agony and beads of sweat appeared along his forehead, he staggered to his feet.
“One moment,” he gasped, struggling for balance.
Isla waited, her heart pounding. “Only a few more steps. Can you manage it?”
“Yes.” He lowered his head, his breathing labored.
“Take your time, young man,” Mrs. McQuivey said, her hazel eyes twinkling in the lantern light. “We all have as much of that as you need.”
“I thank you.” Simon exhaled, raising his head again.
Isla looked at him. Was he truly prepared for what lay ahead?
As if he could read her mind, he leaned forward and brushed her cheek with his lips. “I shall be with you, Isla. I will be okay.”
“My kind of okay does not involve horses,” she warned.
“So you have told me,” he said, his pained expression filled with hope and love. “But I am ready to experience it.”
Epilogue
Two Years Later
