Time Will Tell

Time Will Tell Part 11

Thankfully, when Libby made it back to the small house, no one but Nathan paid her any attention. At first she was nervous. After all, she’d been gone in the future for several weeks, but it was obvious no more than an hour had passed here.

Nathan ran up to her and grabbed her hand. “Libby, I’ve finished my chores. Do you want to play checkers before bed?”

Smiling at his eagerness, Libby let him lead her to the table. “I guess I could play one game.”

“Great. What color do you want to be?”

“Hmmm.” She stroked her chin, appearing deep in thought. “Black. I need to warn you, I’m pretty good at this.”

Nathan giggled. “So am I.”

Once Libby sat, he went over to a cabinet and retrieved a checkerboard and a cup that held carved round wood pieces painted either red or black. As Nathan laid the board on the table and proceeded to place the pieces on the checkerboard in the appropriate spaces, Libby wondered how to go about getting her hands on Colin’s deed. It wasn’t as if she was experienced in this type of thing.

“Since yer my frien’, you can go first,” he said, looking up at her.

His smile was so engaging that Libby was drawn out of her thoughts. Tomorrow was soon enough to figure out how to be a thief. “OK. Prepare to be beaten.” She moved her piece one space and the game began.

“King me,” he said, jumping two of her pieces and landing at the end square.

Libby grunted and did as he asked. The little guy played a lot of checkers. She’d always thought it was a simple game requiring a basic skill, but Nathan seemed to have a strategy. Within the next five minutes, he soundly beat her. She stared at the board in awe, unable to believe a ten-year-old boy had trounced her so quickly.

“Best two out of three,” she said, while setting up the board again for another round. “And this time, I’m putting on my boxing gloves. No more Mr. Nice Guy. You are clearly a worthy opponent.”

Nathan laughed, clearly pleased by her praise of his abilities. The second game took fifteen minutes longer, but the outcome was no different than the first game. Nathan emerged the winner. When that happened, Libby eyed him speculatively. “I think I’ve been hustled.”

Chuckling, Gus came into the room and walked toward the gas wall sconce as Berta followed, only to disappear into the kitchen. “Nathan’s been playing checkers since he was in nappies,” he said, turning out the flame. “He loves the game and he hates to lose.” He moved to the other one across the room. “It’s a good thing you lost. Otherwise, he’d never let you walk away from the table until he won. Come on, it’s time for bed. We all have a long day tomorrow. You can try for a win tomorrow night, Libby.”

“I guess I am pretty tired.” She got up from the table. Near Nathan’s chair, she placed her hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “Come on, friend. I’ll have to work on my strategy.”

By the time she and Nathan were nestled in their beds, a little over an hour had passed since Libby was transported back in time. She wasn’t tired at all. Then she remembered it was afternoon when she had left the future. She mused that she was probably suffering from a time zone change of sorts.

Lying there, she could only marvel at how similar this experience was to the last time she was here.

This entire process no longer frightened her. Now it seemed like an adventure or quest she had to conquer before she could go home for good. Until then, she planned to enjoy her visit here in the past. After all, everything about this farm was worth the trip—the people, the horses, and the land. Sighing, Libby brought her arm around and put it under her head. Everything would work out in the end. Somehow she just had to believe that it would.