Time Will Tell

Time Will Tell part 16

Thoughts of having Libby as he wanted, wrapped in his arms and intertwined in his life forever, swam around in Colin’s brain. He inhaled much-needed air in an attempt to regain his wits.

For more than a moment, kissing Libby’s sweet lips had been the most pressing thing on his mind. Doing so might spoil their relationship, and he wasn’t fool enough to risk that. He enjoyed her company too much. She had a way of cutting to the quick of things. Sometimes he even said things just to see her reaction.

“Elizabeth?” he said, eyeing her intently and pushing his daydreams away. “I thought your name was Liberty.”

Libby’s grin spread. “I lied.”

He quirked a brow. “You lied?” Libby had to be older than he’d first thought. She acted like a grown woman, although he’d never known one to be so forthright. A most refreshing idiosyncrasy. If all the women of her century were so inclined, it offered plenty to contemplate.

“I had to improvise when Gus asked. I thought it a decent save. I’m supposed to be a boy, you know. Telling him my name was Elizabeth would have given away the game.”

“Elizabeth,” he repeated, holding on to his smile over her brazen attitude. “I like it. It suits you.” He studied her face. “Of course, Libby suits you too. I bet you have two sides. Libby is the woman-child who flies through time. Elizabeth marries Dr. Bull.” Colin had to remember her time in his century was limited. Intuition told him that she would never be truly happy here. As much as he’d love to pursue a lasting relationship, he refused to be the cause of anyone’s unhappiness ever again.

“Maybe,” Libby said laughing, the sound zinging its way from his ears to his groin. She leaned on her forearms and looked up at the sky. Colin did the same. Billowy white clouds drifted overhead.

“It’s so peaceful here,” she said.

Colin nodded. “This is my favorite spot.” Sighing, he lifted higher on his elbows and, lost in thought, stared out at the green landscape that went on forever.

“Tell me about your wife,” Libby asked after minutes of silence. “What was she like?”

“Why do you want to know about Abby?” He broke off a blade of grass and twirled it in his fingers, studying the texture.

“I don’t know.” Her voice, soft as a whisper, tugged on his conscience. “It just seems that thinking of her makes you sad. I’d venture to say that if you didn’t love her, her death wouldn’t affect you so much.”

He focused on the distant meadows and thought about what she was asking and how to answer her honestly. “Guilt,” he murmured, breaking another long pause.

“Guilt?” The question hung in the air.

“You say thinking of her makes me sad? Well, the thought that I was the cause of her unhappiness during our marriage eats away at me.” His voice sounded as unsteady as he felt.

She hesitated a moment, then reached for his hand, covering it with her own. The contact was warm as well as soothing, easing the constricting band around his heart.

“You told me the first night we talked that she hated the farm.” When he nodded, Libby shook her head. “Surely you know that you aren’t responsible for another’s happiness or unhappiness.”

“I took her away from everything she loved. And for that she never forgave me. Our life together was strained after we moved here. I tried to please her,” he said almost desperately, watching a squirrel running for cover and wishing he could be as unencumbered. Glancing at Libby and noting the compassion in her eyes, he swallowed hard and struggled to keep the pain filling his soul from showing in his expression. “I did everything I could think of. Took her into Louisville for the social life she missed in Virginia. Sought to placate her by building her a modern house and buying her clothes in the latest fashion that she claimed to want. No matter what I did, it wasn’t enough to make it up to her.”