Paradigm (Travelers Series Book 3)

  I’m sure other me is thinking exactly what I’m figuring out right now: how difficult this all must be for Cooper. We share some kind of chemistry, and it’s got to be hard for him to keep coming to all these different realities to try to reach out to me.

  “I get it.”

  You and me both.

  “So, this is goodbye then?”

  “I’m afraid it is.”

  “When will I know it’s time to meet you?”

  I watch as he pulls her into a warm embrace. I turn my back against the wall. I can’t watch them anymore. This is the kind of moment you wait your whole life for and never want to let go. Only it’s their moment in time, not mine.

  “Oh, you’ll know, trust me. When the time comes, you’ll be prepared and ready to join us.”

  I can’t see them anymore, but I have a pretty good idea of what she might be experiencing. I fight to keep my tears from flowing. I lay against the wall doing my best to keep my tears at bay while I listen to the other version of me fight tears of her own.

  “And Etta, no matter what happens, I love you.” At least, this is what I think I hear, as I can tell he’s moved further away from the door.

  He loves me? My body wants to jump out from my hiding spot from the other side of the wall and run out to them both and tell them that I’m here and that I understand now, but my feet stay planted firmly on the ground, like a ton of weights. I know I can’t.

  It’s not my place.

  • • •

  “What the hell was that supposed to accomplish?” I tear into poor Chance as we’re back in his car. I know it’s not his fault, but jeez, he could have taken me to a much more pleasant past instead of the one I just witnessed.

  “Like I said before, this is the moment in time that we thought you’d be the most moved by.”

  Oh, I was moved, all right. But it wasn’t exactly a Hallmark moment. “But what am I supposed to do with this information? Nothing! I can’t go back and change things, can I?”

  “No, but I’m here to make sure you have the opportunity to get back on the right path.”

  Yeah, it figures I can’t change the past. And what about the scene I just witnessed with me and Cooper? There were a lot of emotions going on, and I’m just now beginning to understand my connection to him. Everything makes sense. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what that whole scene was about: we’re in love with each other. That alone scares me more than anything.

  “You still look conflicted. I’m here to answer any questions,” Chance says, now sitting on my couch.

  I’m willing to bet he’d be more comfortable explaining the semantics of traveling than my love life, so I stick to the more neutral topic at hand. Somehow, I get the feeling that if I ask him about my past relationship with Cooper, he’d have no answers for me.

  “Okay. Let’s start with predestination paradox. What’s that?”

  A smile forms on Chance’s face. I was right to assume he’d rather stick to the sciency subjects he was more comfortable in answering. “It is a sequence of events in time travel in which the traveler is caught between a pattern of events that predestines them to go back in time.”

  “Huh?”

  “Let me put it in a way you might be more familiar with. It’s very much like the self-fulfilling prophecy. Everything that is supposed to happen, does, even if we think things are changed. History remains the same, Etta. Nothing really changes because the outcome is destined to work out that way in the end.”

  “So what you’re telling me is, all this is supposed to happen. Me going to my real reality, but then not go to that reality, so that you guys can come here and persuade me that there was a reality, so that I can agree to join your team, thus fulfilling my destiny. Do I have that right?”

  “Yes and no. We’ll never truly know whether this turn of events is what prompted you to become leader of our rebellion, but the end result does not change. In either scenario, or scenario’s as the case may be, you are in our future.”

  “So, the end result is the same,” I repeat back. I still somehow end up in the future, even though I’m struggling on what to make of all this. “How far in the future are we talking about here? Months? Years?”

  He mumbles something I don’t quite catch or understand. Something about accuracy and days.

  Chapter Twelve

  Riding in SUV’s With Boys

  Thornberry Reality 2017

  Etta glanced back at the fleet of Land Rovers Jenny managed to score before looking back at her friend. “Sometimes, I forget I have a sense of humor myself.” She shook her head toward SUV’s sitting before her.

  “Oh, come on, Etta. Everything’s going to turn out fine. You’re here, right? I mean, I see you, so that means everything eventually falls into place. What can go wrong?” Jenny cocked her head to the side, waiting for Etta to respond.

  “Famous last words.”

  “Whatev’s. Look, so you didn’t go back home when you were meant to. These things happen, but you’re here now, which means our little plan to get you back in the right reality worked. Sure, it’s a few years off schedule, but we still have a shot at defeating Thornberry.”

  Etta sighed, as if the fate of the world rested on her shoulders, which on some days she felt wasn’t far from the truth. “I know. I just wish things hadn’t gotten so screwed up.”

  “They didn’t and they don’t. Trust me.”

  Etta looked over to her best friend again and smiled. “Famous last words,” she repeated.

  “You say that as if I’ve let you down.”

  “Never in my wildest imagination would I ever have figured us to be friends. You are certainly a force to be reckoned with, Miss Prado, and I can honestly say that in all the time I’ve known the real you, you have never let me down. I couldn’t have asked for a better friend.”

  “You mean it?”

  “Of course. I’d trust you with my life.”

  There were several Jenny’s running around in various different realities. This particular Jenny was from a reality in which neither of them knew each other until they were brought together to join forces against Thornberry. Perhaps that was why they became friends. No prior history, no conflicting past.

  “Well, good, ‘cuz tomorrow morning… ” Jenny glanced at her wristwatch, “Oh, well in a few hours, I’m off to kidnap you.”

  Etta laughed. “Yeah, I remember that day. But do me a favor, will you? Go easy on me, okay?”

  “I can’t make any promises, but I’ll see what I can do.”

  “Oh, which reminds me, did you really go on a date with Chase the other night?”

  It was the first time Etta had ever see Jenny look sheepish. “Yeah, we did. You’re not mad that we took off in the middle of all this are you?”

  If she had asked yesterday when Etta couldn’t find them, she would have said yes. But after she cooled off, she realized it wasn’t fair to expect everyone to be all-mission every day. She decided Jenny and Chase needed their day of fun.

  Etta burst out laughing again. “No. Considering all we’ve been through, I think it’s great that you guys did something fun on your own.” She looked at Jenny serious for a moment. “You didn’t break any laws, did you?”

  This time, it was Jenny’s turn to laugh. “You’d think, right? But other than the laws of physics and time-travel, no laws were broken.”

  Lord help me, Etta thought. But she did just tell Jenny she’d trust her with her life, and she was sticking to that.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Gentlemen Prefer Brunettes

  Present Reality

  If they gave out prizes for relationships, I’d win Grand Champion as the World’s Worst Girlfriend. I’ve neglected Alex and I feel it’s time to make it up to him, so I call and ask him out to dinner. Not only has it been days since we’ve spent any quality time together, but I feel guilty about going behind his back by talking to Cooper. Yup, worst girlfriend EVER.

  With Alex’s crazy l
aw school schedule, I can’t say he himself hasn’t left me alone on occasion, but he always manages to find ways to make time to be with me, or at the very least, let me know he’s thinking of me, whether it’s an early morning coffee drive-by, or a phone call to let me know he’s thinking of me.

  So it makes me feel even more like a heel when Alex doesn’t say anything about my absentee status the last few days when he picks me up for our date. When we arrive at the restaurant, he promptly pulls my chair out at the table, and extra miles are added to my never-ending guilt trip.

  “Alessandro’s is one of my favorite restaurants. Glad you remembered.” He smiles as he seats himself across from me at the table.

  It’s one of the older restaurants in town, as well as one of the nicer ones. It ain’t cheap, but then, neither is my relationship with Alex. I hope bringing him here will make up for some of the distance I’ve put between us.

  “I know, I know. I haven’t been the best girlfriend lately, and I’m sorry. Forgive me?”

  I may have reservations about our relationship, but I’m determined to make this work between us. There’s too much uncertainty in my life, especially now, and I really want to make solid decisions for myself.

  “You know I’m just messing with you, Etta. Besides, it if it means us coming here by way of an apology, consider yourself forgiven.”

  I breathe a sigh of relief. For what these entrees cost, this is going to set me back almost two paychecks, but Alex seems to be in good spirits, so I hope this makes up for my behavior. That is until our waiter arrives to take our order—I almost choke on my sip of water.

  It’s Cooper dressed up as one of the servers. Is he serious?

  “And how are y’all doing this fine evening? Is the lovely couple ready to order?” He lays his Southern drawl pretty thick, which is kind of funny, since most of the wait staff try to imitate an Italian accent around here.

  “What are you doing here,” I hiss.

  I look to see if Alex notices anything weird, but he seems to be amused by Cooper’s enthusiasm that he doesn’t notice my irritation. He gives the menu another once over before ordering, giving me another opportunity to glower at Cooper.

  “Yeah, I think we’ll start with the Ostriche Freshe al Limone and for the main course, I’ll go with the Bistecca Delmonico. Etta, what are you having?”

  Huh? What did he just order? I took French in high school, not Italian. I glance back at the menu and realize he simply ordered oysters on the half shell and a ribeye. I’m so relieved he didn’t actually order ostrich that I don’t balk at the price of his dinner selection.

  “Uh, what? Oh, right. I guess I’ll have a caesar salad.” I go back to staring at Cooper, still not believing what I’m seeing. What’s he trying to do, sabotage my relationship with Alex, too? I’m trying to start fresh with him and can’t get distracted by my feelings towards Cooper.

  “Excellent choice. Can I offer y’all anything to drink?” he drawls.

  “Water’s fine,” I say.

  “Make mine a Maker’s on the rocks.”

  “Okay, great. I’ll be right back with your drink order.”

  I eye Cooper suspiciously as he makes his way back to the kitchen to place our order. It takes all the willpower I have not follow right behind him and demand to know what he’s doing here, but I’m not going to do anything to ruin this night, especially for Alex.

  I hear Alex mumbling something about the food and I turn my attention back to him.

  “The oysters here are to die for. Maybe we should have something like that at our wedding. You know, like an oyster-shucking table,” he says.

  This time, I actually do choke on my water. Oysters? Wedding? Is he proposing? “Excuse me, what?” I manage to ask between gasps for air. I wanted a fresh start, but I’m not ready to get hitched.

  “God, Etta. You don’t have to look so horrified. I’m just talking. You know, like couples in love are supposed to do?”

  I instantly feel like crap upon seeing the look in his eyes and even worse for allowing my own feelings to show. But my body relaxes as I realize there’s not a proposal on the horizon. At least, not yet. “You just took me by surprise, that’s all. And yeah, it is nice to talk about the future.” Seems like that’s all I’ve been doing lately. And as much as I’m trying to make an effort, I have to wonder if Alex is even a part of that future.

  The evening goes on with Alex talking about our future life together and me tuning him out as I try to figure out what the hell Cooper is doing posing as one of the servers. After taking our orders, he hasn’t reappeared, so I’m just waiting for the moment when he makes his intentions known.

  After awhile, I actually begin to relax and enjoy my date with Alex. I’m not going to let Cooper spoil my night. Dinner conversation is great, as is dinner itself. Alex finally convinces me to try the tiramisu and as I try not to think how much this is going to add to the bill, I cave and agree to the sinful desert.

  But my curiosity finally gets the better of me. I can only allow myself to ignore Cooper for so long before something eventually happens. I know he’s still lurking around here somewhere, so it’s time to nip this in the bud before he decides to come back to our table.

  “I think I’m going to run to the ladies’ room before we head out.”

  By sneaking off to the bathroom, I might be able to find Cooper and find out exactly why he’s followed me here before he has a chance to come back to the table. Another server—a real one this time—has since replaced him, but I can’t take any chances. I can’t believe he’d be so bold as to crash my date with Alex.

  “Sure, I’ll just wait for the check,” Alex says, eating the rest of the desert.

  “Oh, no. I told you. It’s my treat.”

  “Etta, I know you were trying to do a nice thing by taking me out, but I would never have agreed to Alessandro’s if I was going to allow you to pay. I just want to spend time with you.”

  The guilt-ridden road trip continues. “And I want to spend time with you, too.” I take his hand and offer a gentle squeeze. “I’m sorry I was so distant the last couple of days.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Now, go on and I’ll handle the check.”

  Since I don’t really have to go to the bathroom, I pass the ladies' room and head straight to the kitchen, hoping to find Cooper. I know he’s hiding around here somewhere wanting something. I find it hard to believe he’s impersonating a waiter just to get his kicks.

  “Looking for me?”

  I jump back about a foot. Maybe I do have to go to the ladies’—his little blitz attack almost makes me pee my pants! “Jeez, don’t sneak up on me like that!”

  “Sorry, darlin’. Just making it easier for you to find me.”

  “Ugh! What the hell are you doing here anyway? Trying to ruin my night, not to mention my life?”

  Cooper feigned mock surprise. “Who me? Etta, come on. It’s me, Coop. You can’t stand there and tell me you don’t feel that spark between us. Do you really think I’m here to ruin your life?”

  “No, I –”

  And right there in the middle of the hallway, he kisses me. The kind of kiss that sends electric sparks from the tips of your toes all the way to the top of your head. My body begins to generate the type of heat that under other circumstances would normally signal the start of my powers, but this is an altogether different kind of heat. A hungry heat, the kind you want to swallow up whole.

  Surprisingly, Cooper is the first to let go. “Now do you feel anything?”

  “Damn.” That’s all I can come up with. Then reality sinks in. “No, no,” I stammer, trying to convince myself more than him. “You can’t just waltz in here, pretend to be a waiter, and then just kiss me like that.” As much as I enjoyed the kiss—more than enjoyed the kiss, actually—I can’t let him get the better of me. Damn, it was a good kiss. I’m grateful he can’t see the goose bumps under my long sleeve shirt.

  “I’m just trying to give you a glimpse of
your future. Our future.”

  If I could turn back time—and knowing what I know now, I’m sure there’s a way to do that I’m sure—I wish I could totally scrape the word “future” from Webster's Dictionary. I’m sick and tired about hearing about my future, planning for the future, and most of all, waiting for the future.

  I saw what happens to us in the past, thanks to Chance, and I didn’t like what I felt when he abandoned me in that other reality. “And speaking of which, that was pretty clever what you did there.”

  “What?”

  “Sending in your friend to make me believe all this nonsense about alternate realities and being your future leader. You guys make it sound like we’re going into some intergalactic war or something. Having Chance take me to my past and what I had to see? That wasn’t fair.”

  “I promise you, it’s no joke. Etta. You’re the leader of a rebellion, which means you’re smart enough not to fall for any tricks that come your way, and this isn’t one of them. I’ll admit that Chance is my friend, but he’s also yours.”

  I’m still not sold. I singlehandedly lead a rebellion? How in the world is this even possible?

  “I still don’t understand why you’re here, crashing my night.” Good kiss or no kiss, it’s still rude to butt in on another person’s date.

  “I wanted to see how your day with Chance went. Learn anything new?”

  Yeah, that you’re pretty good about abandoning me and how much you being here is ruining my relationship, I answer to myself.

  “Do you really think I’m here to ruin your relationship? Etta, I have better things to do than to worry about you and Alex. Trust me, if I thought he was a threat, I’d do something about it. And just so you know, I’d never intentionally leave you. I’m here now, right? Isn’t that proof enough?”

  It’s like he can read my mind. “And what do you know about my relationship with Alex?”

  Cooper smiles. “I know enough not to be worried.”

  He may not be worried, but I am.