Up close, she could see that Rose's face contained a few signs of aging—crow's feet beginning beside her blue eyes, just a hint of slackness at her jawline. A silent message passed between them, and Rose's full lips tightened almost imperceptibly. She dropped her eyes and moved toward the table, but Tess had the feeling this was only the first skirmish.

  "Your father's looking very well, Flower," Tess heard Rose say while she poured the coffee. "A lot better than the first day I saw him after he was able to get back to work. You should have let me know Stone had been bitten by a snake. I would have come right over to help out."

  "Oh, we managed, Mrs. Brown," Flower said. "But thank you for the offer."

  Tess gritted her teeth and mopped up a coffee spill. Just when had that woman seen Stone? He sure as heck hadn't mentioned it to her.

  The paper rustled, and Tess heard Flower's indrawn breath.

  "They're beautiful, Mrs. Brown," Flower said. "Which one is mine?"

  Tess carefully carried a cup of coffee over to the table as she watched Rose pick up a dark pink dress and smooth it over Flower's shoulders.

  "This one, Flower," Rose said. "I thought it would look nice with your pretty hair and skin. I made you two other dresses," she continued, ignoring Tess, who set the coffee cup down in front of her and returned to the stove. "They're everyday dresses, but I don't quite have them finished yet. I'll either bring them over later, or Stone can pick them up."

  "I'm going into the bedroom to try on my dress." Flower scampered from the room, leaving a tense silence behind.

  After a moment Rose cleared her throat. "Uh... would you like to try on your dress? I may need to make some alterations, since I didn't have your exact measurements."

  "I can probably handle any alterations myself," Tess replied. "My grandmother taught me to sew at a fairly young age." She could almost have sworn the glance Rose threw at her was an attempt to measure just how old she was. She took a sip of her coffee and leaned against the counter.

  "If you want." Rose shrugged. "But one of the reasons Stone has me make Flower's clothing is because I have a sewing machine. This winter, when we're not so busy with other things, Stone's supposed to bring Flower over so I can teach her to use it."

  Somehow Tess controlled her impulse to tell Rose Brown that her sewing lessons wouldn't be necessary—that she would teach Flower herself. But she had no earthly idea if she would even be here this winter. She could be, if she wanted to. All she had to do was make the decision to stay and avoid that darned time warp.

  When Tess remained silent, Rose picked up her coffee cup and took a sip. "How is your ankle?" she asked after she set the cup down. "Stone said you'd probably get your cast off in time for the social. There's going to be a dance afterwards, you know, and Stone truly does like to dance."

  Stone said this. Stone said that. Tess mentally gritted her teeth. Didn't this woman have anything to say except what she parroted of someone else's words?

  "My ankle's almost healed," she confirmed flatly. "But thank you for asking. I'm sure it will be in shape for at least some dancing by Saturday night." And more than just some dancing, she thought, because she knew exactly who would fill in as Stone's partner for any dance she was forced to sit out.

  "Well, you really shouldn't overdo it at first," Rose said. "And I'm sure you're going to be glad to have your injury healed, so you can contact your family and let them know you're all right. Stone never did say how you happened to be so far out here all by yourself."

  "You seemed to have had several conversations about me with Stone."

  Rose slipped her a sideways look, making her realize the blonde had avoided her eyes during the entire conversation.

  "Stone and I are the closest neighbors out here," Rose said. "We've always done what we can to help each other out."

  "Tillie Peterson mentioned that," she replied.

  "That witch!" Rose spat. "You'd think she'd have the grace to at least be halfway embarrassed about that convict father of hers planning to come here to live after he gets out of prison. Instead, she acts like she's glad about it."

  "Tillie's father's moving here?"

  "Hasn't Stone told you?" Rose asked. "We were talking about it the other day. Oh, Stone's so stingy sometimes with words. Haven't you noticed that about him?"

  "Not really," she denied, unable to suppress a smirk of satisfaction when Rose's lips tightened in annoyance. "I guess we've just had more important things to talk about than gossip."

  "I see," Rose said thoughtfully. "However, your not being able to visit in town because of your injury probably has kept you from knowing that you and Stone are the major topic of gossip now. I do keep up on things, what with the customers I have coming out to my place to have special dresses made. I really hope Flower doesn't hear any of it at the social. Children can be so cruel to one another when they repeat things they've heard from their parents."

  "Flower's hardly a child."

  "No, she's not, is she?" Rose sipped her coffee. "And it is so important for a young girl to have proper influences in her life. Women's reputations are so fragile. Men don't understand that sometimes, and I'm sure Stone will be devastated if Flower is shunned at the dance because her father is allowing you to stay out here with him."

  A flush crawled up Tess's cheeks. "Spiteful gossips really are bitches, aren't they?" she said in a deadly voice. "I'm sure you wouldn't foster the kind of talk that would cause any harm to Stone's family, since you obviously want me to believe you're such a close friend of his."

  Flower danced back into the room and swirled around. "Look, Tess. Isn't it pretty?" The pink skirt billowed around Flowers ankles, then settled against the floor, the hem just barely touching the pine boards.

  "Very pretty," she had to admit. "And it fits you perfectly."

  "Go try on your dress, Tess."

  "In a little while," she murmured.

  Rose stood up, seeming a little flustered to Tess. "I really must be getting back," she said. "There's so much to do this time of year, and I've got a couple of other dresses to finish for ladies before the social."

  "Aren't you going to stay for supper?" Flower asked.

  "Not this time," Rose said as she walked over to retrieve her hat. "Besides, I promised your father I'd fill his canteen from the well and drop it off on my way home. He said he forgot to do that when he rode in a while ago."

  "You really don't have to trouble yourself," Tess said. "I was going to ride out myself in a few minutes and take Stone and Rain some sandwiches. I can drop off the water, too."

  "Oh, it's no trouble at all." Rose settled her hat on her head and went out the door, calling over her shoulder, "It was nice to meet you, Miss Foster. I guess I'll see you Saturday afternoon."

  By the time Tess managed to limp to the door, Rose had gathered up her reins and was leading her horse toward the well. Tess watched her drop the wooden bucket into the well and crank it back to the top, brimming with cold water. She dipped the canteen in, then draped it over her saddle horn and mounted the sorrel.

  "I wish she wasn't riding in to the social with us," Flower murmured beside her.

  "What do you mean?"

  "Oh, Mrs. Brown said her buggy horse was lame and asked me to tell Pa she'd appreciate a ride in with us. 'Course Pa said sure. We have to help out our neighbors, you know."

  "Doesn't look like there's a thing wrong with that horse to me," she said. She could almost feel her eyes shooting green sparks in the direction of the woman riding out of the ranch yard.

  "That's her riding horse," Flower explained. "It's not trained to pull a buggy."

  "Why don't you want her going in with us?"

  Flower blushed and pulled at her skirt. "I didn't mean to say that I don't like Mrs. Brown," she said, ducking her head. "I mean, she made this pretty dress for me and all. It's just... well, it would have been nice for just the four of us to go in together."

  "Yes, it would have," she murmured. It would be nicer yet if they could go as a family to lots more Saturday socials—and to church together every Sunday.

  As Flower walked back into the house, Tess gripped her hands into fists until her nails bit into her palms. No wonder Stone had stormed away from her a while ago. Because he cared for her, he battled this day-to-day uncertainty, too, and her indecisiveness kept their emotions stirred up. He was obviously getting tired of discussing the situation with her—"beating a dead horse," as her granny would've said.

  But how could she walk away from her other life without giving it a lot of deep thought? All her training in law school had been geared to weighing the pros and cons of each and every decision. She was almost at the height of her career, almost able to walk into a roomful of stuffy lawyers in nearly identical, pin-striped suits and be accepted for her worth as an attorney. Her name was already near the top of the list for the most client billable hours in the firm—a necessity for her to be considered in line for a coveted partnership.

  And what about the case she was working on? And did she really care, since her ex-fiancé probably deserved whatever happened to him?

  Robert had made his own problems by trying to circumvent the law, even though the case law research she had turned up mitigated him somewhat. However, there were other, fully capable attorneys in the firm who could take her research and mediate the case to conclusion. Shoot, they could probably take the brief she had slaved over for two weeks and win a judgment.

  She was proud of her abilities in the legal field—and justifiably so, she told herself. She'd worked her fanny off, and it would leave a large hole in her life to give up all she had accomplished.

  Tess frowned as she recalled Stone's dictatorial attitude when he informed her flatly that she wouldn't be allowed to look for a job. Not be allowed, hah! Well, she'd see about that. Granny had seemed satisfied canning and cooking all her life. But Granny had never left the West Virginia mountains in her life; never felt the gratification of proving her mind could match any man's when it came to logical deductions and detailed thinking.

  Where would her mind grow here, she wondered. Granted, she thoroughly enjoyed helping Flower keep house and feed Stone and Rain after a hard day's work, even though the lack of conveniences made cooking a time-consuming chore. And she enjoyed teaching the children, which freed Stone to have more time for the ranch work.

  Would that be enough for her? Or would she soon find her mind stagnating, yearning for a challenge?

  She'd bet Rose Brown never worried about having an intelligent conversation with another adult. Rose seemed perfectly happy echoing thoughts planted in her mind by a man.

  Trouble was, that man was Stone.

  "Gosh darn it, Angie," Michael grumbled. "How are we supposed to know what to do if we don't know what's going to happen? Huh? I mean, if Tess decides to go back to her own time, maybe Stone would be better off with Rose."

  "Bite your tongue! That shallow-minded woman would bore Stone to death in a month. There's a darn sight more to a relationship between a man and a woman than a man having a woman around to keep his stomach full and his clothes clean."

  "I know that, blast it. But at least having someone to do that would be a help. And Rose seems to like the kids."

  "Oh, for pity's sake. Now you're sounding like some of the human males on earth. Show them a halfway pretty face and they can't see beneath the surface. Rose is kind to Flower because she wants to get to Stone through her. She's been working on Stone ever since her husband died."

  "Well, they've both been alone out here. What would make more sense than them teaming up together? If Tess hadn't come into the picture..."

  "She did come into the picture," Angela interrupted with a stamp of her foot. "And you're the one who put her here, with your lack of concentration and that sneeze. She slipped through that time warp before I could act. Now you just stick to your assignment and protect Tess from danger. Don't you dare try to interfere in her love life."

  He glared at Angela. "If someone had interfered a year ago, she wouldn't have gotten mixed up with that idiot who broke her heart. And I'm getting mighty sick of you ordering me around."

  "It was Tess's own decision to get involved with Robert, and she grew from the experience," Angela yelled, plopping her fists on her hips and jutting out her chin. "It made her able to appreciate a man like Stone. And I wouldn't have to order you around if you'd remember what the rules are!"

  "Rules, schmules! I know what the rules are and I'm not about to break any of them. But that doesn't mean I don't have my own opinions about things. I reckon I've got an interest in this, too, since, as you so superior-than-thou-ly keep throwing up to me, it's my fault Tess is even here. You'll probably be reminding me a thousand years from now that I was the one responsible for Stone's heartache if Tess decides to go back to 1994."

  "So you figure it might ease your guilty conscience if Stone at least has Rose to step into Tess's place, huh?"

  "Maybe," he shot back. "But let me tell you this, Angie, baby. I'm not convinced that I'm entirely at fault for Tess's tumble through time. You're my backup while I learn this business, and you didn't jump in fast enough on that mountain!"

  "Me? You're the one who messed up!"

  "Did not!" he snapped.

  "Did, too!" Angela stomped to the edge of the cloud and turned her back on him, crossing her arms over her chest, her wings fluttering in agitation.

  Tess gave up looking for the two birds she could have sworn she heard chittering overhead as they fought to drive one another from the space each considered its own territory. She had watched those aerial sparring matches many times on her backpacking trips. Always before, though, she'd had no trouble locating the feathered combatants. Good grief! Surely all those long hours poring over fine-printed legal contracts couldn't have already strained her eyes to the point where she needed glasses at age thirty!

  Twenty-One

  Tess's fingers flew, and she blessed Granny with every stitch. The hours she'd spent learning to sew when she would rather have been roaming the mountain meadows now seemed well worth the effort.

  She should have tried on that darned dress before this morning, but it had given her a distasteful feeling in her mouth each time she looked at it. She had to wear it today, but she'd be darned if she was going to look like the prune-faced spinster Rose had evidently had in mind when she designed that high-necked, tight-bodiced piece of trash.

  Luckily, Rose hadn't bothered to trim off the excess material on the blouse seams. Probably she hadn't anticipated in her mislaid plan that Tess would be handy with a needle.

  She snugged a final stitch and anchored the thread before she bit it off. Then she stuck the needle in the pincushion beside her on the bed, held up the dress, and studied it thoughtfully.

  The color was fine—a pale ivory that would set off the tan she had acquired on her frequent rides around the ranch. But she had almost choked when she tried to fasten the top button, and forget about flattening her breasts enough to pull the bodice together. She wasn't about to put up with those long, tight sleeves, either.

  She shook the dress, and the lace-edged red ruffle settled back into place around the altered scoop neckline. Her spare teddy lay beside the pincushion, denuded of its beige lace and elastic, and only scraps remained of the red blouse she had worn the morning she arrived in Keene Valley. She had even covered her leather belt in red to match the ruffle. It would highlight her slender waist, especially since she had taken a nip and tuck or two in the waist gathers.

  Capped sleeves now poofed out from the wide neckline, and she had only to press out the crease where she had let down the too-short hem. She thought longingly of the gold and red sandals in the closet of her apartment, but at least the long dress would hide her Reeboks—the only footwear she owned now, except for her hiking boots.

  "Oh, let me see what you've done, Tess," Flower said from the doorway.

  Tess smiled at her and shifted the dress around so Flower could see the front. "Do you think it looks all right, honey?"

  "It's gorgeous," Flower replied. "And I'll tell you a secret, if you promise not to let on to Pa that you already know. I talked him into it, but it wasn't very hard."

  "And what could that be?"

  "I'm going to run over to the general store while Dr. Calder takes your cast off and find you a pair of dancing slippers. I just need to measure your other shoes to see what size to get."

  "That's not necessary, Flower. No one will see my shoes under this dress."

  "Sure they will. Why, ladies get swung around a lot, especially later on in the evening, after the men have slipped outside a few times."

  "Slipped outside? To get a drink, I guess."

  "Uh-huh. We always pretend we don't know. But it's kind of hard sometimes not to wrinkle up our noses when we smell their breath."

  "I better practice then, huh?" Tess turned her head sideways and pursed her lips, aiming her nose up an inch.

  Flower giggled and imitated Tess for a second, until they both broke into laughter.

  "You might as well drop Rose off at the picnic grounds, Stone," Tess said several hours later as the wagon entered the small town. "I'm sure she would rather visit with people instead of waiting around for us at the doctor's office."

  "Oh, I don't mind a bit," Rose demurred. "I can keep Stone company."

  "That's not necessary," Tess replied, shifting a half inch closer to Stone on the wagon seat and cupping her hand beneath his elbow. "I'm sure the doctor won't mind if Stone comes in and holds my hand."

  She smirked at Rose, who had sat on the far edge of the wagon seat on the ride to town. Tess had plopped herself in the middle, assuring that Stone would be on one side or the other of her, separated from Rose. She hadn't missed the look of consternation on Rose's face when Stone escorted her from her small cabin an hour or so earlier.