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“How long were you there?”
     
    “Two days.”
     
    “Man, the kid didn’t waste any time.”
     
    I shook my head. “You know what, he is stupid!”
     
    I pulled away, letting myself slump against the car seat. Nate drummed his fingers on the dash.
     
    “There must be a way to trigger you, to set off a trip,” he said. He gave me a long look. “And you’d better be touching me when it happens.”
     
    I almost cried then. I was so happy to have Nate, that he knew about this side to my life, and that he was good with it. That he wanted to help, even if it meant going back to the nineteenth century with me.
     
    “I was so stressed when I returned without him; I thought for sure I’d just shoot right back. But come to think of it, I’ve never had a back-to-back trip. Still, time keeps marching on there, you know? We have to figure out a way to get back, and soon.”
     
    Speaking about time passing quickly, suddenly Mom was calling me in for supper. When she saw Nate, she invited him to come in, too.
     
    He hedged but I begged him.
     
    “Please?” I grabbed his thigh. “I need your moral support when my parents go off about Tim. How am I going to explain why he doesn’t show? They know he wouldn’t leave without his car.”
     
    Nate’s eyes fell to my hand gripping his leg.
     
    “Okay, I’ll come.”
     
    I let him go, vowing to stop acting like a crazy person.
     
    “Thanks,” I breathed out slowly.
     
    I let out a long sigh as we headed for the front door, already knowing how this day would play out. The police would be called by the end of the night.
     

 
     
    Chapter Seven
     
    TIM
     
     
     
     
     
    “Whoa, just whoa....” I sprung to my feet sending a cloud of hay dust through the air.
     
    Josie straightened her skirt, and fussed with her hair. “Where’d your sister go?”
     
    I rushed to the rail, scanning the barn floor and wondering if Casey fell off the ladder. But somehow my gut told me it was much worse than that. I went to the loft window and searched the yard, hoping in vain she’d be running across it for some reason.
     
    Nope. Just a few playful Watson kids.
     
    I hadn’t imagined it. It really happened. Casey just vanished before my eyes. I laced my fingers behind my head and let out a long sigh.
     
    “Man, bad luck.”
     
    Josie scurried up beside me. “Oh, my goodness! She’s not going to tell Sara or my mother, is she?”
     
    “No,” I said slowly. “We won’t have to worry about that.”
     
    It hit me that maybe I’d been just a little too reckless. Josie was cute and everything but not worth getting left behind a hundred and fifty years in the past for. I’d messed up pretty bad. I suddenly felt light-headed. I needed to lie down, process what had just happened.
     
    “Hey, Josie,” I said. She frowned. I didn’t think she liked it when I called her that, but she didn’t tell me to stop.
     
    “I think I’m going to go clean up for supper.”
     
    “Yes, you are right. I must make leave of you as well.” She blushed when she said it, and I couldn’t stop myself from brushing a loose strand of hair from her face. This set off an adorable giggle.
     
    I let her go down the ladder first.
     
    “I’ll see you soon,” I said, then I jumped the last few rungs to the floor.
     
    Her eyes widened with concern. “You’ll talk to your sister?”
     
    “Yeah, she’ll be cool.”
     
    Josie’s face went blank. “She’s cold? Should I provide another blanket?”
     
    “No, I mean, she’ll understand.”
     
    Back in the cabin I fell on to the hard cot, groaning along with the creak of the worn out springs. I slipped my hands behind my head, stared at the wood-beam ceiling, and focused on a few deep, long breaths. Everything would be okay. Casey would come back for me. I just needed to bide my time, wait it out. And, at least I had Josie to keep me company.
     
    If I hadn’t been so famished, I would’ve skipped supper altogether just to