Read Get There: (Originally Published in the Print Anthology a RED HOT VALENTINE'S DAY) for Free Online

. . . I gotta get to sleep.”
    “I know you do. Sleep tight, honey.”
    “You, too.”
    Ty thumbed off the phone and turned on his side, facing the empty spot where Edie would have been—and would be, in just another week.
    W e could get there by time machine.
    In it, we could skip the days ahead. Inside, not even minutes would pass. Outside, all the hours keeping us apart would vanish as if they’d never existed. And when we reached our destination, we could take out the key and throw it away and stay there, just like that, while time passed us by and the world moved around us, but we stayed the same.
    I have some bad news. Call me.
    E die’s smile at Ty’s latest addition to their fanciful game faded. Bad news? What bad news? Her finger was already stabbing the numbers on the phone. Whatever it was, it had happened hours ago, before she woke and had time to get onto her computer.
    Outside her door, people carrying boxes and pushing trolleys loaded with more boxes passed. The entire office was abustle with the move, some of the staff packing up entirely and others staying behind. Still more were trying to prep rooms for the incoming group who’d be taking over the space. She’d spent the last four years in this place, with these people. She’d been so focused on getting out of here to be with Ty, she’d been ignoring what she was leaving behind.
    Edie pressed the phone to her ear and turned from the door, not wanting to give in to the sudden waves of melancholy and anxiety. Bad news from Ty was bad enough, without her getting all fertootzed about the move, too.
    He wasn’t answering, and Edie checked the time. Early morning for her, just before lunch for him. Ty worked from home and always had his cell phone with him. Where was he?
    She’d logged in to her instant message program first thing, but his name was grayed out. She typed in a quick message, anyway. He didn’t answer that, either, not even when she buzzed him.
    What could the bad news be? How bad could it be? Her mind whirled with a thousand possibilities, each worse than the last, and Edie cursed her overactive imagination. She tried to focus on the work, instead. Her phone rang as she was halfway through a scene she’d been halfway through for an hour.
    Edie, who’d been looking at the screen but not really seeing the words, flipped open her phone and replied before Ty could even speak. “Are you all right?”
    She could tell she’d caught him by surprise. “I’m fine, babe.”
    It felt as if she’d been holding her breath for an hour, and now it sighed out. “Oh, thank God. I was worried. You’re okay?”
    “I’m fine, really.” Ty’s voice soothed her. “I’m sorry to worry you.”
    “You said you had bad news, and then you didn’t answer the phone, and . . .” Edie took another shallow breath and let it out. “I was just worried.”
    “No. I have good news, too. Not just bad.”
    She could see his face, the half smile and the way his green eyes would crinkle at the corners. Good news, bad news, whatever it was, so long as he was fine. That’s all that mattered.
    “Good news first,” she said.
    “I sold the house.”
    “Whoo-hoo!” Edie punched her fist in the air and spun around in her chair. “That’s not good news, that’s great news!”
    She sobered a little. “What’s the bad news? They didn’t give you what you wanted?”
    “No. Not that. They made a good offer on the house. With everything else going on, it’s enough to cover the realtor’s fees and what I owed. I won’t come out a prince from the deal, but I’ll have some cash in pocket for the trip.”
    “So . . . ?” Edie chewed her bottom lip and stopped her chair spinning.
    “They want to settle next week.”
    Her heart sank, but she tried optimism first. “So . . . you’ll have to leave a day or so later?”
    “I won’t be there for Valentine’s Day, babe.”
    Ty sounded so forlorn she couldn’t be angry with him, but disappointment