Time and Again

smell it as easily as the woodsmoke. "All right." She looked from Libby's rigid back to Jacob's stony face without any idea who she should go to. "Would either of you like to tell me what's going on?"
    "Hey, Libby, if that was that sexy sister of yours, I want to tell her-"
    Barefoot, his sweatshirt torn, Cal strode in from the kitchen. Everyone turned toward him. It was like a slow, deliberate ballet. His easy grin froze. All motion stopped.
    "J.T." His voice was hardly more than a whisper as joy and disbelief flooded through him. "J.T.," he said again. Then, with a whoop, he was across the room, grabbing his brother in a hard hug. "Oh, God, Jacob! It's really you!"
    Libby watched them until tears blurred her vision and she turned away.
    Sunny beamed. The two brothers held each other in a fierce embrace. She could see the emotions run over Jacob's face and found them beautiful.
    "I can't believe it," Cal murmured, pulling his brother back to study, to devour, his face. "You're really here. How?"
    He kept his hands on Cal's arms, needing the simple and tangible contact. "The same way as you, but with more finesse. You look good." Somehow he'd expected to find Cal pale and thin and tired from coping with the twentieth century. Instead, his brother was tanned, alert and obviously happy.
    "You, too." His smile faded a bit. "Mom? Dad?"
    "They're fine."
    Cal nodded. It was a hurt he had learned to live with. "You got my message. I couldn't be sure."
    "We received it," Jacob said dully.
    "You've met Libby, then." Regret vanished. Turning, he held a hand out for his wife. She didn't move.
    "We've met." Jacob inclined his head and waited. She could take the first step.
    "You'll both have a lot to talk about." Using every ounce of effort, she managed to keep her voice steady.
    "Libby." Her name was a murmur as Cal crossed to her. He laid a hand on her cheek until she lifted her eyes to his. He saw the love and the fear in them. "Don't."
    "I'm fine." Calling up more strength, she squeezed his hand. "I have some things to do upstairs. You two should catch up." She shifted her glance to Jacob. "I know you've missed each other."
    Turning, she fled up the stairs.
    Sunny shifted her gaze from her sister's retreating back to Cal's unsmiling face and then to Jacob's angry eyes. "What the hell is going on here?"
    "Go up with her, will you?" Cal laid a hand on her shoulder but continued to look after his wife. "I don't want her to be alone."
    "All right." She could already see, just by looking at the two of them, that she'd get no explanations here.
    She'd damn well get one from Libby.
    Cal waited until Sunny had climbed the stairs. Facing his brother again, he recognized the fury, the passion, and the hurt in him. "We have to talk."
    "Yes."
    "Not here." He thought of his wife.
    "No." Jacob thought of Sunny. "We'll go to my ship."
    Sunny paused outside the bedroom door. Taking a deep breath, she pushed it open. Libby sat on the edge of the bed, hands folded. There were no tears. Tears would have been less heartbreaking than the despair on her face.
    "Honey, what is it?"
    Libby felt as though she were in a dream. Looking up, she focused on the reality of her sister. "How long has he been here?"
    "About three weeks." Sunny sat on the bed to take Libby's hand in hers. "Talk to me. I thought you'd be happy to finally meet Cal's brother."
    "I am-for him." Hoping that much was true, she pressed a hand to her jittery stomach. "Did he explain to you why he's here? Where he's from?"
    "Of course." Puzzled, Sunny gave her a little shake. "Come on, Libby, snap out of it. J.T.'s a little rough around the edges, but he isn't a monster. He's just concerned about Cal, and maybe a little hurt that he chose you and settled here."
    "Oh, God." Unable to sit, Libby rose to pace to the window. She heard the hum of an engine and saw the Land Rover disappear into the forest. "I would have let him go," she said quietly, and closed her eyes.
    "Back then I was prepared to. I couldn't have asked him to give up his family, his life. But now I can't let him go. I won't."
    "Where would he go?"
    Libby rested her head on the cool glass of the window. "Back." She laughed a little. "Forward. Jacob must have told you how impossibly complicated it all is."
    Rising, Sunny walked over to lay her hands on Libby's shoulders. They were taut, like bundles of wire.
    Automatically she worked to relax them. "Cal's a grown man, Libby, and staying here was his choice.
    J.T.'s just