The Past's Promise

By Linda Mooney and Carolyn Gregg

She found the ultimate love of her life in another time...and as a man.

Jessie Wharton is a teacher in the twenty-first century. Or at least she was.

Taking her history class to visit the ruins of a historic fort in west Texas, the scorching heat turned her world upside down.

Suddenly, nothing was the way it was supposed to be. She was no longer Jessie Wharton. She was Jesse Webster. She wasn't a teacher. She was a private in the US Army stationed at Fort Callaghan, a completely functional outpost. And it was 1867.

Worse, she wasn't a she any longer. She was a man. A man who was finding himself falling in love with a fellow soldier named Martin Parrish.

Together, they discovered love in the scorching Texas heat, in a time when the merest breath of homosexuality was enough to have the accused whipped to death...if the native Indians didn't scalp them first.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Linda Mooney
• Release date: Nov 6, 2014
• ISBN: 9781941321294

Linda Mooney

Linda loves to write sensuously erotic romance with a fantasy, paranormal, or science fiction flair. Her technique is often described as being as visual as a motion picture or graphic novel. A wife, mother, grandmother, and retired Kindergarten and music teacher, she lives in a small south Texas town near the Gulf coast where she delves into other worlds filled with daring exploits, adventure, and intense love. She has numerous best sellers, including 10 consecutive #1s. In 2009, she was named Whiskey Creek Press Torrid's Author of the Year, and her book My Strength, My Power, My Love was named the 2009 WCPT Book of the Year. In 2011, her book Lord of Thunder was named the Epic Ebook "Eppie" Award Winner for Best Erotic Sci-Fi Romance. In addition, she write naughty erotic romances under the name of Carolyn Gregg, and horror under the pseudonym of Gail Smith. For more information about Linda Mooney books and titles, and to sign up for her newsletter, please visit her website. http://www.LindaMooney.com

Book preview

Chapter One

The thermometer on the post read one hundred eight degrees. And the post was in the shade.

Jessie Wharton collapsed on the bench on the office's narrow porch and tried to fan herself with her straw hat. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to schedule the history class' field trip in May, at the end of the school year. But, to be honest, she'd forgotten all about scheduling it until her student teacher commented about it during lunch one day.

Hey, didn't you say we were going on a field trip to Fort Callaghan?

Jess stared at the young intern. Her mind was moving sluggishly that day, what with the state tests coming up in a couple of weeks. She was low on sleep and lower on energy. Oh, crap. I was supposed to make the arrangements before the end of March, wasn't I?

However, when she approached her administrator and checked the calendar, there were still a few days that hadn't been blacked out. By sheer luck, the third Tuesday in May was still available, long after the testing dates. It would be the perfect time to take her class to the historic site. Get away from the books. Look history in the mouth, as she liked to think of it. Be where it actually took place. Touch the rocks and artifacts that were present when the past took shape.

It had been by sheer accident that she'd found the fort. Trying to take a shortcut through west Texas last summer, she'd gotten lost, even with her cell phone's GPS leading the way. She had laughed when seeing the little dot on the screen moving on what appeared to be the middle of nowhere, but apparently the road construction and detours were new since her last upgrade.

When she happened upon the sign pointing to the old historic fort, she'd turned down the narrow, winding, blacktop road, more curious than anything. Once she arrived, her teacher instincts had gone into overdrive. It was exactly the kind of location she liked to explore. With its preserved remnants and historic significance, the place would make an excellent field trip destination, and she made a note to return the following school year for a more in-depth study.

Hey, Miss Wharton!

Jessie looked up to see Isaiah Perez sauntering toward her. As usual, his baseball cap was on backward, and he'd pulled his pants down a bit below his waist. But he was a good kid. An average student. He'd graduate and make something of himself as he grew older. For now, he was the typical high school junior trying to get by until his senior year.

Isaiah parked himself beside her, a concerned look on his face. You don't look too good, Miss Wharton. Can I get you something? Would you like some water?

I could do with a bottle of water. She fished inside her fanny pack for the fiver she'd stuffed inside earlier, found it, and handed it to the boy. Thanks, Isaiah.

Maybe you should go inside where there's air conditioning, he suggested, taking the money and getting to his feet.

Jessie waved him away. I'll be fine after I have some water.

The boy shrugged and left for the small commissary inside the park's visitors center. Jessie straightened up to stare out over the vast field where the rest of the class was wandering about. As she suspected, the two chaperones who'd volunteered to help corral the kids were with their own children, but they also had another three or four with them as she'd requested. For the moment, everyone was engaged in reading the signs and taking photos.

Jessie did a quick head count. Twenty-five kids, plus the one inside, made twenty-six. Good. Everyone was accounted for.

A gentle wind puffed around her. The place smelled faintly of cedar and dust.

A drop of sweat rolled down the side of her face, cooling slightly in the warm breeze. Jessie wiped her brow and cheeks with a tissue. The thin paper shredded from the wetness. Her head felt disconnected from her body. It was almost as if she wasn't really there. Like she was a spirit, a ghost, not quite separated from her mortal shell, but floating just beyond it, attached by the thinnest thread.

She closed her eyes. The heat was definitely getting to her. Maybe Isaiah was right. She needed to go back inside where there was air conditioning.

Rising unsteadily to her feet, she turned to reach for the double glass doors when the high school student exited, a bottle of water in his hand. He handed it over to her, with her thanks, and immediately grabbed her by the arm.

You need to sit down, Miss Wharton. You look all white.

Inside the visitors center, Merribeth, the director in charge of the state-designated historic site, came from around the registration desk as Jessie found her way over to a bench near the restrooms.

You don't look so good. Hurry and sit down. I'll go get some wet paper towels from the restroom. You might have heat exhaustion. To Isaiah, she ordered, Have her drink that water. She needs to cool down, inside and out.

Jessie was aware of the woman leaving. At the same time, the neck of the bottle pressed against her lips. She forced herself to drink three swallows until the frigid water became intolerable. She pushed it away. It's too cold.

She was dizzy, but she wasn't aware that the ceiling was tilting above her until Isaiah yelled her name. Someone caught her, and cool tiles plastered along her back.

For a moment, her gaze rested on the old framed photograph hanging on the wall behind the bench. Funny, but she'd never noticed it before. As her eyesight dimmed, the picture of the young man, dressed in his cavalry uniform and sitting on a pretty pinto pony, appeared to move, as if it was some sort of silent film or computer GIF file. She never got the chance to inquire about it as the world went totally dark.

She passed out!

Here. Wipe her face and neck with this.

Something wet rubbed across her skin, leaving a delicious chill in its wake. The bottom of her sleeveless T-shirt was lifted and swiped. There was a tug on her neckline, and her upper chest was also wiped down.

Do we need to call 9-1-1?

Give her a moment. Let's see how she does. We sometimes have tourists who get a little too much sun, but they recover quickly.

Miss Wharton? Miss Wharton, can you hear me?

She sensed others gathering around her. She wanted to tell the director not to let the other students see her like this. She didn't want to scare them. Most of all, she didn't want them to panic. They were generally a good group of students. Prone to be rowdy at times, but on the whole her best class, discipline-wise. Which was why she'd selected her third period for the field trip.

She wished she knew why this was happening. It wasn't like her to be overly sensitive like this. Then again, she wasn't used to going out in this kind of heat and humidity at the beginning of her monthly cycle.

Someone wiped her face and neck again. The voices grew more distant. Jessie couldn't tell if they were moving away or if she was losing consciousness. Her head continued to swim. She could no longer feel her limbs.

A few minutes. Give me a few minutes to cool down, and I'll be all right.

Just a few minutes, and I'll...be...

Chapter Two

The splash of cool water hitting her face was more than a shock. It was like a blast of cold air hitting every inch of her naked body. Jessie gasped. Her eyes flew wide open, and she almost managed to bolt into a sitting position. When she started to fall backward, she threw a hand behind her to prop herself up.

Whoa! Hold on! That was quite a tumble you took!

The voice was one she didn't recognize. Dazed and disoriented,