Payton returned and sat down on her right side. “How often do y’all do this?”

“First time they’ve used the fire pit,” Zed said. “Don’t expect it’ll be the last. Me and Annie, we liked to sit out here with a blazin’ fire goin’. We’d make up stories about where we were and what was goin’ on.”

“Tell us one,” Brook begged.

“Well, my favorite one is that we were travelin’ across country right after the Civil War and this was our fire when we unsaddled our horses that night and made camp in a place that looked like this. We could hear the coyotes howlin’ in the distance and the crickets and tree frogs singin’ to us,” he answered.

“That’s all?” Tawny asked.

“That’s all.” Zed nodded.

But something in the wistful look in his eyes told Dana that the rest of the story was very personal. She was about to suggest that they tell a story, but Payton beat her to it.

“Let’s start our own story. Zed, would you begin?” Payton said.

Zed nodded. “There’s seven of us in this covered wagon. We used to be eight, but the grandma died along the trail. Now we’ve circled our covered wagons with all the others. There’s twenty wagons all total. We’ve had our supper, and each family is sittin’ around their own campfire talkin’ about the gold mines where we’re headed. That’d be out in California. We left with a wagon train up in Missouri, so we’re somewhere in the middle of Nebraska tonight. Now it’s your turn, Brook.”

“I hate this wagon train. I don’t have air-conditioning or an indoor bathroom,” Brook giggled. “I sure wish I didn’t have to wear all these clothes.”

“How do you know about what they wore?” Tawny asked.

“I studied it in school. We even had to dress up in period clothes from back then,” she answered. “Before I got into the time machine, I was driving a brand-new Corvette and wearing skinny jeans. Now I’m eating beans and hoping that the bushes out there give me enough cover when I have to go. Now it’s your turn, Aunt Tawny.”

Dana smiled at her daughter’s quick wit about a time machine, but she read a lot of science fiction.

Tawny held up a finger while she ate the last bite of her hot dog. “Well, I was the one who talked you into getting into that time machine with me. I thought I dialed the number to throw us a couple of hundred years into the future, but I tend to get numbers turned around and I hit the wrong ones. Now here we are walkin’ ten miles a day beside a covered wagon or else riding in the back of the thing. I think my older sister Harper has a history with the wagon master, Wyatt. She keeps flirting with him, and now it’s her turn.”

Well done, little sister, Dana thought and made a mental note to buy Tawny’s first novel if she ever got around to writing it.

Harper took a drink of her sweet tea and smiled at Wyatt. “I’m not flirting. I’m trying to be nice to him so he’ll let our wagon be first in line. You know what they say—if you ain’t the lead dog, the scenery never changes. I’m tired of breathin’ everyone else’s dust and bein’ careful not to step in mule crap all day. But tonight I’m real happy that we’ve got clear skies and a big old pretty moon. I’m hoping that when we get to California, the pretty dress in my trunk still fits me, because I’m losing weight. Your turn, Wyatt.”

Good cover, Harper. Dana smiled.

Payton nudged Dana with his shoulder. “You’ve got a couple of pretty smart sisters.”

“Yep. I’m finding that out.” Dana nodded.

Wyatt’s deep drawl picked up the story. “I’m the wagon master, and I’ve had my eye on Harper since we left Missouri. She’s a tough woman and independent as they come—way out of my league. I’m just a common old wagon master, and she’d never look at me. Tonight I’m tickled that she’s invited me to the fire where she and the folks from her wagon have made supper. I get lonely riding my horse up ahead of the wagons and I’d like her to ride with me, but I’m afraid of rejection. Now it’s your turn, Payton.”

“I’m the scout. So I go out a day’s distance and then come back to the wagon train at night, saddle weary and tired. Y’all good people pretty often ask me to sit by your fire. It’s a tough job, but I have to do it so we know if the watering holes are still where they were on the last trip. Tonight we’re camped by a beautiful lake and I get to sit by the prettiest girl on the wagon train. It’s full of mail-order brides going to California. I’m just hoping that this one lady hasn’t signed a document to be someone else’s wife, because she’s kind of taken my eye with her beauty and grace. Besides, she’s a fine cook. I guess it’s your turn, Miz Dana.”

He caught her gaze. The blaze flickered in his light-blue eyes, and she was suddenly completely tongue-tied for a full minute. She’d rather have dragged him around the house to the porch swing and made out with him like a couple of high school sophomores than continued the story.

Dana looked into the fire and started, “I had to get into the time machine with my daughter. I couldn’t possibly let her make this trip alone, not even if her aunt was going with her. And now I’m enjoying the trip so much I’m not sure I want to go back to the future. But California’s not my favorite choice, either. Tonight I’m about to put forth an idea to the rest of my team. How about we leave the train and settle down right here by this lake and build us a little general store? If there’s going to be wagon trains on this route, we can make some money selling supplies. I really like this place.”