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    The Temporal Man
    The Temporal Man
    The Temporal Man
    Ebook107 pages1 hour

    The Temporal Man

    By Robert Appleton

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    About this ebook

    You'll never see him coming; you won't want him to leave. For disillusioned young waitress Rebecca Green, the solution is Hold on tight when a mysterious time-traveller arrives to literally turn her world upside down.

    Sam Morrow is on the run. He's being pursued across time by four dangerous men from his past, including the deadliest swordsman in France. But now that he's found the girl of his dreams, it might just be time to stand and fight. Rebecca has an idea--to recruit the best swordsman in 18th century England--but will aristocratic Percy Torrance dare miss his wedding on Monday to help them?
    Pulse-pounding duels, sea battles and a journey outside time itself punctuate this heart-stirring tale of romance on the edge. From the distant past to the far-flung future, there's no hiding from fate. Or love. Hold on tight to The Temporal Man.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRobert Appleton
    Release dateMar 2, 2017
    ISBN9781370787302
    The Temporal Man
    Author

    Robert Appleton

    Robert Appleton is a British science fiction and adventure author who specializes in tales of survival in far-flung locations. Many of his sci-fi books share the same universe as his popular Alien Safari series, though tend to feature standalone storylines. His rebellious characters range from an orphaned grifter on Mars to a lone woman gate-crashing the war in her biotech suit. His sci-fi readers regularly earn enough frequent flyer miles to qualify for a cross-galaxy voyage of their choosing. His publishers include Harlequin Carina Press, and he also ghost-writes novels in other genres. In his free time he hikes, plays soccer, and kayaks whenever he can. The night sky is his inspiration.He has won awards for both fiction and book cover design.

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      Book preview

      The Temporal Man - Robert Appleton

      THE TEMPORAL MAN

      A Novella from The Little Shop of Wonders

      By Robert Appleton

      Copyright @ Robert Appleton 2016

      Smashwords Edition

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

      This book is a work of fiction. Characters, names, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

      * * * *

      I loved the old Twilight Zone episodes and the best description I have for this book is that it is similar to those tales. If you are a fan of these kind of offbeat, unusual but intriguing stories then you will enjoy the Esther May Morrow tales. -- The Romance Studio

      Once you open the cover, you won't be able to turn pages fast enough to read through this exciting collection of short stories, all involving the mysterious Esther May Morrow. Mr. Appleton writes with such description and reality, you'll be swept into each chapter and experience the story along with the characters. If you learn anything from his creative genius, it's... be careful what you wish for. -- The Examiner

      This first collection in [Appleton]'s short story cycle pulls the reader in easily, incorporating the character of Esther as a background fixture with enormous impact. Each story is both unique and complete yet allows Esther to appear in subsequent tales with ease. This reviewer looks forward to reading more about this intriguing character. -- Bitten by Books

      Now available: The Little Shop of Wonders: The Complete Anthology...

      No matter how hard you try, no matter how far you look, you will never find this shop.

      It will find you.

      Dreams, desires, the most outlandish wishes: all are for sale at Esther May Morrow’s timeless antiques and sundries store, for the bargain price of...well, that would be telling. You’ll have to see for yourself. So come on in. Don’t be shy. Make her an offer. She never refuses anyone.

      There’s just one thing I should mention: each purchase comes with an absolute guarantee—no one who leaves her shop will be ever the same again.

      Features nine* irresistible tales of mystery, intrigue and the paranormal:

      CRETACEOUS

      GIN RUMMY

      LOT 62

      SPELLBOUND

      THE CONSCRIPTED MAN

      PHENOMENAL

      MISS OLIVIA

      HAPPY MEAL

      THE TEMPORAL MAN

      *Stories also available separately

      * * *

      Table of Contents

      Part One

      Part Two

      Part Three

      Part Four

      Part 1

      Where was I?

      The stars we’d been gazing up at a moment ago were no longer there. The gymnasium roof we’d been standing on was now a glittering river beneath our feet. I had to shut my eyes to still the dizziness. I could breathe, but there was no breeze, no smell to contextualise the event, and no sound. This didn’t seem safe at all. But as Sam held my hand, I tingled from my fingertips to the tips of my toes.

      Dark magic?

      What’s…happening? I gasped, unable to fathom how we could be floating in mid…nothingness. Sam? Where is this?

      Away from it all, he replied with the phoney air of a travel agent trying to sell a holiday. When I squeezed his hand, his tone grew solemn. It’s like I said—we’re outside of time.

      "But how?"

      It’s a long story. And for that, we’re going to have to start at the beginning.

      I opened my eyes. Light from below accentuated pride, excitement, and the same brow-furrowing fear that had been there all night in his handsome face.

      He leaned in close to whisper, It’s okay. I’ve done this before. Rebecca, there’s really nothing to worry about.

      No?

      No. Think of it as an out of body experience, only technically, physically, nothing about you has changed.

      Whatever that meant.

      I bent low instead. Our reflections were spangled, distorted in the water. Mesmerized, I dipped my toe in the flow of time. It was cold, barely moving. A billion smithereens of light tossed and turned on its surface like the survivors of a capsized sun. It was fluvial, enormous as the Amazon. I slapped my face to wake up. Sam laughed. All along the river, tributary slivers fed into its embrace, coursing into eternity.

      Was this even possible?

      He had brought me outside time itself, above clocks and clouds and the checkers of night and day. No light whatsoever emerged from the sky, if it could even be called a sky. Infinity perhaps. Before long, I didn’t miss it. Sam drew me closer and stared longingly into my eyes. His seemed to reflect the eons of desire and exciting courtships, the millennia of romance, the endless, relentless current driving sexuality throughout the course of man.

      At least, that was how I felt.

      Well? What do you think? His voice lifted with nervous anticipation. Aren’t you glad you trusted me?

      I rose to float upright beside him. The air, he told me, was whatever one wanted it to be. Mine was pure as a mountain tarn. It’s all so…eerie, I replied.

      Sam swallowed hard. In a bad way?

      No. But is it really…real?

      The crease in his brow eased, and he sighed, closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his smile grew so wide I wondered if this was still the same Sam Morrow.

      What is it? I asked. Why so cheerful all of a sudden?

      Uh-oh. My sweet waitress from the twenty-first century, believe me, you’ve no idea how real this is.

      Slowly, I cocked my head to one side as he fastened the buttons of his double-breasted tuxedo jacket. He was in his early thirties, debonair, as if he had stepped out of a limousine in early nineteen-thirties Hollywood. Sam Morrow was also badly scarred. The left side of his neck and a small area of his chin had suffered extensive burn damage—from what, or from when, I didn’t know—but I can honestly say it did not make him any less attractive, at least to me. I saw a mysterious, exciting, wounded man who had just turned my existence on its head. And in that moment, when the soft couch of his broad-shouldered jacket pressed against my shoulder blade, and he confidently pushed me forward with his hands on my waist, I knew I would go anywhere with him. Any time.

      ****

      Is Mademoiselle ready to order?

      Eric, the new waiter I hadn’t yet properly met, bent to pick up his towel and a pair of menus he’d accidentally dropped onto an empty chair. They tumbled, spread-eagled onto the maroon carpet. The only customer at that table, a freckled beauty with brunette hair, chuckled at Eric’s fumbling Buster Keaton routine.

      He was not amused. Sorry, Mademoiselle. I’m all thumbs this evening. Would you like to order?

      Give me a few minutes, please. My fiancé and I would like to order together.

      "Oui."

      I felt sorry for the poor lad. Rather than laugh the incident off, he sulked and cast a gloomy shadow over every table he passed on his way back to the kitchen. I decided to head him off, to see if I couldn’t lighten his mood a little. Trent, the owl-like hotel manager, was hovering outside in the foyer, and I knew that if he clocked Eric’s sourpuss face, there would be words.

      As Eric marched by me, I whispered in his ear, Don’t worry, a menu’s nothing. Try dropping a Knickerbocker Glory on someone.

      Suddenly, for no apparent reason, his mouth arched and he shoved me backward into the nearest table. My elbow clipped a customer’s temple. The

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