When Bat Garrett wakes up one morning with the wrong wife, he knows something is wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jody\u2019s dead. His grandson Edward is dead. A young woman named Marianne went to the future by herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everything is wrong and Bat is the only person who remembers how things used to be, when they were right. But it\u2019s not just a memory. Bat can see that other life. Bat is caught in a dual reality and most everyone\u2013in both realities\u2013thinks he\u2019s going crazy. But Bat is convinced that only one of the realities is the way things are supposed to be, so he sets out to find out what split reality and do whatever he has to do to make it right. Even if it means teaming up with Garison Fitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No, not the Garison who lives in Colorado. The one who lived and died in the 1700s. Bat has to get to that Garison to straighten everything out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Available now on Kindle<\/a> (click here to order) and in paperback<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n And don\u2019t forget to read the next step in the saga: \u201cTimeKeeperS: Rectification<\/em>\u201c and the conclusion “TimeKeeperS: Restoration<\/em>“.<\/p>\n\n\n\n …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reading Sample<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Garison had taken the man\u2019s hand when it was offered, but now he let it go as if it were on fire. Regaining most of his composure, he peered at the man with rapt interest and asked, \u201cBat Garrett?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The man looked nervously at the three women, the one fair and blonde, the one dark and the one with red hair, but all with striking good looks, then said, \u201cWe met, um, back when you were coaching baseball at Sul Ross University.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Garison could not hide his surprise as he repeated vaguely, \u201cSul Ross?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s in Alpine,\u201d the newcomer said, by way of explanation. \u201cTexas,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Garison suddenly slumped back into the large, padded chair behind his desk, muttering, \u201cAlpine.\u201d Then, again, more softly, \u201cAlpine,Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Helen, rushing to her father\u2019s side in near panic, couldn\u2019t help but ask, \u201dHow could he know, Pop?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Heather\u2019s lawyerly mind kicked into gear and she confronted the newcomer with, \u201cIf I find that you have broken\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBroken into the Anglican Church and read the manuscript? Oh, wait, you haven\u2019t left it at the Anglican Church, yet, have you? It\u2019s still in the house somewhere, isn\u2019t it?\u201d As Garison Fitch and his daughters looked at him suspiciously, the man who had introduced himself as Bat Garrett reached into his pocket and produced a coin, flipping it to Garison. As Garison caught it deftly, the man instructed, \u201cTake a look at who\u2019s on that coin. And the year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Helen continued to gaze piercingly at Garison, Heather looked at the coin in her father\u2019s hand and muttered, \u201cThat looks like\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGeorge,\u201d Garison completed. Then, \u201c1975? That\u2019s the year I was born.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Helen injected, \u201cHe could have read the manuscript and manufactured that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s what Heather said you\u2019d say,\u201d the man replied with a smile. Looking at the Heather in the room, he explained, \u201cThe other Heather. The one you were named for. So she wanted me to show you this.\u201d He pulled a small picture frame from the leather satchel he carried and passed it across the desk to Garison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Garison took it suspiciously, almost insolently, but then he saw the picture in the frame and his voice caught with a gasp. He finally managed to say, \u201cHeather.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Heather in the room reached out to still her father\u2019s shaking hands and looked at the picture in the frame. She turned her eyes to the newcomer in the room and asked, \u201cThat\u2019s Heather? His other\u2014the woman I\u2019m named for?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bat hesitated, but not as one who is trying to think of a lie. He finally managed to say, \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Helen gently drew the frame from her father\u2019s hands and looked at the picture. In her best lawyerly voice\u2014owing to living in a family of lawyers\u2014which she sometimes affected to keep the emotion out, she asked, \u201cThis is what you call a\u2014a photograph, isn\u2019t it?\u201d At her father\u2019s nod, she took a closer look at the picture and said, \u201cShe\u2014she looks kind of like Jody, doesn\u2019t she?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo she doesn\u2019t,\u201d the newcomer said, then blushed and, shaking his head said, \u201cOh, you mean the Jody in this room. Yeah, they do kinda favor, don\u2019t they?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Garison nodded as a low laugh emanated from his chest. \u201cShe has from the day she was born. I mean, Jody looked like Heather from the very first.\u201d He looked at his daughter Heather, and told her with a smile, \u201cWhen your mother suggested we name you Heather, I thought it would be a grand, divine joke if you looked like the Heather of the future. You never did, though. You\u2019ve always been your mother in dark colors. But when Jody was born\u2014I mean, from the day she was born \u2026 \u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n He swiveled his chair and looked out the window for a moment, then shook his head and jumped to his feet. He came around the desk, almost bowling Jody over, and extended his hands, asking warmly, \u201cBat Garrett? Is it really you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The newcomer pulled Garison into hug\u2014which surprised everyone in the room\u2014and said, \u201cI wasn\u2019t sure I could find you. But, all in all, it wasn\u2019t really that hard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019re kidding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, I mean, I guess it was\u2014once you get past the whole time travel thing. Once past that, though, I just had to follow the directions on the old map and they pointed me right here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo where have you been? Anthony said you came by earlier. You could have waited.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI know, but, I really wanted to see the eighteenth century.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou took an awful risk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bat laughed and assured him, \u201cIt\u2019s OK. I didn\u2019t stomp on more than a half-dozen butterflies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cButterflies?\u201d Heather asked. \u201cAt this time of year?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s a reference to\u2014oh, never mind,\u201d said her father. He turned back to Bat and asked, \u201cI\u2019m not sure whether to ask why you\u2019re here or how you\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow\u2019s easier to answer,\u201d Bat told him with a smile. \u201cYou want to take a walk and I can tell you what I know?\u2014which may not be as much as you would like to know, but I\u2019ll do my best.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019d like that,\u201d Garison replied. Then, \u201cWould you like something to eat?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bat hesitated, then told him, \u201cI packed a lunch and ate it just before heading into townbut that sure does smell good. I think I could eat a bite, if you\u2019ve got it to spare.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCertainly,\u201d Helen said, fixing Bat some food on the plate she had been using for herself. \u201cSorry that I only brought four plates.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow could you know I would be here?\u201d Bat asked with a chuckle as he took the food. Then, \u201cThanks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Garison leaned close and asked with a smile, \u201cYou didn\u2019t happen to bring anyTabascosauce with you, did you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOf course. I always travel with condiments,\u201d Bat told him. Then, at Garison\u2019s hopeful look, added, \u201cI\u2019m kidding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, then why come back at all?\u201d Garison chided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou know, I always liked you better than the other Garison,\u201d Bat said, gesturing with a steak wrap he had built. \u201cThe one in the future\u2019s too serious.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDoes he look like\u2014like my father?\u201d Heather asked, anxiously, for the first time in her life believing that her father\u2019s story might be true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cExactly like.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI want so badly to start asking everyone questions,\u201d Bat told him as they walked the dirt streets ofAlexandria. \u201c\u2019Did you fight in the war?\u2019 \u2018How\u2019s the Constitution coming?\u2019\u201d He saw a man walk by, followed by another man with dark skin, and added in a low voice, \u201c\u2019How can you possibly think enslaving another human being is an acceptable practice?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Garison nodded and said, \u201cI have lived for more than forty years with those thoughts. How to bring indoor plumbing to everyone. To build an internal combustion engine. To end slavery. I\u2019ve talked to George about that quite a good bit. And others. I\u2019ve found a willing ear inAdams. George tells me he will free his slaves upon his death. It\u2019s a start, but,\u201d he was silent as a person whom he knew passed nearby, then added, \u201cIt is not enough. I am known as an abolitionist, and I\u2019ve been working on the issue but\u2014but you didn\u2019t come here to talk about that. Why did you come here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLet\u2019s talk about how and that\u2019ll get us to why.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFine. But not here. Not in the open. Let\u2019s go to my house.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI guess we could have talked in your office. You being a lawyer, people are probably used to you visiting with weirdoes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, they think I am the weirdest of all,\u201d Garison chuckled. \u201cBut mainly, I want you to meet Sarah.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to. You know: my son married your Sarah. I mean, the Sarah in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIs that so? How did I\u2014how did the other me take that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNot good at first.\u201d He slapped Garison on the back and added, \u201cBy the time they celebrated their twentieth anniversary, he was pretty much used to it, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, um, will I get to meet Bat? The one you named after me? Thanks, by the way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe is off surveying, in theOhiocountry. He gets back this way when he can, but he\u2019s always had a touch of the wanderlust.\u201d Garison laughed ruefully, \u201cMore than a touch. He and Darius\u2014who is his nephew and I\u2019m guessing you may have heard about\u2014have always liked the far lands. Maybe it\u2019s because of all those stories I used to tell them about where I grew up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKinda wanted to meet him. Henry\u2019s a congressman, isn\u2019t he? And Justin\u2019s in shipping, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou have done your homework,\u201d Garison complimented. \u201cJustin would prefer to be a woodworker, but his talent along those lines is limited. As we might have said in the twenty-first century, the shipping is done merely to support his woodworking habit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe thought it best that I study up for this. And Jody, she works for you, doesn\u2019t she?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe could be one of the finest lawyers in the country. Heather already is. But Heather stays here because her husband works with Justin and she is, at heart, a homebody.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd Jody?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Garison shrugged, then answered, \u201cFor all her independence, Jody thinks it is also her job to look after me in all matters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s great.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd do you have any other children? Besides the one who married Sarah? Did she turn out as pretty as her mother?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPrettier, if you can imagine it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t believe I can.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2014Jody and I\u2014had two more children, actually. Eryn, she married a minister named Douglas Joens and lives inFlagstaff, near us. Homeschools. I think she looks just like Jody\u2014my Jody\u2014but no one else ever sees it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s a father thing,\u201d Garison nodded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd then there\u2019s the baby of the family, Lori. She\u2019s married to a fellow named John. He manages a church camp about halfway betweenLa PlataCanyonand Cortez and she just became a junior partner in your\u2014I mean, the other Garison\u2019s\u2014law firm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou don\u2019t say,\u201d Garison beamed with admiration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd Sarah\u2014the future Sarah. Did she have kids?\u201d he asked with interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes. Gave us three beautiful grandsons. Only sad thing about that is that we all wondered if a daughter of hers would have continued the family looks. But it would have been hard to top Sarah, so maybe she was a good stopping place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Garison smiled happily and recalled, \u201cI can still see her playing in the yard when she was a toddler. Did you ever read about the time she saw the little tree?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n They came to a large, frame house on a quiet street. There was a small oak tree growing in the yard. The lawn was manicured, though being autumn the grass was mostly golden with few shoots of green still holding tenaciously to the cooling ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s a nice place,\u201d Bat commented, charmed by the antique rusticness of what was, in reality, one of the finest houses in town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before Garison could reply, a petite blonde woman stepped out on the porch. With a warm smile, she greeted, \u201cWelcome Bat Garrett.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bat stopped in his tracks, then continued up onto the porch and offered his hands, saying, \u201cAnd you\u2019re Sarah Fitch. How do you know who I am?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sarah smiled and, after looking from side to side, told him in a whisper, \u201cHelen called me as soon as you left the office.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2019Called\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sarah took him by the arm and, leading Bat inside told him, \u201cGarison hasn\u2019t left the eighteenth century completely unsullied.\u201d She whispered, \u201cI believe you call it a radio.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Turning toward Garison, Bat asked with a forced chuckle, \u201cI really hope you\u2019ve invented toilet paper \u2018cause I\u2019m still shuddering from one near experience with what you call a privy earlier this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was one of my very first things,\u201d Garison replied as he followed them into the house.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When Bat Garrett wakes up one morning with the wrong wife, he knows something is wrong.
\nJody\u2019s dead. His grandson Edward is dead. A young woman named Marianne went to the future by herself.
\nEverything is wrong and Bat is the only person who remembers how things used to be, when they were right. But it\u2019s not just a memory. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3745,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1983,1984,2006],"tags":[1567,1564,1075,2039,2052,1058,1017,1565,1563],"class_list":["post-3744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fantasy","category-futuristic","category-time-travel","tag-batgarrett","tag-fantasy","tag-fiction","tag-garisonfitch","tag-jodygarrett","tag-samuelbenwhite-2","tag-texas","tag-timekeepers","tag-timetravel"],"yoast_head":"\n