"I cannot," he repeated in frustration. "Show me."

With shaking hands, Meredith hesitantly reached out and plucked at the tab of the zipper. If she knew how to swoon, she would have done it then and there. But she'd never fainted in her life. Biting at her bottom lip, she slowly closed the zipper, trying not to think about what was on the other side.

He watched her in amazement. "How does this work?"

She snatched her hands away. "Little teeth," she muttered. "Now put your shirt on so we can go. I've got the computer reserved at the library. I want to hop on the Net and see what I can find out about time travel."

He stared at her for a long moment, then shrugged and returned to the bathroom.

Ten minutes later, she and Griffin were headed down Lighthouse Road to the tiny island library behind the fire hall. Though his presence at her side caused a few curious stares from the locals, no one was nosy enough to ask what their relationship was. And she didn't volunteer any information, except that he was a friend who had come for a short visit. Tourists were not uncommon on Ocracoke, even in the fall, and most of the townsfolk appeared to accept him with little notice.

As they walked, he asked questions about everything and anything-about the quaint lighthouse that stood sentinel over the Sound and the picturesque cottages and shops that dotted the narrow streets. They took the long loop to the library, along the waterfront and then down the narrow street that led to the tiny cemetery that held the bodies of four British sailors. The sailors' ship had been torpedoed offshore by a German U-boat during the Second World War. Griffin wasn't satisfied until she recited everything she knew about the country's involvement in the war and the current state of the U.S. Navy.

"Why are we going to the library?" he asked.

"I told you. I want to get on the Net and see what I can learn about time travel. My laptop doesn't have a modem so we have to use the computer at the library."

"The Net," he repeated.

"Internet," she explained. "It's a computer network."

"Computer," he repeated.

"You'll see," she said, patting him on the shoulder. Meredith stepped to the edge of the road, ready to cross, when Griffin grabbed her arm.

"Have a care," he warned, staring at a car nearly a block away. She had noticed that he'd become watchful, wary, as if he wasn't quite sure about the intentions of the automobiles or their drivers. He slipped his arm protectively around her waist and a flood of warmth rushed through her at his touch.

She knew she was growing fond of him. He was a strong and vital man with a powerful sensual appeal. She had to keep from watching him, admiring the way he moved, the way his skin gleamed in the sun, the way he stared out at the water with pale hooded eyes. And every time he touched her, her heart quickened and her breathing stopped.

She'd never felt so comfortable around a man as she felt with Griffin. He seemed to accept her for exactly who she was. All her insecurities and inexperience with men didn't seem to matter. In fact, he considered her a fallen woman simply for allowing him to stay in her house.

But then, maybe she was a fallen woman, at least by his standards. She had gone to bed with five different men in her life, fully intending to lose her virginity, right up until the very moment of truth. But then, the whole thing had seemed wrong and she had put an end to it, leaving her partners confused and sometimes even angry.

When it came right down to it, only one thing kept her from ridding herself of her virtue. She wasn't in love. And something deep inside her soul told her to wait-for a man to whom she might give her heart as well as her body. So she'd waited. And she was still waiting…

Meredith stepped inside the library with Griffin at her heels. She smiled at the volunteer librarian, Tank Muldoon's sister, Trina, then headed for the computer in the corner. Griffin lingered for a long moment as he passed the shelves of books.

"Whose books are these?" he asked.

"They belong to the community," Meredith answered distractedly as she signed on to the computer. "They're for everyone. This is a public library."

"And we will find our answers in these books?" he said.

"No," Meredith said. "I doubt that there are any books here that will help us."

He sat down beside her and peered at the computer screen. "I thought you said we were seeking information about sending me back. Why are you looking into this box?" he demanded. "There are many books here which would help us. We must look at them."

Meredith sighed. "This box is a computer, Griffin, and there's more information in here than in a thousand libraries this size."

Griffin scoffed in disbelief, then slouched down in his chair like a petulant child. "This I don't believe. You are wasting time."

She could already hear the impatience growing in his voice and she knew he was about to fall into one of his dark moods. He'd been with her just a day and a half and already she could read him as if she'd known him for years.

Last night, he had paced the night away, impatiently covering every inch of the floor like a caged tiger. From her bed, she had heard him prowling around the cottage, muttering to himself and sometimes to Ben Gunn, keeping the leather purse always close at hand, as if he was worried he might be swept away at any moment.

This morning, he had been preoccupied, his mind firmly focused in the past, on Edward Teach-which was exactly where her mind should have been focused, too. She wanted to talk to him of his life, to learn everything he knew about Blackbeard. Though she wouldn't be able to use most of it in her book without an original source to back up what he told her, it would give her work new insight into the famous pirate. Still, something held her back from telling him about her work.

What was it? Was she afraid he might suspect what she suspected-that she was somehow responsible for bringing him here? Every time she looked at him, she felt the same nagging sense of guilt. And every impulse she had to broach the subject of the pirate was buried beneath that guilt.

"When is this friend of yours going to call?"

Meredith glanced over at him and forced a smile, hoping to defuse his mood. "I told you, Kelsey is attending a symposium at Wake Forest," she explained. "She'll call as soon as she returns. Maybe tomorrow or the next day."

"And you are certain this Kelsey will be able to find a way for me to go back?"

"I don't know," Meredith replied. "Griffin, I won't get anything done if you keep talking to me. This takes concentration. It's like navigating a boat."

He stood up and began to pace the floor behind her. "I feel so damn useless here," he muttered. "I am not accustomed to idleness. I need to do something."

"In this century, we place great value on our leisure time," Meredith commented lightly. "That's why people visit this island, for the laid-back life-style."

He stopped suddenly and stared down at her. "Well, I am not from this century, am I?" he replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. With that, he turned and stalked toward the door, yanking it open before he stepped outside.

With a soft curse, Meredith pushed herself back from the computer and stood, shooting an apologetic smile to a wide-eyed Trina. She found Griffin outside where he'd taken up pacing the sidewalk. She grabbed his elbow and drew him to a stop. "Griffin, I'm doing everything I can to help you. But you have to be patient. This is very complicated."

He stared at her for a moment, anger blazing in his gaze. Then, with a resigned sigh, he closed his eyes and raked his fingers through his hair, schooling his temper. "Forgive me. I did not mean to speak so harshly."

"I understand," Meredith said. She paused, then looked up at him hopefully. "I was thinking that maybe you'd enjoy a trip to Bath, or Bath Town, as you call it. I can borrow a car and we can take the ferry across to Swan Quarter early tomorrow morning. You can tell me all about how the town used to be. You can show me where Blackbeard had his house."

"To what end?" he muttered.

"I-I just thought it might-"

"Occupy my mind?" he completed. "I don't need my mind filled with trivial matters. I have plenty to do. I was to deliver the purse to Spotswood's man before I returned to sail with the Adventure. But while I am here, the work goes on without me. How am I to know whether they are proceeding?"

She slipped her arm through his and paced alongside him. "Well, there is a theory that would have us believe that if history is altered, the books written about the event will also change. So, I suppose we could just look at the books that have been written about Blackbeard and see if they've changed."

"Whose theory is this?"

"I'm not sure. I saw it in a movie called Back to the Future," she said.

"A movie?"

"A video," Meredith said. "It's like a play you watch on… well, just think of it as a play."

"Ah," he said, nodding. "And this video was written by a respected scholar, an expert in this science… this physics, like your colleague, Kelsey?"

"No, not exactly. Movies and videos are entertainment. They're fuel for the imagination. Even though there are plenty of books and movies about the subject, no one has ever really traveled in time."

He stopped short and spun her around to face him. "No one?"

A tremor raced through her at the look in his eyes and she bit her bottom lip. "I-I thought you understood that. As far as I know, no one has ever traveled in time."

A myriad of emotions crossed his face before he spoke again. "Then I am the first," he stated softly. "And I must be the first to return, as well."