Excerpt of A Tumble Through Time by Callie Hutton

Anna was quiet on the walk to the café. Her eyes darted back
and forth as she took in the sights around her, all the time
fiddling with her ring, spinning the silver and black circle
round and round. She continued to draw in deep breaths and
chew on her lower lip, occasionally muttering ‘not possible’
under her breath, as if fighting an internal battle. Her
natural color seemed to have paled, the light dusting of
freckles more prominent.

Once they’d settled in their seats at the café and ordered
dried apple pie and coffee, Wes rested his forearms on the
table. “Tell me a little bit about this ‘Tulsa.’”

Anna cleared her throat. “It’s in Oklahoma.” She flinched
when he shrugged, still not sure what she was talking about.

“Oklahoma. You know, the state south of Kansas?”

He narrowed his eyes. “The only thing south of us is Indian
Territory, then Texas.”

“No,” she whispered, her eyes round as saucers.

Wes nodded at the waitress as she placed cups of coffee and
two cuts of pie in front of them. She glanced at Anna, who
stared straight ahead, taking in shallow breaths.

Once the waitress left, Anna nodded, as if she’d made a
decision. “Wes, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

She looked him in the eye, seeming to draw strength from
within herself. “What year is this?”

His forkful of pie stopped halfway to his mouth. “What?”

Anna licked her lips and cleared her throat. “Just tell me,
please. What year is this?”

He frowned and lowered the fork. “It’s eighteen hundred and
seventy. Why?”

Then he leapt forward as Anna’s eyes rolled to the back of
her head and her slack body slid to the floor.