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Tyler shook his head. “No, he never did. He was alone my whole life.”

I chewed my lip. “I’m so sad for him, but I don’t really understand, not really.”

“He told me all about the night you died and how it proved we couldn’t use the vessels to go back and fix our own lives. He was so depressed. He wondered if he should have kept trying, if he quit too soon, but if there was nothing to do about saving you he didn’t want to go back and erase any of your time together. He had been torturing himself about it. Wanting to go to the past to see you again, but believing you would die anyway.”

Tyler shook his head slowly. “Imagine being faced with that, someone you love dies and you know you can see them again. You can change the past, but you don’t know if you can change it for the better?”

“That would suck.”

“Yeah it would. My wife, Samantha, and I got him talking about your life together on Amelia Island.” Tyler put his head back on the headrest. “He told me about the night grandmother told you Bella was pregnant and how you chose to protect me. He said you never faltered. Da said he was grateful to you for saving my life, because even though you were gone, he had a son, and I had been the only person that made his life worth living.”

Tears welled up in my eyes.

“And that’s why I’m here. I figured if he couldn’t fix what happened maybe I, a new actor in it, could.”

I fished around the backseat for a box of Kleenex and pulled out a tissue. “You were around for a long time.”

“I jumped in and out. I couldn’t really figure out when it was going to happen. At the wedding I knew.”

"You were the one who told me about the storms, you were involved in everything. He knew you before the day on the dock — wouldn’t he recognize you? Know that you were his son, or know that his son was Tyler, or something?"

"I have no idea. The Magnus I met here in Florida hasn’t had a son yet. The night I met Magnus at your housewarming party, I wondered if he would recognize me. I had a whole plan where I would act like I was there as a joke and then I would run away. But he didn’t recognize me at all. And when I was growing up Da never said, ‘Hey, son, ye look just like a bloke from Florida named Tyler.’ It’s like I looped back but only in the current time-line."

I sighed. “We know so little about these vessels we’re insane to use them at all.”

“That is true.”

“So you saved my life on that dock right there?”

“Yes. And now I’ve created a whole second trajectory of Magnus’s life. One where he’s my dad, but he doesn’t recognize me.”

“Oh no, Tyler, I’m so sorry, that’s awful.”

“Yeah. An unintended consequence.” He clenched and straightened his hands. “I’m a little worried my whole life might be ruined now.” He ran his hands down his face. “Who am I kidding, not a little worried, a lot worried.”

“Probably not though, right? I mean, no matter what we’ve done to history we haven’t messed up the big historical⁠—”

“I’m a prince. Or I was.”

“Oh yeah, right.” I paused and thought it through. “So you don’t know if Magnus survives this, because this is a totally new timeline.”

“Exactly.”

“Okay.” I leaned back in my seat and we both stared out the front window.

Finally I said, “I owe you a huge apology. I had no idea you were there at such a cost and I didn’t know what your ulterior motives were but that doesn’t excuse it. I behaved like an ass. I’m sorry. Thank you for saving my life. If there’s anything I can do for you, ever, just ask. I owe you. Because of you I was able to go back and be there for Lizbeth’s birth and you know — that means something. If nothing else — if Magnus doesn’t — I did that.”

He gulped. “And I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you. If Da hadn’t fought for his throne, Samuel would have killed my mom. I wouldn’t be here right now. So,” he half-smiled, “you do still owe me, but I’ll give you a break on some of it...”

I joked, “Although, you did tell me about the storms in Scotland. If I hadn’t gone, I wouldn’t have had all that terrible stuff happen to me at the hands of your evil grandfather...”

“Maybe, maybe not. I can’t tell what I changed, what happened before.” He rubbed his palms on his thighs and stretched his back. “Time travel, it’s the greatest thing and the absolute worst in one small machine.”

“And it hurts like hell.”

“True that.”

“So I’m kind of like your step-mom? I’m so embarrassed, I totally thought you were hot for me.”