By the halfway point of the story, Gordon Redcliff (angry, jaded ex-military sniper and bodyguard) is stranded in a primitive civilization 140,000 years in the past, and he must face the question of whether the widow he’s falling in love with is enough motivation to violate his directive to not interfere with “one hell of a disaster coming in just a matter of a few months.”
Three weeks in prehistory, Mr. Redcliff. Aren’t you excited?

Variants

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  1. “Turning the Grain” by Barry B. Longyear, in Analog, July/August to September 2009.
  2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Barry B. Longyear