To Win a Highland Scot: A Time-Traveler’s Highland Love, Book 3

by Gill, Tamara

  She giggled, wrapping her hands about his waist. "I love and have missed you too. I didn't think I'd ever see you again. I've been waiting weeks, and you didn't return, and I couldn't wait any longer. I hope you're not mad."

  Stupid fool, he cursed himself for staying away. "Nay, I could never be mad at you, lass." He kicked himself for not having returned earlier. Had he known that Maya was at Druiminn, not even a snowstorm would have kept him away.

  "I dinna think there was anything to return to. Not with haste. You must know that I would never have kept away had I known you were there."

  "I understand." She leaned up and kissed him again. God's blood, she maddened him. Made him want her, and he knew from this moment on, he was a slave to her every command, her every wish.

  "Shall we go home?" she asked, looking up at him with hope. With love.

  His heart burst, full of the same emotion. "Oh aye, let us return home. We have a life to live."

  Together.

  Chapter 38

  Chapter Thirty Eight

  Six months later

  Maya sat at the dais in the Great Hall, watching the clan enjoy their nightly meal, the laughter, the jokes, jibes, and good-humored banter that went on about the hall, making her smile.

  The clan, Druiminn, had become home from the moment she had returned to sixteenth-century Scotland, and she could not have been happier. Except for one thing. The upcoming birth of their child. Maya glanced down at her pregnant belly, rubbing a hand over it. She was too large. She was either suffering from too much fluid or having twins.

  Neither of which she knew for certain, but both made her uneasy. A twin birth could be dangerous. Statistically, one of the children could be breech. Not that Boyd had understood anything of what she was telling him when she went to him about her anxieties, but nonetheless, he tried to comfort her, but it was no use.

  She was terrified something bad would happen.

  Something that would take her away from the life she loved. Away from the man she loved and adored.

  "You're frowning again, Maya lass." Boyd placed his hand over hers, rubbing her stomach. "Doona worry, lass. The clan has one of the finest midwives, has been birthing babes for thirty years. She'll not let anything happen to the lady of Clan Macleod."

  Maya sighed, hating that she was obvious with her concerns. So much so that others were picking up on her unease. "I know. I'm just worried. What if there are two?"

  Boyd shook his head. "Nay, lass. There is only one. The future Laird Macleod. Our son. He's but a big boy, strong already. That is why you've rounded so much."

  Maya slapped his arm, glaring at him. "Boyd, you're not allowed to say that to me. I'm not so big," she said, looking down at her belly, which really was huge.

  He grinned, downing his ale. "You are perfect to me, lass. Just as you are."

  Gasps and the sound of chairs scraping the stone floor pulled Maya's attention to the hall. A light, blinding in its intensity, floated toward them until it stopped before the table. A figure appeared to be walking toward them in the light before coming to stand right in front of them.

  Maya could barely believe it. It had been months since they had any trouble from the Fae, and now, here they were again, going against their rules in interfering with the clan yet again.

  "Hello, Maya, Macleod."

  Maya wished she could sound as pleased to see the Fae, but she was not. "Sorcha?" she said without warmth. The Fae had almost caused her to lose Boyd. She would never forgive them such evil. "What are you doing here?"

  Maya felt Boyd stiffen beside her before noticing he clasped the sword that leaned against his legs. That he would protect her against a woman Maya knew he had loved for a century made her love him all the more. Let her know that he was hers as much as she was his.

  "You should not be here, Sorcha."

  Sorcha smiled at Boyd, her eyes warming and annoyance spiked in Maya's blood. The Fae would not want to be starting any new troubles, or Maya would use the sword in Boyd's hand against her herself.

  "I promise you. This will be the last time. For all the troubles you've had with the queen, the Seelie Court believed that you should be gifted with one more gift. The queen has now been punished and will not walk the mortal world again."

  "We doona need any more gifts. We have the Faery Flag."

  Maya nodded, remembering everything Boyd had told her about what happened after she returned to the future. How Sorcha had made the queen face the consequences of her actions. How the clan had been gifted a flag that was supposed to hold magical powers that had allowed them to win the war.

  "This is a gift from me to the clan that I loved as much as I once loved its laird. A gift to your new bride, who I know is your future, and the clan’s. Allow me this one boon. Please, Boyd," Sorcha said in a tone that Maya had never heard before. It was almost human, and she felt Boyd relax at her words, his hand moving off the hilt of his sword.

  "Vera well. One more favor."

  Sorcha moved closer, her eyes flickering with power. "I have gifted you the Faery Flag. This flag is to be passed down from son to son, laird to laird, to keep Clan Macleod and Druiminn safe from harm. I also gift to you, Maya and Boyd, any female children from the Macleod bloodline the gift of sight, the gift of time jumping, both into the past and future. These gifts I gift to thee."

  Maya thought back to Kenzie, how Richard brought her to Druiminn to help her return to Boyd should the tapestry not work. She leaned back in her chair, understanding what Kenzie had told her of sight and that in time she would understand. That should she not return to Boyd, their future, the one Kenzie, Richard, and Black Ben held dear was in peril.

  "It is all a little mechanical, Maya lass, but you're right. Kenzie had the powers you were gifted today, while also not having them because you had not been gifted them at that point. But," Sorcha shrugged, smiling at her, "when time jumping, I always find to accept what is, and not try to figure out anything more than that."

  "Are you saying any female children of Macleod blood, not just our blood, but cousins, siblings, will have this gift?"

  "They will. The Macleod clan in the future will need them to continue, to thrive. You were my family once too. I shall never forget your kindness, and I gift you this now to keep you always from harm."

  Boyd nodded, taking Maya's hand. "I thank you, Sorcha lass."

  Maya nodded, thankful too. "Thank you, Sorcha, for both gifts. We're forever grateful. Truly."

  Sorcha turned and started to walk back to the light. "’Tis my pleasure," she said, her Scottish accent as thick as Boyd's. Maya smiled, knowing she spoke so to please her past love. A goodbye. A full stop to that part of her life.

  Maya turned to Boyd. "I can see why you liked her so much."

  Boyd laughed, pulling her onto his lap and kissing her, his arms protectively across her belly. "I love you more," he said, his eyes darkening with heat.

  She clasped his face, kissing him back, knowing that he did. And that, in return, she'd adore him until her final breath.

  Several days later, Maya lay in bed, her two little babes lying on either side of her asleep. Boyd on the end of the bed, lying on his back, and also passed out as if he'd done all the work. Which, she would remind him, he did not.

  She glanced down at her little family. There were four of them now. All of them utterly adorable, and each of them able to break her heart should anything happen to them.

  Maya would be lying if she did not fear her son's future. This was the sixteenth century. Men were warriors in this time. Clan wars still occurred for a hundred years, and so she had no doubt her little lad too would fight at some point.

  But she also knew he had a future. Children of his own, and that settled her fear somewhat.

  She looked down at her daughter. She had the sweetest button nose and long, dark eyelashes like her father. Her heart swelled, and she couldn't stop staring at them.

  "You need to rest, lass."

  Maya met B
oyd's eyes across the bed, knowing what he said was true but also knowing she wanted to relish this time. All too soon, it would be gone, and they would have their own adventures, their own lives.

  "I will rest, I promise. I was watching you all rest."

  Boyd chuckled, slipped off the bed, and poured her a wine, bringing it over to her. She didn't tell Boyd that alcohol while breastfeeding was a no-no, and instead, she took the wine and set it down.

  "Have I told you, lass how much I love you and our babes? I've never been so happy." He came and sat beside her, pulling her to lay in the crook of his arm.

  Maya snuggled into him, laying her head on his chest and hearing the beat of his heart, reveling in the sound. "I'm so glad they're born and well. I was a little worried."

  “I canna believe you birthed twins."

  She smiled, running her hand over his chest. "Promise me you will protect them with your life."

  He met her gaze, frowning a little. "Aye, always, lass. Just as I will always protect you." He paused a moment, reaching down and picking up Lily-Rose, who was sucking her thumb. "My wee lassie will be a warrior. Strong and powerful and shall have the world at her feet."

  Maya picked up Samuel Harrison, kissing his sweet, chubby cheeks. "And our boy?" she asked.

  "He will be a powerful, noble laird, strong and true."

  "And us?" Maya asked Boyd, the babies sleeping in their arms.

  "We, Maya lass, will live forever. No matter when death finally comes to call, our love shall surpass, and I will find you again. Even if it takes me a thousand years next time, I shall see you again."

  Maya sniffed back the tears, unable to swallow past the lump in her throat. "I love you, thank you for us."

  "Nay, it is I who is thankful," he said, leaning down and kissing her, and even merely hours after having children, her stomach fluttered at his touch.

  No matter how many years passed, that feeling never changed. Not for either of them.

  Not even with their final breaths.

  Epilogue

  Sixteen Years Later

  “Boyd, your daughter has disappeared yet again after I told her not to. I know where she's gone, and it has to stop."

  Boyd looked up from his desk at the vision of his wife, her hair askew as if she'd been running a hand through it or, more accurately, flying about the castle trying to find their daughter.

  "She'll return for dinner. She always does."

  "I know she's jumped into the future. I just know it."

  Their son walked in after his mother and slumped into the chair before Boyd's desk, laying one leg over the arm, an apple in hand. "I think she has a suitor."

  Maya all but stomped her foot, staring at them both with widened eyes. Boyd tried to stop his laughter from spilling forth, but his wife, so at a loss with their daughter's actions over the past weeks, was too amusing not to laugh at. Lily had been jumping between times, and although Boyd worried for her, he also knew she was well prepared to defend herself, and the future times from what Maya had told him seemed safer than the past. She could not get into too much trouble surely.

  "Come here, lass, and stop fussing so. Lily will be back and with many grand tales to tell as always."

  "She has to stop this. Just because you can time travel doesn't mean you should. She could be messing up the future or the past. What if she does something in the future and I disappear?"

  Boyd frowned, disliking the notion. "I shall speak to her. We shall stop her from messing about with her power."

  "I wish I had a power," Samuel said, mumbling as he ate his apple. "Laird or no, I think I should have liked to see the future."

  Maya threw up her hands, coming over to Boyd and sitting on his lap. "I give up. Both our children now want to go into the future. I think your first wife did this to us on purpose. She was probably jealous of me, and this was her payback."

  Boyd still stumbled with some of the terms Maya came up with. Payback? He shook his head, knowing Sorcha did not give the gift out of malice but out of love. Just as he loved and adored Maya to the point of distraction.

  "I shall talk to Lily."

  "Talk to me about what?" their daughter said, stepping into the room, a boy or young man at her side. Maya wrenched off his lap, striding to Lily and pulling her aside.

  "What have you done?" Maya demanded, looking at the boy with fear in her eyes.

  "Family, this is my friend, Caelan Bruce. He's come to stay with us for a little while."

  Boyd stood, towering over his daughter, who seemed not the slightest concerned over the fact she was in trouble. Not that Lily ever did worry. The lass had always had a way of wrapping him about her finger without nary a trouble.

  "Lily, where is Caelan from?" Boyd demanded, sensing his wife already knew.

  "From mother's time."

  Samuel laughed. Maya's mouth gaped, and Boyd cringed, and yet, even while his daughter had defied more rules, he couldn't help but love his family and the troubles they faced every day. He wouldn't have it any other way.

  Afterword

  To Win a Highland Scot is the third book in my Time Traveler's Highland Love series, and I hope you enjoyed the story. When writing this series, I wanted to use historical events to add adventure, action, and tragedy to the stories. The battle between the MacLeod and O'Cain clans was based on Clan MacLeod and Clan MacDonald's real-life disputes.

  These clans had long disliked the other, and it is said that during the Battle of Glendale (Skye), the Faery Flag was raised, doubling MacLeod's forces tenfold, ultimately saving the clan who were losing to Clan MacDonald (O'Cain). The Faery Flag was reportedly gifted to Clan MacLeod by the Fae, where it remains to this day at Dunvegan Castle (Druiminn). Laying in wait for when the clan needs the help of the Fae once more.

  Thank you for taking the time to read To Win a Highland Scot! I hope you enjoyed the third book in my Time-Traveler’s Highland Love series.

  I adore my readers, and I’m so thankful for your support with my books. If you're able, I would appreciate an honest review of To Win a Highland Scot. As they say, feed an author, leave a review! Alternatively, you can keep in contact with me by visiting my website or following me online. You can contact me at www.tamaragill.com or email me at tamaragillauthor@gmail.com.

  If you'd like to learn about my time travel books, please read on. I have included chapter one of A Stolen Season for your reading pleasure.

  A Stolen Season

  One small mistake in the past will change everything about her future... Archaeologist Sarah Baxter just broke one of the biggest rules of time travel: leaving a piece of 21st ­century equipment in 19th century Regency England. Unfortunately, when she goes back to retrieve it, she makes an even bigger mess of things—resulting in the death of an English Earl.

  Now his brother is not only out for revenge, but he also has Sarah's device. Which means an entirely different approach is needed. It doesn't occur to the new Earl of Earnston that his charming acquaintance is responsible for his brother's death. He is merely swept away by a passion that threatens his very reputation. Yet he gets the distinct impression that Miss Baxter is hiding something from him.

  Now Sarah must find a way to steal back her device, hide the truth about the earl's brother and—most importantly— not fall in love...

  Chapter 1

  England 1817 – Kent

  Sarah shifted in the saddle, the weight of her saturated clothes heavy on her shoulders and hindering her seat. The horse’s pounding hooves, as loud as a drum, echoed in her ears. She kicked her mount and urged him over a small hedgerow, her determination not to be caught overriding her common sense.

  Rain streamed down her face, but she couldn’t stop. The future of TimeArch depended on it. Her father’s years of research. The hundreds of hours spent working on man’s greatest, most sought-after ability. Sarah slowed her mount to canter through a fast moving ford, the stones causing the horse to stumble, making the short trip across painfully slow. Time w
as up. She had to get away. Though the horse grappled and slipped up the other side of the muddy bank to continue on, apprehension still threatened to close her throat in panic.

  The mount missed a step, and Sarah clutched the saddle, cursing the weather. She flashed a glance over her shoulder and cried out her frustration into the sheeting rain at the sight of the Earl of Earnston not two horse-lengths behind.

  His gaze held hers, and with fearless determination, he urged his mount beside, clutching for her reins.

  “Let go.” Sarah punched his hand and kicked out, trying to push him away. All in vain, as it seemed nothing could deter his resolve.

  “What does it do?” he yelled, pulling on her reins.

  The horses bumped hard, and Sarah fought for balance. “Let go, Lord Earnston. You’ll kill us both.”

  He released her reins for a moment as a large bush separated them. But, at blistering speed, he drew beside her again.

  “What’s so important you’d risk your life?” he hollered over the storm.

  Sarah shook her head. Why wouldn’t he leave her alone? Damn her clumsiness in his library. Had she never knocked over the vase—had she not tripped, for that matter—the Earl would never have investigated the sound. But he had, and he’d found her hands deep in his collection of peculiars, stealing a device not of this time.

  “Forget about it. Forget me,” she yelled through the deluge. “Go home!”

  “No,” he said, spurring his horse ahead of hers.

  A low-lying tree branch slapped her face. Sarah cringed at the stinging pain. The night was perfect for thievery, but not for escape at breakneck speed. If they kept up the chase, it was only a matter of time before one of them was killed.