Their Own Time

by Jessica Wayne

  “Gabby, let’s go and get cleaned up.” Carissa reached for her, but she clung to Garrett’s hand.

  “No, momma. Stay dada.”

  Carissa’s face flushed as she looked at Garrett. The look on his face stunned her, where she would think there would be irritation or even confusion, there was instead pure, unfiltered love as he looked down at the little girl. His smile spread across his face, and he knelt to her.

  “Go with Mommy now wee girl. I will be here when you come down.” He kissed her forehead, and she giggled.

  “Okay, Dada.” She turned and headed for the stairs.

  “Sorry,” Carissa mumbled and turned to follow her. She walked quickly past Garrett and Kettie, careful to not look at their faces.

  “Dada?” Kettie asked, eying him.

  “‘Tis a new one for me.” He laughed and ran his hand over the stubble on his chin. “Truth be told, I like the sound of it.”

  “Have you and Carissa—?”

  “We have not, she is my guest.” But the look on his face must have shown something else because Kettie laughed.

  “Oh, son, if only you knew.”

  “Knew what?”

  “The look you wear plainly upon your face.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  She touched his arm gently and looked into a face she loved more than any other. “Your heart does not believe her to only be a guest, my son. ‘Tis time you began listening to it. It’s been a long while since Eleanora, Garrett. ‘Tis time to move forward.”

  “She has had a rough life.” He motioned for the stairs, where Carissa and Gabby had disappeared.

  “So have you.”

  “I believe she was harmed by the man she was with before.” His jaw tightened at even the minor mention of whomever had hurt her.

  “Gabby’s father then?”

  “Aye.”

  “That’s a shame.” Kettie clicked her tongue and shook her head.

  Garrett nodded again.

  “I suppose it’s even more important that you show her how a proper man treats a woman.”

  “Mother.” Garrett shook his head, but he smiled at her. She knew him better than anyone.

  “Just my belief, son. Take it as it is or just as a crazy old woman, no matter either way.” She winked and turned for the kitchen.

  Garrett stood, staring in the direction Carissa had walked. Truth be told, he didn’t think of her as a guest anymore. She had become a part of his family, and he thought of Gabby as he would a daughter.

  He watched Carissa as she moved throughout the castle and the grounds every day and found himself longing for her. When he dreamt, it was her he held throughout the night, and although she was in a different room, when he woke up, he swore he could smell her.

  As they sat around the dinner table that evening, all was right in Garrett’s world. His mother and Carissa spoke easily as if they had known each other for years, rather than merely hours. Gabby giggled as she ate her dinner on his lap, and when she fell soundly asleep, he snuggled her closer to his chest.

  Feeling her breathing against him caused his heart to soar in ways he had never thought possible. Was this what it felt like to be a father? To be loved unconditionally by a child?

  “Carissa,” Kettie whispered loudly to her.

  “Yes?” She looked away from Garrett, who was infatuated with staring down at the sleeping Gabby, and turned to face her.

  “You can trust him.”

  “Garrett?”

  “Who else would I be speaking of?”

  Carissa laughed softly. “I know I can.”

  “I know of you.”

  Carissa’s heart sunk. How much did she know?

  “Not everything, lass. Only what I dreamt.”

  “I don’t understand. Dreamt?”

  “I know that you are not from this time. I also know that you were in grave danger before, but you must know you are safe here.” She looked back at her son, who still was focused solely on the little girl in his arms.

  “How did you know?” Fear gripped her heart. She didn’t know where she and Gabby could go where they would be safe. Would they condemn her? Call her a witch?

  “Relax, dear. I have gifts of my own. My son will not put you out simply because you are different. You must trust him, let him in.”

  Carissa looked over at Garrett as he held her young daughter. He was so strong, and yet he still managed to be so gentle with her.

  “It was a terrible time for him when Eleanora and his babe died.”

  “I couldn’t even imagine.”

  “I wasn’t sure he would ever recover. Spent many nights at the bottom of a whiskey bottle.”

  “He’s a great man.”

  “He certainly is. Just as his father was.” Kettie’s eyes saddened.

  “What happened to him?”

  “He got sick. Never could figure out what was wrong. He died shortly after he fell ill.”

  “I’m sorry, Kettie.” She reached across the table and touched her hand gently.

  Kettie nodded, wiping tears from her face and smiled at her son. “I am so proud of him.”

  “What are the two of you whispering over there?” Garrett asked, amused, when he saw them talking.

  “None of your business, that’s what.” Kettie laughed and stood. “I am going to retire to my room, it has been a long day.”

  “Love you, Mother. I am so glad you came home.”

  “I am as well.”

  “It was nice to meet you,” Carissa said, hugging Kettie.

  “It was lovely to meet you, Carissa. I look forward to spending more time together,” Kettie said to Carissa and then headed up the stairs.

  “Shall we put this one to bed?” Garrett asked her, and she nodded.

  What had Kettie meant when she said she had dreamt of her? How did she know what Carissa had never spoken out loud? Was it possible that she somehow knew the woman who had sent her back?

  One thing was sure, as she looked at Garrett putting Gabby to bed, she felt her heart become whole again. He turned to look at her, and her breath caught in her chest.

  “Can I talk to you?” she whispered and moved back into the main room. Since there was no other entrance into the nursery except through her door, she had asked him to move the crib back into the attached room after they had been there for three weeks. Gabby kept being woken up whenever Carissa had a nightmare, and she was glad the distance had helped with that.

  “Is everything alright?” he asked, touching her arm gently.

  “Yes, it’s all perfect.” She sat on the edge of the bed, and he sat next to her.

  “What is it?”

  “I’m afraid.”

  “Of me?” He started to stand, and she gripped his arm.

  “No, of what you will think of me. I’m afraid that you might become afraid of me.”

  Garrett laughed lightly. “Carissa, I could never think badly of you and would never be afraid of you. What is it?”

  “I haven’t been completely honest with you.” She watched his jaw harden and beat back the irrational fear she carried with her ever since Parker. She knew he would never hurt her, but it still frightened her.

  “You have a husband,” he said it simply, and when she realized that was what he was afraid of, she couldn’t help but laugh.

  “I’m not married, Garrett. I haven’t been with a man since Gabby was born.” She looked down at her hands, embarrassed and unwilling to tell him why.

  Relief filled his eyes. “Then what is it?”

  Better to just come out with it, she thought to herself. The longer she waited, the more anxiety the secret caused. But if she was wrong, and he turned them away, she wasn’t sure what they would do.

  She took a deep breath. “I’m not from here.”

  “I know that.”

  “No, I mean, not just Ireland. I’m from a different—” She hesitated and covered her face. She was so afraid of the look that would surely be on his face.
Of the heartbreak her daughter would feel once he kicked them out. Of the heartbreak she would feel.

  “What is it, love?” He lifted her face gently, and her eyes filled at his endearment.

  “I’m from a different time.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, I’m from the year two thousand and sixteen.”

  He eyed her carefully for a moment and then released her face gently.

  “I know.”

  Chapter Seven

  Shock flooded her system, and her jaw dropped. Eyes wide, she stared at his face. His reaction was so unlike what she had expected. Amusement tugged at the corner of his lips as he looked down at her.

  “How? You have known this entire time?”

  “Nearly two weeks before you arrived, I received a letter from my mother, she told me a woman would be arriving not from this time and that she would need my help.”

  “And you just accepted it? In a time where witches are feared?”

  “I’m afraid you have your years wrong. While black magic is feared throughout our lands, white magic is often sought out. Ever since I was a lad, villagers would come to this castle and seek my mother out for help. When my mother was but a lass, she and her sister were sought out because my aunt has the gift as well.”

  “Your mother is a witch?” She had told Carissa that she possessed gifts, but it sounded so strange to hear it confirmed by Garrett.

  “Do you fear her?” He wondered. She could see on his face he was willing to defend his mother if necessary, and the love for her in his eyes made Carissa’s heart skip.

  “No, Garrett. Not at all.”

  Garrett let out the breath he had been holding onto.

  “So, tell me of your time.”

  Carissa smiled. “It is very different from this one. We have electricity and indoor plumbing for one. Heaters that warm every room without the need for a fireplace.”

  “Electricity?”

  “We have light bulbs instead of flames, they provide much more light than the candles do, and you can turn them on and off with a switch rather than having to light them individually.”

  “A switch? You hit them?”

  At his confused look, Carissa laughed, and she laid her hand on his arm, not noticing the way he stilled at her touch.

  “Not a switch used for hitting, it is a small thing that you lift up or down.”

  “That is fascinating. And what of warming a room with no fire?”

  “You can set whatever temperature you want your house to be, and it warms or cools it for you.”

  Garrett nodded, listening intently while Carissa explained her world to him.

  “Why were you sent here?” He wondered once she had finished speaking.

  Carissa swallowed hard and closed her eyes.

  “If you do not wish to talk about it, that is fine. I do not want to upset you.”

  “No, it’s okay, Garrett. You have been so kind to us, I want you to know everything.”

  Garrett sat quietly and watched as sadness and anger fought for domination over her features.

  “I have told you that I was with Gabby’s father.”

  “But you were not married.”

  “No, we weren’t.”

  “Is that common in your time?”

  She shrugged. “Fairly common, I suppose.” He nodded so she continued, “You know he was abusive?”

  “I’ve gathered that much,” he said with a tight jaw.

  “He hadn’t ever been that way toward Gabby. It was always directed only at me. If she cried, he would get angry and tell me to ‘shut her up.'” Carissa’s fists tightened in her lap, and Garrett reached over to touch her hands. “I would take her out of the room until she was quiet and then everything would be fine. But eventually, he started yelling at her, and he got more aggressive with me. Before when he would hit me,” she started and closed her eyes on tears, “It would only be after she was asleep, but then he started doing it while she was awake, and eventually, he didn’t care whether she was watching or not. I knew I had to leave, knew that if I didn’t, then she would eventually become his target, and I couldn’t allow that to happen.” She took a steady breath to calm herself and ease the lump in her throat. She was damn tired of crying over Parker.

  We hadn’t been together since I started showing after we found out I was pregnant. Right before I left, I found out he had been sleeping around.”

  “He was bedding other women while you were at home with his babe?”

  She nodded, and Garrett stood to pace.

  “What a miserable man. Not even a man,” he muttered and then quieted so she could continue.

  “Once we left, things got better. I had inherited enough money from my parents that as long as I spent wisely, I would be able to stay home with Gabby until she was seven. I figured once she started school, I might try and find a job as the school’s nurse or at a nearby hospital. When he found us, I thought he was going to kill me.”

  “The bruises that covered your face when I found you.”

  She nodded and continued, “I managed to lock Gabby and I in the bedroom and a woman appeared in my room. She told me that she could save us, we only had to trust her. Gabby was screaming, and Parker was beating on the door, so I took her hand and then when I opened my eyes, we were in the forest where you found us.”

  Garrett took a deep breath and rubbed his hand over the stubble on his jaw. “Carissa, I am so sorry for all you have been through.” Garrett knelt on the ground in front of her and gripped her hands as the tears threatened to come down again.

  “I had to save Gabby. It never mattered what happened to me as long as she was alright.”

  “It matters to me,” he said softly and lifted her face so he could see her eyes. “Since the day I brought you back here, I have begun to heal. I know without me telling you that you are aware of my past. That I was married before, with a babe on the way.”

  She nodded and saw the pain at the thought on his face.

  “It shames me that I did not love Eleanora. Not the way I should have for her to have been my wife. I was sad when she died, but the loss of the babe is what sent me over the edge.”

  “I’m sorry for what you have been through,” she said softly, cupping his face with her hands.

  Her breath caught in her chest when she saw the way he was looking at her. She had never been looked at as if she were the only person in the world, and that was what she saw in Garrett’s eyes.

  “It wasn’t until you two appeared in my life that I felt happiness again.”

  Gabby stirred, and Carissa stood quickly to check on her. Garrett moved out of the way and stood by the door as he watched her check on the sleeping toddler. He had never felt the longing he felt for her toward anyone else. Never felt as though if he didn’t make her his, he would surely perish.

  She turned and walked back toward the room, and he saw it on her face. She wanted him as well.

  Carissa stood, staring at Garrett for a moment. She had never met a man who was as kind-hearted as he was, and she knew he would never harm her. But how could she go to him now? She hadn’t told him that the reason Parker hadn’t wanted her once she started showing was that her body had changed.

  She was no longer the toned woman she had been before. Although she was still thin, her body was soft in places it hadn’t been before, and she had stretch marks on her stomach and thighs. She wasn’t sure she could take rejection from him. It had hurt coming from Parker, but she had known he was cruel before; with Garrett, he was so kind, she knew it would be more painful.

  Carissa took a deep breath and stepped toward him. He moved back into her bedroom, and she followed him.

  “Do you wish me to leave?” he asked her, and his body tensed.

  She knew her answer would define their relationship. It would either bring them closer or push them further apart.

  “No,” she whispered, and his face lit with a smile that made her breath catch and her blood po
und.

  He moved toward her and cupped her face. He lowered his mouth until it was less than an inch from hers, and not wanting to wait any longer, she lifted to her toes and closed the distance.

  The second his lips touched hers, Carissa felt the shock through her body. Her heart beat faster, and she forgot all about her past. She parted her lips under his tongue, and he took her mouth, savoring every second of it. He groaned against her, and she gripped his arms, afraid he might slip away.

  She felt him lift her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Seconds later, she felt the mattress under her back, and his weight settled on top of her. She reached up and ran her hands through his thick hair.

  His hand ran up the length of her thigh under her dress, and she began to panic. What was she doing? What if she disgusted him?

  She pulled back and stared at him.

  “Carissa?” His voice was heavy with passion.

  “I-I’m not the same.” She tried to scoot away from him, and he sat back, watching her.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Since I had Gabby, I’m not the same.” Tears filled her eyes as she stood.

  “I do not understand, if you do not want me—” he started, and she reached for him, not wanting him to think it was him.

  “I want nothing more, Garrett. I just, you won’t want me.” She looked down, and he scooted over to sit on the edge of the bed, settling her between his thighs.

  “Carissa, I have never needed anything as badly as I need you.”

  “But that’s because you can’t see.” She insisted, embarrassed.

  “Can’t see what?”

  Carissa took a deep breath, ready to get the humiliation over with. She pulled at her dress and undergarments until she stood before him in nothing. Her eyes closed tightly, and tears slipped out and fell down her cheeks as she waited for him to disappear.

  Suddenly, she felt his hands on her hips, and she opened her eyes to look down at him as he kneeled in front of her.