“Nothing, baby, I need you to go see Maria for a little bit. Mommy needs to go and help someone.”
“Are they okay?”
“Yes, baby, just a little scratch.” She helped Jackie into her shoes and grabbed her sweatshirt. She lifted the girl, who clutched her stuffed Snoopy dog, and headed for the living room.
“You have everything?” Mrs. Kinley asked, impatiently.
“Yes.” Ashleigh lifted her backpack.
“Very well.” Mrs. Kinley touched Ashleigh’s arm, and suddenly Ashleigh had the feeling she was falling.
She gripped Jackie to her, the only weight she could feel against herself, and moments later, when she opened her eyes, she was more than a little confused.
“Ashleigh?” At Carissa’s voice, Ashleigh turned to see a man unconscious and bleeding on a large wooden table in the center of a stone room.
“Aunt Carissa!” Jackie cried and wiggled, trying to get free of Ashleigh’s grip.
Ashleigh held on, unsure as to what was going on. Where the hell were they? How had they gotten there? What the hell was Carissa wearing? She thought when she saw the large gown. A man stood next to her, a sword attached to his belt and a kilt around his waist.
“What the hell?”
“It’s okay, Ashleigh, the feeling will pass. I’m sorry to do this, but my friend is dying. You arrived just in time, can you please help him?” Carissa said softly as she walked to Ashleigh. “Please.”
Ashleigh nodded.
“I can hold Jackie. We will stay right here.”
Ashleigh nodded again. If there was anyone in the world she could trust to protect her daughter, it was Carissa. And if Carissa wasn’t truly there then she was dreaming, and Jackie wasn’t in any real danger anyway.
Going into work mode, Ashleigh assessed the man. He was bleeding from what appeared to be a stab wound to his abdomen, and he was unconscious. There was blood everywhere, which told Ashleigh that if they didn’t stop the bleeding soon, he was going to die. Luckily for him, she carried a trauma kit with her in her backpack at all times.
“What happened?” she asked as she went to work.
“He was stabbed.”
“I can see that.” She snapped at the man who was standing close to Carissa. “What type of blade?”
“A sword,” the man said, his jaw tight.
“Please excuse him, Ashleigh, Leon is Garrett’s best friend, and he was attacked while he was out trying to rescue a village from an attack.”
“I’m sorry your friend was injured.” Ashleigh managed to stop the bleeding and closed the wound. “I need your help to flip him over since it was a sword, I imagine it went all the way through, and I need to get to the other side.”
The man Carissa had called Garrett came over and moved Leon gently as if he were an infant rather than an impressively muscular man. When he had him rolled over, Ashleigh went to work on the other wound and before long had them both dressed.
“We will need to watch him, to make sure an infection doesn’t set in. Have a nurse bring him some antibiotics, that will help.”
“Anti—what?” Garrett looked at her confused and then back at Carissa.
“Antibiotics. They help prevent infection,” Ashleigh clarified. “Where can I wash my hands?”
“Water and soap please,” Carissa said to one of the women standing nearby. “We need to talk, Ashleigh.”
“Yeah, I would say so. Where am I? And where have you been?”
“It’s a bit unbelievable.”
“Try me.”
“We're in Ireland. In the year 1217.”
Chapter Four
Ashleigh stood staring at her friend for what felt like an hour. “Excuse me?” she finally said. Had Carissa lost her damn mind? Was that why she had never come home?
“I know it’s hard to believe.” Carissa took a step toward her but moved back again when the maid came in with a basin full of water for Ashleigh.
Ashleigh scrubbed her hands and then reached for Jackie. “Hard to believe?” Ashleigh laughed. “Try impossible. You have been gone for six months, Carissa. You missed Jackie’s fifth birthday, you missed Christmas, which we always spent together. Now you expect me to believe all this time you’ve been in Ireland? Eight hundred years in the past? Is this some kind of joke to you?”
Carissa’s face went a shade of red Ashleigh knew happened when she was irritated. If she hadn’t been irritated herself, she might have laughed.
“This isn’t a joke, Ashleigh. Come on, and I’ll show you.” Carissa turned and marched for the door, and Ashleigh reluctantly followed.
“I don’t know what you think I’m going to—” Ashleigh stopped talking the second she got a look outside. If this was a joke, someone had gone through a hell of a lot of trouble at her expense. She looked out at a small village that bustled with people pulling carts through what Ashleigh figured must be the town square.
The clothing seemed to fit the era, and she didn’t see a car or electric poles anywhere. No one was on their cell phones—something that proved more to Ashleigh than anything, seeing as how society was glued to them. This was impossible, wasn’t it?
“How did you get here?” Ashleigh asked Carissa without turning to look at her.
“My landlord. Parker came for Gabby and I. I thought he was going to kill me, and if it hadn’t been for Mrs. Kinley, he probably would have.”
“Well, crap.” Ashleigh let out a breath. “She showed up at my door. Hollering about someone who needed my help, that they were going to die without me. I was going to take Jackie to Maria, but she sent me here before we even left my house.”
“She brought you here to save Leon.”
“Seems that way.”
“Come on in, I’ll take you guys to the kitchen. Are you hungry, Jackie?”
“Yes!” Jackie giggled when Carissa tickled her.
“For what it’s worth, I have missed you both like crazy,” Carissa said softly.
“We’ve missed you and Gabby, too,” Ashleigh admitted and opened her free arm up for a hug.
Carissa wrapped her arms around two of the most important people in her life and said a silent thanks to Mrs. Kinley for sending them here to save another, who mattered so very much to her.
Ashleigh followed Carissa through the halls of what she now knew was a castle. A big one at that. She was in a castle! In Ireland! In the 1200’s! What a crazy turn of events, she thought to herself. She couldn’t even be mad, she realized. She was grateful Mrs. Kinley had sent her to Carissa. Now she got to see with her own eyes that her friend was okay.
They walked through a thick door and into a large kitchen. A woman stood over a large pot hanging over an even larger fire.
“Jackie!” Gabby squealed and jumped down from the chair she had been sitting on.
“Gabby!” Jackie wiggled until Ashleigh set her down. The two little girls hugged, and Gabby sent Ashleigh a tooth-filled smile.
“Hi, baby girl!” Ashleigh knelt and wrapped her arms around the toddler when she let go of Jackie to hug her.
“I’m so glad you remember me.”
“Jackie was her first word, I don’t think she would have ever forgotten you two,” Carissa said and grinned down at the two girls, who had gone back to hugging. It was as if they had never been apart.
“For being two, that kid sure has a great memory,” Ashleigh commented.
“Like a steel trap. I can’t get away with anything.”
Ashleigh laughed and then stopped suddenly when the man with the sword, Garrett, Ashleigh remembered, came walking into the room.
“Ashleigh, I would like you to formally meet my husband.”
“Husband?”
“Yes,” Garrett said softly and wrapped his arm around Carissa.
“It is nice to meet you, Garrett.”
“You as well. I wish to thank you for what you have done for Leon. If anything had happened to him, I’m not sure what I would have done.” He bowed his head,
and Ashleigh nodded.
“Your welcome. I’m glad I could help. I will keep an eye on his bandages and try my best to prevent any infections. I’m used to having antibiotics as a precaution, but I think I can manage without them.”
“That would be amazing, Ashleigh. Thanks.” Carissa beamed up at her husband, and Ashleigh smiled. It was well past time Carissa found herself a good man.
“Can I leave Jackie in here with you?” Ashleigh asked Carissa. “I want to check on Leon again.”
“Of course. I will watch her.”
“Thank you.”
“I will accompany you,” Garrett said and kissed Carissa softly. “If that is alright? I would like to be there if Leon wakes.”
“Of course, it is your castle,” Ashleigh joked, and Garrett smiled. He was a damn fine looking man, Ashleigh thought to herself. Carissa had done good.
“I’ll be back in a few, baby.” Ashleigh kissed Jackie’s head. “You listen to Aunt Carissa.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Jackie said without even looking up.
Ashleigh laughed to herself and followed Garrett out of the room.
“I have heard quite a bit about you,” Garrett said as they walked.
“Oh, yeah?”
“Carissa speaks of you often. I know you are very important to her.”
“She is to me as well.”
“I want you to know that I take care of her. I love her, and I will never harm her nor allow anyone else to do so.”
“Thank you, Garrett. I can see that she’s happy, and that’s all I’ve ever wanted for her. I imagine you know about Parker?”
Garrett’s jaw tightened. “I do.”
“Words cannot describe the asshole that man was,” she offered.
Garrett laughed. “I find I like you, Ashleigh. You say what you think, it’s refreshing.”
“I’m glad we can be friends.” Ashleigh grinned and headed for Leon when they got into the room she had first arrived in.
She felt his forehead, grateful there was no fever. She reached for his arm and looking down at the watch on her wrist, checked his pulse.
“What is that?” Garrett asked, fascinated.
Ashleigh waited to respond until she was happy with his vitals. “A watch. It helps me to keep track of what time it is.”
“Fascinating.”
Ashleigh continued checking Leon over, and now that the immediate threat to his life had passed, she found herself appreciating the man who lay unconscious before her. He was muscular and appeared to be very tall. His hair was dark and wavy but had been cut much shorter than Garrett’s. His sharp jaw was clean-shaven. She had always loved to read, and she and Carissa shared a particular love of time-travel romances, this man was straight from the pages.
When two eyes the color of grass in the spring opened to look into hers, she found herself sucking in a breath. He was handsome before, but the eyes pushed him into the gorgeous category.
“Holy cow,” Ashleigh muttered.
“What does a cow have to do with anything?” Leon asked as he looked up at the beauty that stood over him. “And who might you be?”
“I—” Why couldn’t she formulate a damn sentence? He was hardly the first attractive man she had ever taken care of!
“This is Ashleigh, she is a friend of Carissa’s, from her time. It appears our Mrs. Kinley sent her here to save your life.”
“Well, I find I must be saying a thank you to you, lass.”
“You’re welcome,” she said softly and then cleared her throat. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve been run through by a damn thief’s sword.”
Ashleigh snorted when he smiled and tried to cover up the pain he felt when he tried to move.
“What of the thieves?” Leon asked and pushed himself up on the table.
“Taken care of,” Garrett responded quickly.
“Good, bastards attacked me from behind.”
“They sound like real winners,” Ashleigh scoffed. “Attacking people from behind and trying to steal from people.”
“They did not win.” Leon looked offended, and Ashleigh laughed.
“Not what I meant, it’s a figure of speech.”
“You and Carissa say the strangest things,” he said and smiled at her.
Ashleigh looked away quickly, trying to stifle the butterflies that were beginning to flap around in her stomach. It had been too long since she had been with a man; that had to be the reason behind her reaction to Leon.
“We should probably try and get you into bed,” Ashleigh said as she stood from checking Leon’s bandage. It took his amused look for her to realize what she had said. “I mean Garrett and I, you need rest.”
“Well, now my mood is spoiled,” Leon joked and tried to get to his feet.
“I would just assume not be part of getting you into bed.” Garrett laughed but wrapped his arm around Leon’s waist.
Ashleigh went to Leon’s other side and allowed him to lean on her.
“Give me some of your weight, Leon.”
“I don’t want to hurt you, I am heavier than I look.”
“I can agree with that,” Garrett grunted.
“And I am stronger than I look. Give me some of your weight.”
Leon obliged, and Ashleigh was pleased with herself when she was able to help hold him up.
Chapter Five
Together, she and Garrett managed to get Leon up the stairs and into his bed. Once he was settled, Ashleigh allowed herself to gape at the beautifully hand-furnished room. A tapestry decorated with an elaborate Celtic knot hung from a wall, and across from it, a large four-poster bed sat. She ran her fingers over the wood and was fascinated by the details carved into the bedposts.
“This is beautiful.”
“Thank you,” Leon said and scooted back against the headboard.
“Don’t let him be modest, lass. He made it,” Garrett said and then moved toward the door. “I’m going to go and check on Carissa. Let me know if you need anything, Leon. I will have someone bring up fresh bandages and some hot water.”
“Thanks,” Ashleigh said and turned back to Leon. “You made this?” She found herself gaping at him again and then looked back at the posts. “This is amazing, Leon. If I were capable of making something so wonderful I would be telling everybody.”
She felt the heat of his stare and tried to ignore the way it made her feel. Damn if it wasn’t some ancient Irish man who made her feel again. Timing sucked, didn’t it?
“So, if you need me to let your wife or significant other know you are in here and okay, I can do that.”
Leon eyed her curiously. “There is no one.”
“Really?”
“Does that surprise you?”
“Honestly? Yes. If you were in my time, there was no way you would be single.”
“What about you?”
“Am I single?” Ashleigh snorted out a laugh. “Have been since two years after Jackie was born. If I’m being honest, before that too.”
“Jackie?”
“My daughter. She’s five.”
“Did she come with you?”
“Yes, she’s with Carissa.”
“Good. So you think me to be handsome?” He grinned at her, and she rolled her eyes.
“I would have to be an idiot to not think so.”
“That is good to know because when I woke I believed I had died and you were an angel.”
Ashleigh gulped down air, and her eyes met his. “Damn,” she said again.
“That’s very generous of you.” She patted his hand on the bed and then turned. “I’m going to go and check on Jackie. I will be back in a bit to check on you.”
“Thank you, Ashleigh. I find myself in your debt.”
“No problem.” She forced herself to walk out of the door before she did something stupid and climbed into bed with a man she just met. She had a feeling she would before too much longer, though.
Well, that was unexpected, Leon thou
ght to himself as he watched Ashleigh close the door behind her. He had meant what he had told her; for a moment after opening his eyes, he had truly believed he had died. The last thing he would have expected was a fiery redhead with eyes the color of the deep sea to be the one who would save his life.
She was something, wasn’t she? Her red hair fell in slight curls around a lightly freckled face. Her jaw was sharp, and behind her clear eyes, he could see her strength. She was a woman who had seen tough times and had come out the other side stronger than she had been before.
The feelings she had brought to life in him had been another thing he hadn’t expected, never had a woman made him feel the way he did now, and she had gotten under his skin quicker than he could have ever imagined. He wondered if she felt the same? He intended on finding out.
Strange what nearly dying did to a man. Before, he’d believed he had all the time in the world to meet a lass, fall in love, and have bairn of his own. Now though, it was as if his heart was insisting he not wait.
You never knew when your time might be up. He wanted what Garrett had found with Carissa, desperately. Didn’t he deserve happiness? Perhaps Ashleigh could be that happiness?
“So, Leon,” Ashleigh said to Carissa later that evening. They sat and watched the girls running through the grass and playing as if they had never been apart. They had always been a huge part of each other’s lives; from the time Gabby was born Jackie had been by her side. It was nice to see them together again and to be sitting next to her best friend.
“What about Leon?” Carissa asked, but her amused glance showed she knew exactly where Ashleigh was going with it.
“He seems nice.”
“He is nice. One of the two best men I know.
“Garrett being the other one,” Ashleigh said in a mocking tone.
“Ha-ha,” Carissa mocked. “There’s something else you don’t know.”
“What’s that?”
“Gabby is going to be a big sister.”
“That’s fantastic, Carissa!” Ashleigh exclaimed and wrapped her arms around her friend. “How far along are you?”
Their Own Time Page 13
