Love Beyond Wanting

by Bethany Claire

  It must’ve taken me too long to answer. For after a brief moment, Morna gently leaned forward and placed a hand on my knee.

  “Ye should let him go, lass. Yer life is about to get much more complicated. If ye doona love him, there is no room for him along this new path.”

  For the first time in months, I felt tears threaten to build up in my eyes. I quickly shook my head to push them away.

  “How is Laurel? Is she really in the past?”

  Morna righted herself as she nodded and gently began stroking Mr. Crinkles’ back. I couldn’t believe he was sitting there so contentedly.

  “Aye. She’ll be calling ye tonight. ’Tis why I needed to speak with ye this morning.”

  “Calling me? From the seventeenth century?”

  “Aye. I sent her a way to speak with ye, for I canna speak with her myself.”

  “Why?”

  “Because she would ask for my help, and I would be too tempted to give it, which I canna do. ’Twould doom not only her but every man that lives in the castle with her.”

  I repeated the same question. “Why is that?”

  Morna sighed, and I could sense that whatever she was about to tell me had been weighing on her for some time. “Ye’ve done a fine job of piecing things together, but there is one piece yer information got wrong.”

  “Just one piece? If that’s all, then I’m pleasantly surprised. Which part was wrong?”

  “The prophecy given to Machara by her father was no prophecy. It was a curse. He dinna tell her what was to be, only what could be. He cast into existence a way for her to be defeated—a way to end her immortality.”

  I thought back on all I’d read about faeries over the past days, and Morna’s revelation made sense. Faeries didn’t die easily, if ever, and all that I’d read indicated that, at some point, Machara would—or perhaps the right word was could—be defeated.

  “Why would her own father create a way for her to die?”

  “I canna tell ye that, lass. All that I know, I learned from a friend long ago. He is no longer around to give us any more answers than we already have.”

  Something sad flashed in Morna’s eyes at the mention of her friend, but she quickly masked it with a smile when she noticed my stare.

  “This friend…is he the reason you’re involved with this at all?”

  “Aye. I often meddle in the lives of my kinsmen, but not verra often do I meddle in the lives of strangers. I share no blood with any on The Isle of Eight Lairds, but I made a promise to one who does that I would help in the only way Machara’s father’s curse would allow.”

  She paused and I allowed the silence to linger between us. I sensed she was readying herself for a longer story.

  “Raudrich—yer sister’s beau—is the grandson of a man who once loved me verra much. Long after I’d left the time I was born in, I sensed Hamish calling to me in my sleep. He was near death and needed to see me one last time, so I went to him. On his deathbed, I learned of Machara and the havoc she’d wreaked on The Isle of Whispers.

  “Hamish was devastated that his young grandson had been called to a life of such restriction. Raudrich’s powers made it necessary that he become one of The Eight, but Hamish dinna want the boy to be trapped in a life without choice. He couldna leave the curse to chance, so he asked me to use my skill to gather a group of women strong enough to defeat her.”

  The details of the curse ran through my mind. Suddenly, I understood.

  “But you can’t tell us how, can you? Because you’re not entirely mortal, and Machara can only be defeated by mortal women.”

  Morna’s whole posture relaxed as she leaned back into the chair and let out a big sigh.

  “Precisely, lass. ’Tis not that I doona wish to help Laurel, ’tis only that if there is to be hope for any of ye, I canna do so.”

  “All you can do is get us each back there and leave the rest to history.”

  Morna’s eyebrows scrunched together in what I could only describe as a look of concern.

  “Aye, and no, lass. Aye, all I can do is get ye back there, but suggesting that any of us ‘leave the rest to history’ makes it seem as if the end result is predestined. That insinuates that ye have nothing to worry about.”

  That was honestly my understanding of the situation. The stories about the Isle were already legendary—history already knew how this would turn out.

  “Isn’t it? If not, how can you explain the books and the documentary?”

  Morna laughed and shook her head, which immediately worried me. “That would be nice, aye? But alas, time is much more fluid than ye are capable of understanding. ’Tis verra possible, in truth ’tis verra likely, that Machara will best one or many of ye. If she does, if ye doona defeat her, then the stories and documentaries ye’ve seen in yer time will simply change to match what happens then. Nothing is set, Kate. How this turns out is up to each of ye lassies who will face her. All I can do is choose worthy opponents for her and keep my fingers crossed that each of ye are as brave and wise as ye seem to be.”

  “I’m beginning to think I would’ve preferred not knowing all of this before I went back.”

  She stood and began to walk toward the door.

  “Ye needed to know. Yer faith in how ye believed things would turn out would’ve made ye reckless. Fear, in this case, is good. But doona ever doubt yer bravery, Kate. Ye have that in spades. Now, I must be on my way, but I need to tell ye a few last things. First, I know that yer mother and David must come, and I believe that is fine, though ’tis up to ye how ye plan on getting them there. Second, I would welcome ye at my inn and would be happy to send ye back via my spell, but when yer sister calls ye tonight, she shall offer ye a better way. Such a journey willna only be easier, but ’twill allow ye to be surrounded by people who can help yer mother and David adjust to the shock of what they will learn when they get there. Either way, I’ve no doubt that we will see each other again.”

  She leaned in to kiss my cheek in farewell, and then paused as she started to pull away.

  “One last thing, doona tell Laurel I was here. Feign ignorance to anything she tells ye that coincides with what we have discussed. She still has her battle to fight. It willna do for her to know I was here.”

  I agreed and watched her until she was safely outside my building.

  It seemed a very long way to travel for a conversation that could easily have been had on the phone, but then again, for a time-traveling witch, I supposed the journey from Scotland to Boston was no trouble at all.

  Chapter 4

  Mom didn’t return home from the gym until nearly eleven, which while surprising, actually worked out for the best. It allowed me to form a plan and actually slip away for a bit myself to take care of a few of the many loose ends that would have to be tied up within the next few weeks.

  After Morna left and I finished getting ready for the day, I decided to take care of the most obvious piece of business first. I went to my downtown office for the first time since the fire and began to disassemble the pieces of my life in Boston as quickly as I could. Otherwise, I knew I would collapse in a giant puddle of tears.

  While many of my clients had moved on to other interior designers after my accident, there were a handful of gracious souls who’d insisted that I hold on to their deposits, take all the time I needed to heal, and then resume work on their projects when I was ready. The first thing I did upon walking into my office was call them, back out of the jobs, and place all of their deposits back in the mail to them.

  Once that was done, I moved through the rest of my list as quickly as possible:

  1. Cancel the lease on my office and see if I could get my deposit back. (Since I was pulling out four months early, they said no to the deposit.)

  2. Research the cost of flights to Edinburgh and figure out a way to come up with the money. (Holy-freaking-crap! Flights are expensive. Maxed out credit cards would be my only option.)

  3. Call Sue and tell her to cancel the o
rder for the prosthetic. (She was immensely disappointed. She’d spent the last six weeks convincing me to begin working with one, but when I explained to her that it was because I was going to Scotland to visit Laurel, she seemed to perk up. While it was regrettable that she was under the impression that I’d be returning to Boston in a few weeks, I could see no other alternative than to mislead her.)

  4. Figure out a story that would get both Mom and David to agree to a trip to Scotland. (This one took me much longer to figure out, and I wouldn’t know until later that evening if my story was believable or not.)

  5. Pack up my office and hire a couple of movers to help me move out. (I would have to call movers to help me pack boxes, as well. I spent the better part of two hours and ended up crying in frustration. There were many things—such as putting together boxes with only one arm—that I’d yet to master.)

  After knocking off most of my list in just a few hours, I made it back to Laurel’s apartment a half hour before Mom did. By the time she did arrive, I was slightly concerned.

  “Did you just get back from the gym?”

  She paused in the doorway and hesitated a little too long. “Uh, yes. I was just enjoying myself so much that I guess I lost track of time.”

  I stared at her as she turned her back to me to lock the door. There were no females in our family that enjoyed exercise enough to get “carried away” with it. There was no way in hell she’d been at the gym this whole time, but I saw no reason to pry. She was grown, and so was I. We could both have our secrets.

  “Hm. Okay, hey, I have something I wanted to ask you. Do you have plans tonight?”

  She took a moment to hang her keys on one of the hooks by the front door then walked over to the couch and sat down next to me.

  “Not at all. Are you wanting to get out of the house?”

  I knew the question was really more of a suggestion. She and Laurel both believed that since the fire I’d isolated myself way too much, which was ridiculous coming from either one of them. They were world-class hermits.

  “I was wondering if you could meet me for dinner at that really great Italian place close to my office? I’m going to ask David to come, too. I need to speak with both of you.”

  She made a startled, jerky motion with her head as if something I’d said frightened her. “David, as in Marcus’ dad? Why does he need to come? Is everything okay? Are Laurel and Marcus in trouble?”

  I should’ve known that her mind would immediately jump to some sort of tragedy.

  “No, no, don’t worry. Everything is totally fine. Laurel called while you were out. She wants me to surprise the two of you with something.”

  She still looked skeptical. “And this is a good something?”

  I nodded. “Yes. I think you will think this is a very good something.”

  “Okay, then.” She smiled, and I found that I was able to relax just a little bit although getting her to go and eat wasn’t even close to being the most difficult part. If she was skeptical about me wanting to eat with her, she would be an impossibly hard sell on the concept of time travel.

  I took a breath as I reminded myself that I just needed to take everything one step at a time.

  “Perfect.”

  My phone buzzed on the coffee table, and I glanced down to see Dillon’s name and photo pop up on the screen.

  “Damnit.” I cursed under my breath as I picked up the phone. I’d forgotten all about our date for tonight.

  Mom stood, sensing that I needed privacy, and began to move away from the couch.

  “You go ahead and answer that. I’ll go in Laurel’s room and call David to see if he can meet us tonight.”

  I’d almost answered until I heard what Mom meant to do.

  “You’ll call David? Do you even know David?”

  She cocked her head to the side and crossed her arms in annoyance. “Of course I know David. It’s no trouble for me to call him.”

  “Okay, well, thanks then.”

  I waited until she was inside Laurel’s room before answering the phone. Dillon sounded so excited, and it made me feel wretched all over.

  “Hey, babe. Just checking in to make sure everything is still set for tonight. I can’t wait to see you. I have one tooth extraction and three fillings before I get to go home for the weekend. Is seven good for a pick-up time?”

  I took a deep breath and tried to muster up some phlegm at the back of my throat. “Oh, Dillon,” I coughed for effect. “I should’ve called you this morning. I’m sick. Really sick.” I paused for more coughing. “I have to cancel.”

  “That sucks, Kate. I’m sorry. I…I would offer to come over, but I can’t really afford to get sick right now.”

  I frowned, surprised that his reaction upset me. I wasn’t even really sick, but if I had been, I’d have wished for more sympathy.

  “Oh, of course not. We can’t have that. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  He sighed. “Okay, babe. Get some rest. I love you.”

  “I love you too.” It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t enough either.

  Chapter 5

  My nerves began to get the best of me as I sat in the restaurant and waited for my mother and David to arrive. I’d not been able to completely finish with my office that morning, so rather than the two of us ride to the restaurant together, I’d spent the rest of the day downtown with a couple of movers packing things up.

  They were both fifteen minutes late. While I didn’t know David all that well, Mom was never late for anything.

  Just as I reached for my phone, they walked into the restaurant together.

  Swallowing my panic, I smiled and stood to greet them.

  Mom didn’t bother hugging me—she was doing enough of that at home. Instead, she just gave me a quick smile and sat down while David wrapped me up in the biggest hug I’d had in ages. Just like his son, David gave remarkably warm and wonderful hugs.

  “You look good, Kate. How are you feeling?”

  “Better. Most days I feel very good. I often still feel like that right arm is hanging around, but I’m told that’s fairly common.”

  He smiled as he released me. His gaze couldn’t hide his pity, but it was something I’d grown accustomed to. Strangers were actually easier than people I’d known before. Those who knew me before the fire—their eyes screamed pity. It was part of the reason that moving to the past didn’t seem so daunting to me. At least there, nobody would be able to say they knew who I was before. They would only know me as I am now.

  We sat down at the table as the waiter came to take our drink orders.

  “Did you guys get stuck in the same traffic jam? I can’t believe you showed up at the exact same time.”

  “We…” Mom hesitated and cast a quick glance in David’s direction. “We rode together. David picked me up.”

  “Oh. That’s…” I was so shocked I didn’t know what to say. “That’s economical of you.”

  My mother’s tone was defensive when she answered. “Laurel and Marcus have been friends for most of their lives, Kate. David and I have known each other a very long time.”

  Her reaction confused me, but the way David softly cleared his throat as if to calm her baffled me even more. I could feel her getting agitated, and that was the very last sort of mood she needed to be in. I would sit around and ponder what could be going on with her later. For now, I knew I needed to lighten the mood.

  “Okay, it’s no problem. I think it’s very nice that he offered to pick you up.” I smiled to ease some of the tension. “So, I’m sure you guys are wondering why I asked you both to come eat.”

  My mother sighed and straightened up in her chair as she ran a hand through her long, dark, curly hair.

  She was nervous, and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why.

  David leaned forward and smiled. “Actually, we have a pretty good idea.”

  My mind immediately began to flip through everything I’d done today. How could they possibly know? “You do? How?”


  Something in my mother’s worried gaze shifted, and before David could answer, she shot out her arm to squeeze my hand.

  “We visited on the way over here. We have our suspicions. Why don’t you tell us what it is? Then we will tell you if we were right.”

  I couldn’t stay up all night again tonight. My sleep-deprived brain was making it difficult for me to understand anything she was saying.

  “Okay…” I started slowly as I carefully made sure to say everything exactly according to plan. “Well, it’s nothing for either of you to worry about. It’s a good thing.”

  David smiled. “We know.”

  I could feel my face shift into an expression of utter confusion, but before I could ask anything, Mom jumped in.

  “Ignore him, Kate. Go ahead with what you were saying.”

  I nodded and reached to grab my water glass, taking a quick sip before continuing. “Shortly after I got to my office this morning, I got a call from Laurel. They’ve decided to stay in Scotland for the rest of the summer.”

  “Oh?”

  I expected my mother to be stressed by the news. I knew she would feel the need to stay in Boston until Laurel returned, and such an extended trip would undoubtedly disrupt her life in Florida greatly, but the way her voice lifted at the end of her question made her seem rather pleased at the revelation.

  I stared at her until she noticed my expression. “Are you okay, Mom?”

  She answered—in my opinion—a little too quickly. “Of course I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

  I shrugged. “I just…I didn’t expect you to be so pleased with the news. You don’t really seem like yourself this afternoon.”

  “Of course, I’m pleased. If Laurel and Marcus are planning to stay the summer, then it must mean that they’re having an excellent time. That’s all any mother wants for her children—for them to be happy.”

  I had the strongest urge to whisper under my breath, Maybe some mothers, but I refrained. I knew, of course, that Mom did want that for both of us. She was often just too intense for that to show through.