by L. L. Muir
“I should never have mentioned my vision, lass. It will affect ye not at all. It was but a warning, I believe, to guard my heart. But I did not heed it, and now it is too late.”
“You’re saying I’m going to break your heart?” She closed her eyes instead of rolling them, but the meaning was the same. She didn’t believe him.
He reached over and took her hand, pulled her forward and placed her palm against his chest. “Aye, lass. If ye’re verra still, ye might feel it beginning to crack. And when Soni comes for me, it will split in twain.”
Her gaze dropped to his lips. She smiled. Then she looked into his eyes once more. “Nice try, buddy. Now,” she leaned back and took her hand with her, “let’s hear this vision.”
~ ~ ~
Fin wondered if appearing before the Judgement of God might be the easier examination he would suffer through that day. But he would simply have to wait and see, for he suspected if Soni and her uncle Wickham appeared to rescue him at that moment, Angel Mott would find a way to make him explain himself before he was allowed to leave, Muirs be damned.
There was no escape to be had. The moment was at hand, and he feared his second day of mortality would be cut sadly short.
“I thought I was dreaming,” he began, and stood. The heat of the coals was uncomfortable now that the sun had crested the top of the mountain, so he offered her his hand, helped her to her feet, and led her toward the veranda. “But when the vision ended, I found myself quite awake. I could almost feel the ache in my heart and I had yet to meet the lovely lass I had seen.”
He closed his eyes and tried to put himself back in that moment when he’d stood among so many upon the moor and yet alone, watching a vision unfold which only he could see. There was no one he might have confided in, no one to console him. The only one among the living to whom he’d ever revealed his visions had been his grandmother, and she’d been lost to him.
He spoke as he recalled the details. “I stood above yon clearing where the burn flows over the rocks and cuts in and out of the hillside. I recognized it from the windows of yer home, aye? The moment I saw those sheets of glass, I believed the vision would be realized there. I was trying to match the angle with my memory when you happened upon me. I was so close, ye see, that I feared it would all play out…
“In any case. At some point today, the pair of us will be standing before that idyllic setting, and ye will…” He swallowed the emotions already lining up in his throat. “Ye will wrest yer hand from mine, slap my face, and order me off yer mountain. And sadly, ye will do it with all the hatred ye can muster.”
It made his stomach turn to speak it aloud.
“Does that sound like me?” She laughed. “Come on.” She stepped onto the upper deck of the veranda where the wedding arch sat at the far edge. “You said, when you were up there yesterday, you were trying to get the angle right?”
“Aye. Everything looked the same, but for the angle.”
She pulled the draping foliage to each side of the arch and looped it over a crossbar which held it out of the way. The sound of the bubbling creek became clearer, as if he’d stepped outside for the first time. And in his mind’s eye, he could imagine his vision lining up perfectly with the angle at which the veranda sat to the sunken clearing beyond.
He faltered.
She failed to notice as she looked through the arch. “Does this look any better?”
He took a deep breath and continued toward her, telling himself it was far too early in the day. It would all transpire later, surely.
She stepped aside to give him a better view. “What else happens in this vision? What do you do to make me send you away?”
The clearing stared back and his heart dropped, knowing his vision would truly come to pass in that very spot, just as all the visions of his life had come to pass. There was no hope for it. Fate will out.
“I have told ye all I saw, Angel.” How many more times would he be allowed to call her by name. “I have no ken what I will do to upset ye so. I only ken that I will.”
She sighed. “I’m sorry, Fin. I think you’re worried for nothing. I think maybe it was just a dream and it stuck with you. Maybe I look like the girl in the dream. Maybe the clearing looks like a hundred other clearings with creeks running through them. Maybe you’ve just convinced yourself—”
The satellite telephone began to ring and the lass held up a finger and hurried back to the picnic table to answer it. After she did so, she returned to the veranda whilst she listened to someone on the other end of the line.
“Are you kidding me?” She sounded more surprised than upset. “Go ahead. Put him on.”
Fin took her hand in his, fearing it might be his last chance to touch her, for in his gut he suspected the moment was at hand. After a few more yeahs, her eyes snapped up to Fin’s face, then alternately narrowed and widened, obviously horrified by what she was hearing.
It was over.
CHAPTER TWENTY
A minute earlier…
Angel ran to the phone, hoping and praying it was Mike, calling to say they would have the canyon open by tomorrow. Recovering from the loss of a day and a half of sales would be a great way to keep her mind off the fact that Finlay will have left the country. But he wasn’t gone yet. And she intended to spend as much time with him as possible before he left. So she headed back to the deck where he stood looking as charming as any groom that had waited for his bride to join him under the wedding arch.
She tried really hard to listen to Mike as she made her way back.
“I’ve got a Mark Simplot here, Angel, and he’d like to talk to you. Is that all right?”
“Are you kidding me?” What could he possibly want? His balloon payment wasn’t due until the first. “Go ahead. Put him on.”
“Angel?”
She absently noticed Fin lift her hand and wrap her fingers in his. “Yeah.”
“This is Mark Simplot. Crazy times, huh? You holdin’ up?”
“Yeah.”
“The deputy here says he left my man up there with you, so you wouldn’t be alone. I was relieved to hear it because his wife is getting worried. Mike has agreed. We’d like to come bring him home. I haven’t been able to get through to him, and when Mike said he was up there, I figured I’d just come along so we can negotiate face to face.”
She actually felt the man’s ham-sized fist reach into her chest and drag her heart out. There was a gaping hole left behind, and her lungs threatened to cave into it if she didn’t take a breath. But she didn’t want to breathe.
When she said nothing, Simplot went on. “And I thought that as long as I’m up there, I could bring some papers with me and see if I can’t help you unload that old restaurant. I’d like to buy you out and erase the rest of your debt to me and my brother, of course. It’s the least I can do, considering what’s happened up there. Sounds like it’ll take weeks to open the canyon again. But we’ll talk this afternoon. That all right?”
“Sure.” She forced air in and out of her lungs while she searched for the little red button to end the call. By the look on Fin’s face—or whoever he was—he knew he’d been busted. And what shocked her the most, after having the world pulled out from under her, was that she was tempted to say exactly what he’d predicted she would.
She pulled her hand away—just like he’d said. Then she pulled it back, knowing that slapping his face wouldn’t give her half the satisfaction she needed, but willing to take whatever she could get. But at the last second, she stopped.
She wasn’t going to slap his face. And she wasn’t going to tell him to get off her mountain, even though she wanted to. She wouldn’t even tell him to go to hell. Instead, she reached for his face with her free hand, rose onto her toes, and kissed him.
She tried to tell herself she only did it to prove a point, that no one, not even Fate, could dictate what she would or would not do. But then she remembered she was kissing a married man, so she stepped back quickly and brought her
sleeve up to her lips.
His brows tweaked together in confusion.
“You’re married? I could probably forgive you just about anything else, but—”
He shook his head hastily. “I am not married, lass.”
“Don’t call me lass, please.” She let her arm fall, turned her back to him, and stepped away.
“Dinna berate yerself. I have no ken what ye’ve been told, but ‘tis all right. Tell me to go, and I will go. ‘Twas always meant to end this way, aye?”
She spun on her heal. “No. I’m not going to tell you to go away. I’m not going to slap you. I have proven that your vision will not come true. Don’t you get it? Your prophecy failed. And Fate can kiss my ass.” She hurried off the side of the deck and headed for the garage. She might have even wanted him to come running, begging her to forgive him, if only he hadn’t been married.
~ ~ ~
Fin stared out at the clearing and let the pain of Angel’s rejection wash through him, bubbling and splashing through his veins, turning him cold.
I should count myself lucky I am able to feel the cold at all, to have felt the heat of the fire, the sunshine. Lucky I am to have felt the warming of my heart.
But it was a lie. He didn’t feel lucky, he felt numb. And if it would all end in numbness, why had Soni taken him from the moor at all?
Her sacrifices were wasted on him. His quest had failed. Angel Mott was no better off for knowing him. He hadn’t eased the pain of losing her enterprise, he’d aggravated it. And he’d lost her because of some telephone call.
But how? Who would have called her to say that the man at her side was married to another? And how could he argue with them when the phone call had ended? The only enemy he had left in this world was possibly her cook, Curt, who couldn’t be the good sport he’d pretended to be after Angel had told him to go.
Had the man orchestrated it all, knowing Fin would be gone by the end of the day? Had he been so jealous he would have spoilt their last hours together? Or was he angry enough over the loss of his job he was eager to hurt the lass however he could?
He might have shared his suspicions with Angel, but he thought it best to give her some time alone. She hadn’t sent him away, and he was not too proud to stay, even though she was angry with him. Besides, protecting her from a vengeful fellow might lead to a bit of vindication for himself.
Five minutes ought to suffice.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
By the time Angel reached the garage, she realized there was way too much anger boiling in her bloodstream to step foot in her apartment. She could just imagine all the things she might start chucking around, and eventually, something solid would end up flying through one of those big windows. At the moment, she might not care. But later, when the forest decided to go exploring through the opening, she would regret it.
So, to avoid that possibility, she stayed to the path and headed up the hillside. In case Fin came after her, however, she cut off the path long before she reached the spring, and ended up twenty-five feet above the clearing with a clear view of her little kingdom. Her clothes blended into the landscape well enough she was sure he wouldn’t spot her. Unfortunately, she couldn’t spot him either.
She scanned the entire clearing, from the far left with its access to the parking lot, past the restaurant, and up the path to the garage. Nothing shifted except for the water and a couple of small white butterflies chasing through the weeds.
A small movement on the deck drew her attention. Fin was leaning on the railing. A corner of his red plaid could be seen in the V between two trees. It made her feel better to know that she could watch him now, without him knowing.
After a few minutes, he straightened and was on the move. He jumped off the deck to the right and headed toward the garage. A chill went up her spine at the thought of him trying to find her, but she reminded herself she didn’t want to be chased by a married man, especially one who had lied to her when she’d asked him straight out if he worked for the Simplot Brothers.
Wow. What a liar. She couldn’t believe she’d taken the bait and fallen for all his distractions. And she blushed when she realized how many of those distractions ended with him kissing her.
You idiot.
She looked around and found a nice, dry piece of turf to sit on and decided she would just stay put until Mark Simplot and Mike showed up. She couldn’t wait to tell the big man to take his paperwork and shove it. She’d rather see the place go up in flames than let someone else run the business into the ground. Hell, the first thing they’d do would be to build on to the restaurant and give people no choice but to park up on the road.
Of course, business would fall off once people started getting hit by cars…
She heard a door slam and the Scotsman cursed. She didn’t understand a word, but by the tone she knew he wasn’t pleased she hadn’t been inside. She, on the other hand, was pretty pleased with herself when she heard the quick steps of a man running up the hillside. Apparently, he was determined to find her.
Too bad for him.
She turned to follow his progress by sound alone, and bit her lips to keep from smiling, just in case her white teeth gave her away. From the spring, he wouldn’t be able to look straight down to the clearing. And hopefully, when he didn’t see her there, he would spend the rest of the day searching the mountain.
Of course, there were footprints for him to follow… But seriously, what modern man paid attention to tracks anymore?
She closed her eyes and listened, but all she could hear was her own breathing. If he’d made it up to the spring, he was probably exhausted and catching his breath. If she was smart, she would sneak back to the restaurant and lock him out.
Only, he had her keys.
Patient. Just be patient. Let him run in circles. Don’t move and he won’t find you.
She heard leaves rustle about twenty feet to her right and froze. It might have been an animal, or it might have been the two-legged kind who had discovered a footprint off the path. Dang it! She should have anticipated that. Had she learned nothing at all from her little forest full of creatures?
A second noise made her hold her breath. Five feet away, maybe. A high-pitched rattle. And suddenly, she wished it was only a Scotsman that had found her…
There was nowhere for her to go. The slip of level ground was surrounded by thick shrubs that started behind her and ran out to the ledge to the left. But if she had stumbled into the snake’s territory, it wouldn’t be backing down. Her only option was to pray it relaxed and left of boredom. The worst thing that could happen would be if Fin came stomping through the brush hollering for her.
“Easy, lass.” His quiet voice came from the right, beyond the snake. “I see the wee beastie.”
The rattles shook faster. The snake was freaking out.
“Easy, now. That’s it, laddie. Look at me.”
Angel moved her head by tiny degrees to see if the snake really had shifted its attention to Fin. The idiot was swinging the end of his red plaid back and forth like he was hypnotizing it.
The biggest diamondback she’d ever seen struck out, missed the plaid, and bit into the front of Fin’s calf where the fangs caught. The man grabbed it around its thick neck, high enough to keep the head from moving. But the snake wasn’t giving up. His huge body slithered closer and began coiling again.
She had to get to the bite kit inside the restaurant! And she couldn’t move past Fin and the snake to get down the hill!
“We have to kill it so we can get you help!”
“Stand back, lass.” With his free hand, he took a firm hold of the tail just above the rattle. Then he shouted and swung, letting go of the neck as the rest of the snake was stretched out. It made a wide arc before the head smacked against the ground with a satisfying whack. The long body sagged lifelessly to the ground. Fin stepped on the head and pulled back. The rest came free with a sickening pop and a slurp.
If she didn’t need to move fast, Angel
would have stopped long enough to throw up. But there would be time to puke later.
“We need to get your belt around your thigh. Did it bite your hand? If so, we need something to tie around your upper arm. It will get to your heart much faster from your hand.”
“Easy, Angel. I am hale.”
She sat back on her butt and reached for her boot. “Don’t be an idiot! You take off your belt right now. You’ve been bitten and you’re going to die if you don’t do what I say!”
He stuck his hand out. She was busy tugging on her bootlace.
“Look closely, Angel. No bite marks, aye?”
She looked. No holes. No blood. Tears of relief flooded her eyes and she attacked the laces like a life depended on it, which it did, because he still hadn’t taken off his belt. She could only pray it would reach all the way around his thigh.
“Look again, Angel. There is nae need to worry over me.”
She finally freed the lace and got up on her knees, grateful he was close enough to reach. “Hold up your kilt.”
“Now, lass. We doona wish to push our luck—”
“I need to get this around your thigh, and don’t tell me you’re not hurt. I watched it bite you. I watched the teeth get caught—”
“Angel! I prithee, look!”
She blinked back her tears and did as he demanded, but was fully prepared to rip his head off for not moving faster. Only… Only his leg was fine. She pushed the good one back and reached for the other one, sure she’d been looking at the wrong calf. But that one was fine, too.
“Consider, Angel. I was struck by the yellow truck and came away without a scratch upon me. I cannot be damaged, lass. A mere snake could not harm me.”
“The holes closed up?”
“They seem to have done, aye.”
“Then the poison is sealed inside!” It just seemed so reasonable—except for the closing up part—but she only had to worry about the poison.
