by Emma Prince
As she hugged him back, the sharpest edge of her pain was softened by the love she felt for him. A sense of peace washed over her. She’d felt so unsure about what to do for so long, so lost. But whatever unseen force had brought her here had clearly decided that she was meant to stay. Her future was with Callum.
After a long while, he withdrew, fixing her with a searching gaze. “Ye will remain in this time, then?”
“Yes,” she breathed. The anticipation, the excitement, the curiosity she’d tried to snuff out at the prospect of remaining here stirred to life like a fanned ember in her chest. The ache of loss was still present, but so too was a flicker of hope. “Yes, I’m staying.”
“And…and do ye think ye can be happy here? With me?”
The uncertainty and hesitation in Callum’s voice made Caroline sit up straight. She locked her gaze with his, ensuring that there could be no doubt about the truth of her words.
“Yes.” Her throat tightened with another wave of emotion, but this time joy edged out the sadness as she spoke. “Callum, I love you. I want to build a life here with you.”
He pulled in a breath. “Truly?”
“Yes, truly. I…I don’t know what brought us together—fate, magic, God, or something else entirely. But whatever it was, I think I was sent here for a reason.”
She shook her head in wonder, and she continued. “Why did I jump through this waterfall in the twenty-first century, only to wake up in 1394—right where you would find me? And why can’t I go back through time the same way I did before? Maybe because I’m meant to stay here—with you.”
A slow smile spread over his face, and it was like the breaking of dawn, warm and promising.
“Aye, mayhap. I dinnae understand it either, but I feel it. We are bound together, Caroline. Our fates, our futures, are intertwined.” He gave a soft chuckle. “And I am no’ one to say such things lightly. I dinnae usually put much stock in magic or fate. A man must make his own destiny. But I cannae deny what I ken in my heart.”
A soft laugh rose in her throat. And when he pulled her into another fierce embrace, she let the laugh grow and expand, until they were both shaking with it.
After a long while locked together on the waterfall’s bank, Callum eventually released her and helped her to her feet. He kept her tightly wrapped in his plaid despite the warm day, for her chemise was still wet.
“Shall we go home, my bonny love?” he asked, taking her hand in his.
“Aye,” she replied, doing her best impression of his rolling brogue.
Grinning, he turned to where he’d left his horse, but he halted abruptly.
“What is it?” she asked, trying to peer around his shoulder.
“There.” He pointed past his idly grazing horse to the forest behind it. “That tent wasnae there when we arrived, was it?”
Sure enough, a small tent made out of colorful patches of cloth sat in between the trees not far off. An array of glazed pots, scraps of fabric, and other assorted items lay spread in display on the ground in front of it.
Caroline frowned. “I definitely didn’t notice that before, but then again, we were rather…caught up.”
Callum cast her a sideways glance before returning his attention to the tent once more. “There arenae many people out here. I cannae imagine that is a very good place to sell wares. Come. Mayhap the tent’s owner is lost.”
As they approached, Caroline noticed a small wagon behind the tent and a mule grazing nearby. A faint humming came from inside. When they were only a few paces away, a head abruptly popped through the tent’s flap.
The head belonged to a woman with a cloud of frizzy gray hair and a wide, toothy grin. When the woman fixed her gaze on Caroline, she noticed that her eyes were two different colors—one green, one blue.
“I’ve been waiting for ye,” she said, straightening and letting the tent flap fall closed behind her. Before it did, Caroline caught a glimpse of several bowls, dried herbs, and arranged rocks and crystals inside.
Callum was staring at her quizzically. “I am Laird Callum MacMoran, and this is Caro—”
“Och, I ken who ye are,” the woman said with a wave of her hand. Her two-colored gaze pinned Caroline. “Ye are one of the three.”
Caroline’s heart did an odd little stutter. “Three what?”
“Three hearts. Three halves, made whole. Three women of the waterfall.” She pointed a crooked finger toward the falls behind them.
The words hit Caroline like a blast of cold air, and her thoughts scattered like leaves. Her mouth fell open and she felt her eyes round.
Luckily, Callum had enough wherewithal to begin asking the woman questions.
“What do ye ken about the falls? And what do ye mean by three hearts?”
The woman planted her hands on her ample hips, a soft, knowing grin playing around her mouth. “Dinnae ye listen to the wise women when they tell their stories, Laird? Ye should, for the magic in Sweetheart Falls brought ye yer heart, yer soul.” She glanced pointedly at Caroline.
Tilly’s words rushed back to her. Leannan means sweetheart, ye ken.
“It…it was magic then,” Caroline breathed.
The old woman cocked her head. “It was the faerie cursed to be trapped forever in the falls, but aye, close enough.”
Caroline’s head spun. Tilly had mentioned something about a doomed love between a faerie and a man, too. “A cursed faerie? And…and you’re saying I was brought here because I’m Callum’s…soulmate?” She glanced at him and found her wonder mirrored in his gaze. She was meant to be here.
The woman tipped her head toward the falls. “She was denied her love, ye ken, so she unites souls across time.”
Caroline gave herself a little shake. The strange old woman was simply saying too many cryptic things to make sense of all at once. She opened her mouth, but the woman cut her off.
“I dinnae have all the answers ye seek, lass, for ye can find them yerself.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ye seek the others.”
“The others?” Caroline’s heart leapt into her throat. “My sisters?”
“The three. The women of the waterfall,” Callum murmured.
Caroline swallowed hard. “They fell through with me. Oh my God, could they be here, too?”
“Men came to me,” the woman said, her gaze piercing Caroline. “Men from beyond the border—asking questions. About ye.”
“What men?” Caroline asked, her voice hitching.
“Saxford men.”
“Saxford Castle isnae far from here—a few days’ ride across the border,” Callum interjected.
“What did they ask about me?”
The old woman smiled. “They asked if there were others like the one they’d found.”
Her heart hammered wildly. “At least one of my sisters could be here. At Saxford.” She spun to face Callum. “We have to go there. We have to see if it’s true.”
“Aye,” he replied without hesitation.
Without thinking, Caroline bolted through the trees to where her wool gown and boots still lay on the banks of the pool below the falls. She tossed aside Callum’s plaid and dragged the gown over her head, shoving her feet into her boots.
Callum appeared by her side, scooping up the plaid.
“We have to go—now,” she breathed, her pulse racing and her head swirling with possibilities. Her sisters might be here after all. And then her heart, her happiness, could be complete.
“Aye,” Callum repeated. “But hold a moment, love. Yer sisters will never forgive me if I let ye strangle yerself in yer own gown.”
She’d gotten tangled in the laces on her dress, and it took him several precious minutes to free her.
“The woman said that the Saxford men had only found one other like me. So Hannah and Allie might not both be here. Or they might have found some other person who fell into the falls and got sucked across time by that matchmaking faerie. They might not be here at all—”
“Caroline.” Callum placed firm, warm hands on her shoulders as she straightened her gown. “Dinnae forget to breathe.”
She dragged in a ragged breath, but then she barreled on. “We can’t waste any more time. If they aren’t truly here…” She swallowed hard. “Then I want to know. And if they are here—one or both of them—”
“I ken,” he said softly. “But even riding hard, it will take at least two days to cross the border and reach Saxford. And Bron and the others are waiting for me in the opposite direction.”
When her mouth fell open in frustrated helplessness, he actually tossed his head back and laughed.
“I never kenned ye to be so impatient, my wee hellion.” His dancing amber eyes captured her. “Ye will have to resign yerself to a few delays, but I truly believe we will find them. The woman said ye were one of the three women of the waterfall. The other two must be Hannah and Allie. And whether it takes a day or a sennight or a month—or more—I vow to help ye track them down.”
“Thank you,” she breathed, launching herself into his arms for a hard, swift embrace.
“Now,” he said, setting her back from him. “We must ride to the nearby village to fetch Bron and the others. I cannae simply leave without alerting them, and besides, I dinnae plan on crossing into England without at least a few braw Highland warriors by my side. Then we will travel to Saxford as fast as ye can ride. Agreed?”
“Agreed.” A thought occurred to her. “But what about—” Her gaze shifted through the trees beyond where Callum’s horse stood, but to her bafflement, the multi-colored tent was no longer there. The wagon and mule were gone as well. “Where did she go?”
Callum followed her gaze, his brows winging in shock. “She must have some of the old ways in her, too,” he murmured. “A witch—or mayhap only a seer, but touched by magic.”
“But I don’t understand everything she said. What if I can’t find my sisters? What if—”
“She said ye could find all the answers ye sought,” Callum said. “I believe we can—together.”
Caroline gazed up at him, her heart swelling so large that it felt like it would burst from her chest. Hope filled her—for her sisters, for her future, for the destiny that had brought them all here.
Yes. Together.
Epilogue
“I dinnae ken,” Callum said, for what felt like the thousandth time in the two days since they’d departed from Leannan Falls.
“Or what if it’s Allie, and not Hannah?” Caroline continued, hardly seeming to hear his response. “Or neither of them. Do you think we could find that seer woman again if it turns out that whoever is at Saxford has nothing to do with my sisters?”
“I dinnae ken.”
Bron shot Callum a droll look, but Callum only smiled. He would say it a thousand more times, for he didn’t have the answers to Caroline’s questions, but he loved that he got to hear her asking them.
She was here. She was staying. And if the wise woman’s words proved accurate, her happiness could truly be complete—and then his would be, too.
Caroline shifted in his lap, a frown creasing her face. She’d forgone riding her own mare, just as she had on the last day of their journey to the falls, and Callum couldn’t be happier. The feel of her warm, slim curves nestled against him was a constant reminder that she was real. And all his.
As if picking up the direction of his thoughts, she changed topics to her other favorite line of discussion on this trip. “I have an idea about our wedding.”
“Oh?”
“I’d like to get married in the standing stone circle you showed me. That is, if the priest doesn’t think that’s too pagan.”
Callum chuckled. “That I can answer. Father Padraig willnae take issue with a wedding in the stones—if it is the Laird’s wish. As long as he is allowed to recite all the proper passages, he willnae cause a kerfuffle.”
“Good. Because it is perfect. I can’t wait to marry you there.” She beamed at him, but then returned to gnawing on her lower lip in thought. “If my sisters really are in this time, do you think they would come to our wedding?”
Callum pursed his lips. “I dinnae ken.” When her elbow connected with his ribs, he grunted. “But,” he added, shooting her a mock glare, “I suppose it depends entirely on where they are. Travel isnae so easy, as ye’ve seen this last sennight, but it isnae impossible.”
She nodded distractedly. “When that woman said the falls brought us together across time because we were soulmates, does that mean that if my sisters fell through with me, they also found soulmates? Or were they just along for the ride?”
“I dinnae—”
“Laird,” Bron cut in, saving Callum from a response that would likely earn him another elbow to the ribs.
Bron pointed across the grassy, rolling landscape they rode through. Against the horizon, the North Sea was a ribbon of blue. A light breeze had carried the briny scent of the ocean to them all morning, but this was their first view of it.
Callum squinted against the sparkling water. A gray structure was perched in the distance at the point where land met sea.
“Saxford Castle.”
Caroline tensed against him. There was no way she would be able to wait the hour or so it would take to ride at their current walking pace.
“Hold on,” he murmured. When she looped her arms around him, he urged his horse into a gallop. His men followed suit, and the grass beneath their horses’ hooves became a blur.
A hundred yards from the castle’s wall, Callum reined in. He doubted the English lord who controlled this keep would take kindly to a band of Scottish warriors charging in at a gallop. He could already see several guards eyeing them from the castle’s gatehouses and battlements.
“Hold!” a faint English voice called from the wall. “Name yourselves and your business here.”
“Bron,” Callum said, jutting his chin from the warrior to the castle.
Bron nodded and kicked his horse into motion while the others waited behind.
Once he’d reined in below the castle walls, Bron’s voice drifted to them on the wind.
“Laird MacMoran of Kinmuir Castle comes in peace,” he began. “He wished to speak to the lord of the keep regarding the arrival of a particular lass who…”
In front of Callum, Caroline sucked in a hard breath. She began to tremble.
“What is it, love?”
“There.” She lifted a shaky hand and pointed farther down the battlements, away from the guards. “That…that is…”
He followed her finger, his gaze landing on a woman standing in one of the crenellated openings along the stone wall. Her dark chestnut hair rustled softly in the salty breeze. Even from this distance, he could feel her ice-blue gaze landing on him and Caroline. The resemblance was unmistakable.
“Hannah!” Caroline breathed. “It’s her. She really is here.”
Her shoulders began to shake and the air left her lungs in a half-laugh, half-cry of joy.
“She’s here,” she mumbled through her happy tears. “Which means Allie might be here, too.”
His chest swelled with happiness unlike aught he’d ever known. Caroline would have her family back. Her heart would be whole now, as would his, knowing she could stay with him without reservations or regrets. Only love.
She shook her head in wonder, her gaze fixed on her sister. “Hannah is afraid of heights. How the hell is she just standing there, so bold and confident?”
“I dinnae ken,” Callum replied, a grin breaking over his face. “But we’d best go find out.”
The End
Continue reading the Enchanted Falls Trilogy with Falling for the Knight by Cecelia Mecca and Falling for the Chieftain by Keira Montclair!
Falling for the Knight (Enchanted Falls Trilogy, Book 2) by Cecelia Mecca:
When she’s sent back to the past she finds new hope for the future.
Hannah Sutton prides herself on being a strong, independent woman, perfectly in cont
rol of her career and personal life. But her orderly existence is upended when she and her sisters travel to Scotland and jump off an enchanted waterfall as a lark. After blacking out, she finds herself marooned near a castle in England, alone. Everyone she meets appears to be a devoted reenactor, dressed from head to toe in medieval gear, but soon the truth becomes undeniable. Hannah has traveled back in time.
Tristan wasn’t meant to be a lord, but his bravery and prowess in battle earned him the lordship of Saxford. Now, he faces a challenge that might very well unseat him—his ten-year truce with Saxford’s biggest enemy is about to come to an end. It’s the worst possible time for a mysterious woman to wash up on his beach, especially one who claims to be from the future. But the beguiling beauty quickly gets under his skin, and he
realizes there might be something to her claim.
Hannah and Tristan have an immediate attraction that grows deeper, and the longer she stays at Saxford, the more she begins to question if she wants to return to the
future—or make a future with her medieval knight.
Order Now
Falling for the Chieftain (Enchanted Falls Trilogy, Book 3) by Keira Montclair
Fate reached across time to bring them together. Can love bridge their differences?
Allison Sutton isn’t the sort to take risks. She’s a nurse, so she’s seen exactly where risk-taking can lead. But she leaves her comfort zone to visit Scotland with her sisters, and then takes a further leap of faith when one of them insists they jump from a waterfall that’s supposedly enchanted. To her amazement, the jump brings her back in time, to the fourteenth century, and she comes face to face with a strapping Highlander who looks as if he’s stepped out of her fantasies.
After his brother betrayed him, Brann MacKay has gone out of his way to display his prowess. Which makes it all the more embarassing when he saves a slip of a lass from a crowd of men, only to earn a kick to the bollocks for his efforts. Even so, Brann is taken with the brash beauty. Allison is like no lass he’s ever met, and he quickly realizes why. She emerged from the enchanted pool on his land. She wishes to return to her own world, but her knowledge of healing makes her indispensible to his people—and he quickly realizes she is indispensible to him.
