by Mary Morgan
She jabbed a finger into his chest. “Ye tease. I want naught to do with ye.” She took a step back and placed her hands on her hips. “Why would ye come speaking such and wearing outlandish clothing? ’Tis a bad joke, indeed.”
“I dinnae tease nor jest, Meg…Margaret.”
“How do we ken each other? And why did ye not say so when I greeted ye at the door? Did ye have too much to drink?” Meggie looked at him with a disgusted look and waved a hand down the front of him. “Were we in some medieval play and ye hoped I would reclaim my memories when ye came calling dressed like this?”
Adam was confused and frustrated at her outbursts. Gone was the lass he knew—replaced with a bitter, sharp-tongue woman. Even on her worst days, his Meggie always fell into his arms, or had a smile for him. Now, she glared at him in loathing.
A flash in the sky brought him out of his dark thoughts, and he looked upward. He watched the dragon slowly make a path through the clouds and disappear from his sight. “’Tis the great silver beast again,” he uttered quietly.
“What is wrong with ye? It’s not a beastie, only an airplane. By the hounds ye are a verra strange man.” Meggie smirked and nodded to Skye.
“What is an air…plane?” he demanded.
This time, Meggie burst out laughing. After the fits of laughter subsided, she replied, “’Tis a means of transportation. Ye can travel all over the world in one of those. Where have ye been hiding? In a cave deep in the Highlands?” She stroked the top of Skye’s head and peered at him sideways. “Will ye not tell me how we ken each other, medieval century man?”
Why did she keep calling him such? He glanced up at the sky again. He did not—could not fathom flying in the sky. What was this place of strange clothing, words, and travel? Yet, his Meggie was here. The same lavender eyes. The same walk and stance. Only her mind did not recall him. Did she not ken she was on Urquhart land?
Then a thought hit him squarely in his gut. Nae, his mind screamed in denial. “What is the year, Meggie?”
“Och, Skye, the man has lost his mind, too. He must be daft.”
Adam watched Skye thump her tail as if in agreement with her mistress. “I can assure ye, Margaret MacKay, that my mind is fully undamaged.”
She shrugged. “Well, ye might have lost a few days wherever ye were, so I’ll share the date, but only if ye promise to tell me how we ken each other.”
“Done,” he agreed.
She stepped close to him. “Today is September 20th, 2016. Now, it’s your turn.”
Shadows distorted his vision and for a moment, Adam feared he would black out again. Rubbing a hand over his face, he moved to one of the birch trees. He could hear her call out his name, but his mind reeled at the revelation.
“Bloody Fae magic,” he hissed and slumped to the ground.
Chapter Five
“Of all the stories told by the druids, none were as important as the tale of the star-crossed lovers caught between the veils of time.”
Meggie blinked in confusion. Shadows danced before her eyes, but quickly vanished as she made her way to the man. Crouching down next to him, she softly asked, “What is wrong with ye, Adam?” Her hand hovered above his head, fear keeping her from touching his dark, ebony locks. The man made her feel…strange. Was he correct in saying they knew one another? Nevertheless, why would he come dressed in such a fashion and on a horse? She looked at his clothing—a frayed tunic that had seen better days and trews that hugged every inch of his muscular thighs. His boots were weathered and worn, though she marveled at the craftsmanship.
She glanced over her shoulder at the rustling of leaves. Skye remained sitting near a fallen log making no attempt to come forward. “The man knows the Fae, Skye. He must be a good person, aye?”
Skye stretched out along the ground and placed her head on her outstretched legs.
“What are we going to do with him?” she muttered.
When Margaret turned her attention back to Adam, she found him staring intently at her. His dark blue eyes bore into hers, and the look he gave her was one of an old soul. What was it Archie called those that walked with the Fae? Old travelers. Could he be one of those people?
“Are ye unwell?”
A soft breeze blew past them, and Adam reached for her hand. The contact sent a sizzling spark throughout her body, and she shivered.
“Ye did not die. They sent ye here? This time?” Adam’s voice came out in a hoarse tone.
Meggie snatched her hand back. “Die?” Scooting away from him, she stood and brushed the leaves from her jeans. Obviously, the man suffered from a disorder. “Now that I’ve answered your question, please tell me how we ken each other.” She wished he would stop staring at her.
Adam let out a sigh and stood slowly. Giving a sharp whistle, Ciar came strolling through the trees. “Ye helped to tame the black beast many moons ago.” The horse gave a loud snort.
She hugged her arms around herself to ward off the chill that seeped into her bones. The man had just given her a tiny glimpse into her past—one, which was black and empty. Although, she still had a difficult time believing him. She reached out and touched Ciar’s muzzle. “How did I tame ye?”
“Ye sang to him,” stated Adam.
Her hand froze on the horse. This man had known of her gift of speaking to the animals, but now he knew another—her singing. She often used the gift to soothe and calm their nervousness. Emotions swirled inside of Meggie, and she leaned against the horse. “How many years ago?”
“Ye were fifteen springs. I dinnae ken how old ye are now.”
Meggie rubbed her temples. “Why do you talk so? Can’t you just say I was fifteen?” Tired and frustrated, she gave a pat to Ciar and moved to stand along the water’s edge.
Adam moved alongside her, gazing out at a flock of geese passing over the trees. “’Tis the only way I ken to speak, Meg—Margaret. I have been away for some time.”
“Humph! Deep within a cave in the Highlands?” Noticing his look of frustration, Meggie held back on any further barbs. “So, how long have we known each other? Why did ye think I died?”
He clasped his hands behind his back and continued to stare outward. “We only met the one time, and then ye went away. I had heard ye had…died.”
The man is lying, thought Meggie. How could anyone know so much in one meeting? He wouldn’t even look at her. His face a mask of stone.
She picked up a rock and tossed it lightly into the air. “What else do ye know about me? My family?” Meggie braced herself for what he would possibly share—anxious to hear more.
“They are dead.” His voice devoid of emotion.
Meggie’s heart ached. She had hoped he had more knowledge. “Yes. That’s what Archie told me.”
Adam gave her a fierce look. “Then why did ye ask the question, if ye already knew?”
She shrugged. “I wanted to know if ye were speaking the truth.”
He let out a curse and moved away from her, picking up small stones along the way. “What truth is there?”
Confused, Meggie followed him. “I have nothing to base anything on, except what others have told me. Archie has shared that I had brothers, but they died tragically. Did ye ken them?”
His steps slowed, and she watched as he angled his arm back and forth before skipping the stone across the water. This time it bounced six times. “Aye, I did ken your brothers.”
Meggie clutched the stone she was holding to her chest. Archie and her cousins had never met her brothers. Now, this stranger standing before her had another piece of the puzzle of her memory. Stepping closer to Adam, she lightly touched his shoulder. “What were they like?” Her question came out as a plea.
His gaze swept over her face, and she could see his anger. “Fierce, proud, stubborn, and protective.” He raised his hand and cupped her chin. This time, Meggie saw deep sorrow reflected in his eyes. “And they loved ye very much.” He dropped his hand and moved away from her.
Her fingers br
ushed over her chin, reveling in his simple touch. Tears blurred her vision. Try as she might, this small amount of knowledge did nothing to jog the memories locked within her mind. “Did ye know them long? Work with or for them?”
He shook his head. “They had dealings with my brothers, but naught with me.”
“Do your brothers live around here? Is this why you’re here?”
“They are long dead.”
Meggie’s heart softened a wee bit for the man standing before her. “Then we are orphans. No parents. No siblings.” Seeing his frown, she gave him a broad smile. “Are ye truly here to help me with my memories? Did Archie send for ye?”
“Truth?” he asked as he prepared to toss out another rock.
“Yes,” she answered with a snort. The man beguiled her.
Adam let loose the stone, and Meggie counted seven bounces until it splashed in the water.
“Aye. I am here to help ye get back your memories. No one sent for me. I thought ye had died moons ago.”
Meggie thought him demented earlier, but in the short time talking with him, she found a soothing calmness—one of trust. And even though he had the appearance of a medieval man, she realized for the first time in several years, he could possibly restore her lost past.
Ciar came trotting up beside her. She took the reins and patted him gently. “Do ye prefer to ride your great beast, instead of a vehicle?”
“There is no other,” he replied, giving her a look of bewilderment.
Meggie tried to probe the animal with her mind to get more information, but Ciar was as stubborn as his master. The horse only shared his name and travels, and promptly closed his mind off to her. For a brief moment, she sensed recognition from Ciar—excitement flared within the beast, but he quickly closed off any more emotions.
And Meggie was curious.
When she turned to look at Adam, she saw him gazing up at the sky again. Where had the man been hiding that he would not know about airplanes?
“Are ye staying nearby?” She stroked Ciar’s mane, fearing he would take her earlier request and get on his horse and leave.
Adam waved his hand outward. “Aye. I will take shelter in the trees.”
A traveler or gypsy, she concluded. “Absolutely not!” She hesitated on her next decision, but decided to throw caution to the winds. “Lucas has been harping for some time about hiring a man to help out in the stables. There’s a room ye can have next to the kitchens. I cannot pay ye much, since the place belongs to Lucas and our other cousins, but I’m sure he will not mind your help.” Meggie made a sweeping gesture with her hand outward. “He wants to bring tourists here for horseback riding along the loch—believes it will add extra income to the estate.” She shielded her eyes from the sun as she glanced across the stream, envisioning people on horses as Lucas told them stories of the past.
“Work for the MacKay?” he asked, and she could hear the bitterness in those words.
Adam stared at her, and Meggie became increasingly uneasy under his scrutiny. She should just tell him to get lost—go back deeper into the Highlands. Awkwardly, she cleared her throat. “Nae. Ye would be working for me, since I’m in charge of the horses. In fact, all the animals at Castle Aonach.” She crossed her arms over her chest and glared back at him.
His smile was as intimate as a kiss before he nodded and turned back toward the water. “I shall do your bidding, my lady.”
By the gods, the man’s dimples transformed a hardened look into a sensual one, and Meggie could have sworn her heart stopped beating. “Goo…good,” she coughed, clearing her throat. “I’ll go inform Lucas.”
However, Meggie stayed to watch Adam toss out his last stone. This time it skipped ten times. “I think I’m in trouble with you,” she whispered, walking away from the man who mystified her.
****
Adam refused to turn around. He waited until he could no longer hear her footsteps. It had taken all of his control not to crush her to his chest when his fingers touched her skin. His mind and body screamed to turn around, take her into his arms, and plunder her with kisses of joyful reunion. But nae, this was not the Meggie he knew. She was a changed woman. Fear and distrust radiated in her eyes. His Meggie feared naught. “God’s blood, what had happened to her?”
Raking a hand through his hair, he glanced around. All looked to be the same, yet, it was not. He realized the moment she spoke the year the Fae had intruded. There could be no other account, and he pounded his fist into his palm. “Blast them! Why could ye not save her? Nae, ye sent her here—without her memories!” he shouted, scaring a deer from the nearby trees.
Ciar nudged him from behind, and Adam let out a long sigh. “Aye, I should not be so angry. She lives. But she kens naught of us, my friend.” He placed a hand on the animal’s head and peered back up into the sky, trying to catch a glimpse of the silver beastie Meggie called an airplane. “Did ye ever fathom we would travel this far—into another realm of time? And now I shall be working for her.”
Adam moved away from Ciar and picked up some more rocks. “I must thank ye for keeping silent, too. We must be gentle in guiding her back to us, Ciar.” He tossed the rock and watched it ripple across the water. “By all that’s holy, I will do all to make her mine again. The love is there, only hidden.” He stood back and smiled. “I will have faith. God and the saints are on my side. If the Fae interfere this time, I vow to destroy them.”
Slowly making his way back through the trees with Ciar following, Adam glanced once more at the peaceful place. The light shimmered across the water and for a brief moment, memories of the past came unbidden to him.
“Kiss me here, Adam. Where the faeries dance and whisper of love.”
Adam traced a path across Meggie’s lower lip with his thumb. “If I kiss ye, I will want more.”
“Did ye think I would want only one?” She gasped as he cupped her breast with his other hand.
“Nae, my bonny leannan. Your passion—your fire shows in your eyes. Deep, dark, rich in the color of the lavender wands I pluck daily for ye.”
She swallowed. “How many kisses will ye grant me?”
“Until I strip the gown from your body,” he countered. Not giving her time to reply, Adam took her mouth in savage intensity, drawing the breath from her body and into his.
Slowly making his way on foot back to the castle, Adam shook off the shadows of the past. “I will make ye remember, Meggie. This is my pledge to ye—for us.”
When he approached the castle, he shook his head in dismay. A castle should always have a guard posted. Walking through the gate, he could see a man staring at him from the north tower. Could this be Meggie’s kin? The man nodded in greeting, and Adam gave him a curt nod before departing to the stables. Another person in Meggie’s life he must deal with and this bothered him immensely. How many more must I encounter? Her own brothers were infuriating enough.
“Aye, the MacKay brothers were as irritating as a hoard of wasps,” he uttered half out loud, as he entered the stables. Leading Ciar to his stall, he was surprised to find fresh food and water for the horse. Stripping the saddle and blanket from Ciar, Adam then gathered some clean straw and brushed down the animal.
“I see you have returned. What brings you back? Was there no tavern nearby? Could you not find a tree to sleep under?”
Adam peered over his shoulder to see Lucas leaning against the stall, arms crossed over his chest, and giving him a look his MacKay ancestors would be proud of—fierce. “I have returned at the request of Meggie.”
Lucas’s eyes darkened like angry thunderclouds. “What did you do to her?”
Tossing down the straw, Adam led Ciar over to the water trough. “Naught. It would seem you have been…hmm…what was the word she used?” He paused and then continued, “Harping to bring in help. I am here to assist with the horses.” Patting Ciar, Adam turned and brushed past Lucas, but the man reached out and grabbed his arm.
“Any harm comes to Margaret, and you’
ll have more than just me to deal with. Do you understand my words?”
Adam glanced down at the man’s hand. “Unless ye want me to break all the bones in your hand, ye best release me.”
“Well, well, look at the lads battling for power.” A beautiful red-haired woman strolled up and smacked Lucas on the arm. “Go pick a fight with someone else.”
She turned fully toward Adam, and he saw the resemblance between her and the MacKay. Eyes the color of the ocean on a clear sunny day surveyed him kindly. She thrust out her hand. “Hello, I’m Lena, another cousin, if you haven’t guessed already.”
Taking her hand, he placed a feather light kiss across the knuckles. “’Tis an honor, Lena. I am Adam MacFhearguis.”
The blush started at her neck and flared to her cheeks. She turned to Lucas. “A true knight and gentleman. You could learn some manners from…” Lena turned back to Adam. “I’m sorry, did you say Adam MacFhearguis?”
“Aye.” Giving her a warm smile, he released her hand.
“Ahh…your Meggie’s new man. She mentioned something about a stranger needing a place to stay, but I found it difficult to follow what she was saying.”
“Why is that a problem?” demanded Lucas.
She flashed him a withering look. “Because she was babbling and we’ve never known our Meggie to babble.” Turning her attention back to Adam, she said, “Obviously, you have made an impression on her.”
“’Tis good?” asked Adam.
Lena grabbed his arm. “The best! Now, let me show you where you’ll be staying. Lucas can take care of the rest of the duties here today. You look like you could use a bath and clean clothes.”
Adam heard Lucas’ low growl, followed by a curse as they left the stables, and he smiled inwardly. I deem I have found an ally among the MacKays.
And his heart soared with hope.
Chapter Six
“When the door of illumination opens, be wary of the path and choose only the brightest road.”
