A Heartbeat Back to the Highlands

by Deborah R Stigall

  “I have been watching ye…and have seen that the plan ye set in motion is no’ bringing ye the results ye had hoped.” The Goddess stood at the edge of the sand, the sea foam swirling about her feet.

  Wringing her hands, Aveline shook her head as she sadly stared down at her feet. “No one understands that I was just trying to help. They’re all accusing me of being a selfish meddler.”

  Her laughter bubbling like the waves at her feet, Bheara nodded her head in understanding. “I understand how ye feel, child. We immortals are often accused of the same.”

  Clutching her plaid about her body, Aveline carefully climbed down from her perch. Hesitantly, she approached the Goddess. “What can I do to get them to forgive me? Ronan’s still so angry. He won’t even speak to me.”

  Gliding along thru the edge of the water, Bheara bent to pick up a rope of seaweed. Idly runing it thru her fingers, her mouth smoothed into a calculated smile. “Perhaps, if ye returned the lass to her time? Maybe that would set things right?”

  Shaking her head sadly, Aveline kicked at a stone as she shrugged her shoulders in dismay. “I’m barred from even entering Emrys’ library and I’m forbidden from the Mirrors of Time. Mother says I must do no more magic until we see what punishment I’m meted from the Fates.”

  “Ahhh…but if ye put things back as they were before…wouldn’t that be making everything right?” Bheara’s lilting voice was softly convincing, her well chosen words immediately taking root as she intended.

  Her face brightening with hope, Aveline quickly nodded in agreement. “I think that would make things right. But I don’t know how I’d be able to do it without the Mirrors of Time.”

  A disarming smile crossing Bheara’s face, she adeptly spun the trap. “The autumnal equinox will be upon us soon. The veils of time are easily folded then. Since ye’re such an innocent and loyal child, I’d be happy to help ye power your spell.”

  Her hands fluttering excitedly to her throat, Aveline’s face lit up with hope. “Ye’d do that for me? I’d be ever so grateful to ye. Maybe then Ronan would find it in his heart to forgive me.”

  Extending her shimmering hand, Bheara nodded her silvery head in agreement. “Aye…I will help ye reverse this transgression. And in return, should I call upon ye in my time of need, ye will assist me. Do we have an accord?”

  Quickly taking Bheara’s hand in her own, Aveline’s head bobbed up and down in complete agreement. “Oh aye! I will assist ye in whatever ye shall need. I’ll ever be your faithful servant.”

  “Good,” Bheara purred with a nod as she turned back toward the sea. “Until the equinox then my trusting child. Rest easy…all will be well.”

  Clapping her hands together, Aveline watched Bheara’s form sink gracefully into the sea. Her heart lightened by the deal she’d just made, she spun in circles upon the beach. She didn’t notice the shadowy form lying watchfully beneath the shelf of the embankment, or hear the deep satisfied laughter rumbling beneath the sound of the waves.

  *******

  “Something is not right.” Rachel stared out the window, a feeling of unease nagging at her chest.

  Looking up from running the whetstone over the edge of his claymore, Caelan’s eyes narrowed as he studied his wife. “What do ye sense?”

  Shaking her head, Rachel worriedly picked at the cord of the tapestry she’d pulled back from the window’s edge. “I don’t know. But there’s an imbalance in the energies. There’s a quickening of sorts and I don’t think it’s anything good.”

  “Is it the Fates?” Caelan rose from the bench, leaning his claymore against the hearth. “Do ye think they’ve decided upon Aveline’s punishment?”

  Shaking her head slowly, Rachel struggled to find the words to describe the malevolent breeze. “No…it’s not the Fates. This is…different…threatening…and it’s slowly gaining strength.”

  Rubbing her arms as a sudden chill filled the room; Rachel drew nearer to the fire. Staring into the flames, her brows drawing into a frown, she eased down into her chair. “Did you notice that Aveline seemed happier today? Almost as though she were relieved?”

  His shoulders dropping in disappointment, Caelan ran a worried hand thru his graying hair. “Surely ye don’t think the lass is up to something again? Has she not learned anything?”

  Sighing deeply, Rachel’s eyes narrowed as she slowly shook her head. “The only punishment she’s received so far is her brother’s angry tongue. His ire never affected her very much when she was a child. What makes you think it would affect her now?”

  Pacing about the room, Caelan looked to the ceiling in frustration, his hands closing into fists. “But we banned her from doing magic. We’ve kept her from Emrys’ room and the Mirrors. We’ve forbidden her to use any of his tools.”

  Rising to lean against the hearth, Rachel idly poked at the logs with an iron rod. “Aveline may have finally realized what I’ve been telling you all along.” Turning to face her husband, Rachel raised her hands in defeat. “She is the strongest among us in the ways. Her abilities to access the energies are phenomenal. Aveline doesn’t need any conductors to concentrate her powers. All she needs is her mind.”

  “God’s beard,” Caelan muttered under his breath. “Must we lock her in her rooms?”

  “You don’t understand, Caelan.” Rachel uttered in frustration. “There is nothing we can do to stop the child.”

  “Then ye’d best be calling out to the Goddess.” Throwing open the chest at the foot of the bed, Caelan searched for Rachel’s finest candles for the rite of connecting to the Goddess Brid. “Since Brid is the one who foretold of her powers, then surely she can bring her under control.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  With the wind in her hair as they galloped across the fields, Harley laughed as she glanced back at Ronan. She knew the black stallion could easily overtake her little mare, but for the restraining hand holding its reigns. Ronan was obviously letting her win the race, but by the smile that reached clear to his eyes, he didn’t seem to mind.

  They reigned in the horses beneath an ancient oak, both laughing with the exhilaration of the run. Harley smiled to herself as she compared riding the horses with the freedom her parent’s had found upon the open highway with their motorcycles. Now she understood the love that she’d seen reflected in their gaze at one another. They both had shared a dreamy faraway look each time they’d talked of their rides.

  Pulling the rolled up plaid from behind her saddle, Harley spread it over the ground. Ronan brought a skin of wine, a loaf of bread and a wedge of cheese that Ellen had packed for them in a folded cloth. As far as he was concerned, the food was unnecessary. All he needed was Harley.

  They reclined against the huge gnarled roots of the tree, where they could look out over the meadow. Harley sighed contentedly as she was mesmerized by the waiving grass to the distant rolling hills. She had accepted her place in this unknown past. She’d finally made peace with her fate. Maybe it wasn’t exactly the life she’d expected to live, but the more time she spent in this land…and with the people of this time…the more she realized that perhaps this was where she should have been all along.

  “Ye seem happy.” Ronan reached to brush a stray strand of hair from her face, his touch immediately sparking an inner fire.

  “I am,” she whispered, returning his smile as she tore her eyes away from the soothing horizon.

  “Then perhaps ‘tis time I gave ye this….and asked ye to be my wife.” Ronan opened his hand to reveal an intricate bracelet woven from strands of gold, silver and copper. The Celtic knots interlocked….no beginning, no end to form the symbolic band. Catching her hand in his, he placed it upon her wrist as his eyes never left her face.

  Her eyes widening in surprise, Harley first stared at her wrist then looked up to meet Ronan’s gaze. Her mouth moved but no words came out as she stretched out her arm to admire the band encircling her wrist. First angling her hand one way and then another, the knotted whorls of the bracelet
caught the rays of the sun. The unending knots were the perfect statement, seeming to glow with a passion of their own.

  It’s…it’s….so…lovely.”

  “I’ll take that as a yes?” Ronan smiled as he watched all the emotions flitting across Harley’s face. He sighed in relief as he listened with his druid senses, hearing only passion and the strong beginnings of a deep growing love.

  “That’s definitely a yes.” Placing her hands on either side of his face, Harley imprisoned him in her gaze. “And I think…no…I’m sure..that I definitely love you.”

  Catching his breath at the passion he saw burning in her eyes, he pulled her roughly into his arms.

  “Tis time then.” He murmured in a hoarse whisper against her throat. Nuzzling hungrily at her warm silky skin, Ronan cradled her head in his hands. Covering her jawline with a trail of smoldering kisses, he groaned as she pressed her body invitingly against his.

  Harley laced her fingers in his hair as she wantonly pushed his head lower. Closing her eyes, she moaned in invitation as Ronan’s exploring lips found their way to her breast. Grazing his lips in a heated trail across her skin, Ronan teased and deliciously tortured her with the tip of his tongue. Cupping her breasts in his hands, she thought she’d surely go mad as he lusciously treated each one in turn. Arching her back, she knotted her fingers in his hair, silently begging him to give her release. Harley cried out when Ronan finally yielded, suckling her deep and hard.

  His hands worked lower as he tasted each creamy breast in turn, making them harden with throbbing desire. She cried out when his fingers finally found the core of her passion and began mercilessly exploring her inviting heat.

  Raising his head from her breast, Ronan crushed his mouth to hers as he sank his fingers fully into her welcoming wetness. His thumb gently teasing her sensitive nub, he sank his fingers even deeper into her folds. When he’d worked her into a mind-numbing frenzy, he spread his fingers quickly in one swift motion, tearing away her maidenhead. Flinching at the unexpected pain bursting thru the pleasure, Harley caught her breath as she bit her lip.

  “Forgive me, love…but ‘twill make it easier for you…later when we finally join.” Ronan whispered huskily against her hair as he stroked and expertly started refueling the still raging inferno coursing thru her veins.

  Raking her fingernails across his shoulders, Harley ran her hands down the rippling muscles of Ronan’s back. “Take me now!” She demanded in a throaty whisper, wrapping her long legs around his waist.

  Lowering his body between her legs, Ronan gladly obeyed her command. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to ease into her slowly, trying to give her body time to adjust to his size. He could feel the muscles knotting in his shoulders as he struggled to ignore the uncontrollable desire to bury himself to the hilt in her hot slippery folds.

  Wrapping her long legs around his body, Harley impatiently pulled him into her depths. She ached for him to fill her. “Oh!” she cried out as he stretched into her depths, digging her nails into his arms.

  Stilling his body, Ronan drew a ragged breath as he looked down into her face. “Are ye all right?” His voice was strained, his need to move within that heavenly nest completely battering at his control.

  Arching her back, her eye’s heavy lidded with need, Harley began the rhythmic dance known since the beginning of time. “I’m better then all right,” she groaned, running her hands down his back, pulling him tighter against her body.

  Growling in response, Ronan matched her thrusts as they joined beneath the cloudless sky. They were the perfect match, the perfect fit as their bodies came together as one. Their cries echoed up thru the branches of the mighty oak as they crested to the pinnacle of the dance. Closing his eyes, Ronan pressed his forehead against hers as his body shuddered in ecstatic waves of release.

  “I love ye, my golden eyed lass from the future. Ye’ve truly made me complete.” Rolling to tuck her close against his body, Ronan sighed in weary satisfaction.

  Nearly purring in contentment, Harley snuggled her face into the crook of his neck. Running her fingers across his sweat-dampened chest, she couldn’t remember when she’d ever felt so lusciously exhausted. Suddenly her hand stilled, as a thought fought its way thru the haze of passions spent.

  “Oh no.”

  Covering Harley’s hand with his own, Ronan pulled her closer to his side. “What’s wrong? Did I hurt ye? Are ye all right?”

  “I forgot the sea sponge.” Harley replied dejectedly.

  His brows drawing together in a confused frown, Ronan ran his hand possessively up and down her back. “What is this obsession ye have with sea sponges?”

  Propping her head on her elbow, Harley frowned down into his eyes. “Because one little sea sponge, carefully oiled and strategically placed, will keep me from getting pregnant.”

  His eyes widening in surprise, Ronan gifted her with a sheepish grin. “Hmmm…and I failed to ummm….have any control….when the time came to leave your delicious body.”

  “Well…,” Harley grinned. “I don’t think I would’ve let you leave…had you tried.”

  Cradling her cheek in his palm, Ronan pulled her to him for a kiss, holding her gaze so that she wouldn’t miss a word he said. “I love ye, Harley…and the thought of ye giving me a bairn….only adds joy to my soul.”

  Throwing her leg over his body, Harley snuggled back into the crook of his arm. “I love you, Ronan,” she whispered against his throat.

  *******

  The late evening mists rolled in from the sea blanketing the castle of Clan MacKay. Aveline sat in the garden, her face raised to the night, eyes closed as she breathed in the chill night air. It wouldn’t be much longer, just a few more weeks, then she would be able to return Harley to her time. Maybe then Ronan would finally forgive her and start talking to her again.

  “I thought I’d find ye out here.” Suddenly appearing thru the shroud of mist, Ronan loomed over Aveline sitting on the bench.

  Watching him closely, Aveline waited. Surely he wasn’t going to lecture her again. Tilting her head, she listened closer, her eyes narrowing as she concentrated on the emotions she heard. Ronan was different. Something had changed. All his anger toward her had disappeared.

  “Ye’ve changed. Ye’re no longer angry with me.” Scooting across the bench, Aveline patted the stone beside her. If he hadn’t sought her out to lecture her, then he was more than welcome to have a seat.

  Clasping his hands behind his back, Ronan ignored the invitation to sit. “What ye did was wrong. Ye misused your gifts….but no…I’m no longer as…angry with ye as I was before.”

  Pacing back and forth thru the swirling mists, he stared at his boots as he sorted thru his thoughts. He had to be careful how he broke the news to Aveline about his forthcoming marriage. Under no circumstances must she think that what she did was all right. She must never meddle in another’s life again.

  “We have yet to find out what your punishment will be. Has Mother received any news from the Goddess….or the Fates?”

  Her face falling, Aveline starred down at her hands. Apparently, Ronan was here to lecture her again. She didn’t know which she preferred, the silence of his anger or the lashing of his tongue. “No. Mother hasn’t had any visions as to my punishment….nor received any word in any way.”

  Inhaling deeply, Ronan studied his sister. She was so young and she had truly meant no harm. Perhaps, she would get thru this unscathed. “Ye do realize that what ye did was wrong? Ye do see where ye erred?”

  Gritting her teeth, Aveline didn’t look up. Why couldn’t he let it go? “Yes, Brother. I’ve come to see the error of my ways and I’ll not go down that path again.”

  Continuing to pace back and forth in front of the bench, Ronan raised his gaze to the stars. From this spot in the garden, he could just see the narrow window of Harley’s room. He smiled as the soft candlelight of the evening tapers lit the window. She would be brushing out her beautiful long dark hair about now. />
  Aveline peered at Ronan’s face thru her downcast lashes. Something was brewing and from the sense of contentment Ronan was projecting with his aura, it must be something good.

  “Surely, Brother, ye didna’ follow me out into the gardens to have me apologize to ye….yet again.”

  Turning from his study of Harley’s bedroom window, Ronan didn’t attempt to hide the contentment in his face. Aveline was too adept at reading aura’s for him to even try hiding what he was feeling.

  “Avey…Harley and I are to be married. She has agreed to be my wife.”

  At Ronan’s news, Aveline’s heart fell. Now what was she going to do? Swallowing hard, she silently thanked the evening mists for shadowing her face from Ronan’s view. Luckily, Ronan was too caught up in his thoughts of Harley to deep listen to Aveline’s emotions as well. If he’d take but a half second to veer his attention from Harley, he’d hear Aveline’s mounting panic fare shouting at him.

  “That’s wonderful news! I’m so glad the two of ye have finally been able to come together….and see that ye were meant to be one.”

  Sensing the unease in Aveline’s voice, Ronan moved closer to better see his sister’s face. Isn’t this what the lass had wanted all along? Why would she change her mind?

  “Ye don’t seem happy for me, Aveline. Isn’t this the reason ye meddled with time?”

  Shoring up her aura against her brother’s senses, Aveline smiled as she hopped up from the bench. “I’m just afraid Harley will not accept me as a sister. After what I did to her life, I fear she’ll never trust me again.”

  Ronan accepted the carefully phrased lie. It seemed to explain Aveline’s nervousness and her inability to look him in the eye. “I’ll speak to Harley. I’m sure she’ll be willing to give ye a second chance. The two of ye will be well on your way to becoming friends by the time of the autumnal equinox.”