by Jennae Vale
“Where are we going today?” Helene asked.
“It’s a surprise. You’ll see. I’ve got lots of special things planned.”
Helene spooned some eggs onto her plate and took another piece of toast. “Thank ye fer being so kind to me, Zeke.”
“You’re easy to be kind to,” he said, taking a sip of his coffee. “You’re also easy to be around.”
“As are ye,” she replied, giving him hope.
Zeke reached out to take her hand. The small connection he was making felt better than he would have imagined. He’d touched her before, but never with the intention of wooing her. He’d always been careful to keep their relationship friendly, not wanting to push things too far too fast.
A knock at the door took them both by surprise.
“I’ll get it,” Zeke said. “I wonder who it could be this early in the morning.”
“Mayhap ’tis Sara,” Helene said.
“Sara would use her key. I’ll go see.”
He strode to the door and upon opening it, he found a sword at his throat. Instinctively he froze, moving his head back just enough to be out of contact with the blade.
“Where’s Helene?” the man on the other end of the sword said.
“Dougall!” Helene rocketed out of her chair. “Put that sword away.”
Dougall moved swiftly, never once putting the blade down. He grabbed Helene by the arm, pulling her in to his side, where he wrapped a protective arm around her.
“Helene.” Zeke watched carefully as Dougall rested his cheek atop her head. The moment Dougall’s eyes were off of him for a split second, Zeke made his move, backing away and pulling his own sword from the scabbard hanging on a hook in the entryway. The two men now faced each other.
“Let her go,” Zeke calmly stated.
“I willnae. She is mine.” Dougall said with equal calmness.
“Hey, you two,” Sara shouted. “Helene isn’t a piece of meat for you two to be fighting over.” The other man with them filled the doorway, letting Zeke know without words that he was there to aid Dougall.
Zeke was shocked. In his wildest dreams, he’d never imagined Dougall and a companion showing up on his doorstep along with his sister. “Sara, what’s going on here?”
“I think it’s kind of self-explanatory. Dougall and Logan arrived here in San Francisco this morning. Dougall’s come to take Helene back home with him.”
Helene remained silent in Dougall’s embrace, a shocked look on her face. She finally pushed herself free of him. “What are ye doing here, Dougall?”
“I’ve come for ye, Helene.” He glanced from Helene to Zeke, who noted that Dougall was doing his best to make himself appear bigger and scarier than anyone else in the room.
“Why do ye think I’d want to go anywhere with ye?” Helene’s voice was filled with a venom Zeke hadn’t heard before and from the look on Dougall’s face, neither had he.
“I ken yer angry with me, but ye must let me explain meself.” Dougall’s tone softened as he spoke to Helene, but she apparently wasn’t having any of it. Zeke was proud of her.
He was pleased to see Helene’s inner strength showing. It was obvious in the way she stood up to Dougall. “There’s nae need to explain. Ye left me with yer Da to go off with yer men. ’Tis more important to ye that ye please him so ye can become laird. Ye may as well go back home and do as he wishes.”
“Helene, please listen to me.” Dougall’s shoulders drooped as he pleaded with her.
Helene looked righteously indignant. “I’ve nae time to speak with ye today, Dougall. Zeke has planned a special day fer me and I willnae disappoint him.”
Zeke hid his satisfied grin behind his hand and a feigned cough. She was angry, that was obvious and Zeke was pleased that she’d chosen to go with him despite her history with Dougall.
“Helene I dinnae wish to stay here even a second longer, ye must return with me. ’Tis nae right that yer living here alone with this man. I cannae believe ye’d allow that to happen.”
“Zeke came to me rescue while ye were off doing yer duty as the future laird of the MacRaes. I dinnae wish ye to stay and wait fer me.” The longer Dougall persisted, the more obstinate Helene appeared to become.
“Ye dinnae mean that Helene. Ye love me, dinnae ye?”
“I dinnae ken what I feel fer ye now. I’ve been through so much since ye disappeared, leaving me alone with yer Da. Ye didnae even see fit to come and tell me.”
“I’m sorry, Helene. I had nae choice.”
“There always be a choice, Dougall and now ye’ll have to go back without me.”
She went and got her things and then came back to take Zeke’s arm. “Shall we go?”
Zeke didn’t know who was more surprised by this new Helene, him or Dougall, but he wasn’t going to pass up this opportunity. He had competition for Helene’s heart now and he was planning to win. Sara moved out of the way so they could pass. “Lock up when you leave,” he directed her.
Dougall couldn’t believe his eyes or his ears. He knew Helene would probably be angry with him, but he had no idea she wouldn’t be happy to see him. He didn’t know what to do about the situation.
“You boys can come with me. I guess you can stay at my place.” Sara said.
“We should stay here,” Dougall answered.
“No you shouldn’t. You weren’t invited to stay,” Sara said, appearing quite irritated with him.
“Come, Dougall.” Logan said. “We’ll stay with Sara. What else can we do?”
Feeling totally lost and devastated, Dougall followed along behind Sara and Logan who were chatting happily as if they’d known each other for years instead of having just met this very morning. He wasn’t paying any attention to where they were going or to the fact that both Logan and Sara had stopped. He walked right past them and was greeted by a horrific sound as Sara reached out and grabbed him, pulling him back to where she and Logan stood.
“You’re going to need to be more careful. That car could have killed you. Are you okay?” She seemed genuinely concerned for his well-being.
Dougall nodded his head, noting that they stood alongside several other people waiting for something. Fast moving vehicles buzzed past them and then suddenly they all stopped. Everyone began walking and he followed suit. Sara was right. He needed to pay attention to his surroundings. He was usually much more alert than this, but all he could think about was Helene and how heartbroken he was to have seen her leave with this Zeke person. He planned to put an end to that as soon as possible. Helene was his. She knew this. Why couldn’t she understand that he’d only done what he thought was best at the time? Granted it was the completely wrong thing to do, but no matter. Helene loved him. How could that change so quickly?
“Dougall,” Logan said, sounding somewhat exasperated. They’d arrived back at Sara’s home and Dougall would have been hard pressed to say how they’d gotten there.
Sara was gazing at him with her hands on her hips.
“Where are ye? I’ve been speaking with ye fer a while and just now realized ye havenae heard a single thing I’ve said.”
“I’m thinking about Helene. How could she go running off like that? Wasnae she happy I’d come for her?”
“Listen, Mister. You’ve got to understand something about women. They don’t like being thrown into dungeons and left for dead,” Sara pointed out.
“I’m nae an idjit, ye ken,” Dougall’s patience with Sara was nearing its end. No one ever dared speak to him the way this wee lass did. She obviously had no idea who she was dealing with. He was a respected warrior back in his time. Anyone speaking to him thusly would soon find themselves at the end of his sword.
“Well, ye could’ve fooled me. If you love Helene so much, then you shouldn’t just expect to show up and have her fall into your arms. She’s going to need some time to deal with seeing you again. She feels betrayed. Don’t you get it?” Sara threw her hands in the air in apparent exasperation.
“
Get it?” His head was hurting him from Helene’s rejection and now from these strange words Sara continued to fire at him like arrows.
“Understand,” she said.
“Sara, I cannae live without Helene. Ye must help me.” He would do anything to get Helene back. She was his love and perhaps she’d changed, much as her appearance had. It pained him to think about it, but perhaps now that she was a woman of the future with her painted nails and unusual clothing, perhaps she didn’t love him anymore.
“I’m not so sure how much help I can be.” Why did she keep looking at him as if he were some foul beggar she’d found on the street.
“Tell him what he must do to get her back. Yer a lass. Surely ye understand the ways of women, even if they’re not from yer time.” Logan put his hands on Sara’s shoulders as he implored her to help Dougall.
Sara hadn’t wanted to feel sorry for Dougall, but she did. She still thought Helene would be better off with Zeke, but she also knew that Helene did still love Dougall, even if she refused to admit it to him. “Okay. I’ll try.”
“Shall we go after them now then?” Dougall didn’t want Helene spending any more time with Zeke. He had to get her away from him. Perhaps then she’d listen to him and love him again.
“Are you nuts? It wouldn’t be a good idea to interrupt their date. At the very least you’d really tick off Zeke.”
“Tick off?” More words he didn’t understand.
“Anger,” Sara explained.
“I dinnae care. I can best him in a fight.” Dougall was a big man. There was no need to puff himself up to prove it, but he did anyway.
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Not everyone keeps a sword by their front door in this time, but Zeke does because he runs a medieval martial arts studio here in the city. He’s won all sorts of competitions and he’s got the medals and trophies to prove it.”
“I am nae impressed. I have fought in many a battle and have never once even suffered a minor injury.” Dougall was proud of his expertise on the battlefield.
“Look, Zeke’s my brother. You’re not going to kill him,” Sara protested.
“Mayhap I could injure him then.”
“No. None of that is going to happen. You’re going to win Helene back by showing her that you appreciate her, love her and will never ever do anything to put her in danger again.”
“I do appreciate her and love her and I’ve told her I’m sorry. ’Twill never happen again.”
“I think Helene likes it here. She is experiencing things she’s never seen before.”
Dougall suddenly understood that there were things in this world that he couldn’t fight. Helene was becoming a new woman and as such she may not want him anymore.
“Hey, don’t be sad. That’s not a bad thing. It just means that you need to grow and change too.” Sara placed a hand on his arm. A gesture Dougall appreciated as he was feeling quite hopeless.
“But how?” he implored. “I am not from this time. I cannot offer Helene any of the things she sees in San Francisco.” His mission was beginning to seem like a fool’s quest.
“You don’t have to. You just have to remind her that you love her.”
“She knows I love her. She’s me woman.” Dougall thought that much had to be clear to her.
“You keep saying she’s your woman. You don’t own her. Just because you love each other doesn’t give you the right to decide for the both of you.” Sara placed her hands on her hips and shook her head. “I’m not explaining this very well.”
Dougall smiled warmly at this unusual woman. “You explain yerself verra well.”
“That’s a relief. I wasn’t sure I was making any sense.” Sara returned his smile.
“Ye remind me of Ashley and Jenna back at Breaghacraig. Ye have the same way about ye.”
“Helene told me about them. They’re both from this time, right?” she asked.
“Aye. They are.” Dougall knew them both to be strong, independent women who often put their husbands’ authority to the test. Helene had never been like that. She accepted that because he was the man, he was the one in charge and never questioned him. He made all the decisions for both of them, but he had a sneaking suspicion that Helene would not settle for that role any longer. He wondered if he could be like Cailin and Cormac. Could he have a strong woman for his wife, or did he prefer the old Helene? “Mayhap ye can help me. It seems ye ken the ways a lass likes to be treated. I would do whatever I must to have Helene back in me life.” Dougall examined the room from ceiling to floor. Some things were familiar to him, yet very different than in his time, but several items caught his eye and he couldn’t resist the urge to pick them up and examine them.
“That’s the remote control,” Sara said, retrieving the item from his hands. “It’s for the TV. I’ll show you what that is later, but to answer your question, yeah, I can help,” she conceded.
Logan hadn’t said a word, instead staring like a starry-eyed young lad at Sara. Dougall whacked him on the shoulder. “Logan, what do ye think of all this?”
“Of all what?” He appeared dumbfounded.
“As I suspected. Ye were somewhere else and from the look on yer face, I know where.”
Logan appeared suitably embarrassed to have this brought to light. “I’m verra sorry.”
“No need for apologies,” Sara said. “Do you guys want to go do something? I can show you around and we can get some lunch if you want.”
Dougall and Logan exchanged glances.
“I’d enjoy seeing San Francisco.” Logan looked to Dougall. “We’ve been given a chance to see something that few people in our time will ever see. I think we should do it.”
Dougall was beginning to feel as though he was not only losing sweet, biddable Helene, but Logan seemed to forget that he was Dougall’s second in command. He wasn’t sure how he felt about this place and this time. As much as he didn’t wish to admit it, he agreed that Logan was likely right. “Aye. Lead the way, Sara.”
Sara spent the rest of the day showing Logan and Dougall around San Francisco. She took them to all of the popular tourist attractions. They saw the Golden Gate Bridge and Pier 39. Had a lunch of clam chowder in a sour dough bowl, walked through Chinatown and finished with a climb to the top of Twin Peaks where they were able to look out over the city. On their way back to her apartment, Sara stopped in the grocery store to buy some snacks to munch on that night and found herself laughing as she watched both men, eyes wide and mouths agape as they strolled up and down the aisles examining everything in sight. She hadn’t had this much fun in a very long time, perhaps years. Dougall, and especially Logan, were easy to be with. They were total gentlemen at all times and their wide-eyed wonder had her looking at her home town in a very different light. Seeing San Francisco through their eyes made her realize just how much she took this beautiful place for granted.
They climbed the stairs to Sara’s apartment, arms loaded with grocery bags and exhausted from their day of exploration. Sara unlocked the door and showed them where to put the bags.
“Sara, that was the best day I believe I’ve ever had,” Logan said. “Thank ye. I’ll nae ferget it.”
“Aye. He’s right,” Dougall added.
“You’re welcome. I enjoyed it too.” Sara began putting the groceries away and with Logan’s help everything was in its place in no time.
Dougall made himself comfortable on the sofa and Logan took the recliner, which once he discovered it moved, kept it going back and forth.
“Logan, I know that’s fascinating to you, but if you don’t stop it’s going to break.” Sara smiled indulgently at him.
“Sorry. Do ye have any whisky, Sara?”
“No. That’s not my drink of choice. Would you care for some tequila?” she replied.
“Tekilla? What would that be?” Logan adorably mispronounced it.
“It’s alcohol. I don’t think you would have had it in your time. It’s not whisky, but it should have the same effect.�
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“I’ll try it,” Logan said.
“Dougall?” Sara asked.
“Aye.”
Sara left the room, giving Dougall a moment to tease Logan. “Ye like the lass, dinnae ye?”
“She’s an odd one. I’ve never met a lass like her,” Logan said.
“Ah, so that’s why ye’ve been staring at her,” Dougall prodded.
“She’s nae hard on the eyes.” Logan winked at his friend.
“I see. Well, have a care. She’s nae from our time. Ye’ll be leaving soon and ye dinnae wish to leave a trail of broken hearts behind.”
“A trail? I’ve met just the one lass,” Logan pointed out.
“Ye ken me meaning, Logan.”
Sara returned with a bottle and three very small glasses. She also had what appeared to be salt and cut up limes. She poured some of the liquid into each of the small glasses.
“Okay. This is what you do.” Sara used her tongue to wet her hand just below her thumb, placed some salt there and licked it. At the sight of Sara’s tongue, Dougall thought Logan’s eyes may fall right out of his head, which elicited a deep chuckle. Next Sara threw back the drink and then quickly sucked on a piece of lime. She made a face that told Dougall she didn’t care for the taste. “Now you try.”
“Like this?” Logan asked as he placed some salt on his hand.
“Yes. Now lick it.”
He did as instructed and Dougall followed suit.
“Now down the tequila and then suck on a piece of lime.”
The fiery liquid made its way down Dougall’s throat.” He bit into the lime. “I see. The salt is to help disguise the taste of the…” he pointed at the bottle, “and the lime is to cleanse yer mouth after ye drink.”
“Right. If I had any good tequila, you wouldn’t need to do that. This stuff is just something cheap that was left here the last time I had a party. I don’t usually keep alcohol in the house other than wine.”
Dougall was learning all sorts of things about Sara. He eyed Logan and could see that he was as well.
