by L. L. Muir
Now, Lissa was on her third day of traveling around Scotland alone. She was trying to work again, trying to regain her focus. She needed to keep it together and keep Perry happy so at least one thing would stay positive in her life.
Gareth would definitely approve. He’d want her to move on, honor her commitments.
She missed him so much. What could she have done differently? She kept reliving the moments they’d had together. The moment he disappeared.
She missed everything. His anger, his delight in living again, his concern about his family, the way he’d protected her, and told her he loved her.
Perry wanted to know her impressions of Scotland. It was full of pain.
That brought tears to her eyes.
It was full of loneliness.
More tears rose to the surface.
It was full of memories.
She started to cry in earnest.
Perry would just have to accept whatever research she was able to give him.
She literally couldn’t stand to be there a moment longer.
She was going home.
~~~
Gareth was watching another football game when he heard the front door open.
He froze, then slowly looked over the back of the couch.
Lissa stood motionless in the doorway as, open-mouthed, she stared at him. “Gareth?”
She was breathtaking. Her honey blonde hair held a slight curl and her lovely blue eyes matched the shade of Scotland’s blue sky on a sunny day. The ache that had been a part of him since that last day together finally started to ease.
“Gareth? Are you really here?”
The tremor in her voice finally spurred him. He switched off the television, bounded to his feet, rounded the couch and stopped a few feet from her. Would she truly want him here, in her home, in her life. The uncertainly made him snappish. “Where have ye bloody been?”
The house alarm beeped threateningly in the background, just as that wretched witch had said it would when she’d trapped him here.
Lissa followed his gaze, walked to the wall, and pushed buttons that stopped the noise.
“I’ve been imprisoned by that vile contraption for the last eleven days!”
She turned and warily faced him. “Can…can’t ghosts walk through walls?”
He smiled at that and started to relax. She was wide-eyed with surprise, but not uncomfortable with him, or rejecting in any way. “I’m not a ghost, love.”
“If you are, can you stay? Can you haunt me forever?”
He chuckled as relief wove its way through him.
She dropped the bags hanging from her shoulders and reached for him all in one movement. “You’re real. Your skin is warm.” She started to cry.
He wrapped her in his arms and held her tightly as he murmured in her ear. “’Tis all right, love. ’Tis to be all right now.” Tendrils of her scent washed over him and he inhaled greedily.
“But how?”
“The witch couldnae let the others know they have a chance at a true flesh and blood existence if they but complete the task she sets for them. After I was placed here, Soni came and explained this to me. She also told me I couldnae leave the house or bells would ring and policemen would come to take me away, and I’d never see ye again. So I had to bloody wait for ye to come home. Had a good vacation, did ye? While I was left with naught to do but watch the telly and look out the windows as I waited.”
“She couldn’t have just told me this?”
His own demeanor darkened. “Apparently she dinnae care if I had plenty of time to brood over the fact that I practically gave ye to that pretty man.”
She was still crying even as she laughed.
Gareth leaned down and kissed her.
After a long moment she pulled away. “I thought I’d lost you forever.”
“I thought I’d be alone forever. After hundreds of years I never expected the likes of ye.” He touched his chest, then hers. “I never expected this.”
He kissed her forehead, nose, cheeks, and jaw. “D’ye remember what I said, lass? At Culloden Moor?”
“That you love me.”
“Aye. I wondered if ye’d heard me.”
She started to cry again, even as she nodded. “Yes. I heard you.”
He made a low sound deep in his throat. “Dinnae cry, sweetlin’. We’re actually meant to be verra happy.”
“Is this real? Or have I gone crazy from days of wishing?”
“Shh.” His hands rubbed up and down her arms, his hands soothing, gentle.
Lissa trembled.
“Shush now. ’Twill be all right. Ye’ll see.”
“Are you really here? To stay I mean.”
“If ye’ll have me.”
“Oh, I’ll have you all right.”
He held her close for a long moment before leaning back. “Lass, I have naught to offer but myself. I’m scarred, body and mind. I’ve a temper. I’ve no wealth. Tis not much of a bargain for ye, and if I was more honorable, I’d give ye up. But I cannae. If ye’ll have me, I’ll work hard for ye. I’ll be faithful until the day I die. I’ll love ye forever. So, though I shouldnae ask, I will.” He grinned roguishly. “Will ye marry me?”
She clung to him, nodded, and smiled all at he same time. “Yes, Gareth, I’ll marry you. Just try and stop me.”
Gareth reached up to cup her cheek. “Though I didn’t know it, I’ve waited an eternity for ye, and I’d have waited another if I’d known ye were at the end of it. I’m sure to want forever, lass.”
“Yes,” she whispered. “Forever.”
He lowered his mouth and kissed her tenderly, both a pledge and a promise.
~~~
A few months later Gareth puttered around the kitchen while he waited for his wife to come in. The toast popped, and he buttered it, glad for something to do. Something to distract him.
He looked out the window, noted a neighbor waving at him from across the fence, and moved away. He didn’t know if he’d ever quite get over it. The people of California were impractical and slightly insane. The neighbors that shunned his wife when she lived with Cara, now clamored to hear him talk and generally made a nuisance of whenever Gareth stepped outside the door. Them and their little dogs.
There are so many people here! It was like ants swarming out of an anthill, it was all the time, and everywhere.
Getting to work was almost always a nightmare.
His phone beeped, and he looked at it to see Ian McGregor had written a text message.
Gareth was getting better at spelling. He’d been able to read and write before, of course, but had to relearn his letters. They’d looked so different in this time.
Ian wanted them to come out for Christmas. I’ll talk to Lissa, he texted back. He put the phone down so he could pace the kitchen again and wait for his wife.
He loved the fact of it. His wife. Smug satisfaction rolled through him at the fact that she was his.
They’d married quickly, within three weeks of her arriving home, though it had seemed slow to him at the time. He’d waited for Ian to come through with some documentation for him. His cousin delivered it himself on the day of the wedding, and Gareth had appreciated the effort. And the fact he’d had family there to stand for him.
Lissa also had an odd group of friends. He did care for some of them. Cara was a bit of sunshine. But most he didn’t mind keeping his distance from.
He still didn’t know what had happened to his brothers. According to Ian, he’d not spotted a witch when he’d journeyed to Culloden Moor. Gareth might have to go back over there himself—to see if he could get some answers about his kinsmen.
As he’d started a job, it might have to wait until Christmas.
Finding work had been odd to say the least. Lissa had found him work as a model, but he’d found the task ridiculous, and though photographers still called, he refused to answer. When they’d sent him complimentary pictures, he’d been shocked. He didnae look like that! Eve
n if the money was good, he was no pretty man.
A couple of times a week he worked as a bodyguard. He’d thought he would like the task, but so far there’d been no attacks, no excitement, and no fights. He was probably going to quit that job as well.
Lissa had also found him work as a historical assistant, and it was something they generally did together at night. It was his favorite task to date, but it wasn’t truly work. She loved asking him questions about Scotland, about the time he’d lived in, grilling him on the answers, and they generally had a wonderful time. Any amount of time in her company, usually led to lovemaking, which was another reason it was his favorite.
His new construction job started on the morrow, and he suspected he might like that well enough. Ian was instructing him on the finer points of land management, and he liked the idea and was already saving money. He’d always wanted to own property, and as he had always been handy, he was hopeful this new job would be beneficial in the long term.
He paced some more.
Lissa finally came out of the bathroom, and he turned at the sound of her feet pattering on the floor.
“Well?”
She shot him a look he didn’t quite understand.
“Did ye pee on the wee stick or not?”
She laughed.
“Lissa!”
She held up the stick with a flourish. “The blue line says we’re expecting a child.”
His breath rushed out of him and his knees went weak as joy rushed through him. He leaned back against the counter for a long moment and tried to collect himself, but he gave up the effort and moved forward to gather her in his arms. “Are ye happy about it?”
“Very.”
“I am as well.”
“What about mixing my tainted blood with yours? Are you going to be okay with that?”
“Dinnae be thinking of such, lass. I’m at peace with it, and so shall ye be. The man took away much, and I’m sure some of my comrades have made him pay by now.” He grinned at the thought. “But we’ve all blackguards and layabouts in our family tree, haven’t we? I’ll not hold yer blood against ye, nor the child. It matters not anymore.”
She grinned at him. “That’s awfully generous of you.”
He knew when he was being teased, but didn’t want any part of her to believe he’d ever regret. “He took away much, lass. But with yer presence here, he’s given me more. I’ll not bash him, even if given the chance.”
Tears filled her eyes. “Well, I might. For the harm he did you and the others.”
He chuckled at that. “I’ve no doubt ye would. Ye’d probably run him over with yer wee bitty car.”
“You’re never going to let me forget that, are you?”
“Nae, I dinnae believe I will.” He held her for a long while, content to pet her silky hair down her back. “So, tell me, kitten. Are we doing it right?”
“Doing what right?”
“Are we living yer happily ever after?”
She chuckled and pressed a kiss against his chest.“Yes, Gareth.” Her arms tightened about his neck as his tightened about her waist. “Yes, we most certainly are.”
THE END
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Copyright This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Gareth: ©2015 by Diane Darcy The Ghosts of Culloden Moor series ©2015 Lesli Muir Lytle All rights reserved.
Cover Art design by Kellie Ann Morgan
