by Willa Blair
Abby paused to suck in a breath. “And as for me,” she continued, “I was thrilled to find out that I had a grandfather and a cousin, that I wasn’t alone in the world after my parents died. I looked forward to meeting you, to introducing you to the man I love, who, by the way, isn’t from here and knew nothing of your feud until he came here to find me after I’d been abducted.” She might as well throw out everything she had.
“I was also afraid to meet you, afraid that I wouldn’t live up to the standards of such an important man as Andrew Fraser. I felt pity for you when I saw you yesterday. It saddened me to see how the loss of your children has affected you. But after what you just said, I can see that you brought all this misery upon yourself. You are a bitter old man, and your hatred and pride will be your only company as you live out however many days you have left in this world.”
Andrew flinched as though she’d struck him. Without a word, he left the room, slamming the door behind him.
Abby looked down, surprised to see her hand was still on Ian’s arm, her nails digging into his flesh so hard that she’d drawn blood. She loosened her grip and turned to him.
“I’m so sorry, Ian,” she murmured.
His brow furrowed in confusion. “What?” He followed her gaze and saw the bloody indentations in his skin. “Oh, I hadn’t even noticed.” He put his arm around her waist and guided her to a chair. “Here, sit down, lass.” Gratefully, she sat, knowing that as soon as the adrenaline rush wore off, her legs would give out.
Ian took her cold, trembling hands in his and gazed into her eyes. “I have never seen anything like what you just did. You reminded me of one of the Greek Furies. I thought you would strike Andrew down where he stood. Are you all right?”
“I think so. I don’t know what came over me, but I couldn’t listen to him anymore. I feel terrible for speaking to an old man that way.”
“Don’t,” said Ewan, who looked at her with a newfound respect in his eyes. “He’s a bitter old man who drove away two daughters. He’s not as weak as you might suspect, and it will do him good to think about your words. Andrew’s distanced himself from this village and the people in it for so long now that the feud has no bearing on him whatsoever. He just doesn’t care. But I care, and the rest of the people living here care, too. We want this damned feud to be over.”
Ewan paused then, and when Abby looked up at him, there was a strange look in his brown eyes. It looked like…sorrow?
“I’m sorry that Andrew has caused you pain, lass. ’Twas not my intention when I brought him here. I thought only to reunite you with your grandda. Give him time. Maybe he’ll come around.” He didn’t look like he believed it, though, and his eyes were full of regret.
“Thank you for that, Ewan. Ian, will you come riding with me? I need to get out of here for awhile.”
Ian looked to Ewan, who nodded his assent. “Aye, of course.” They started for the door.
“Ian, can I have a quick word with you?” asked Ewan.
“I’ll go fetch the horses,” said Abby, making for the door. She needed air, needed to get the hell away from this stifling room and all the anger permeating it.
She slammed open the door and stepped out into the bright sunshine, taking great gulps of fresh air. What a son of a bitch! She’d lived her life by her parents’ example of showing respect to her elders, but she simply could not stand idly by and let herself be treated that way by anyone.
“Thank you, Abby.” Abby jumped and spun around to see Alannah standing in the shadows of the building. “No one’s ever stood up for me before.”
Abby felt rage rising within her at the desolate look in Alannah’s eyes. “I know that I spoke harshly to a respected elder of this village, but he had no right to speak of you that way. He’s your grandfather, for God’s sake!”
Alannah sighed. “Aye, but it matters not. He’s a very bitter man, Abby. There’s nothing that will change that now.”
“There’s no excuse for him. You’d think that with all the mistakes he’s made, all the family he’s lost, he would be more cautious with what he still has.”
Alannah gave a vague shrug, which Abby interpreted as meaning that Alannah didn’t think herself worthy of any respect from her grandfather. There was no convincing her. Time to change the subject.
“Come on, Alannah. Ian and I are going riding, and you’re coming with us. I won’t take no for an answer.” Without waiting for a reply, she headed for the barn.
****
Ewan waited for Abby to leave the room before turning to Ian with a glint in his eye and a small smile on his face. “That’s one hell of a woman, Mackenzie. You’re lucky to have her.” His expression sobered. “I know you wouldn’t have laid a hand on Andrew, no matter how much he might have deserved it. You’re a good man to stand up for your lass, and for Catriona as well.”
He paused for a moment. “I also know Abby went to you last night. I cannot let the two of you share a cottage, as it is my duty to protect her and her reputation. But as long as no one sees the two of you, I won’t stop you. See to it that she’s back at Alannah’s before sunrise, or I’ll be forced to do something about it.”
CHAPTER 20
Two days later, Ian waited outside Alannah’s cottage for Abby with Jack and Bonny saddled and waiting patiently by his side. It was late in the morning, and he’d spent the past few hours helping Ewan with the gray colt and doing some repairs around the barn and fences. Now he and Abby were off to have a picnic lunch. Alannah, as usual, was staying home. Though she was always invited, and it was her choice to stay behind, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.
She was all alone here, except for her animals. The villagers treated her as though she didn’t exist, unless of course they needed her skill as a healer. Ewan spoke to her only when he needed to, but there was something strange there, too—those two definitely had a past together.
She hadn’t even made contact with her grandfather, though Ian could hardly blame her for that after his own encounter with the old bastard. Since then, Andrew had made no attempt to contact Abby—or anyone else, really—choosing instead to waste away inside his borrowed cottage.
The door to Alannah’s cottage opened, and Abby stepped out. The sunlight rained down upon her, lovingly caressing her body, turning her hair to deep bronze. She smiled as she approached him, and his mouth went dry to look upon her, his heart bursting with love.
It must have shown on his face, because she stopped in her tracks and stared at him, a slow flush rising in her cheeks. He started toward her, but a disgruntled snort from behind him reminded him that he was still holding the reins to two huge horses, and neither of them was too keen about moving. He dropped the reins, confident that the horses wouldn’t go anywhere in the next minute, and pulled Abby into his arms. He kissed her tenderly at first, and then with increasing passion, his hands holding her to him while hers plunged into his hair.
Finally, he pulled back and traced her lips with the pad of his thumb. “I love you, Abby.”
A slow smile spread across her face and her eyes sparkled. “I love you, too, Ian.”
He continued to stare at her for a long moment, before a shove from behind disrupted the moment. He turned to look at Jack, who shook his long black mane and pawed the ground impatiently.
Abby giggled, the sound like music to his ears. “I guess he wants to be off on his run, huh?”
“A fine day it is, when a man is bossed around by his horse,” muttered Ian as he helped Abby into her saddle. Moments later, they were cantering out of the village and heading toward the loch.
“Where are we going?” asked Abby as they rode.
“I thought we’d eat lunch under our tree,” Ian replied, glancing over to gauge her reaction.
“Our tree? The oak tree near the loch? Where we used to picnic back…home?”
“Aye. We’ve not been back there since we came to this time. I’m just curious.” Now that Ewan no longer had him under guard, he w
anted to scope out their exit route in case things went badly for them.
They arrived at the oak tree, which was much smaller than it was the last time they’d sat under it, but still impressive.
“Let’s eat first, Ian. Then we can walk by the water.”
Abby looked worried, and he couldn’t blame her. If the mist didn’t appear, then the chance was slim that they would be able to return to their own time. He wasn’t too thrilled about rushing into that discovery, either.
They ate their lunch of cold leftover chicken, oatcakes, and wine. After they finished, Ian stretched out on his back with his head on Abby’s lap. She began to play with his hair, running her fingers over and over through the long strands. The repetitive motion of her fingers in his hair was relaxing, and he closed his eyes and gave himself up to the delightful sensation.
When her hands stopped playing with his hair and simply cradled his head in her lap, Ian opened his eyes again. The sunlight filtered down through the branches of the oak tree, gilding the hair at her crown and casting its light upon her face while the rest of her was in shadow. Her ever-changing eyes were now a soft blue-gray, the color of the sea in the first light of dawn. As she gazed out at the water and the castle beyond, there was a distant look in those eyes, a stillness about her. It struck Ian that he was gazing upon a statue, an image sculpted from golden marble.
“Marry me, Abby,” he breathed, the words tumbling out of him without reservation.
****
Ian’s words, though softly-spoken, jolted Abby from her reverie as though they were a crash of thunder. She looked down in shock to see him gazing up at her, his eyes as green as the surrounding oak leaves.
“What did you just say?” Surely she hadn’t heard him correctly.
“Marry me,” he repeated, louder this time. Her heart began to thunder in her breast and she heard the blood rushing through her head. There was a time when she would have given anything to hear those words, but now that he’d finally spoken them, she didn’t know what to say.
She stared at him, unable to find her voice. As the seconds ticked away, the excitement in his eyes began to fade and he abruptly sat up, wincing as a few strands of his hair remained tangled in her fingers.
He took a few steps and stood with his back to her, his head bowed. Abby, say something. The man you love just asked you to marry him. That deserves some kind of reply, don’t you think?
She stood and walked toward him. “Ian…”
He turned around, his expression earnest, and dropped to his knees before her. “Abby, we’ve let too much time pass us by, and I don’t want to waste another minute. I love you so much. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” His voice dropped almost to a whisper. “Please say you’ll marry me.”
His impassioned words caused her heart to skip a beat. Ian truly wanted to marry her! But then she remembered where—and when—they were, and her heart sank. Although his proposal seemed like a simple yes or no question, it was anything but.
Abby took Ian’s hands and pulled him to his feet. She reached up to cup his cheek, loving the bristly feel of his stubble against her palm.
“Ian, I do want to marry you, to live with you in some beautiful corner of the Highlands and raise our children.”
His eyes lit up with joy, and then dimmed when she hesitated over her next words. “But…?”
“But we’ve been thrown into this situation in which we’ve no one to turn to but each other. How can we know for sure that we’ll feel the same way about each other once we’re back in our own time?” I know I’ll always love him, just as I have for the past four years, but what about him? What will happen when he’s once again surrounded by beautiful starlets and the temptation of Hollywood?
Ian looked at her as though she’d sprouted antlers. “How can you even ask me that, Abby? Do you doubt that my love for you is real? After everything that’s been said and done here?”
“No! Of course I don’t doubt you. But we haven’t heard from Ewan’s messenger yet. We have no idea if they’ll agree to end the feud. And what if they don’t end it? What happens to us then? Will Ewan let us go, or will you be thrown in irons once more? And what if we can’t get back to our time? I just think that everything is too chaotic for any serious decision-making now. Don’t you see?” Her head spun.
“I understand that you’re worried about things—worried about what will be if the feud isn’t ended. But Ewan’s a good man. Even if they don’t end the feud, he won’t lock me up again. He’ll let us leave here. And when he does, we’ll just come here and return to our own time. And if we can’t do that, well, would that really be so terrible?”
Before she could reply, he went on. “Is there nothing that you like about bein’ here? It’s a simple life, aye, but there’s a lot to be said for that. Where we come from, each new advance in technology takes away a little bit more of our freedom. And I don’t just mean that we’re bein’ watched by the government or anything. I mean that it’s nearly impossible to just get away for a while, to have some peace and quiet—at least not without travelin’ some great distance. Here we’re surrounded by wide-open space. If one desires solitude for a time, one can simply get on a horse and ride for a few hours and find it.
“I feel at peace here. I know there aren’t any of the amenities of home. If we’re hungry, we have to hope that someone’s been skilled with a bow and arrow. If we’re hurt, we have to hope that the right combination of herbs and plant parts will ease our pain, and if we become ill, well, there’s a very real chance we won’t recover. There aren’t any cars, planes, telephones, or computers. But I honestly don’t miss those things. These last few days here have been...nice.”
He grinned. “Well, except for the blow to the head and the dark pit, of course. And the fear of not findin’ you.” His expression sobered. “The only thing I can honestly say that I’ll miss is my family. But if we couldn’t get back, I could live with not seein’ them again as long as you were here with me.”
Well, he’d certainly covered most of the bases, hadn’t he? “Ian, I…”
“Before you say anything, why don’t we give it a go?” He took her hand and led her toward the loch. Abby couldn’t help the feeling of trepidation that crept through her. What if the mist didn’t come? And what if it did? What then?
As they approached the midnight blue water, Abby began to feel a chill. “Ian…”
“I feel it,” he said, holding her hand tightly as he backed up. The cold, skin-crawling sensation vanished as abruptly as it had started as they moved away from the water.
“Ian, maybe we should just go through.”
“Now?”
“Well, maybe tonight? We can leave some sort of explanatory note for Alannah. I’d hate to leave her so suddenly, but Ian, if we can get the hell out of here…”
“But what about ending the feud?”
“I know it’s important to you, but I’m so tired of lying, of having to watch every word I say. I have this terrible feeling that I will say the wrong thing to the wrong person, and it will all be over.”
“Abby, I can’t leave now, not without doing all I can to resolve the feud. Do you realize that if Ewan’s messenger returns, saying that the Mackenzies have agreed to meet with him, and I’m not here, all hell will break loose? At the very least, Ewan’s word of honor will be called into question. At the worst, the Mackenzies will launch a full-scale attack on the village.
“I can’t leave with that on my conscience. We know that the portal is here. We can come back after we do all we can to help these people. It’s because of my father that this feud is goin’ on, and he would want me to do everything in my power to end it.”
“But what if there’s a fight? What if you get hurt, or…” She couldn’t say the words, but the very thought of something happening to him left a cold, sick feeling in her stomach.
Ian pulled her into his arms and just held her for a moment. His warmth seeped into her, helping ease her n
ausea. He leaned back and cupped her face in his hands, gazing into her eyes.
“Abby, love, you know as well as I do that bad things can happen any time, anywhere. Sure, if there’s a sword fight, I could be hurt or even killed. But I could end up just as dead crossing the street in Edinburgh, or drivin’ my Jag on the motorway. We can’t live our lives in fear. We’re living in history now, do you see? We have the chance to bring an end to a feud that’s been goin’ on for more years than either of us has been alive. That’s amazing, Abby! How can we turn our backs on this without even giving it a go? And if all goes badly, then we know we have an escape route. That’s more than the people in that village can say.”
Abby was dumbstruck by Ian’s heartfelt words. Part of her was jealous that he seemed to be just as passionate about ending the feud as he was about her. But the other part of her—the bigger part, she hoped—was proud of him. He was a man of honor, one who would do the right thing, no matter what the consequences. How could she not admire that? And how could she punish him for it?
“I love you, Ian. And I will marry you. But we have to wait until after the feud is resolved and we know we’re safe.” She willed him to understand. He was quiet for so long that her heart began to drop to her feet. Please tell me I didn’t lose him, she thought.
Finally, he reached out to touch her cheek, a smile curving his lips. “I’ll hold you to it, then.”
“You’re okay with waiting?”
His smile became a full-fledged grin. “Aye, of course it’s okay! What, did you think I was goin’ to turn around and walk away because you want to wait to get married until we’re out of mortal peril? Abby, I love you. I’m not goin’ anywhere.”
Her heart soared, and she threw her arms around him, pressing her lips to his in a kiss that quickly went from tender to passionate. The world shifted as Ian lifted her up and carried her back to their picnic blanket, sinking down with her under the sheltering arms of the oak tree.
