by Donna Grant
To Kim Rocha
Thank you for your support, for your smiles, your texts and Facebook posts, and for just being your truly wonderful self and great friend.
Love ya, girl!
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you to my brilliant, marvelous, beautiful editor, Monique Patterson. I know I say it all the time, but you are the bomb! Thanks for pushing me when I needed it, encouraging when I hesitate, and for allowing my imagination to truly take flight with these stories.
To Holly Blanck—what can I say besides the truth?—you rock! To everyone at St. Martin’s who helped get this book ready, thank you.
To my amazing, fabulous agent, Amy Moore-Benson. Thank you. For everything!
A special note to Melissa Bradley, Leagh Christensen, and April Renn. Thanks for all the help, especially when I needed it the most.
To my kiddos, parents, and brother—thank you! A writer makes sacrifices when writing, but so does the writer’s family. Thanks for picking up the slack, knowing when I’m in deadline that I won’t remember any conversations we might have. And for not minding to have to repeat anything. lol
And to my awesome husband, Steve, my real-life hero. You never mind spending dinners talking about upcoming battle scenes or helping me work through a spot I’m stuck in. Thank you for the love you’ve given me, for the laughter you brought into my life, our beautiful children, and the happily-ever-after life I always dreamed of. I love you, Sexy!
CONTENTS
Title Page
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Epilogue
Teaser
Back Ad
Also by Donna Grant
About the Author
Copyright
PROLOGUE
Fourteen years ago …
Danielle Buchanan watched a fat raindrop roll down the outside of the passenger car window until it disappeared from view.
“We’re almost there, Dani,” Aunt Sophie said from the front seat.
Danielle didn’t care. She hadn’t cared about anything in three months, two weeks, and four days.
That’s when her parents had died in a car crash.
She still remembered being woken by the red and blue lights from the police car flashing through her window. Danielle had sat up, listening as they told her babysitter that there had been an accident.
Danielle had thought that was the worst day of her life, but then, days later there had been the funeral. Two coffins set side by side in the church.
Two coffins lowered into the ground.
A coldness had swept through Danielle then. At twelve, a girl wasn’t supposed to feel so old, so uncaring, so … hard-hearted.
Danielle had gone to stay with her best friend, but Cindy hadn’t understood anything Danielle was going through. They had grown from being inseparable to barely speaking to each other. Still, it was something Danielle knew, a place she was familiar with.
Then her world had been turned upside down again when Aunt Sophie arrived. Danielle had learned her parents had given Sophie guardianship over her if something ever happened to them.
Danielle didn’t have anything left in her to fight the move from Florida across an ocean to Scotland. What could a twelve-year-old do anyway?
“Dani, honey, I really think you’ll enjoy it here,” Aunt Sophie said, her accent thick, but her smile bright and kind.
Danielle blinked as they continued up the mountain. The car slowed, and a moment later they were turning right.
Danielle looked around the seat in front of her through the windshield. Row upon row of houses lined the street. They all looked alike.
Aunt Sophie turned her head and grinned broadly. “We’re here!”
Danielle tried to smile, she really did. But as they pulled into the tiny driveway all she could muster was a sigh.
She climbed out of the car and looked at the two-story house, then at the ones on either side. There was no doubt she was going to forget which house was her aunt’s.
“Come on, Dani. Everyone is waiting for us.”
Danielle licked her lips and knew her parents would want her to be happy at her new home. Aunt Sophie waited patiently by the door, a sad smile on her face as if she knew exactly what Danielle had been thinking.
Danielle walked to her aunt and through the front door. Uncle Henry, Aunt Sophie’s husband whom Danielle had met only once when she was seven, gave her a wave, but didn’t rise from his chair in front of the TV.
“In the kitchen,” Aunt Sophie said as she laid a hand on Danielle’s shoulder.
She turned the small corner and stepped into the tiny kitchen where there were two other women. One was washing dishes and hurried to dry her hands as she faced Danielle.
“We were gettin’ worried,” she said.
Aunt Sophie sighed, exhaustion evident in the lines of her face. “It was a long trip. Dani, this is my best friend, Mary.”
Danielle hoped her lips turned up in a smile, but she wasn’t sure.
“It might take a while, my dear,” Mary said, “but I think you’ll love it in Scotland.”
Danielle’s attention turned to the woman at the table. The woman watched Danielle with eyes as steady as a hawk. Her silver-blond hair, the same color as Danielle’s, was pulled back in a loose bun.
“Come here, child,” the woman beckoned softly.
Danielle found herself walking to the woman. She stopped in front of her, amazed that the woman could look so young and frail at the same time.
“You look just like your mother.”
For the first time since the funeral Danielle felt the prick of tears.
“I’m your aunt Josephine, but everyone calls me Josie. I knew the moment my brother brought your mother to meet us that she was the one for him. They were very happy together. So in love. That’s rare, you know.”
Aunt Josie took Danielle’s hand and smiled. “We shall grieve together, you and I.”
Danielle didn’t pull away when Aunt Josie tugged her onto her lap. She thought she was too old to sit on adults’ laps anymore, but Danielle liked Aunt Josie.
“This land is verra old,” Josie said in a whisper while she smoothed her hand over Danielle’s hair repeatedly, soothing and calming Danielle at the same time. “Many kings wanted this land, and though they might think they ruled us they never did. There is magic in my Scotland, Dani. You’ll feel it soon enough.”
Aunt Josie lifted Danielle’s hand until their palms were held flat together.
“You have magic in you, child,” Josie said, her green eyes holding Danielle’s. “Just as I do. I will teach you about magic and your heritage. You’ve come home, Dani
. A Druid always comes home.”
CHAPTER
ONE
Inverness—Fourteen years later
New Year’s Eve
Danielle zipped up her boots that reached to her knees and rose from the bed to stare into the full-length mirror on the back of her door. She turned to one side then the other looking at the slinky black dress that hugged her curves.
“Definitely need to work out more,” she mumbled as she frowned at her reflection and sucked in her stomach.
Her door pushed open and Whitney, one of her flatmates, poked her dark head through the door. “Wow, Dani. You look amazing.”
“Sure you won’t come with me?” Danielle asked for the tenth time. They had all planned to spend New Year’s together with another group of friends two months ago, but now Dani would end up alone with Mitchell. It wasn’t that Mitchell was a bad sort, just someone who didn’t get the hint that she didn’t want to date him.
Whitney laughed and shook her head. “Not on your life. Joe says he has something he wants to talk to me about. I’m hoping he’s finally going to ask me to marry him. I’ve been waiting for months!”
Danielle smiled and hugged Whitney. She was happy for her friend, but it was just another reminder she was alone. Again.
“I want you to call me as soon as he proposes. Well, after you say yes, of course,” Danielle said with a laugh.
“I will. I promise. Listen, I came to ask if I could borrow your black heels. The new ones you bought this week?”
Danielle hurried to her closet and opened the Kate Spade box. “Yes, you need to look your best. You know Clair’s pearls would look great with your dress.”
“I’ve already asked to borrow them,” Whitney said as she took the shoes. “I have the most wonderful friends in the world.”
Danielle grinned as she leaned her hand on the doorknob. “I’m just thankful we all wear about the same size. It’s saved me a lot of money over the years.”
As Whitney walked to her room, Danielle closed the door and her smile faded. So much for a rowdy group of friends to party with. Not that Danielle was a party girl. She was the opposite actually. It had been all of them who had talked her into going out on New Year’s. And wouldn’t you know everyone else would have something planned with their boyfriends?
Danielle sighed and looked at the clock on her nightstand. It was just after five o’clock. She had enough time to run some errands before she met up with Mitchell and they headed to Blink’s. Blink was the newest, hippest nightclub in Inverness, and they were putting on one hell of a party tonight.
After one more look in the mirror, Danielle reached for the bangle bracelets on her bureau and left her room. She liked the clink of the silver bracelets as she slid her arms into her coat.
“I’m leaving,” Danielle called out.
“Be careful!” Whitney shouted through her door. “A snowstorm has been forecast for tonight!”
Danielle inwardly groaned while wrapping her scarf around her neck before she tugged on her gloves. “Just what I need.”
She grabbed her purse and keys and left the flat. A blast of cold wind hit her as she pulled the door closed and hurried down the stairs to her car waiting at the curb.
The car, a mid-1970s Mini, had been her aunt Josie’s. When Josie had gotten too sick to drive it, she’d given it to Danielle. Danielle loved the car, even if it had gotten more unreliable than not.
She unlocked her door and slid into the driver’s seat. As usual, the car didn’t start on the first try.
“Come on,” Danielle whispered as she turned the key once more.
There was a flare of life, and then nothing.
Danielle rubbed the car’s dashboard slowly. “I know you can do this,” she told the car. “Don’t let me down tonight.”
On the third try, the Mini roared to life.
Danielle sat back with a smile on her face and fastened her seat belt. She pushed in the clutch and put the car in first before pulling out into the road.
She drove slowly through the icy, snow-covered streets as the sun sank below the horizon. Danielle would have preferred to get her errands done earlier, but she’d had to stay later at her job than usual.
Wouldn’t you know the boss-from-Hell had wanted to clear her desk so she could take the next week off? Danielle was supposed to have left the office at noon, but Isabella had other ideas.
Danielle mentally checked off the places in her mind as she ran errand after errand. Finally, she pulled up to the cemetery and turned off the car. She reached for the single pink rose on the passenger seat and got out of the car.
The snow that had fallen overnight was deep as Danielle meandered her way to the back of the cemetery and the Buchanan plot.
Though her parents were buried in America, there was a plaque with their names and the date they had been taken from her. Danielle wiped the snow from the plaque. She stared at their names and wondered how different her life would have been had they not gone out that fateful night.
It was a thought that haunted Danielle every year. Though the images of her parents had begun to fade in her mind, the memories she had of them would never leave her.
After a moment, she moved to her left and wiped the ice and snow from the large stone cross.
Josie had died on New Year’s Eve five years earlier and Danielle came to her gravesite every year. No one was sure what had caused Josie’s death. Each year she had grown weaker and weaker until her soul had left her body.
It had been painful to watch, but Danielle never left her side. They had spent countless hours together in the little time they had left. Josie had been the one Danielle had gone to with a problem, the one Danielle had gone to for answers.
And Josie had never let her down.
Josie had been the one who hadn’t pushed her to talk, hadn’t begged her to get on with her life. Josie simply let Danielle cope with the death of her parents as she needed.
She had warned Danielle that her time was about to end, but Danielle hadn’t wanted to believe her. Until Josie’s hand had gone slack in Danielle’s grip.
“I miss you, Aunt Josie,” Danielle said, and placed the pink rose at the base of the cross.
Josie had been true to her word when Danielle had first met her. She had shown Danielle the wondrous world of magic.
It had been glorious. The first time she felt her magic move within her, it had changed her life.
Until they learned just what her magic did.
Danielle bit her lip as she recalled the pain that would bend her in two when she would find an object and not want to return it to its owner.
Of all the magical ability Danielle could have received, she hated hers. She had no choice when it came to using her magic. It forced her to bring the object—whatever it might be—to its rightful owner or suffer unimaginable pain.
Danielle realized that she had been squatting next to the cross for some time and her legs had grown numb from the cold. A large, fat snowflake landed on the back of her gloved hand.
“You always did love the snow, Aunt Josie,” Danielle mumbled. She kissed her fingers, then placed them on the cross. “Until next year.”
Danielle rose and walked back to her car. The streetlights had already blinked on as the darkness grew. She shoved her hands in her pockets and did her best not to slip on the ice.
The icy wind managed to find a way up her skirt and take whatever warmth she might have had from her. Danielle shuddered and hurriedly got into her car.
To her surprise, the Mini started on the first try. Danielle waited for other cars to pass, then pulled in behind them. She was supposed to meet Mitchell at his flat so they could go to dinner.
If she didn’t know her flatmates so well, she’d think they had set this up so she’d be left alone with Mitchell. It wasn’t that Mitch wasn’t a nice guy. He was.
He just wasn’t a guy she was interested in.
Which didn’t make sense. He was good-looking, had a great
job, and she had gotten to know him well over the last year.
But there was no connection between them. No spark, no chemistry.
It would be so much easier if there were, because Danielle knew Mitch liked her a lot. She could have the husband she’d always wanted. She could have the family and kids—everything.
However, her parents had told her to never compromise, and Danielle never had. She certainly wasn’t going to start now.
Just as Danielle expected, there were no places to park close to Mitchell’s flat. She ended up parking down the street and walking to his place.
She now wished she had suggested meeting him at the restaurant instead of letting him drive her. That sounded too much like a date, and this was anything but a date.
Danielle walked up the steps to his door and knocked. Almost instantly it opened. Mitchell, his dark hair combed back away from his face, smiled, the corners of his blue eyes crinkling.
“I was getting worried,” he said as he motioned for her to enter.
Danielle gratefully stepped in out of the cold. “I had to run some errands.”
“I made reservations for dinner.”
She didn’t move farther inside when he put his hand on the small of her back. “Reservations? I thought we were eating at the pub as we agreed earlier.”
“Well,” Mitchell said as he ran a hand over his hair in a nervous gesture. “With it just being us two, I thought we could have a more … intimate dinner.”
It was just what Danielle didn’t want. She glanced at the floor, hating that she had to begin the evening like this. “Mitchell … I like you. A lot.”
“And I like you, Danielle.”
“But as a friend.”
The smile slowly died on his face. “Why can you no’ let this progress and see where it goes?”
“Because that would only cause you pain. I don’t want that.”
Mitchell put his hands on his hips and turned partially away from Danielle. “I had hoped when you agreed to still go out without the others that it was a sign you wanted more.”
“I told you I didn’t.”
“I thought you were being coy,” Mitchell said with a shake of his head. “I’ve waited over a year for you, Dani.”
