by L. L. Muir
She glanced wildly about the room, and then headed for the window. She opened it and climbed outside.
She tugged at the front doorknob, and rang the doorbell repeatedly. No response. Her lips tightened. That little witch!
She was not going to stop Lilith from keeping Alan.
When Soni appeared before him, Alan started, jumping back.
Soni smiled. “’Tis not often that I scare a ghost.”
Alan blew out a breath. “Ye underestimate yerself, lass. We are all slightly afeared of where ye’re sending us, ye know.”
She ignored that and gave the lock on his wrist a skeptical look. “Seriously, mon? Ye cannae break that flimsy thing?”
Feeling a bit sheepish, he shrugged.
He gave a tug on his wrist, half afraid that, with her presence before him, he might have turned into a ghost already. But the metal held firm.
“Are ye to take me now? To Culloden Moor?”
Soni’s eyes sparkled. “How can I? She’s put ye in a cuff. There are a lot of things I can do with witchcraft, but handcuffs? Ye’ll have to crack them yerself if ye wish to come with me.”
He stared at her in astonishment. “Ye cannae break them?”
“She must well and truly want ye if she has entrapped ye in such a fashion. But if ye will simply destroy them, then we can be on our way.”
Without thinking about it, Alan clutched the handcuff at his wrist with his free hand, protectively. “They’re too strong, lass. I’ll not be able to break them either.”
Soni rolled her eyes. “With yer strength? Come now, lad, surely ye could tear them open if ye tried?”
He shook his head. “Nae. I fear not.”
Again, her look was skeptical, but Alan felt hope well within him. Lilith must want him indeed, to have captured him thus. And the words she’d spoken, claiming to love him … claiming him … he couldn’t get her words out of his mind.
He gulped in air, feeling what? Desperate, hopeful, joyful?
He didn’t truly believe Lilith could love him, not after the way he’d failed her. But she’d said she did. If he could only stay, somehow, he would get this house back for her, become the man she needed, and she would want him in truth.
But for that, he needed to stay. “Soni, if there’s a way I can remain, I will do anything.”
“I thought ye wanted to be with yer brothers?”
Going back to his brothers now would be bittersweet. “They will do fine without me. Lilith willnae. She doesnae trust easily, and if I leave her, who will care for her? My brothers are big and strong, but Lilith needs me, as does her daughter.”
“Ye’ve opened yer heart to her, haven’t ye?” She sighed. “Ye know, this is just like ye to take care of the people around ye. Where ever ye are, ye gather a family, do ye not?”
Did he? Mayhap she was right. After his grandda died he hadn’t a family to call his own. But he’d had his brothers. Couldn’t Lilith, Olivia, and Miss Celia be his family now?
There was a pounding on the door, and the doorbell rang several times as well.
Soni chuckled. “Determined to keep ye, is she not?”
Love for Lilith burned within him. He’d fight for her too. Every day of his life if he could.
Soni leaned back against the cushions and glanced around the small room. “This is sweet.”
“Lilith made it for her daughter.”
“She seems nice. Did ye save her perchance?”
“What do ye mean?”
“Did ye chance to save her, or she ye?”
“Aye … I saved the life of her daughter when I arrived. The wee mite jumped off the roof and straight into my arms.”
Soni smiled. “That would be a sight to see. And I ken that would count. If a woman lost a child in such a way, the damage would be permanent. Did she save ye as well?”
He was breathing heavily, feeling as if he was about to pass a test of some sort. Or fail one. “Aye, she did. She’s given me hope and joy such as I thought I’d never feel again.”
“Ah, well then. It does sound as if she saved ye as well. What of the Bonnie Prince? Ye’ll have to give up yer vengeance.”
Hope was starting to swell within him. “I do! I will, and gladly to stay here.” Fear streaked through him once more. Could he trust the love Lilith professed to have for him? Part of him still couldn’t believe it. Nobody had ever felt in such a way about him before.
He looked at Soni, studied her calm expression.
If he didnae take the chance, if he took the coward’s way out, he’d have eternity to regret it, wouldn’t he? “I swear, I didnae mean for this to happen. I didnae think she truly would want me. But somehow her eye has turned in my direction.”
“Any woman would love ye, Alan. Ye’ve just never had the chance to find out before. Are ye sure ye wish to stay?”
“Lilith professes to love me,” he gulped in a breath. “And I do love her. I want her more than aught I’ve ever reached for.” After she’d declared her love for him, even with all his insecurities, the answer would always be yes. “But, Soni. Can I stay a man and nae a ghost? She needs me as I am now, not as I was.”
Soni sighed as if sorry. “Aye, I’ll have to insist that ye remain mortal.”
“Truly?” He could hear the disbelief in his voice, the hope, feel it in his heart. “So … she is to be mine?”
“If ye’ll have her.”
He looked at the handcuff on his wrist, thought about the way Lilith trapped him and shut him in rather than let him go.
“I mean, she does seem a bit on the daft side.”
He swallowed. What had she said? That she was crazy for him? In the circumstances that seemed a fine thing. He felt crazed for her as well.
“If ye’re changing yer mind, I’ll ken if ye’d rather go with me instead.”
He shook his head. “Nae, lass. If I’m to be hers, and she’s to be mine, then I wish to stay.” He hesitated a long moment. “I … I could perchance break the lock.”
She smiled at him. “I know, laddie, I know.”
“Ye’ll not take me if I do?”
“Nae, this is where you’ll stay and I’ll not naysay yer desire.”
With that permission, he turned his attention to the handcuffs. They were a bit more difficult to break than he’d anticipated. He pulled very hard, and even put his feet against the wall so he could yank against the pipe with all of his might. The metal of one cuff bent slightly, and it finally broke and when he was free, he flew backwards and knocked the small television to the floor.
Luckily it landed on a cushion, and he hoped he’d not damaged the thing.
With one piece of the handcuffs still dangling from his wrist, he quickly opened the door before turning back to Soni. “Ye’ll tell my brothers goodbye for me, won’t you? Tell them I’d have come back, but I was wanted here?”
The emotion in his voice embarrassed him. But Soni simply smiled that beautiful smile of hers and nodded. “Some of them have already left, but the ones remaining, I’ll certainly tell them. I assure ye they will understand.”
He gave her one last nod, and headed for the front door. He opened it and Lilith wasn’t there. He flew off the porch and ran around the side of the house. When he finally spotted her trying to climb inside a window, he was able to breathe again.
He grabbed hold of her waist and dragged her back out the window. She let out a startled squeak, and he turned her, scooped her up into his arms and gathered her close. “Am I to understand that ye’ll have me?”
“You’re staying?” Tears sprang to her eyes and she started to cry. “But I thought … I thought you said we couldn’t be together. That you couldn’t come back.”
“Please, lass. If ye’ll have me, I’ll do whatever it takes to convince ye I will never, ever leave ye again.”
Tears filled her eyes. “But you said …”
“Things have changed. If you’ll allow me to devote myself to ye, to Olivia, I swear to ye, ye’ll not reg
ret it.”
“So, you’ll stay?”
“Aye, I’m to stay if ye’ll have me.”
He watched the expressions flit across her face. Hurt, anger, disbelief, and then finally happiness. He wanted to say more, to state his case better, but he didn’t dare so much as breathe.
She threw her arms around his neck, and he clutched her close, his own eyes filling with tears now. “Aye, then? I’m to stay?”
“Yes! Yes!”
Within moments she was sobbing, telling him that, after Soni, she believed he truly was a ghost of Culloden Moor, and that she wanted him anyway. He wasn’t too concerned as her arms remained wrapped tightly around his neck as she did so.
She held him close, her face pressed to his neck, and cried as he smiled.
He climbed the porch steps, lowered Lilith, and helped her get her footing. He went to open the front door.
He hesitated, then turned back. “Wait.”
He took her hand and led her to the swing at the end of the porch and set her down.
He walked a few feet away, then paced back again. He was sweating, could feel it warming the center of his back, along his hairline, and at the back of his neck. He cleared his throat. “I was wondering …”
She looked up at him, so pretty, hopeful. “Yes?”
He took a deep breath, walked away and paced back again, then stopped in front of her a second time. There was so much he wanted to say to her, but he didn’t know where to start. He wished to tell her that she’d changed him, that he’d come back to life for her. That now that he knew her, she would be with him always. That he hadn’t realized how alone he’d always been, until he’d met her. “I was wondering if ye … if ye would, that is to say …”
She looked at him expectantly. “Yes?”
“If ye would do me the honor …”
“Yes?” The hopeful look on her face gave him the courage to continue. He took a deep breath, and then released it. “If ye would consent to be my wife.”
She smiled at him and opened her mouth as if to respond, but he cut her off, his hand coming up in the air. “I dinnae have a lot to offer ye. But I will work hard, I’ll raise yer daughter as my own, and give ye more children if ye wish them.” He glanced around wildly, trying to think of aught else that might entice her, tempt her. Perhaps he should’ve waited? Was this too soon?
As he considered, she moved forward and wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest.
He exhaled gustily, looked down at her, and hoped this meant what he thought it did. He slowly and carefully wrapped his arms around her.
“Are you done talking?”
“I am.”
“Then the answer is yes.”
“Ye’ll marry me?”
“Yes!”
He swallowed. “Yer to be mine?”
“Yes, and you’re to be mine, too.”
He clutched her tighter—so tight she squeaked before he eased the pressure—his emotions churning and raw. He saw the wonder on her face, and felt the same.
“We’re going to make this work, aren’t we?”
He buried his face in her neck. “Aye, mo chroí. Aye.” He exhaled, then gently took her face in his hands and pressed his forehead to hers. “Lilith, ye will always be safe in my care. I swear it.”
“And you will always be safe in mine.”
He saw the love and acceptance in her expression and, heart thundering, lowered his head to kiss her.
Chapter 16
When they went inside, Grandma was coming down the stairs with Olivia.
Her expression clearly revealed she’d hit a low point, and accepted they were going to lose everything.
Lilith was holding Alan’s hand, but it didn’t feel like the right time to tell her they were engaged.
When Grandma reached the bottom step, she stopped, and with her hand on the beautiful wood banister, she released a defeated breath. “We need to pack.”
Lilith’s heart caught in her throat. It was the first time Grandma had admitted they would have to move, and rather than being relieved, it simply broke Lilith’s heart. She held out her hand. “I’m so sorry, Grandma. We might have to move, but we’re still a family, and we’re going to make this work, I swear it. We’ll fix up the new place, and you’ll have all your lovely things around you.”
Grandma looked at the two of them holding hands. “Maybe I should go and live with my son, after all. I don’t want to be a burden.”
Finally, Lilith found something to laugh about. “As if you ever could be. You’re the heart and soul of this family, and you know it. We’ll stick together, like always, do you hear me?”
Alan nodded. “I’ve not ever had a grandmum of my own before. Not one I can remember. I was sort of hoping ye’d become mine.”
Grandma’s painted eyebrows rose. She smiled at them both. “Oh, my dears. Are congratulations in order?”
Lilith laughed. “Mind reader.”
“I prefer the term psychic. This calls for a celebration. Let’s open the cabinet for drinks.” Her hand rose to her neck and she patted her throat. “Where is my key?”
Lilith remembered she’d hung it in the closet under the stairs.
“Olivia, it’s under the stairs, could you go get it? It’s hanging on a hook.”
Quick as could be, Olivia rounded the staircase, and within moments she started to wail. “My room is broken!”
“Ach,” Alan stepped forward. “I’m afraid ’tis my doing,” he sounded distressed. “I broke a few things to get free.” It was obvious he felt bad. “Doonae ye worry, I’ll fix it right up, sweetling, I promise.”
They went with him to inspect the damage, and Lilith knelt on the carpet. The TV was on the ground, the DVD player was askew, and the cushions were topsy-turvy. But it was the cracks in the wall, visible because many of the girly decorations had been knocked down, that made Lilith gasp. “Oh, my gosh, Alan!”
“I see it.”
It was now apparent the pipe she’d hooked him to earlier was actually a door handle. When she’d decorated, she’d mistaken the thing as a pipe and used it to hang things from. But with the paint cracked as it was in a perfect rectangle, it was apparent it was a door, long painted over, the edges now exposed.
He grabbed the key from off the hook and, with a knife he seemed to pull out of thin air, he used the hilt of it to bust the paint underneath the handle.
“Do ye see that?”
She did—a faint outline of a keyhole.
Between the two of them, they threw out blankets and cushions into the hall where Grandma and Olivia stood, wide-eyed.
Her heart pounded as he scraped at the keyhole with the point of the blade until he cleared it enough to insert the key.
There was a grinding noise as he pulled on the handle. He slowly opened the door to reveal …
Lilith gasped for air and spluttered as she tried to form a coherent sentence. The twinkle lights above them glinted off the treasure in the overflowing room! She jerked her head to look into Alan’s triumphant face and put a hand to her chest.
She couldn’t breathe. “Grandma! Come and see this!” Grandma crawled past her, and Lilith quickly fished her phone out of her pocket to shine more light into the room.
Grandma gasped as they took it all in. Gold, silver, and paintings filled the space. A bowl of rings and gold chains, crystal tankards, and more, much, much more.
“I can’t believe it!” Grandma’s voice was faint, wispy. “Oh, my goodness, it’s all here! I just can’t believe it!”
Lilith locked gazes with Alan, still unable to believe it herself. “We just saved the house. Grandma! We just saved the house!” She grabbed her daughter, pulled her close so she could see too, and pulled Alan and her Grandmother into the hug.
“Oh, my dears.” Grandma’s face was wreathed in smiles. “This really does call for a celebration!”
The next morning Alan stood in the kitchen, alone and waiting.
H
e heard the kitchen door open, and his spine straightened as he watched Trent come in the room.
“Hey! Lilith called and told me to come over. What’s going on?” He came into the kitchen, holding a handful of flowers.
Alan’s heart sank. He’d been dreading meeting up with the other man. The flowers confirmed he was here to court Lilith. He himself had told the man that he should do so. Now he regretted it very much. He’d given Trent the idea, and now here he was to act upon it.
Alan took a deep breath. He was going to have to break it to the man that he was too late.
“What is it? From the look on your face, it’s something serious. Do you need help moving furniture or something?”
Alan reached out and gripped Trent by a slender shoulder. “I’ve something to tell ye, mon. And yer not going to like it. And I’m sorry for it.”
Trent looked alarmed. “Okay. What is it?”
Alan drew in another deep breath. He knew he was about to devastate Trent, he hated to do it, but it had to be done. The sooner done, the sooner the man could mend.
“Out with it already, you’re scaring me, dude!”
“I’m to marry Lilith.”
Trent’s mouth dropped open and then he laughed. “Are you serious?”
“Aye, I am in earnest. I’ve asked and she has accepted me.”
Trent blew out a breath. “Well, all I can say is that you’re a fast worker.”
The man obviously pretended at indifference to save face. In turn, Alan pretended not to notice. “I’m sorry.”
“What are you sorry for?”
“I encouraged ye to court Lilith for yerself. And then I took her from ye before ye had the chance. It wasnae verra honorable of me, and I will admit to such. But it doesnae change the fact that I love her, and she loves me, and we are to be married. Again, I am sorry for yer loss.”
Trent’s brows pushed together, and his mouth opened, but it took him a moment to say anything.
Alan completely understood. If he’d lost Lilith, he wouldn’t know what to say either.
“Look, dude. I don’t know how many times you’re gonna make me say this but—I am gay!”
