by Jennae Vale
“I’m sorry, Donal. I know ye love her,” Edna said, taking him by the arm.
They walked into the inn together and were met by Maggie, holding Elena, Dylan and Angus. They all wore expressions of sadness that only served to make Donal feel worse.
“When can we go back?” he asked Edna.
“I think in a day or two. Dr. Ferguson wanted to see Elena one more time to make sure she was completely well. After that I’ll send ye home.” The resignation in Edna’s voice, echoed his own mood.
Donal took Elena from Maggie and went back upstairs wondering if he’d made the right decision.
“What can we do Auntie?” Maggie asked.
“I’m nae sure,” Edna said. Everyone was a little teary eyed after seeing what had just occurred. “There must be something.”
“We know Donal just wants to be the provider for his family. How can we make that happen?” It was obvious that Maggie was determined to fix this problem.
“That’s the puzzle we must solve. We’ll keep him here for as long as we can until we have an answer. We all need to work on this. No idea is too crazy,” Edna said.
Angus and Dylan both wore skeptical looks.
“Why do ye look that way?” Maggie asked.
“I don’t think you know what a daunting task this is going to be,” Dylan said.
“Daunting has never stopped us before and it’s not going to stop us now.”
“Alright,” Dylan said. “If I think of anything I’ll let you know.”
“Promise,” Edna said.
“I promise.”
“Angus?” she said, looking to him for support.
“I’ll do whatever I can, my sweet. Dinnae fear, we’ll find an answer.”
But as the days wore on, it was becoming increasingly clear that they weren’t going to find an answer and it was getting harder and harder to find excuses for why Donal should stay. Dr. Ferguson didn’t care for the idea of lying about little Elena’s health. “She’s fine. She should be able to go home. I can’t keep telling him we need to wait,” he said after his last visit.
Edna had just about given up hope, and needed to do something to keep her hands busy. She decided dusting the rooms would be a good distraction and while doing so found exactly what she needed.
“Maggie, I’ve got it!” she cried, running down the stairs.
“What is it?” Maggie came out of the office to see what Edna was yelling about.
As Edna explained her plan, Maggie’s face went from confused to excited. “Ye just might be on to something!”
“Aye. I’m so excited. I think this might be just what we need. Donal has been miserable. He hardly says a word and he has no appetite. Elena is the only thing that keeps him going.”
“Let’s hope this works then.”
“If I ever lay eyes on Donal again, I swear I’ll beat him to a pulp,” Hamish said as he watched Tina moving her food around on her plate but not eating.
She’d been home over a week now and had done nothing but mope around. Her eyes seemed to be permanently red rimmed from all the crying she’d done and no one in the family seemed to be able to soothe her. She hadn’t even unpacked her bags.
“Hamish, I don’t think that’s helping anything,” Elle said.
“What are we to do? I dinnae believe I’ve ever seen anyone so miserable in all my years.”
“That’s a bit of an exaggeration, don’t you think?” Elle said, rolling her eyes at him. “Tina, let’s go unpack your bags.”
Tina looked up from the table. She’d heard everything they were saying, but she seemed unable to dig herself out of the black hole she’d fallen into. Maybe Elle was right. The least she could do was unpack. “Alright,” she muttered, heading down the hallway to her bedroom.
She opened her suitcase and started tossing clothes on the floor. “Laundry,” she said. She handed Elle her shoes and she put them in the closet. As she neared the bottom of the suitcase, she saw an envelope and remembered that she was supposed to give a note to Zeke, but there was only one envelope and it wasn’t the one addressed to him.
“Oh, no! Sara gave me a letter to give to her brother. I feel terrible about it. She was so nice to me and the one thing she asked me to do, I screwed up.” She scavenged around in the bottom of the suitcase, hoping to find it, but it wasn’t there.
Tina sat on the floor next to her bag and opened the other envelope Sara had given her. Inside she found the recipe for the tea. Ayla’s Blend was written at the top in big bold letters. She held it close to her chest.
“What’s that?” Elle asked.
“A recipe,” she replied.
“For what?”
“Tea. Do you remember Sara? She wanted me to say hi from her,” Elle nodded. “When I was at Breaghacraig, Sara made this wonderful tea and I had an idea that maybe I could open a little tea shop here in town.”
“That sounds like a great idea,” Elle said, taking the note from her hands.
“It is, isn’t it?”
If anything was going to get Tina out of this funk, it would be this. She’d throw herself into this new venture and it would help her to forget about Donal, or at least make it so that she could get through a single day without tears.
“Well, let’s get to work on it,” Elle said. “I haven’t got anything to do right now, so it’s perfect timing. We’ll need to check First Street and see if there are any shops available and then we can go in search of the perfect herbs for the tea.”
“What do you think of making it a little book shop, too? You know, maybe used books. People could come in for some tea and scones and they could read books right off the shelf or even buy them.”
“Great idea. And you could do a fancy high tea in the afternoons. You know, with little tea sandwiches and petit fours.”
Tina was actually starting to feel excited about this. “Yes, I’m doing it.”
“I’ll call our real estate agent. Maybe she can help locate a shop.”
“I’ll finish up here,” Tina said, as Elle headed off to tell the rest of the family.
Chapter 17
They found the perfect spot for the tea shop in a cute little building right in the center of town. There was a vacant shop next door and on the other side was a beautiful antique shop. Tina and her family spent the next few weeks painting and decorating the space. She made parcels of Ayla’s blend and stocked the shelves with it. She tried other blends and if she liked them, she ordered what she needed and put them out for sale as well. She worked with her mother on the food. Bobby Carrera was more than happy to be involved. She made scones, muffins and an assortment of other items that would go perfectly with the tea. Small tables were set around the shop and bookshelves were filled with used books they got from friends and neighbors. They would also encourage their customers to leave used books for others to read.
On opening day, Tina was beside herself with excitement. This was what she needed. It would keep her busy now that her job as tour manager was over. Everything about her shop reminded her that she was a strong, resourceful woman and she was doing exactly what she wanted to do.
There was a line of customers waiting for her to open, which only confirmed her decision to open a tea shop downtown.
“This is amazing,” Elle said. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Me, too,” her mother chimed in. “Look what you’ve done in a few short weeks.”
The men of the family all tried to stay out of the way of the customers. Her brothers took turns manning the cash register, while Tina, her mother and Elle visited with all their customers. Hamish stood outside the shop greeting people as they entered. He wore his kilt for this special occasion, knowing that women in this time seemed to love it. And it wasn’t just the kilt they loved, they seemed to love him as well.
The local paper showed up and interviewed her for a series of articles they wanted to do on local businesses. Even more exciting was the fact that everyone was happy with their tea and her m
other’s baked goods. Customers were telling her how happy they were to have a place to go that was dedicated to tea. There were so many coffee shops in town, but because many of them didn’t drink coffee, they were overjoyed to have their own special place to enjoy their favorite beverage.
Ayla’s Blend was flying off the shelves and received rave reviews from those who tried it. People were intrigued with the fact that it was from an authentic medieval recipe, which was reflected in the packaging. Everything was going perfectly in her life, except that Donal and Elena weren’t here with her. The sadness she felt thinking about them was overwhelming, even after all this time. Her first day had been a success, but she was happy that the last customers were leaving so that she didn’t have to keep up her cheery appearance.
She locked up the shop and noticed that someone seemed to have rented the empty space next to hers. It would be good to have neighbors on either side of her, she thought as she got in her car to drive home. At some point the pain she felt on losing Donal and Elena would have to diminish, wouldn’t it? She wasn’t so sure, but for now at least she had something to occupy her mind for several hours every day. It would all be okay, she had to believe that.
What happened when she went home was another story all together. There, alone in her room, she was consumed by her loss. She hadn’t quite come to grips yet with the fact that she’d never see them again. She tried everything to forget them. She even tried telling herself that it had all been a dream and they’d never been real, but remembering the feel of Donal’s arms around her and the way he had loved her, always brought her back to reality. Her senses betrayed her. If she closed her eyes and thought really hard she could feel his touch, his kiss, his presence. Her nose picked up the scent of pine and leather wafting through the air and she thought of him. There were times when she thought she could hear his low whisper in her ear and she would turn expecting to find him. But he wasn’t there and he never would be. She should try harder to forget him, but she didn’t want to. He’d always hold a special place in her heart and she was going to have to accept that.
Over the next few weeks, Tina noted the progress next door. They were working hard to complete whatever was going in there. The windows were covered with paper, so she couldn’t see in and there was no sign up to give her a clue. She’d have to wait and be patient, two things she was terrible at.
Then one morning, she was out front watering her plants when she heard a familiar voice.
“Tina?”
She didn’t look up. No. It couldn’t be, but it sounded just like him.
“Tina,” he was standing right next to her. “Look at me.”
She lifted her eyes to see the man she never thought she’d see again. “Donal! You’re here!” She was in his arms before he could say another word.
He held her tight, kissing the top of her head. “Tina, I’ve missed ye so.”
She couldn’t speak. Was this real? Was it really him?
Tina found her voice. “How? Why?”
“When ye left, Edna found the note ye were supposed to give to Zeke. She remembered he ran a medieval martial arts studio in San Francisco and called him.”
A tall, handsome man was behind Donal on the sidewalk. He extended his hand to her, “Hi, I’m Zeke Barrett.”
“It is so great to meet you! Your sister is the inspiration behind my shop. I’m so sorry. She gave me a letter for you and I lost her letter. I have felt terrible about that for weeks.”
“It all worked out. Edna found it and made sure I got it. That letter is the reason I decided to expand. We are opening a Medieval Martial Arts Studio here. I’ve hired a great guy to run it for me. He’s pretty good with a sword and dirk.”
Donal gave him a playful shove, “Better than pretty good.”
Tina let that sink in, “Are you…? Are you really staying?”
“Aye. I’m working for Zeke now. He has been training me for a while and now this will be mine to run.” He wrapped his arms around her and she could feel the clouds lifting, “I’ll be able to provide for ye and Elena. ’Tis all I wanted.”
“Where is Elena?” she asked.
He grinned, “She’s in the studio with Brenna,” Donal said.
“I love you, Donal McCabe, but I’ve got to get my hands on my little girl.” She let him go and ran past Zeke into the studio, there she was greeted by a beautiful woman about her age who must be Brenna.
“Elena!” she cried, scooping her up into her arms.
“Mama,” Elena said.
“Yes, baby, I’m your mama.” Happy tears streamed down her cheeks. She found herself enveloped in Donal’s arms as he hugged the two of them.
“We’re going to be a family now,” Donal said. “If ye’ll still have me.”
“Of course I will. I’ve thought about you every day and I was so sad that I would never see you again.” She touched his face wanting to be sure he was real. “My family will be so surprised.”
“I don’t think so,” Zeke said. “They’ve been in on this from the beginning.”
“What? Are you kidding me? They’re not that good at keeping secrets.”
“They did a good job with this one,” Zeke chuckled. He and Brenna stood with their arms around each other, smiling the biggest smiles.
“We’re so verra happy for ye,” Brenna said.
“Thank you,” Tina said, “but I’m going to ring a few necks when I get home. I can’t believe they didn’t tell me.”
“We wanted to surprise ye,” Donal said before planting a kiss on her lips. “I’ve missed ye so much.”
“I’m going to close the shop,” Tina said. “I can’t possibly work today.”
“Donal, why don’t you go home with Tina. We’ll finish up here and then we’ll be joining the Carreras for the big celebration.”
Tina took Donal’s hand and walked him next door, where she turned the sign on the door to closed. She pulled down the shades and locked the door.
“This has got to be the happiest day of my life,” Tina said.
“I’m so in love with ye,” Donal said. “I would have found a way to come to ye even if Edna hadn’t arranged all of this. I never want to be parted from ye again.”
“Never,” Tina agreed.
The celebration at the Carrera’s was a big one. Tina was shocked to see that they’d strung lights all around the courtyard, hired a band and that her mother had allowed a caterer to provide all the food.
“Donal!” Hamish nearly crushed Donal in a hug when they arrived. “If ye ever do anything like this again to our Tina, I’ll personally beat the tar out of ye.”
“’Tis good to see ye, too, Hamish,” Donal chuckled. “Now, if ye’ll let me go, I need to breathe.”
“Sorry. I’ve missed ye, my friend. ’Twill be good to have ye here with us.”
“Hamish and I were talking and we thought you should probably have your own place. It might get a little crowded living with Mom and Dad,” Elle said.
“Aye. We’ve got plenty of room on our property for another house for ye and yer family.”
“What? Really?” Tina said.
“Really!” Elle replied.
“It will take us some time to build, so ye’ll stay with the Carreras until it’s finished,” Hamish said.
Tina introduced Donal to the rest of the family. Her father and brothers all gave him almost the exact same warning Hamish had, but then they were patting him on the back and letting him know how welcome he truly was into the Carrera clan.
Zeke and Brenna arrived a little later and joined in on the festivities. Elena met her cousins and they were thrilled to play with her. “Built in baby sitters,” Tina said to Donal, who wore a smile from ear to ear.
“When will everyone go home?” he asked.
“Soon. Why?”
“Because I cannae wait to get ye alone, lass. ’Tis been much too long.”
Tina’s heart and stomach both fluttered at the thought of what was waiting for her later
in the night. “I happen to know about a little cabin nearby. Hamish built it when they first moved next door. It’s a little more private than my parents house.”
“Well, I hope they’re willing to let us use it for the foreseeable future,” his low, sexy growl sent a rush of heat coursing through her veins.
“I’m a very lucky girl,” Tina said, wrapping her arms around her man’s neck and kissing him for all she was worth.
Epilogue
The end of a long week couldn’t have come soon enough Tina thought as she finished her daily routine of cleaning up the tea shop. Tea cups were cleaned and put away, day-old baked goods boxed up for delivery to a local group that fed the hungry, books shelved and dusted. She took one final look around and was pleased that everything was where it should be. She was tired, but feeling a bit giddy as she grabbed her purse from behind the counter. She turned the sign in the window to closed and walked out the front door, locking it behind her. Tina smiled as she saw her handsome Highlander doing the same at the medieval martial arts studio next door.
“Hey, sweetie,” she said, as he approached.
Donal took Tina into his arms and kissed her until her knees went weak. It had been six months since he surprised her in this very spot and his kisses always had the same effect. “Are ye ready, love?” he asked.
“Date night has officially begun.” Tina gazed up at her man. Oh, how she loved him. “Elena is all set with her cousins for the night. No one is expecting us home any time soon, so it’s just you and me, baby.”
“I like the sound of that.” Donal’s hand lingered at her waist as he guided her off down the street.
“I thought we’d have some dinner and then maybe go to that movie you wanted to see.” Tina leaned into Donal, loving the feel of him at her side and the warmth his body emitted on this chilly fall evening.
