“Given that you’re freaking me out a bit, I want all of it. I’m still here for you and always will be, remember that.” His voice rang with understanding, but shame began to take over, pushing anger aside.
“All I’m going to say is that last night was extremely different, like he was a different man.” She forced the rest out despite the bitter taste she knew it would leave in her mouth. “Or rather like he thought I was a different woman.”
When Peter didn’t reply, she glanced back up to glimpse unspoken questions in his eyes. “What do you mean?” She could feel it, the probing lead that hinted he knew more than he let on.
“What do I mean? I’ll tell you what I mean.” Sarah rose from the chair and began pacing the space, letting out all the insecurity and hurt and anger that had smacked her out of her delusion of her life finally having a relationship that held promise for her.
“Conall has been sweet and thoughtful since day one, you know that. I thought that I mattered to him, that there was more than our insane chemical reaction between us. But I think I was wrong, again. Last night I had the most incredible sex of my life with a man who looked like the man I married, but who acted like a complete stranger. I think he was so drunk that he thought I was someone else, someone he actually enjoyed fucking.”
“Whoa,” Peter stopped her tirade. “That’s a bit harsh.”
“Lighten up. The f-bomb isn’t a big deal anymore and it vividly covers what happened.” Her pacing stopped in front of the empty fireplace. Two chairs stood between her and the non-existent fire. “In hindsight, he wasn’t with me, which explains his apologies.” The memory of his whispers as she fell asleep, one more puzzle piece to her growing disaster. Despite a certainty she didn’t want the answer, she asked, “Who is it?”
“Who’s what?” Peter asked.
“Who is the woman he would rather have? I’d prefer to find out before watching her walk into the room that I thought was mine.” She left out that whoever she was, she also had the affection of man.
“There’s no one,” Peter answered quickly. “At least no one here. Conall has been a very good boy since he returned. No hitting on the lasses and no random bed partners. That’s Evan’s role.”
“No one here.” She mumbled the answer and felt the final piece click in her head. She didn’t need her years of study or private practice to make sense of her world. “Then it’s someone he left there. Someone who’s likely waiting for him to come back.” Refusing to let water build in her eyes, she forced the rest to spill out. “Conall needed to marry and hopefully knock up the lucky bride. How fortunate that I fell into this insanity just in time.”
“I think you’re reaching. Have you seen the way he looks at you? The man is nuts about you.” She appreciated Peter’s effort, but reality had finally joined her joyride into the past.
“I’m calling bullshit.”
“Call whatever you want, but I think you’re wrong. Who in the hell broke you? Where is the confident woman I met through a mythical doorway?” His taunt rolled down her back.
“It was all smoke and mirrors. I’ve been here before. Used due to my unwavering need to help that costs me my heart.” Her sigh finished the thoughts.
“How about we find Conall and have a heart-to-heart talk with him? Either you are dead wrong, or we need to find out. I refuse to stand by and let him take advantage you.” She could feel Peter rise and heard his steps land behind her.
“Why? You have what you want, control over the clan when he leaves. I’m here all large and in charge, ready to follow your lead.” The self-deprecation tripped like honey off a spoon, thick and heavy.
Warm hands covered her shoulders. “Not like this. I don’t want this. I wanted everyone happy, as simple as it sounds. I won’t let him do this to you. But you need to accept that you may be wrong. The man who rode out this morning looked lost and haggard. Whatever happened last night affected him too.”
“Oh, the poor baby. He must have realized he was with me.” The gentle hands on her shoulders forced her to turn and face him.
“Knock it off. Make no decisions without all the facts. All you have right now is your past relationships skewing your reality.”
Sarah squinted at him, not enjoying his interpretations that were reminiscent of advice she would have given. “Oh, shut up.”
“There’s my girl, back to her delightful piss and vinegar old self. Keep it together until we have answers. Don’t assume.”
“Is this where you tell me it makes an ass of you and me?” She teased rather than admit he had nailed it.
“Just you. You’re the only irrational ass present.” Peter grinned at her. “How about we change the topic and you help me with what needs doing?”
Sarah sighed and nodded. “Fine, but the second I feel him return, Conall and I are going to have it out.”
“You can feel him?” Peter questioned, not believing her.
“Yeah, that’s the bitch of it. I know he’s gone and I’ll know when he comes back. I thought it was awesome, but now it’s likely to kill me.” Then it all hit and the tears she never wanted to have, fell unchecked down her cheeks.
Peter wrapped her in his arms and let her cry. Sobs wracked her chest and the likely probability of cruel deception broke her. Once again.
When her sobs hushed, his hand ran over her back. “Care to join me for a tour of the cellar?” Peter asked as he turned to open the door. “Some pretty cool stuff down there and you should know where we hide the money just in case.” She missed his unwanted lessons on battle plans involving coin disposal.
“I need to find Bella,” Sarah sniffed and wiped her face on her sleeve.
“Trust me, she’s in good hands. There’s a few goodies I want to share with you while we have some quiet.” Peter winked and headed down the corridor.
Nodding, Sarah followed him through the deserted kitchen. “Where is everyone?”
Peter laughed as if she had asked a stupid question. “After over six days of rain, we finally have some sun. Laundry has been piling up and all able hands are busy. No fancy Maytag’s here. Be warned, the noon meal will be pretty lean.”
“No biggie. Not really hungry.” Sarah followed him around a corner and reached a door she had once traveled beyond when Lena had given her a tour of the food stores. The stone steps led below the keep to a space with no natural light. There were multiple smaller spaces, rooms divided by stone walls with wooden doors. “Dungeon?”
Peter cackled, “Muah-ha-ha. Like my evil laugh?”
She followed the light cast by his torch and shook her head. “It’s all right.”
“What? I nailed that one.”
“If you say so.” But her focused remained on the corridor they followed past rooms she already knew contained stored grains, dried meat and produce, loads of fabric and other household items. All of which she and Lena had counted and logged. With a smile for the cat that stalked the corridor, she knew the kitty served as an effective rodent control.
But Peter kept waking past where she had been and stopped at a solid wall. “What do you see?”
His foolish question answered with boredom. “I see a wall of concrete? Why are we here?”
“Take a really good look at it? Isn’t it a bit odd that there’s concrete and not layers of stone holding this place up?” Clearly, he attempted to make a point, but she missed it.
“How would I know?”
Peter bent down and picked at a loose section around waist height. “Concrete like this is more of a modern invention. Sure, the ancient Egyptians and Romans had forms of it, but this stuff shouldn’t be here.”
Sarah stared at the wall, mystified by the lecture. “Why do you even know that?”
Peter turned to her without rising, his features lit only by the fire from the torch. “My dad worked concrete, as a card-carrying union guy. He lived to talk about it.” Peter smiled with his memory. “We went on a road trip when I was around ten years old to see the Hoover Dam.
My old man went nuts with excitement over the structure and how it had been poured. He practically took over the tour with his details and insights into how they made it.”
“And this is relevant to our day filled with my marriage probably being a sham how?” Irritation left her mouth to give voice to the insipid lecture she didn’t want.
“Let’s call it a diversion and just pay attention.” He turned back to the wall. “I think someone from our time poured this wall, or at least told the workers how to do it.” Peter droned on about properly placed structural support walls for what seemed like ages.
“Well, given that it seems like there’s been a few like us over the ages, it shouldn’t be that surprising.” Bits and pieces of the legends Conall had shared brought back the hurt Peter tried to shove aside.
“Here’s the icing on the cake. Look at this.” His hand touched a piece of metal that stuck out from the hole his finger had been exploring.
Sarah bent at his side, not out of curiosity, but due to the inflection in his voice, the raw excitement. Straining her eyes in the flickering torchlight, it took her only a moment to identify the partially exposed piece. “Looks like a military dog tag.”
“I agree.” He pulled on the item that slid forward with ease, indicating he had done it more than once. “Sergeant Thaddeus Michaels.” Peter rattled off a serial number and blood type. “Ever hear of the United Forces?”
Sarah shook her head. “No.”
“Me either. But that’s what it says, United Forces. Kind of odd, don’t you think? A military tag for a man from a branch of the service unknown to us?”
“Okay, you have officially diverted my attention.” She pushed his hand aside to run her finger over the engraving. “Maybe it’s a secret unit, something not public.”
Peter absorbed what she said. “We’ll never know. But we do know he was here and likely played a part in building this place, or at least this addition.” He tucked the tag back into the wall and she followed him around a corner.
Her gaze stuck on large stones that served as support beams and how ancient they appeared, even if the seams were plastered with the same concrete substance.
“The older part. I think we’re under the hall. Rumor has it the stone hall has stood for centuries and was what drew Conall’s ancestor, that and the walls surrounding it. Nice place to conquer and find yourself safe.” Peter grinned with his assessments.
“Why are we having a history lesson?” She knew there had to be more to it.
“Because you need to know how unique even the structure is, how different this clan is from all the rest. The Draig have been here for so long no knows who was here first. The clan lives differently, living for peace and a harmonious survival. I know it sounds crazy, but for some reason I think that matters. Like the world depends on us to keep this place going strong.” Peter’s voice filled with pride but also gave her a few ideas.
“Is this a Star Trek moment where the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few? With me and my heart representing the few, in case you missed that part.” The real objective had finally been delivered: the clan comes first.
“Sort of, but not with you being miserable. It goes against the grain here. But there’s some mystery about it all.” Peter closed his mouth and then leaned toward her. “Are there more Star Trek episodes? I thought that show only had a few seasons.”
Sarah laughed despite the morning. “Yeah, I think nine movies and several television series.”
“So now I want my Star Wars stories plus some Star Trek.” Peter grinned. “Not much else to do in the winter.”
“Fine, we’ll have bedtime stories this winter.” But the future daunted her promise. What will I have this winter?
“Shit, I just lost you.” He tugged her hand and led her back to the newer portion of the cellar and unlocked a door tucked around a corner. “The key is kept in the study in a little nook you’d miss if you weren’t looking for it. I’ll show you later.” They stepped into the small space and Sarah gasped at the sacks.
“Is all of that silver?” There had to be eight sacks stacked against the wall; each one around ten inches wide and around twelve inches tall.
“One has precious gems, but that’s not why we’re here.” Peter talked about most of the silver being earmarked for the Bruce to fund his army. Then Sarah stilled with the story of a woman from Arizona who uncovered the deed to the mines, forgotten by the clan. Her heart rose and sank, only to rise again at the story of love being an obstacle, duty coming between the couple and then the danger and death of almost everyone in the keep. Then he finished with the love that saved them and led to a happy ending. Well, that covers the details Conall left out.
Wiping a tear from her eyes, she let the story from several generations ago wash over her. “No fair. She got everything she wanted.” Portions of the tale resonated with the brief story Conall had shared during their argument. “Is she the one who got knocked up on her wedding night? Michael’s mother?”
“The very one. So you know, it took her a while and a few steep mountains to find the happy ending, honey. Don’t give up yet.”
“Is there a moral or purpose to everything you do?” She’d fallen hook, line and sinker into the story that hinted at hope when it had seemed impossible.
He turned to wink at her. “Always.” Peter took out several round disks and explained that the raw material brought from the mines was worked in the village into coins appropriate for trade and local markets. “How’s that for distraction, huh?”
Sarah chuckled despite her world. “You distracted me. Piles of money, shiny gems, concrete that shouldn’t exist, a military force no one ever heard of and a story worthy of my Kindle.”
“What’s a Kindle?” Peter asked as they left the small storage space and he locked the door.
“How about I blow your mind and tell you about music and book downloads? Everything lives in a cloud.” Diversion still seemed like a good idea as she followed Peter out of the cellar.
“Is it better than my eight-track player?” That he asked with all sincerity made her laugh hard for the first time all morning.
Chapter 22
Sarah would have described the man approaching her and Peter from the rear of the stable as rugged yet handsome, with salt and pepper hair. With a wide grin, he greeted Peter and turned to her. “‘Tis about time you came to meet me. I am at your service, Lady Sarah.” The man who appeared to be in his forties gave her a slight bow.
“He thinks he’s the shit,” Peter said with a light chuckle and then leaned close to her. “He’s someone you can trust with anything. If you can’t find me or Lena, find Neil.”
Sarah studied the two men and nodded. Facing Peter, she asked, “How far does anything go?”
Neil answered the question not meant for him. “I ken all and ken enough to keep quiet. Welcome to our lands.” He turned and began walking away from them. “I assume you have come for Bella. Follow me.”
They walked past the stalls with horses that nickered at their presence. Through a back door that led to a corralled pen where several dogs ran free. But Sarah didn’t see her dog.
“You will be surprised who accepted Bella,” Neil said as he turned right and led them to a small pen.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Peter replied.
They all stopped at pen filled with straw that had a low fence, low enough for a grown dog to walk over, but enough to keep the wiggling mass of brown and black squirming puppies inside. Sarah clapped her hands as she counted seven pups, one momma dog laying down to allow them to feed and her Bella grooming an eighth puppy.
“Nessie growls something fierce when any other dog comes near, but nay for Bella. She allowed her to come in and care for her pups all morning. They are a fine pair,” Neil explained with his eyes on the dogs.
Bella rose with a puppy in her mouth and stepped over the fence to lean against Sarah with her tail wagging. Rubbing the dog’s side, she said, “There�
��s my girl. I missed you.” Holding out her hand, the dog placed the squirming puppy in her hands.
The momma dog clearly watched but made no move to intercept. Neil commented, “Bella finds you to be safe, ‘tis enough for Nessie.”
Lifting the tiny bundle of a five-week-old puppy to her face, she laughed as it licked her nose and wiggled in her hands. “You never said we had puppies.”
“See, the day just got brighter. We have sunshine and puppies. Just wait, the rest will fall into place,” Peter told her, rubbing Bella’s back.
Frowning at the unknowns of her universe, she ignored the men’s chatter as she held and loved the puppy. Soft fur nuzzled her cheeks and for a few minutes she found peace.
Setting the pup back in the pen, Sarah stood and then Bella followed the wiggling bundle, pushing it with her nose back to Nessie. “Come on, Bella. Let’s go.” Patting her thigh, she couldn’t believe that her dog settled in the pen rather than jumping to her side. “Great, now my dog has abandoned me too.”
“Relax,” Peter encouraged. “Let her stay here while we visit with Evan. Neil can bring her back when we have the evening meal.”
“Of course,” Neil immediately interjected. “Your dog is always welcome. She is a fine, grand beast. Mayhap one of the others will notice and we’ll have another fine batch of pups.”
She remained silent rather than attempting to explain that Bella had been fixed. “Thank you. Send her back earlier if she’s in the way.”
Peter laughed. “No animal has ever been in this man’s way. They all love him.”
Neil winked. “I do have a way with the animals, large or small.” Then Peter’s grin shifted but never faltered. It was something in the way he watched Neil and vice versa. Then, to her it became blatant.
“I’m assuming I’ll be seeing quite a bit of you.” Both men sobered with her observation accompanied by a wink and she knew she was right. “Don’t worry, I can keep a secret, too.” Facing Peter, she questioned, “Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”
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