Lost in the Highlands, Volume Two

by Lorraine Beaumont

  I was trying hard not to bawl my eyes out. I tightened my grip on him. I didn’t want to let go. I was afraid the moment I did, he would disappear from my grasp and I would never see him again.

  And even though ours was not the love story written in books, I loved him, and I was pretty positive, well, almost positive, that in time he would someday realize he felt the same for me. But if he was gone—how could I ever make him see that?

  In the end, it didn’t matter because as they held on to one another, battling their emotions, neither saying what they should to the other, the mist made up their minds for them and ripped them both back to the past.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  LOCH MORAR, SCOTLAND

  Sometime during the reign of King James

  “Damn it, Gavin! “ I yelled. “Stop!”

  He turned his fierce gaze on me and I almost lost my nerve. ‘Almost’ being the operative word.

  “It’s not my fault,” I said for the third time since we had been ripped back to the past together. At least that is where I gathered we were from the expanse of rolling green hills, rocks and large body of water to my left—that I remembered all too well from my last visit here.

  “What do ye want from me?”

  “I want you to stop walking away from me while I am trying to have a conversation with you.”

  “And I told ye, we had better get moving before nightfall.”

  “Well it’s already damn near dark so what difference does it make?”

  He gave the loch a wary look and then turned his eyes back to me.

  “Oh.” I swallowed hard. “Do you think the monster is still here?”

  He shrugged his massive shoulders. “I can no be sure and do no want ta take any chances.”

  “I thought that thing only came out when there was a full moon?”

  “How do ye think we got here, lass.” To validate his comment, he pointed upward.

  My eyes slowly followed his hand and I gulped. Even though darkness was not fully upon us, in the distance I could see the outline of the moon and it did look like it was going to be a full one.

  “Well, Hell.” I tugged my bag of goodies off the ground that I was somehow able to drag to the past, which might have had to do with the fact it was looped around my leg at the time and ran up the rock laden hill to catch up with him.

  “Are you mad at me?” I asked once I was beside him again.

  He exhaled and swiped his hand over his face and then dropped it back to his side. “Nay, lass, I am no mad at ye.”

  “Then why are you so quiet?”

  “I am listening to the sounds around us, ta make sure we have not been spotted.”

  “Spotted by who?”

  He lifted his brow, giving me a look like I was slow on the uptake. I ignored it. “You think Broderick is still here?”

  “I am no saying he is, but I do not want ta take any chances.”

  Fine. I could see his reasoning, now, but that didn’t help alleviate the sickening feeling twisting in my gut. Traveling to the past a second time and waking up with my pants around my ankles was a bit humiliating to say the least. The only good part about it was that the goodie bag was wrapped around one of my legs. Well, there were three good parts, I amended.

  I was with Gavin and thankfully, he was still out cold when I woke, so I was able to pull my pants back up before he saw my bare ass sticking up in the air. So now that I compartmentalized it, I guess it wasn’t as bad as the first time. At least this time I wasn’t in a bog of mud. “Where are we going?”

  “Back to the castle.”

  “What if Broderick is still there?”

  “He won’t be for long.”

  The tone of his voice sent shivers of dread racing up my spine. And I didn’t need to ask what he meant by that.

  “What if his other men are there too?”

  “I will cross that bridge when I come ta it.”

  It still amazed me how Gavin spoke. One minute he sounded like a Scottish man from the past and other times, like this, he sounded the same as I did—well…with an accent—I wasn’t sure which I preferred more. And that wasn’t the only thing that was getting to me at the moment. He didn’t even say he was happy I was with him, which kind of pissed me off. Come on. He could have hugged me or something. But no, not Gavin, brooder that he was, really irked me.

  Not to mention my feet were killing me and the damn goodie bag was getting really heavy as I half dragged, carried, the damn thing up another hill.

  Gavin stopped abruptly and turned around so he was facing me.

  I thought for sure he would offer to take the bag, and I lifted it out to him.

  He gave the bag a cursory glance. “Lass, if ye want ta tag along ye need ta be quieter.”

  My eyes boggled. “Are you kidding me?”

  “Lass, if ye want me ta answer ye need ta speak more plainly.”

  At the end of my patience, I lifted the bag and threw it at his feet. “Carry the bag!” I yelled. “My arms are tired.”

  “Och, lass, why didn’t ye say so.” He lifted the bag and put it over his shoulder as though the weight was of no consequence. “Did ye bring those little chocolate cookies with the white filing?”

  “Yes,” I sighed. “I brought the Oreos.” I found out very quickly in the future that Gavin had a sweet tooth. He loved candy, cookies, cakes, and pies. But Oreos were his favorite. After I gave them to him once, he wanted to eat a whole sleeve before bed every night with a big glass of milk. Unfortunately, I couldn’t bring the milk but I did bring three packs of Oreos. And I had news for him, though, he wasn’t getting them all to himself either. He was going to share, whether he wanted to or not.

  “Did ye bring the milk as well?” he asked with a hopeful look.

  “No. I couldn’t.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it would go bad without refrigeration,” I explained.

  His lips turned down.

  “I did bring more candies though.”

  “The ones in the gold foil?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  His lips lifted again and he gave me a winning smile.

  That smile went straight through me, making my legs feel weak. “Unbelievable,” I muttered, more to myself than to him. My Grans always said, “The way to a man’s heart was through his belly”—Go figure. I probably should have wrapped myself in chocolate then I wouldn’t have had such a hard time trying to convince him to bring me with him in the first place. As it turned out neither of us had much choice in the matter—we both were ripped back to the past—I just wished that he had told me that he wanted me to come.

  Gavin was at odds with himself. Part of him was happy that the lass was with him but the other part, the one that knew what he had to do now that she was with him, was not.

  ♦

  It was well after dark and a full moon tinged with yellow bore down on us casting the area in an unnatural looking glow when we finally arrived on the perimeters of the castle. There was something unholy different about the place. Maybe it seemed that way because I was so tired, or that there was a fog surrounding the castle and walls, as though it was trying to smother it. I wasn’t sure which, maybe it was both, but either way, I felt uneasy. I said as much to Gavin, “Why does it seem so…different?”

  Gavin looked toward the castle, his home, and even though he didn’t voice his concerns he felt the same. Something did seem different, he just wasn’t sure what it was. “I do not know.”

  “What should we do?”

  “We are not doing anything. Ye are staying here.”

  “What?” I grabbed his arm, freaking out. “You aren’t going to leave me, are you?”

  “I am only going to check on things. I will be back in a moment.”

  He gave my hand a reassuring squeeze and removed it from his arm.

  “But…”

  “Stay here.” Gavin dropped the bag on the ground. Ducking down, he ran the thirty or so feet to the wall. O
nce he was in the shadows, he straightened and pressed his body against the stones.

  Not wanting to be noticed, I ducked down too and squatted beside the bag of goodies in the tall grass.

  “Ye are staying here,” I mimicked, irritated again. I knew my foul mood had more to do with fear than anything else at this point.

  Sliding down the wall, Gavin pressed his body closely against the stones, staying in the shadows and listened intently for any sounds out of the ordinary. Half way down, about twenty feet from the gates, he heard a noise and froze. Two shadows passed in front of him from overhead where the walkway was located. So they were not alone, somebody was here, he thought with a hefty amount of irritation of his own. It didn’t take long however to discern who it was.

  ♦

  Broderick passed two guards on the top walkway surrounding the wall of the keep. They were talking animatedly between themselves, laughing at something. “What do ye find so amusing?” he asked, stopping.

  They both looked up in unison, stunned they had even been spoken to. Broderick paid them coin, filled their bellies with food and drink but other than that, they had no contact with him.

  “Twas nothing, really, Laird,” the shorter of the two said.

  Broderick grunted. “Take heed to yer duties, I am no paying ye ta stand around dawdling.”

  “Aye, my Laird,” they both said in unison and after giving one another a knowing look, they went their separate ways.

  Broderick stopped and placed his hands on the wall, feeling the damp stone underneath. A thick fog surrounded the castle, which made it difficult to see past. He felt like something was about to happen, something he had been waiting quite a while for which was for the real Laird of the castle to reappear from wherever he disappeared to that night. He still had no idea where he went and if he didn’t witness the Laird, and the girl, fade into the mist himself, he would have never believed it. But he did. And no amount of telling himself otherwise could erase what he had seen with his own eyes. A shiver of something akin to dread slid up his spine. He shook it off, like he had done on many a night in the past and made his way back down the walkway to the stairs that led to the courtyard.

  Gavin heard the exchange. “Laird, his arse,” he thought, gritting his teeth, and clenching his fists at his sides. Gavin had to force himself to refrain from calling out to that blackguard. It was hard to keep himself in check, but he knew he must until he could figure out how ta get his home back. Once the shadow of Broderick moved away and finally disappeared, Gavin ducked down and ran back to his lass.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  LOCH MORAR, SCOTLAND

  Sometime during the reign of King James

  “Now where?” I asked, adjusting my position in the grass. I had to pee. And crouching down in the damn grass wasn’t helping my plight any.

  Gavin pulled his gaze back from the castle. “I know a place.” He stood up but kept low and then pulled the bag on his shoulder. “Follow me.”

  I stood up as well, and stretched my back.

  “Stay down,” he hissed over his shoulder. “

  I immediately bent over. Staying low, I followed him back up through the tall grass to the other side of the hill we had just come down a short while ago.

  Once we were over the other side and there was no way anyone could spot us, I stopped.

  “Lass, what are ye stopping for?”

  “I can’t go any farther.”

  Gavin dropped the bag and stared at me.

  “I have to use the bathroom.”

  “Ye will no have much luck finding a bathroom here, lass.”

  “I know that. I’ll go behind that tree.” I pointed to the tree over his left shoulder.

  “Can ye no wait for a few more minutes?”

  “No. I can’t wait a few more minutes,” I snapped. “I’ve had to go since we got here.”

  “Why did ye no say so?”

  “I don’t know.” I walked over to the bag and pulled out a roll of Scott toilet paper.

  Gavin’s eyes went from my face to the object in my hand. My face heated. “Wait here and don’t watch me.” I stormed away with my toilet paper in hand to the tree. It wasn’t a very big tree and it gave me little cover, but thankfully he kept his back turned.

  After I did my business, I yanked back up my jeans and made my way back to where Gavin was standing.

  He gave me an odd look.

  “What’s wrong now?”

  “Lass, did ye bring anything else ta wear in that bag?”

  “Well, yeah. I got some shirts and a hoodie and …” I stopped talking because his eyes were rounding.

  “What?”

  “Lass, ye remember where we are do ye not?”

  “Yes, I know where we are.” What a stupid question, I thought, getting riled again. Of course, I knew.

  “Did ye happen ta bring anything ta wear that is from this time frame?”

  “Oh.” His words slowly sunk in. “Right.” I gave him a sheepish look. “I um…” I wracked my brain. I was in a hurry when I left. Did I? Crap! “Um. Sure,” I finally said even though I wasn’t so sure.

  “Good. Ye will have ta change soon.”

  “Oh. Okay. Got it.” I stood there stupidly wondering why he was just standing there looking at me.

  “Ye ready ta go now?” His brow hitched up a notch.

  “Right.” I felt like an idiot. “Of course.”

  “Follow me.” He lifted the bag again and slung it over his shoulder. Then he took off.

  I followed behind watching with envy at the way his agile body moved easily over the inhospitable terrain like it was of no consequence while I brought up the rear, stumbling often and getting poked with little stickers attached to God only knew what.

  Turns out Gavin’s “few more minutes” was more like five miles. And sure, maybe he could have made it here faster but with me trailing behind, tripping often, it took a lot longer.

  Gavin finally stopped at the crest of a hill and lowered the bag. He looked ahead at the small cottage on the edge of the glen. He knew it well. He had spent many a day here in his younger years after his parents died. He vowed to never return and yet, here he was, once again. For a moment, he shut his eyes, trying to vanquish the unwanted memories before they came tumbling back.

  As I climbed the hill, I bent over slightly from the stich in my side. I was sure I looked like an old beggared woman. Much like the gypsy had looked before I agreed to her deal. God that seemed like a lifetime ago, now.

  Gavin heard her coming and reopened his eyes. The memories held at bay for the moment. “Here, lass,” he said. “Give me yer hand.” He held out his hand for her to take.

  “Thanks.” I put my hand in his and let him pull me the rest of the way up the hill, thankful for the help.

  “It’s not much ta look at, but it will keep us dry and give us some protection from the cold.”

  Focusing my eyes, I followed his line of vision. There was a small cottage nestled in a group of trees. It looked no bigger than my shed, the one I used to store my clay pieces. “Are you sure it’s deserted?” I wasn’t sure why I asked. Of course, it was deserted—it looked like the damn thing was about to cave in.

  “Aye.” He nodded.

  I frowned at his expression. There was such a wistful faraway look on his face. I didn’t know what to make of it but was too tired to ponder it right now.

  “Ye ready ta go?” he asked, adjusting the bag once more.

  “Yep. I’m good.” I followed him down the hill to the little cottage, hoping like hell it didn’t come tumbling down and crush us to death while we were sleeping.

  ♦

  The cottage wasn’t as derelict or small as I originally thought, but it smelled horrible.

  “What is that smell?”

  Gavin, wrinkled his nose. “Must be something dead.”

  “Something?” I gaped at him. “It smells like more than something. It smells like an army of dead somethings.”
/>   “Lass, let me start a fire and see if that helps the smell, aye.”

  I felt bad. “Okay.” I looked around. Pushed up against the wall was a small bed, with a few tattered furs on the top that reminded me of the ones Gavin had given me to sleep on when I first arrived to this time frame. There was a hearth, with a black pot hanging inside, two chairs and a rough wooden table as well. A small window let in the moonlight, as did the door, behind me, which hung crookedly on the wall. It was far from being the Hilton, but it would have to do, for now.

  “I’ll get something for us to eat.”

  “That sounds good.”

  I took two steps further into the room and felt like gagging from the smell. “Can we eat outside?”

  When he turned, a slight smile crested his lips. “Aye. We can eat outside.”

  “Great. Meet you outside.” I grabbed the bag and headed out the door. It was a cold night and my breath turned white when I exhaled but at least it didn’t smell like death out here.

  Gavin bent over and tossed a few pieces of wood on the fire that he just started. The flames were small but at least it gave some warmth to knock the chill off in the air. Unfortunately, it had not done much for the smell yet.

  Still, it was a bit surreal being back here, tending to a fire like his father had showed him back at Greystone. He looked over at the chair in the corner over his shoulder. It was the one his mother used to do mending in on nights such as this back inside the castle. He usually stayed near his mother’s feet on the floor, imagining dragons or some other nonsensical thing that he made up to while away a free hour or so, before bed.