Needed By The Highlander: A Scottish Time Travel Romance (Highlander Forever Book 5)

by Rebecca Preston

  “Good,” Helen said. She hesitated. But how else was she going to broach the subject? “He kissed me last night.”

  “He what!” Anna dropped her spoon, her eyes wide as she covered her mouth with her hands. “About bloody time!”

  Helen giggled, blushing fiercely. It felt good to share this news — she felt a shadow of the excitement of the kiss pass over her again just reliving it with her friend.

  Anna leaned forward, her eyes bright. “So? What next?”

  “I don’t know! I — well, I like him,” she confessed. “A lot, actually. I have almost since I got here. But … I don’t know. I wanted to talk to you — all the girls, actually — about what it was like, being in a relationship with … with someone from here and now.”

  “You’re doing your research,” Anna said, grinning. “I like that. Huh. Being in a relationship with Donal… where do I start,” she said, a grin twitching the corners of her lips upwards. “Well, at first he was an absolute menace. It took me months to convince him that I was as strong as he was — he wouldn’t even duel me for the longest time. But I got through to him eventually. And he’s changed a lot since then — not only with me, but his attitudes to women generally have gotten a lot better. He just needed to be shown, I guess.” She shrugged. “But that’s Donal. I don’t know Niall well. Does he condescend to you?”

  “Never,” she admitted. “He’s great at teaching me things without making me feel stupid for not knowing them.”

  “Good,” she said, sounding satisfied. “You need a man who can treat you as an equal, even while he’s taking care of you.” Anna shrugged. “As for the time travel side of things… honestly, it was a big adjustment, as you can imagine. I was the first one here — I had no idea what was happening, whether I was dreaming, whether it was all some hallucination… but having Donal to talk to helped tremendously. I think being with Niall can only help you settle in better.”

  She nodded. “I think so too.”

  “But that’s just me. You should talk to Nancy and Kay and Elena, too. And Maeve.”

  “I spoke to her yesterday,” she said, smiling.

  “Good. She’d know Niall better than anyone — she’s been here longer than any of us, that’s for sure.” Anna smiled, reaching out to squeeze Helen’s hands. “I’m thrilled for you, darling. Really. You deserve love. And if he does anything wrong,” she added, her voice suddenly steely, “you can refer him to me and my broadsword.”

  She found Nancy later that morning, sitting with her baby daughter in a patch of sunlight on the castle steps — it was another rare fine day, and the people of the castle were taking advantage. She told her the same thing she’d told Anna, grinning at the way she was clearly fighting the urge to scream, not wanting to disturb her baby.

  “This is perfect,” Nancy said fiercely, keeping her voice low and soft even as her eyes positively glowed with excitement. “I knew there was something going on between you two, I knew it. The way he looks at you! And you look so good together — you’re the perfect height for each other, I think. I’ve always thought I’m a bit too short for Malcolm.”

  “Tell me about Malcolm,” she asked, tilting her head. “What was it like, being with him? Being from the future, settling in here, falling for a man from such a different world…”

  Nancy shrugged. “Honestly, it was — fine. He’s a good man — he was a little over-protective at first, I guess, but that’s the era. They think women are a lot more fragile than we actually are. What was important was that he was willing to learn and change his perceptions once he was prompted to. Now, we get on fine.” She smiled down at her child. “And look at the beautiful girl we made together. I wouldn’t change any of it.”

  “You wouldn’t go home, if you could?”

  Nancy shook her head, smiling. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’d love to go home for a visit. I miss my family, my friends, my hockey team…” She sighed. “Ice hockey won’t be invented for another few hundred years. How sad is that? I’ll die of old age centuries before the Carolina Hurricanes ever play…” She grinned. “But would I go back permanently? Definitely not. This life is… look, it took some adjustments, for sure. But I had Malcolm at my side, and I wouldn’t give that back for anything.”

  “Thanks, Nancy.”

  “Good luck, babe. Oh! Talk to Maggie or Maeve about birth control,” she added, her eyes twinkling. “In case you’re not wanting to give Eamon a baby sibling any time soon…”

  “I can barely handle one of him,” she giggled, “thanks, I’ll do that.”

  Elena she found at lunch — they sat together and ate. The former detective was more reserved than the other two had been, only raising her eyebrows when Helen described what had happened the night before.

  “And were you happy about that?” she enquired gently.

  Helen was glad she’d come to her third — this hesitant response might have made her feel anxious about all this, had she not already been bolstered by the enthusiasm from Anna and Nancy.

  “Very,” she said, shrugging. “He’s — I mean, I’ve liked him since I got here. What do you think? How did you and Brendan — get together?”

  She smiled, sipping at her soup as she reflected on her answer. “You’re investigating,” she observed wryly. “Getting eyewitness reports on similar cases. I like that. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders.”

  “I’m just depressingly inexperienced when it comes to this stuff,” she admitted, biting her lip. “I’ve barely dated anyone before, let alone… all this.”

  “I was the same.” Elena shrugged. “I’d had some terrible relationships — nothing very healthy. It meant I was reluctant to trust Brendan. We had a rocky time of it, early on. I lied to him, he got worried about me and lied to me… I still worry about that, sometimes. And with me being pregnant, he’s twice as protective as ever. We’ve had our disagreements,” she said, sighing. “I’d advise… if you’re going to go ahead with this relationship, which you don’t have to, by the way — I’d advise being as honest as you can with him.”

  “That’s good advice,” Helen said softly, surprised by this rare show of vulnerability from the tough Baltimore ex-cop.

  Elena smiled at her. “Oh, and don’t make friends with Unseelie Fae.”

  “I want to hear that story someday,” Helen said, grinning.

  But Elena only lowered her head to her soup again, her eyes troubled. “It’s a long one. For now… just make sure you know what you really want. Falling in love is wonderful, but not if it’s not in line with the life you want to build.”

  She nodded, taking this to heart. “Thanks, Elena. Really. That’s — that’s important to hear.”

  The woman smiled at her, her grey eyes soft. “He’s a good man, Helen. But you’re a prize, too. Just make sure he deserves you.”

  Chapter 41

  She spent a good part of the afternoon in reflection about what Elena had said. The woman was right — it was something she’d desperately needed to hear. She’d spent so much time thinking about what Niall needed in a partner, whether he liked her, whether she was good enough for him… that she’d almost forgotten to think about whether he was right for her. Whether he’d fulfill her needs… whether she wanted to get into a relationship with a man with his unique set of baggage. Everyone had baggage, after all — but he had an awful lot for a man who was barely forty years old. A dead wife, a rambunctious child… it was all a lot of work, especially for the person who offered him emotional support to get through all that. And being with him would mean being that person, every single day.

  But hadn’t he also supported her? He’d talked her through her confusion and fear when she’d first woken up here… not to mention the act of saving her life and keeping her safe and warm in his spare room. He’d let her share his quarters, he’d shared his life with her, he’d listened when she’d talked about her fears, he’d taken her seriously when she talked about her strengths as an investigator… he had as mu
ch to offer to her, she realized, as she had to offer to him. He fit well into her life, as far as she could tell from here… and what better way was there to confirm that that was the case than to see how the relationship went?

  She sat with Kay at dinner, wanting to have the same conversation… but a little apprehensive. Kay had been so excited about the prospect of Niall and Helen getting together, she wasn’t sure if she could trust the woman to be objective about the situation. And sure enough, when she told her what had happened, the only thing that stopped her shrieking with joy was the fact that there were a dozen scholars sitting at their table having a very serious conversation in hushed voices that neither of them could quite make out.

  “I can’t believe you waited nearly a whole day to tell me,” Kay hissed, the brilliant grin on her face belying the joking betrayal in her voice. “That’s so exciting. I’m so glad he likes you. I mean, I was sure he did, I just…” She took a deep breath. “I’m cool. I’m calm.”

  Helen couldn’t help but laugh, buoyed by Kay’s enthusiasm. “I wanted to ask if you had any advice. I mean, you did this — came here, fell in love…”

  Kay sighed. “Advice. Huh. Well, I had a massive breakdown when I got here, so a lot of my relationship with Liam had to do with dealing with that. You — you seem to have settled in a lot easier than I did.”

  She nodded, surprised by Kay’s candor. The confident, easy-going woman didn’t seem the type to have struggled fitting in here.

  “I guess… just make sure he can take care of you,” she shrugged. “Be honest. Tell him when you need help — even if you’re worried he’s got too much on his plate as it is. Wives aren’t emotional support robots, they’re partners. Keep that straight, and you’ll be golden.” She grinned. “And if you need bridesmaids for the wedding—”

  “Kay! We’ve kissed twice!”

  “It never hurts to plan ahead!” the woman protested, her eyes sparkling. “I’m happy for you, babe. Really. If you ever want to talk about it, just come find me, okay?”

  “Actually, I was wondering if you got a chance to look at that Kelpie corpse. You were a vet, right?” she asked, the thought occurring to her suddenly. “There are a few villagers who refuse to acknowledge that the Kelpie’s not just a horse with its teeth filed down. I was wondering if you noticed anything.”

  “Ah yes, the dead horse the castle gossips have been beating all day,” Kay quipped, her eyes gleaming. “I had a bit of a look — not as close as I’d have liked, but it was definitely weird for a horse. Its muscles were all wrong.”

  “They were?” She was fascinated. “How?”

  “Just — wrong sizes, wrong places. It looked like a bad clay sculpture of a horse — which makes me think that their forms are designed to be looked at, not to be functional. The strength in them comes from magic, not from their muscles. As for the teeth… well, the villagers are idiots. You could file down a horse’s teeth, sure, but that wouldn’t give it multiple rows of them. Those thing had teeth like sharks. Did you show them the rows?”

  “No, and I think the thing’s been burned by now,” Helen admitted with a sigh. “But that’s good to know. I doubt reason would have worked on this man, anyway… he’s kind of beyond logic at this point.”

  “Have you talked to old Maggie about the Kelpies?” Kay wanted to know. “I’d love to chat with her about their anatomy — she’s a herding Fae, she’d be great to talk shop with.”

  “We were planning on paying her another visit soon, yeah. Would you want to come with us?”

  “Only if I’m not crashing a date,” Kay said with a grin, waggling her eyebrows. “But definitely. I’ve got some Norse mead I’ve been saving for Maggie — I’ll bring it down to sweeten the deal.”

  “I keep meaning to bring her something,” Helen sighed. “No idea what, though.”

  “She loves shortbread. Blair’s shortbread, specifically. You could prevail upon her to bake a batch before tomorrow? You’ll probably owe her a favor, but…” Kay shrugged. “There are worse people to owe favors.”

  “Are you sure?” She grinned, thinking of what Niall had taught her about making promises to Fae. Was Blair part Fae? She’d heard rumors… but she’d heard a lot of very silly rumors with no truth to them, too. Impossible to sort the wheat from the chaff when it came to that kind of thing. “I suppose she technically owes me a favor… I’ve spent a few days helping out in the kitchen.”

  “Well, there you go. Go ask her now. And I’ll meet you after lunch tomorrow for the trip to Maggie’s?”

  The plan made, she headed to the kitchens, feeling a little nervous about asking the Headwoman for a favor. But to her surprise, Blair was more than accommodating — especially when she heard that the shortbread was for Maggie.

  “That woman has saved our hides more times than I can count,” Blair said simply, pulling a sack of flour out from the pantry as she spoke. “I’m more than willing to make her anything her heart desires. Don’t tell her that,” she added with a rare flash of a smile. “I wouldn’t want her pressing the advantage.”

  “Thanks, Blair. I appreciate it.”

  “We appreciate you, Helen Washington,” Blair said simply, her blue eyes boring into Helen’s. “The work you’re doing for this castle… it hasn’t gone unnoticed. We feel safer, with you paying heed to the monsters that hunt us.” Then the tension broke. “Come and see me after breakfast, I’ll have the shortbread wrapped up for you.”

  She headed home, smiling to herself. It had been a good day — long, insightful conversations with her friends, some very valuable advice, and a plan of action for finding out more about the Kelpies the next day. She felt much better about where she stood with Niall — more confident, more able to speak up for herself, to ask for what she wanted. It didn’t feel like she was going down some blind alley by entering into this relationship — she felt like she was informed now, with an army of tough women standing behind her if she needed advice or guidance at any stage.

  When she got through the door, though, ready to tell Niall everything, she stopped short. Eamon was in full meltdown mode — screaming, wailing, drumming his fists on his father’s back. Niall had clearly been trying to calm him for a while, from the frazzled look on his face — he gave Helen a little shake of his head as she tried to approach, surprised by the boy’s look of rage. He stared up at her, his eyes full of angry tears, and when he saw her he screwed his eyes shut and screamed, clearly in no mood to be spoken to.

  It wasn’t until a full hour later that she heard the screaming die down. She’d taken refuge in her room at Niall’s insistence — this level of meltdown wasn’t anything that she was going to be able to help with, not at the moment, at any rate. She heard him sit heavily in a chair at the table, and she crept out of her room to check on him, seeing him exhausted — but mostly intact.

  “That was a hell of a tantrum,” she said softly.

  “It’s still going, I’m afraid,” Niall said, jerking his head toward Eamon’s door — sure enough, the distant sound of sobbing could be heard. “I’m giving him some alone time to cool down, then I’ll go in and see if he’s ready to talk it out.”

  “Poor little guy,” she said softly.

  “I know we were going to — to talk about things —”

  “Tomorrow,” she said quickly, raising her hands. “Of course, tomorrow. There’s no rush.”

  “You’re a wonder, Helen Washington,” he said softly, a smile on his face. “We’ve much to discuss.”

  “Kay and I were going to ride to Maggie’s house after lunch for a visit with some treats to share and some questions about the Kelpies,” she said, wanting to change the subject before she was overcome by her feelings again. “Would you like to come? Maybe Eamon would enjoy a little outing like that?”

  “Aye, he might at that,” Niall said thoughtfully, glancing at the door. “I’ve been promising him we’ll spend more time together… I think he’s missing me a little, what with all the extra work on
the docks at the moment. And I bet he’d get a kick out of Darter.”

  Helen’s eyes widened as she remembered the little goblin she’d met. “They haven’t met?”

  “No, not yet. Didn’t want to spook him. But with Kelpies wandering about… well, it’s a good time for him to learn that there are Seelie Fae to balance out the Unseelie. Aye, that sounds like a good trip, Helen.”

  “Meet us at the stables after lunch, then,” she said brightly. “And good luck getting the little man to sleep.”

  “Until tomorrow,” he said softly, smiling at her.

  She settled into bed, grinning to herself in the dark. He liked her — she liked him — and they were going on a ride tomorrow.

  How could life back home in West Virginia ever compare to this?

  Chapter 42

  The next day was overcast — a sad change from the two days in a row of sunshine they’d been enjoying so thoroughly. Grateful that she’d spent a good part of them outside at least, Helen set about getting ready, choosing the least cumbersome outfit she now owned — a pair of riding pants and a tunic, a gift from the notoriously anti-dress Anna. It felt good to have full range of movement in her legs, she had to admit — but it was a little harder to hide the iron knife about her person. She headed up to breakfast, lingering for only a moment in the living area to ascertain that Niall had already left — presumably with Eamon in tow, the tantrum forgotten. That was a worry, she thought with a frown, the intensity of that tantrum. Was he getting worse? Were his moods getting more severe? Was there anything they could do about it? Probably not, she thought with a sigh. At least, not until they’d dealt with the Kelpies.

  And dealing with the Kelpies would be easier once they’d talked to Maggie — she had every confidence in that being the case. With Kay’s veterinary expertise added to the mix, they’d be certain to come up with a plan for how to deal with the Kelpies. She was in good spirits as she ate breakfast and headed into the kitchen afterwards to meet with Blair. Sure enough, the woman had been true to her word. She had a little basket sitting ready to be picked up — inside, a covered platter of what looked like enough shortbread to feed a small army. Helen’s eyes widened.