“You didn’t have to provoke him,” Nessa scolded as Latharn settled back into his chair. She didn’t like all this talk about darkness or evil. All she knew for certain was Gabriel was a jerk. “Now poor Maery will catch the brunt of his anger. It’s pretty obvious she’s been abused by him before.”
Latharn shrugged and picked up his knife, slicing into his steak with an unconcerned nod in the direction they’d left. “The meek lass will be safe. If he touches her in anger, his heart will constrict within his chest.”
“You’re gonna make him die of a heart attack?” Trish leaned forward in avid interest. She tapped her wineglass, eyes wide as she awaited Latharn’s reply.
Latharn shook his head, brandishing his fork in the air before he brought a bit of steak to his lips. “Nay. He willna die. But he’ll think he’s about to meet his maker if he touches her in anger.”
Brodie leaned forward, his voice lowered to a whisper as he glanced about the room. “Can ye teach me any of these fine tricks of yours? Or has all the magic been bred out of our DNA and lost with modern civilization?”
Latharn looked at Brodie with just the hint of a smile. “The magic is in all of the MacKays, Brodie. It lies dormant, just waiting to be found. ’Tis our legacy. A gift from my parent’s union, and a blessing from the goddess Brid. Ye have but to learn to connect with the energies of the universe to watch the mysteries unfold.”
Fiona squirmed to the edge of her seat and laid a hand on her waist. “Are ye saying all the MacKays will be gifted with powers passed down from the mists of time?”
With a knowing wink, Latharn answered, “Aye, Fiona. Your twins will also be blessed with all the gifts running through the bloodline of our clan.” He lifted his glass and sipped.
“Our twins! Fiona?” Brodie stared at his wife and dropped his fork to the table.
“Aye, Brodie. I’ve been trying to find the right time to tell ye. Things have been in such an uproar of late. I wanted to wait to give ye the news at the perfect time. But even I didn’t know I was carrying twins. I just knew I was carrying our child.” Fiona giggled as Brodie swept her into his arms, laughing as he spun her around the table.
Nessa laughed and clapped her hands. “That’s wonderful! Then this is a double celebration. I wondered why you toasted us with water earlier and tonight you weren’t drinking any wine.” Twins. Gabriel’s poison left her mind, wiped away by Brodie and Fiona’s happy news.
“This day just keeps getting better,” Trish added with a smile. “Things are finally falling into place and I’m proud to say...it’s about damn well time!”
Brodie pounded the table in complete agreement. “The MacKay castle will soon be filled with little MacKays running about the halls.”
“Aye,” Latharn agreed, pulling Nessa into his arms. “Ye had best be thinking of a few names yourself,” he whispered next to her ear.
Trish’s jaw dropped as she read Latharn’s lips. “Are you saying you want Nessa to get pregnant or is this something you already know has happened?”
Latharn rubbed his jaw, gazing off across the restaurant. “I’ve had six hundred years to hone my skills. Ye would be surprised at what I’m able to do.”
Nessa almost choked. Her hands flew to her stomach as she realized she hadn’t refilled her birth control pills. But she couldn’t be pregnant already. She had been taking them for years.
Her gaze swiveled to Latharn’s knowing look and her heart nearly stopped as the smile widened upon his face. “Are you serious? Are you telling me I’m already pregnant?” Nessa had never dreamed of having children. What would she do if she was pregnant?
“Ye don’t carry my child just yet. But if the future plays out as I have seen it, we will be blessed with many gifted bairns.” Latharn almost hummed in satisfaction as he held out a glass of ice water to her to help her manage the rising knot in her throat.
“I…I cannot be a mother. I’ve n-never been around children. I won’t know what t-to do,” Nessa stammered as the hysteria sucked the air out of her lungs. She didn’t like not being in control. Then his words took root just as she’d taken a sip of the water and she almost spewed the mouthful over everyone at the table. “And just how many gifted bairns are we talking about here? And how close together?”
Latharn’s jubilant expression slowly faded from his face. “I fail to understand why ye are no excited about the possibilities the future holds. I am one of triplets. Multiple births run in the MacKay family. Brodie himself is a twin.”
Trish leaned closer, rubbed Nessa’s shoulder, and gave her a reassuring smile. “It’s going to be all right, Nessa. You’ll be fine. You told me you’ve been in love with Latharn since he appeared when you were eighteen years old. Didn’t you ever dream about having his baby any of those times you sat around with that dazed look on your face?”
Nessa’s voice cracked with her rising sense of panic, her mouth dried up as though filled with cotton. “No! My parents were so lousy. I didn’t want to become like them. Why would I want to take the chance of warping some innocent child the way they screwed me up?”
Latharn exhaled explosively. “Now I understand. I promise ye, Nessa. You’re nothing like your parents. I watched what they did to ye with their cruel, spiteful words. Our bairns will be happy and they will love ye deeply. Maybe as much as I do.”
Nessa’s lower lip trembled as a tiny tendril of hope sprouted deep within her heart. The churning in her stomach lessened as she searched Latharn’s face. Knotting her napkin between her damp palms, she heaved a shaking breath. “So, you promise you’ll help me when it comes time for us to start a family? You’ll make sure I don’t turn into some kind of wicked beast and end up scarring our babies for life?”
Leaning forward, Latharn planted a kiss on her forehead and placed a loving hand across her womb. “Ye won’t need my help when it comes to kindness. Ye’ve not got a cruel shadow in your soul.”
Nessa hugged his arm close and ducked her head with an embarrassed glance around the table. Her cheeks warmed when she realized she’d dampened the mood by bringing up her troubled past. “Please forgive me, Brodie and Fiona. I didn’t mean to spoil your news.”
Fiona waved her words away and reached across the table to squeeze her hand. “There’s nothing to forgive. But there’s a great deal to be done if we’re to have a handfasting upon the next full moon. Since Latharn appears to be all-knowing, exactly how much time do we have to prepare?”
A rich chuckle rumbled from deep within his chest as Latharn hugged Nessa close to his side. “We’ve got but two weeks before the moon is fully waxed. Our ritual shall be at midnight on that night.”
Fiona propped her arms on the edge of the cluttered table, tracing a finger across the top of an empty glass. “Midnight? Are ye sure Latharn? This time of year ’twill be quite cold standing beneath the stars.”
With a mysterious smile, Latharn raised his glass to his lips. “Midnight upon the night of the autumnal equinox, the full moon shining in the sky. ’Twill allow all of our guests as well as the Auld One to gather with us to witness the joining of our souls.”
“Wouldn’t ye have more guests during the early evening, before the midnight hour?” Brodie motioned for the waitress to return to the table and refill their empty glasses.
Latharn drained his glass and settled it in the midst of the rest of the empties before fixing Brodie with a reproving look. “Before that night, we must start your training, Brodie. Ye must stop thinking as though nothing else exists other then the physical aspect of this world.”
Remaining silent, Nessa eased back in her chair, too much wine and too much news taking its toll on her mind and body. Her head pounded and her stomach rolled. She thought she understood what Latharn meant but decided to wait until another time to find out for sure. She’d had enough surprises sprung on her during dinner. Swallowing uneasily, she still grappled with the news of her possible future as the matriarch of the next MacKay herd.
Gnawing nervou
sly on her lower lip, Nessa groaned as another problem sprouted to mind. “Who are we going to ask to perform the ceremony? Illegal handfasting isn’t exactly a job for the local priest.” With a worried look into Latharn’s green-eyed gaze, Nessa fidgeted in her seat. She didn’t feel well at all.
Raising her hand to his lips, Latharn winked as he kissed her palm. “Brodie and I have found a practicing druid who also happens to be a MacKay. In fact, he’s a very special MacKay.”
Brodie piped up in agreement. “And one of our more, shall we say, infamous relatives is providing identification documents to ensure that once the year and a day have passed everything can be legally registered and filed for the official ceremony.”
Leaning back in his chair, Brodie waggled a mischievous brow. “Lucky for us, he was paroled just last week and will be in town tomorrow.”
“Excuse me.” Standing, Trish rummaged through the silverware scattered on the table, found a spoon and ting-tinked the edge of several glasses. “Since apparently you can’t swing a cat around here without hitting a member of the MacKay clan. I think it’s high time somebody introduced me to the one who finds redheads irresistible.”
Amidst the erupting laughter from everyone at the table, Latharn raised his glass high in the air. His rumbling chuckles drowned out them all as he toasted Trish’s health. “To irresistible redheads and their loyalty to their friends! If not for Trish’s persistence, I might still be trapped in that crystal hell.”
“Sláinte!”
Laughing as she raised her glass, Nessa happened to glance toward the window across the room. There was a face reflected through the dimpled panes.
Was that Gabriel standing outside the restaurant?
Downing her drink, Nessa looked again once she’d lowered her glass but the scowling face was gone.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Nessa gnawed at her lower lip as she gripped the edges of the seat. She had her fingers clenched so deep in the cushions she knew her nails were going to shred the upholstery.
“Latharn, don’t you think it would be better if Brodie taught you how to drive?”
“’Tis no’ a matter of being taught, Nessa. I but need ye to tell me the basic functions of the gadgets and knobs. I assure ye, I am not some foolish young pup who has to practice until he gets it right.” Latharn sat in the driver’s seat of the car, his brow creased with a frown as he examined the gauges and knobs. He twisted to peer down around the wheel, studying the pedals she’d pointed out at his feet.
Nessa inhaled a deep, nerve calming breath, attempting to swallow her rising anxiety. She closed her eyes and searched for something positive about Latharn trying to learn to drive. At least this thing is an automatic. I’d end up with whiplash trying to teach him to use a clutch.
Latharn sat bolt upright in the seat and swiveled to fix her with an icy glare. “My love, I’d like to remind ye I have been reading your mind since ye were but a lass of eighteen years of age. I am now trying to withdraw and give ye your privacy. But when ye find yourself feeling particularly sarcastic, your thoughts are much louder than your words.”
Nessa’s cheeks heated up with this latest revelation. She narrowed her eyes and returned his glare. Her temper flared as she arched one brow and boldly spoke her mind. “Can you hear what I am thinking now, my love?”
His eyes widened. Latharn cocked his head and smirked. “Now why would I want to do that to myself when it’s much more satisfying to do it with you?”
Her teeth clenched, Nessa pointed to the keys. “Just start the car.”
Latharn stomped the gas pedal to the floor, turned the keys as far as the ignition would allow—and held them there. His face locked into a mask of concentration, he stared at the road ahead. The starter whined in painful protest as the engine roared with the fury of the wide-open gas.
“Now let them go! As soon as you hear the engine start, you’re supposed to let go of the keys.” Nessa slapped at his hand and tapped at his right knee currently locked in the straight position, the gas pedal pushed to the floorboard. “Let up on the pedal! You’re giving it too much gas. You’re going to burn up all the fuel before you even put it into gear.”
“Stop scolding me as though I’m an empty-headed bairn! Ye didna tell me that part when ye went through what each of these damn things do.” Latharn white-knuckled the steering wheel until it almost bent between his hands as he shifted in the seat.
Flattening her hands on the dashboard, Nessa tried to swallow her frustration. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to yell. I told you it would be better if Brodie did this. Now put your foot on the brake and ease the gearshift into drive. Right, the one with the D.” Scrubbing her face with her hands, Nessa glanced at the street, thankful that it appeared to be deserted. “Now before you pull out…”
The car squealed out of the parking lot. He kept his right leg locked at the knee. His massive hands swallowed the tiny tubing of the steering wheel, sawing it back and forth. Thanks to Nessa’s adamant refusal to teach him unless they were on a deserted stretch of road, all he had to do was keep the car between the ditches as he barreled down the lane.
“Latharn, slow down!” Nessa squeezed his right leg to get him to relax off the gas pedal at least a notch or two. Latharn appeared to have only two speeds: dead stop or screaming wide-ass open.
Latharn glared at the road and his leg began to relax. As the car slowed down from its breakneck speed, his hands unclenched from the wheel. “Ye see, Nessa? I told ye ’twould be no chore at all. Ye must learn to trust in what I say.”
“Just because you’re able to drive down a deserted stretch of road doesn’t mean you’ve mastered this thing just yet.” As she snugged her seat belt across her body, Nessa pointed up the roadway a bit. “Why don’t you turn here and take us back to Brodie’s and we’ll see if you can park this thing.”
Latharn took the corner so fast the car almost skidded on two wheels. He fixed Nessa with a chilling glare when she bellowed for him to slow the damn thing down.
He growled. “I’m not deaf, Nessa. Just because I can hear your thoughts doesn’t mean I can’t hear you speak.”
As they neared the graveled drive, Nessa pointed to a spot beneath an ancient oak. “Why don’t you just pull up to that tree? I think it best if we stay away from the building.”
Tearing his gaze away from the road, Latharn reprimanded her with a jerk of his head. “I will thank ye to keep the jests to yourself and might I also add I have never met a woman with such a broad knowledge of profanity in my life.” He wasn’t sure what some of those words meant, but there were others he sure did.
“I haven’t cursed you a single time,” Nessa retorted. “At least not out loud…much.”
“Aye. Well, ye have done a verra fine job of it in your head.” He returned his attention to the targeted spot in front of the tree. As he lifted his foot from the gas pedal, he stomped on the brake and threw them both forward into their locking seat belts.
“Ow! Didn’t I tell you not to stomp on the pedals? You’re supposed to lightly step on them...roll onto them with the ball of your foot.” Nessa twisted her body and rubbed her shoulder where the seat belt had tried to behead her.
Latharn threw the gearshift into park, shut off the engine, and yanked the keys from the ignition. He exploded from the vehicle and threw the keys to the ground. He didn’t even acknowledge Trish as she walked across the drive when he stormed off across the field.
Trish bent, peered into the car, and raised her brows at Nessa’s enraged face. “First driving lesson went well, I see.”
“The man is impossible! He won’t listen to a word I say. He acts like he’s so superior. He thinks he’s some kind of god!” Nessa slammed the car door and massaged her neck where the seat belt had rubbed the skin raw.
Trish leaned back against the side of the car, examining her manicure as she spoke in a reproving tone. “Do you think maybe you’re being a little hard on him? After all, he hasn’t wal
ked among the living, so to speak, in nearly six hundred years.”
Nessa paced in a frustrated circle back and forth beside the car. “Hard on him? I’m trying to help him adapt. This is no longer the year 1410. He can’t ride around the countryside swinging his claymore, and expect everyone to bow and scrape to his mighty name.”
Trish pulled a file out of her back pocket, pursing her lips as she continued scowling at her nails. “So when you got your PhD in Archeology, I guess you didn’t review any of the history of the clans and what was expected of their lairds and their behavior?”
Nessa stopped halfway through her second lap around the car and whirled to shoot Trish with a fiery look. “Out with it, Trish. If you’ve got something to say then just say it. Leave the smartass remarks at the door.”
Trish raised her brows and clucked at Nessa. “Fine. I’ll tell you what you don’t want to hear but you already know what I’m going to say. I think you’re scared and you’re trying to find a way to keep Latharn at a safe distance without having to tell him to get lost. You’ve finally got the real thing and it’s scaring the living hell out of you.”
Trish flourished her nail file in the air as she continued. “Always before, you got rid of any guy you dated because there’s no way he compared to the Highlander of your dreams. Now you’re scared to death because you’ve got your benchmark right in your hands and you’re going to have to either commit or quit.”
“Bullshit!” Nessa snorted with a stomp of her foot in the gravel.
Trish gave her a wink and her smile widened as she moved closer. “Why else would you be having so much trouble understanding how hard it’s going to be for Latharn to adapt to the twenty-first century? You’re the expert in history around here. If anyone understands what he’s used to dealing with, it ought to be you. How do you think he feels finding himself in a world where he has even less control then he had in that witch’s ball?”
Nessa’s gaze shifted to the ground as she bit her bottom lip. “You know I hate you, right?”
Beyond A Highland Whisper Page 17