Always and Forever

by L. A. Fiore

  What the hell was she thinking riding that all the way from the Cotswolds? Did she have a death wish? He was so incensed at her stupidity that he climbed from his car and stalked toward her just as she removed her helmet, her chestnut-brown curls cascaded down her back.

  Sudden desire was like a knife ripping through him which only further enraged him. By the time he reached her, he was half-mad with anger. He wrapped his strong hand around her upper arm just as she softly spoke his name.

  "Gabriel?"

  Quinn had forgotten how much she loved riding her Harley. There wasn't anything like it. Well, no, a fast gallop on a horse like Loki or Satan came pretty damn close. At first she wondered if riding the bike all the way from the Cotswolds was wise but it was only an hour and the roads were mostly deserted this time of year. After that ride, she was glad she hadn't talked herself out of it.

  She smiled as the castle came into view and she wondered what Archer and the others' reactions would have been if they saw her on this metal steed. She could all but imagine Archer fuming in rage at her presumed carelessness but she knew if he rode her Harley, just once, he would be hooked.

  She parked the bike, climbed off and was just removing her helmet when she felt the prickle and knew that Gabriel was near. It was joy she felt at seeing him but one look into those green eyes, darkened with anger, and her smile faded as confusion replaced her happiness.

  "Gabriel?"

  He grabbed her arm and pulled her towards a patch of trees, his stride so long she had to practically run to keep up with him. Once they reached a small clearing, tucked within the woods, he stopped and turned to her.

  "What the hell were you thinking?"

  Quinn couldn't help glancing behind her to see if that question was aimed at someone standing just behind her but, no, it was for her.

  "Excuse me?"

  That question seemed to make him angrier and it was then that she saw the slight twitch under his left eye.

  "Riding that death machine! Are you insane?"

  He was pissed but she couldn't help feeling a bit giddy because his anger was fueled by his worry over her safety.

  "I take it you've never ridden a motorcycle?"

  "I have three," he admitted feebly. "That's not the point."

  Quinn cocked her hip as she took the measure of the enraged and sexy-as-hell man standing before her.

  "Then what is the point, exactly?"

  "You could have been killed. Or have you forgotten the accident you were in not that long ago?"

  Anger flashed over her face as she bit out. "I wasn't driving in that one. Believe me if I had been, there wouldn't have been an accident." She turned to leave but his hand on her arm stopped her and before she could object he was pulling her up against the hard length of him and lowering his mouth onto hers.

  There was no anger in him now and his kiss had effectively melted all of her bones. When his strong arms wrapped around her waist and held her tightly against him, there was no where else in the world that she would've rather been. Her hands framed his face as she returned his kiss with equal vigor. And then he pulled away from her so abruptly that she almost lost her balance. She looked up into his face, one that had gone ghostly white, and took a step towards him which immediately had him lifting his hands to ward her off.

  "Gabriel, what's wrong?"

  "We did this before and it ended with..." he swallowed with some difficulty before he continued "...us making love in these woods. How the hell is that possible?" He grabbed her arms in his hands and shook her. "What have you done to me?"

  Quinn paled at that but no words would come especially since she could see how hard Gabriel was fighting what he was feeling. The tears were there but she wasn't about to show them so instead she jerked free of his hold, turned without a word, and walked away.

  She managed to tuck away her emotions by the time she reached the castle. She just needed to get through this meeting and then she could go home and deal with everything she was feeling. She reached into her saddlebag and grabbed the folder and journal and headed into the castle.

  She had spent much of her time in the past in Archer's solar so she knew the way. She pushed the door open and her eyes landed on the man sitting behind Archer's desk. Damn those Scarcliffs for all looking the same. Nicholas' eyes weren't that beautiful green, they were more hazel in color like Archer's mother's, but the bone structure was exactly the same. Hell, even his black hair was long enough to brush against his wide shoulders. He rose from his spot at his desk with that same easy but deliberate stride that his ancestor had mastered, he came from around his desk and reached for her hands. The look on his face, the one that held not just welcome but confirmation, gave Quinn a moment's pause.

  "It is my very great pleasure to finally meet you, Quinn," he whispered as he lifted her hands to his lips and kissed the top of each. By the sudden arctic blast that caused a chill down her spine, she knew that Gabriel had just stepped into the room and witnessed Nicholas' very friendly welcome. Nicholas led Quinn to a chair then turned to Gabriel.

  "Gabriel, so good to see you again."

  Gabriel stepped forward to shake Nicholas' offered hand then took a seat. At least he was on the other side of the room, Quinn thought, though that didn't stop her from experiencing the laser-like burn from his stare. His anger at her was unfounded and as she brooded over that fact, she nearly missed Nicholas' inquiry.

  "So what is it you wanted to share with me, Quinn?"

  Quinn handed the journal to Nicholas then turned to Gabriel. She held out the folder to him which contained a copy of the journal. He hesitated a moment before he took it.

  "Read it," she held his angry stare a moment then turned back to Nicholas.

  "Please read it."

  And with that Quinn left the room. She wasn't really sure where she was going but she knew she couldn't stay in that room. It felt too much like the past and the present colliding, what with Nicholas looking so damn much like Archer and Gabriel being so much like him.

  She moved through the castle and eventually found herself in Nickie's nursery. How many Scarcliff children had seen this room? The furniture was the same, a few additions like a rocking chair and changing table for the newest Scarcliffs, but the old bed and the dresser were the ones Nickie had used. The walls were different, though it looked to be an old mural painted on them. It was a very elaborate painting, wrapping around the entire room, and Quinn took a step closer to study it.

  It took no time at all for her to realize what she was looking at and the knowledge nearly made her cry. Her fingers reached out and touched a painted Archer perched on the bench of the dunking tank and, as it had been, she was painted standing before him. They were staring at one another with the ball frozen in the air headed toward the target. That ball had sent him for a swim. Just behind her, Nickie and Thaddeus stood, their faces painted in laughter.

  Her dearest wish was that her life had played out with them and that she had been there to watch as Nickie grew into a man. To watch as Archer's sisters married and had children, to witness Thaddeus falling madly in love, to grow old with Archer. It hurt, still it hurt, the magnitude of what she lost and she allowed herself a moment to mourn what had been taken from her. She started from the room but stopped suddenly when she felt the icy touch again on her cheek.

  "Archer," she whispered as she closed her eyes to the ghostly caress that ran along her jaw and down her neck. She gasped when she felt her hand being held in a cold grip. She was led to the closet in the back of the room and there, carved in the wooden baseboard, were the letters A and Q. Quinn knelt down and worked the small piece of wood free and reached her hand into the space it exposed. She pulled out a small burlap bag. She opened the bag and gently pulled out what was inside: a small wooden horse, clearly carved by a child, and a scrap of paper. Quinn examined the horse and on the belly were the initials: "N.S."

  "Nickie, it's beautiful," she whispered and held it to her heart. The note was sm
udged and smeared from age but she was still able to make out Archer's message, "Quinn, my love, be careful, he's here. Archer"

  Her heart skipped a beat at the warning but she already knew Derek was here. He'd left before she had, but she supposed Archer had been worried since he was helpless to protect her. She tucked her finds back in their bag and slipped them into her jacket pocket. She returned the wood trim before she left the room.

  Gabriel had no words, couldn't form a single thought, after reading what Quinn had handed him. They were linked, Quinn and he. He always knew that but what he just read shook him to his very core. When he looked over at Nicholas, he saw that his friend didn't look as disturbed by what he read as he should have.

  "Nick, why aren't you in shock from what you just read?"

  Nick closed the journal but kept his hand on it for a moment as a smile touched his lips. "I've heard it before, have been told this particular bedtime story since I was a babe."

  Gabriel looked over at Cole and Charles to make sure he had heard Nick correctly and, yes, their looks of shock mirrored his own. He turned his attention back to Nick.

  "Come again?"

  "At first, I thought the story was a fairy tale but I've found things through the years and know that as unbelievable a story as it is, it's real. Every word."

  "Found things?" Charles asked.

  "Yeah, things hidden by Archer and Nickie for Quinn. They're easy to find when you know what you're looking for. The letters A and Q carved throughout the house, it's pretty obvious what those letters stand for after hearing the stories I've heard since childhood."

  "Does Quinn know?" Cole asked.

  Before Nicholas could answer a hauntingly bittersweet melody filled the silence. Gabriel watched his friend and the strange look that came over his features. When he closed his eyes, seemingly lost in the music, Gabriel felt another tug of temper because his reaction to the music was almost identical.

  He snapped, "Nick, what's gotten into you and who the hell is playing the piano?"

  Nicholas' eyes popped opened and Gabriel could see his surprise. "You can hear that?"

  Gabriel glanced at Cole and Charles before he replied, "Yes."

  Nicholas stood.

  "Then let's go ask Quinn if she knows."

  It wasn't the same instrument. The harpsichord she had played once before, but the Steinway was magnificent as her fingers danced over the keys. She was so lost in the music that she didn't realize she had an audience until the last note faded and the clapping started.

  "That was beautiful, Quinn," Nicholas said sincerely.

  "It's a beautiful instrument."

  "Yes, but it takes talent and skill to play it," he said and she lifted her eyes from the keys and met his gaze.

  "So you've read it."

  A small smile touched his lips before he answered. "Yes, but I already knew. You are sort of a legend in my family."

  "Meaning?" she asked.

  "Your story, yours and Archer's, has been told through the generations," he paused. "I suppose most think it's a lovely fairy tale but I knew differently. He left you things you know."

  Quinn reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out the burlap bag. "I found this in Nickie's nursery."

  Nicholas didn't hide his look of surprise. "In the nursery? Where?"

  "Baseboard in the closet."

  "Damn, I missed that one!" His excitement was almost palpable as he gestured towards the sack. "May I?"

  "Please."

  As he unveiled the horse and note, Quinn noticed that his hands weren't quite steady when he saw the initials.

  "My namesake," he whispered and then his brow furrowed. "But who's he warning you about?" he asked. Suddenly, Gabriel's curiosity peaked.

  "Derek," Quinn offered coolly as she contemplated Gabriel. He hadn't signed up for falling for a time-traveling woman with serious emotional baggage and to have it all dumped on him was really unfair. When his attention turned to her, she could see he was still fully in temper.

  She stood and started from the room. "I've something else to show you."

  She knew they followed, could hear their footfalls, but her mind was elsewhere. Once Derek was stopped Quinn decided she was going to move back to the States. Being this close to Whispering Winds, Nicholas, and most especially Gabriel, it was too much. Gabriel didn't want this. He didn't want her. Well, he may have wanted her at one point but her colorful past was clearly more than he wanted to deal with since he couldn't seem to look at her and not clench his jaw. Being so close to him would keep her constantly hoping and hoping would prevent her from moving on. They entered the room and Quinn gestured towards the fireplace where she had hidden the treasure in the past. Before she could speak, Gabriel's hand closed around hers and he announced to Nick, "The top left panel."

  Then he gently ran his finger along her jaw and whispered, "I'm sorry. I haven't handled any of this well but I do want you more than I've ever wanted anything in my life. And apparently, I always have -- in more than the one lifetime."

  "You remember?" she gasped.

  If she only knew everything he remembered. But he couldn't tell her, not yet, and so he settled for a simple, "Yes."

  Quinn felt the tears as Gabriel pulled her into his arms. Nicholas had already worked the panel free and was pulling and emptying the sacks onto the Persian rug.

  "My God," Cole whispered as he held a gold chalice that Quinn knew, when dated, would go back to the eleventh-century. "This is priceless."

  Quinn turned her head as it rested against Gabriel's chest and looked at Nicholas. "It's also Scarcliff property. This is what Derek attempted to steal when he went back. I saw him burying it so together Thaddeus, Nickie and I hid it here. I know before it can be added to your insurance you're going to need proof that it belongs to you but how you're going to do that, I don't know."

  "He already has the proof," Gabriel offered. "A detailed accounting of these items is locked in the family vault."

  Quinn lifted her head to look at Gabriel and Nicholas finished his friend's thought, "Yes, courtesy of Archer Scarcliff."

  Later they sat around the table in the dining room, the same table where Quinn had sat three hundred years earlier, and discussed Derek and what it was he sought. According to Nicholas there was rumor of a treasure with enough allure to draw Derek's attention.

  "What is this treasure?" Charles asked as he settled back in his chair.

  "That's just it. No one knows. But the legend of the treasure has grown so much through the generations that it's become much like the Holy Grail."

  "That certainly would be enough to spark Derek's interest. He would love to be the one to find the illusive Scarcliff treasure," Cole agreed.

  "That would explain why he went back, too. Just like he always does. Went to retrieve and bury this treasure but he was unable to find it," Gabriel added.

  Quinn was unusually quiet all through dinner so when she did speak, she had the rapt interest of everyone at the table.

  "Before I went back in time, Whispering Winds was not like it is now. I was drawn to it, found it as if I was looking for it, but it was abandoned because people feared that the castle was cursed. There were no Scarcliffs nor was there a treasure. I've thought on this a great deal. What happened that had everyone turning their backs on the place? But then Gabriel and I went to visit Morgan's family in Ireland." Quinn looked over at Gabriel.

  "I thought maybe it was Archer and Nickie's deaths that caused the ripple effect and changed the future," she continued, "but I think maybe it was Morgan's death."

  Gabriel held Quinn's gaze. "What do you mean?"

  "Morgan was murdered and everything that happened after was a result of her murder."

  That statement was answered with silence so Quinn continued on. "It explains how I found Whispering Winds that first time and why I was the one who was sent back. Morgan's death altered the future and somehow I was given the chance to correct that future by fixing the past. But that
couldn't have been the actual future because why then would Derek have gone back? There was no treasure in that reality. Only a forgotten haunted castle. So what was in that actual reality that makes any of this worthwhile to Derek?"

  He followed her home, that sleek black machine he drove, kept a safe distance behind her. She had told him it wasn't necessary, that she would be fine, but he wouldn't hear of it. He had even suggested that she drive his car and he'd ride her bike but she wasn't about to drive a $200,000 car.

  As soon as she pulled into her driveway, his car came to stop just behind her. His lights flicked off and she watched him unfold his large frame to climb from his car. There was no denying what was on his mind as he walked toward her, it was the same very thing that was on her mind. He stopped just in front of her but made no move to touch her. He was giving her a chance to say no, so when she spoke her voice was soft but steady, "Come inside, Gabriel."

  As soon as they were locked inside, he turned and moved her back so that she was sandwiched between the door and his hard body then his mouth came down on hers. She sighed into his mouth as her arms came around his neck to pull him closer. "The bedroom is upstairs."

  He didn't miss a beat as he lifted her into his arms and carried her up the stairs.

  The following morning they drove to Stow and parked along High street. Gabriel came around to Quinn's side of the car and helped her out before he reached for her hand.

  "There's a lovely cafe that serves the most delicious breakfast." Quinn tried to sound casual but her comment sounded overly formal even to her own ears.

  Gabriel could sense it. He reached for Quinn's other hand as his eyes searched hers.

  "What's wrong, Quinn?"

  She had trouble looking him in the eyes because she feared seeing the anger she had seen yesterday burning in their depths.