The MacLomain Series: A New Beginning Boxed Set (Books 1-4)

by Purington, Sky

  The next thing she knew she was cuddled beneath the blankets next to him, contented by the steady thrum of his heart. At peace beside him in a way she knew would never change and she certainly would not find with another.

  She yawned and cuddled closer to him, inhaling his familiar scent before she drifted off to sleep. This time dreams came and went. Of them together. Happy. Then other images.

  Rough seas.

  Dark waters.

  A man.

  He stood on a ship with dark sails, white-knuckling the railing as he glared at her through what quickly became a raging storm. She would never forget those icy pale blue eyes or his remarkably handsome bearded features.

  He was a MacLomain.

  And he wanted her and his family nowhere near him.

  He wanted them gone in a way that bespoke a cold, hardened heart.

  “Dinnae forget yer promised to a Highland Laird,” came his voice from somewhere deep inside her mind. “’Tis all that can save ye now, lassie.”

  Then her dream with Robert the Bruce flashed through her mind before she was talking to Lindsay again then running straight through Graham for the first time. Unfortunately, the feeling this time was alarming.

  Ominous.

  Like nothing she had felt before.

  It was as though he was melting away. Further and further away until she couldn’t see him or feel him anymore. As if everything they had shared simply ceased to exist. She felt the disconnection as if part of her soul had been ripped away.

  Then she shot up in bed.

  Dim light flooded the room, and there was no sign of Graham.

  Terrified, she knew something was wrong and flew to the window.

  No snow.

  No storm.

  It looked just like it had outside the morning she travelled back in time.

  She dressed and raced downstairs only to find Jessie in her usual spot in front of the fire with her little book beside her.

  “Good morning, Christina,” she said, just as she had before. With no expression on her face. “Are you all right?”

  “No, actually, I’m not!” She frowned, scooped up the book and shook it at Jessie. “I think it’s time for you to start explaining things.”

  “I’m not sure what you mean,” Jessie said in her usual monotone voice.

  “Yes, you damn well do,” Christina spat as she began leafing through the book. “For starters...”

  Where were the pictures? What was she looking at?

  “For starters what, Christina?” Jessie said. “Were you looking for a specific remedy? Because those are just thoughts and ideas.”

  “What the heck?” Christina whispered. “There’s nothing but recipes in here.”

  “Is that what’s in that?” Jim commented as he came downstairs. “I wondered.”

  Though tempted to rant and rave like a lunatic, Christina bit her tongue, eyed Jessie and worked to temper her rage. She wanted to throttle her. Tell her friend exactly what she thought of her. More than that, she wanted to punch her square in the face.

  But what if this was all some elaborate trick and she was playing right into it?

  She needed to remain calm and focus. Not give into panic because Graham was no longer here. That it seemed like they had never even met. That by some evil stroke of misfortune, they may never. Not if she was stuck in an ever tightening time loop that made no sense.

  Because it felt just like that. A time loop.

  No wonder she had felt like they were going in circles yesterday. Time was looping back on itself. But why? And who was controlling it? A day being played over that clearly didn’t replicate the one before it. Because obviously, she hadn’t leafed through Jessie’s book first thing in the morning before.

  Keeping in mind she was in a time loop, she started to really pay attention.

  Her original version of this morning included her getting up early after dreaming about Robert the Bruce. Shaken, out of it, she had researched him then went running only to end up at Mystery Hill where she ran straight through Graham.

  “I think I’m going out for a morning jog,” she murmured, as she scooped up her sneakers, plunked down on a stool and started pulling them on. Maybe if she recreated the morning, she could find her way back to Graham. Maybe she could figure out what was going on.

  “Good day for a run,” Jim said, eying his phone before he tossed it on the counter in front of her and started making coffee. “Gonna be stormy later though.”

  Christina froze as she was lacing up her sneaker. Did she dare look to see if Scotland still existed? Should she? But of course, she should. Avoiding things never got anyone anywhere. So she slowly picked up the phone.

  “Oh no,” she whispered. Her eyes grew moist as she tried to pull up images and information about Scotland.

  “What is it?” Blair asked, frowning as she joined them.

  “Nothing,” Christina managed as she closed the cell phone’s online pages, and finished lacing up her other sneaker. She didn’t bother warming up but sprinted out the front door. She could not run fast enough. She couldn’t get to the Stonehenge fast enough.

  Because, as it stood now, Scotland was gone. Officially gone. It no longer existed on Google Maps or any other map. Just like the picture in Jessie’s book the night before, it was all England now.

  Scotland was nothing more than a historical relic.

  That must mean that they failed somehow. They had done something wrong. Because the warlocks’ ultimate goal was to destroy Scotland’s history which would eventually do away with Scotland itself. What had gone wrong though? They had ignited the ring, defeated the warlock and fixed the Battle of Bannockburn. Graham was, without a shred of doubt, her one true love.

  So why had everything still gone terribly wrong?

  When she arrived at Mystery Hill, it was just as it had been that morning. Cool and blustery but refreshing. Lindsay appeared just as she had before and though Christina had every intention of ranting about what was happening, she bit her tongue.

  What if this was all some elaborate trick? The second warlock at work? What if by disrupting history she somehow ruined her future with Graham?

  More alarming, Scotland’s history if there was still hope.

  Yes, some might say the time for hope had passed because Scotland no longer existed but she wasn’t quite ready to give up. She needed to see Graham again. Run into him. Feel him.

  Sure as heck, right on time, she was following Lindsay only to run smack into Graham. Or through him. Like before, the feeling was extraordinarily profound. Unique. More. This time, however, she experienced the feeling with a whole new clarity. Not just love and magic but something more pronounced. Something additional.

  What was this?

  He turned and looked at her, caught in this strange place between times. Like her, he seemed in awe, baffled by what he had just experienced.

  “Hey, handsome,” she murmured, trying to keep her words familiar to perhaps jog his memory. But it didn’t matter. Like before he no longer seemed to be able to see her though he still looked for her. Was this the last time she would lay eyes on him? Because it felt that way. It felt like he might be slipping away forever.

  “Graham,” she whispered, her chest tight as he faded. “Don’t forget that I love you, darlin’.”

  She swallowed hard and squeezed her eyes shut to tears she refused to let fall. What if that was it? What if she was caught in some time limbo and they would never meet again like they were supposed to?

  She frowned as she realized how morbid her thoughts were. How she was letting them get the better of her. Frustrated, she shook her head. This was no good. Time to stop being so sappy and take action.

  So she muttered, “Enough with ‘what if’s’ Christina,” and headed back toward the barn just like she had that day. If Fate had rearranged her destiny, she intended to meet it head on, kick its ass then make it her life’s mission to find Graham again. To hell with time travel. She woul
d find another way to damn well get it done.

  Nothing would stand in her way.

  “Dinnae forget yer promised to a Highland Laird,” rumbled through her mind again. “’Tis all that can save ye now, lassie.”

  She never stopped running, pushing her body, until she was back at the barn and leaning against its wall just like before. Fortunately, the tree was alive and well again. That had to mean something good. Yet all she kept focusing on was the guy’s words from her dream. Why was he haunting her? Who was he? What did he mean?

  “I don’t know who I made a promise to,” she muttered. “Graham or Robert.” She shook her head. “I just don’t know.”

  “Are ye not quite right in the head then, lass?” came a familiar voice. “Talking to yerself like ye are.”

  Christina couldn’t help a smile as Rona appeared right on time just like she had before. Except her greeting was different this go around, wasn’t it?

  “No, I’m not quite right in the head,” she acknowledged. “And maybe you can help me with that.”

  “Aye?” Rona perked her brows. “How so?”

  “Well, I haven’t quite figured that out yet, sugar but I’m hoping...”

  “Life...” Rona whispered, interrupting her.

  Christina frowned. “Excuse me?”

  “Life.” Rona’s eyes glazed then widened before she closed the distance, put her hand on Christina’s belly, smiled and met her eyes. “Brand new life.”

  Chapter Twenty

  GRAHAM WOULD NEVER forget the feeling he had when Christina walked through him. How remarkable it was. Yet there was something else as well.

  Something unexplainable.

  Until that moment—when he turned back and saw the shine of the ring for the first time in this strange in-between place—he didn’t know what it was. Yet when their eyes met this time, he finally did. He finally felt the time loop they were caught in. More than that, he, at last, understood the astounding feeling he had. It was the wondrous sensation of not just two hearts beating together in synchronization but three.

  It was the feeling of his family coming together for the very first time.

  Him, Christina and their child.

  “It was never Robert ye were promised to,” he whispered, caught in a dream with her, caught in some strange limbo. “It was our child and me...”

  He was certain of it.

  Moments later, when everything faded including her, he tried not to panic. Utter darkness surrounded him. As dark as it had been in the cave when they first travelled back to Bannockburn.

  Where was she?

  Where was he?

  Would he ever see her again? His unborn child? Or was he forever caught in the jaws of a closed time loop? Lost in nothingness. Trapped in a curse.

  He refused to give into fear though. Instead, he focused on what was most important. Christina and his unborn child. A family he couldn’t imagine living without though he had only just met them.

  Moments later he swore he saw her ring flicker in the darkness.

  Seconds passed before the flicker became brighter and brighter until it was blinding and he had to close his eyes.

  “Graham?” Christina whispered.

  When his eyes shot open, she was standing in front of him by the barn. Rona was there, but all he could see was Christina.

  “Graham?” Unsure, she looked at him. “Is that you? Really you?” She shook her head, hope mixed with fear in her eyes. “Or the past you?”

  He had no idea what she meant. Nor did he understand how they had ended up outside the barn when the last thing he remembered they were in bed. But he didn’t care. Not one bit.

  “Aye, lass, ‘tis me.” He closed the distance and pulled her into his arms. “It’s always been me...us...”

  When he cupped her cheeks and kissed her deeply, everything began to swirl around them, and the pressure dropped. They were time traveling again. Thankfully, this time they landed right back where he hoped they would.

  In front of the fire in MacLomain Castle’s great hall.

  They were home.

  “Well, it’s about damned time!” came a voice that made them smile against each other’s lips before they reluctantly pulled apart.

  Christina offered his mother a warm smile. “Good to see you again, Nicole.”

  “I know.” Nicole planted her hands on her hips and shook her head. “And I see you’re still kissing my son.”

  Christina cocked her head, grinned and didn’t hold back. “Would you have it any other way?”

  “I don’t suppose it’d matter if I would,” his ma muttered, though there was an approving grin in her voice.

  “Of course it would.” Christina winked. “Or at least I’d tell you as much.”

  Ma’s eyes widened before she chuckled, shook her head and ended up embracing Christina before him. The next thing he knew more and more kin were embracing them. His sister and da, uncles, and aunts. Milly and Adlin. Even Jim and Blair were there.

  It was a grand family reunion that didn’t make much sense.

  “Conall and Lindsay would have been here too but ‘twas best they stayed at Hamilton Castle for now,” Adlin explained. “Though the countryside isnae as bad as it was, ‘tis still verra unstable.”

  “Aye,” Uncle Grant said as he and Aunt Sheila joined the festivities. “But we refused to miss your homecoming.”

  “You make it sound like we’ve been gone a while,” Christina said.

  “A few months,” Milly said, shocking them as they sat in front of the fire and were handed whisky. “Caught, it seems, in some residual magic plus darker things.”

  Graham frowned, pulling Christina down onto his lap. “Darker things?”

  “Aye,” Adlin said. “By the sounds of it, possibly a second warlock.”

  “By the sounds of it?” Christina frowned and shook her head. “I barely understand what just happened so how can you?”

  Grant tapped his temple and eyed her and Graham then her stomach. “’Twas a lot of magic at work. Good and bad. And kin connects with kin in times such as these.” He winked. “No matter how young.”

  “All the more reason you should be drinking this instead of that,” Nicole said, beaming as she switched Christina’s whisky for water then ducked away. Graham couldn’t remember the last time he had seen his mother so happy outside of having Rona back in her life. His da either for that matter.

  He suspected they were thrilled not only about Christina’s pregnancy but that he and Christina were finally home. He could tell by the thankful looks his kin were casting them that they had given everyone a good scare being gone so long. Lost in a time loop that not even Adlin or Grant could access.

  “We thought it seemed almost too easy when the first warlock was killed,” Adlin explained. “So we werenae all that surprised to discover a second one might be at work. A very tricky, well disguised back-up plan if you will.”

  “God,” Christina whispered and shook her head. “Graham and I thought there might be a second warlock too.” She frowned. “A back-up plan? As in perhaps Jessie’s back-up plan because she certainly seemed to control the first warlock.”

  “Mayhap,” Graham responded before anyone else could. “But if ‘twas her, keep in mind she might have been trying to warn us about that one too, lass. Dinnae forget our strange dream when we saw her and the warlock flee the Stonehenge.” He arched his brows. “A warlock that you said was long gone when we arrived there.” He shrugged. “If she truly meant us harm dinnae you think a warlock would have ambushed us at Mystery Hill the moment we left Robert’s encampment and travelled forward in time?”

  “Good chance,” she murmured, resting her hand on her belly protectively. “So what was the point of a time loop then? My dream and then starting the same day over again?” She swallowed as her eyes flickered over Aunt Cassie and Uncle Logan before they landed on Grant and Adlin. “Because I’m pretty sure I was warned or better yet helped by a...relative of yours beforeha
nd.”

  When both appeared confused, she described the dream. How the man looked and sounded. What he had said.

  “Bloody hell,” Rona whispered, tears in her eyes. “That sounds just like Fraser...minus the beard.”

  His aunt and uncle nodded, hope in their eyes.

  “And he was where?” Grant asked, perplexed. “At sea?”

  Christina nodded. “Most definitely.”

  “On a Viking ship?” Adlin said.

  “I’m not sure.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry.” Confusion lit her eyes. “What do you think he meant? Don’t forget my promise to a Highland Laird?”

  “My guess is your promise was always to protect your unborn child,” Grant said softly. “I would also venture to say that someday he will be a chieftain...or a Highland Laird.”

  “He?” Graham smiled broadly at Christina. “We’re having a son.”

  “I know, I heard.” She smiled just as broadly, their eyes lingering on one another’s before she looked at Grant and Adlin again. “So how does our son tie into it all? When I first ran through Graham, I couldn’t have been pregnant.” She shook her head. “And when I dreamt of Robert I definitely wasn’t.”

  “Aye, but ‘twas all part of the same time loop, was it not?” Adlin reminded. “A time flux or loop in part created by Conall and Lindsay and I’m beginning to think, by Jessie as well. Then, as it turns out, the unforeseeable addition of your wee one. He would have most certainly assisted in helping you two come together.”

  “Wow,” Christina whispered. “That’s pretty epic.”

  When her eyes met Graham’s to see what he thought, he only nodded and rested his hand on her stomach. It was hard to believe she was already pregnant. That it had happened that fast. But he could not be happier. “As I believe two wise arch wizards recently said, anything is possible.”

  “We are quite wise,” Grant murmured, amused. “Arenae we?”

  “Aye, old friend,” Adlin agreed, chuckling.