Seven Moons Back to the Highlands

by Deborah R Stigall

  “What in the name of the Fates are ye doin’ now?!”

  Caelan was bounding across the yard as Sam’s warning howl sounded the alarm too late.

  Turning from the sink with the hammer and pry bar still in her hands, Rachel stifled the urge to hide both of the tools behind her back. Raising her chin as Caelan came through the screen door, she braced herself for battle.

  “I’m opening the windows to air out the house. It’s the first really beautiful day we’ve had this spring that’s been warm enough to let in some fresh air.”

  “Give me those tools. What I meant was why are ye out of bed and ye know verra well that’s what I was asking!”

  Snatching the implements from her hands, Caelan set them on the top shelf of a cabinet well out of reach of her tiny five foot two inch frame.

  “I’m much better and it’s time I got out of that bed. It’s the only way I’m going to get stronger. I really appreciate everything you’ve done but I’m fine now and can take care of myself.”

  Crossing her arms over her chest, Rachel forced her voice to remain calm as Caelan continued to move closer toward her stalking her as though she were his prey.

  “Besides, I have to go back to work on Monday. I don’t have any more vacation time left this year. So, the quicker I get back to my old self the easier it’s going to be for me to return to work.”

  Taking a step back, Rachel swallowed hard as she found herself cornered between the cabinet and Caelan’s scowling face.

  “I’m sure you’ve got to be getting back to work too. I don’t w-want to be responsible for making you lose your job a-and that rent money’s going to be a b-big help to m-me.”

  Clenching her teeth, Rachel pursed her lips. Damn him for being so silent and being able to make her stammer like some teenager caught out after curfew.

  “Dammit will you say something and stop looking at me like that?!”

  One eye narrowing into a critical squint, Caelan nodded once as though coming to a final resolution of some internal struggle. Grabbing Rachel by both shoulders, he pulled her into his arms and covered her mouth with his own.

  Taken by surprise, Rachel stood completely still, her hands resting flat against his chest. Her mind reeling as her first coherent thought was that Caelan had kissed her like this in her erotic dream.

  Releasing her shoulders, Caelan surrounded her waist with one arm while he cradled the back of her head with his other hand. Tilting her head farther back, he nuzzled her mouth and parted her lips to claim her sweetness with his roving tongue. He pulled her tighter against his chest, grunting in satisfaction as he felt her hands sliding up to tangle her fingers in his hair at the base of his neck.

  Rachel felt as if molten lava was coursing through her veins, her knees weak and her thighs on fire. With just one kiss, Caelan had made her ache with an insatiable need she was ready to be taken right on the kitchen counter.

  Struggling for control, Rachel finally tore her lips from his, pressing the back of her hand against her mouth. Chest heaving as her heart pounded and she gasped for breath, she finally glanced up into his smoldering gaze.

  “Ye’ll not be dismissing me from yer life as easy as that. I’m here to claim ye and I mean to succeed. Ye may think ye’ve had yer fill of men but that was before ye met me.”

  Cradling her chin to raise her face to his, Caelan’s eyes narrowed as he studied her fathomless gaze.

  “Ye will trust me ye will love me and soon we will be as one. I’ve matters I must attend to right now but when I return, we’ll discuss this further and I’ll fix ye a fine supper so that we can relax and have a good long talk.”

  Before she could gather her wits enough to speak, Caelan’s mouth closed on hers once more. This time, a brief kiss a gentle tasting of her lips and then he turned and was out the screen door with traitor Sam at his heels.

  )O(

  Moving deeper into the woods, Caelan listened closely for the low murmuring chant carried to him upon the wind. Emrys was definitely up to something and Caelan meant to find out exactly what. While he’d been busy taking care of Rachel, Emrys had purposely made himself scarce. It was never a good thing when Emrys couldn’t be found or was too quiet it usually meant he was up to something he more than likely should be leaving alone.

  Walking silently over the mossy ground, Caelan raised his finger to his lips as he motioned for Sam to sit. He’d just spotted Emrys and the loyal lab Maizy sitting by the edge of the pond. Crouching low behind a short stand of young cedars sprouting out of a limestone mound, Caelan crept forward until he was lying on his stomach, his head cocked to one side to catch the wizard’s words.

  “Maizy, there be a difficult time ahead.”

  Emrys stared into the water as he absent-mindedly rubbed the lab’s velvety ears. Watching him intently with her golden eyes, Maizy thumped the ground with her ever-wagging tail.

  “He’s not a patient man and he doesna understand the women of this time. He thinks he can just tell her how it’s going to be and then it will be done. The daft idiot doesna realize that Rachel’s beauty has been noticed by men other than him.”

  At this statement, Caelan’s hands slowly clenched into fists, digging into the mossy thin layer of dirt covering the limestone hill. He’d kill any man who dared touch his Rachel. She was his soul mate he’d traveled through time to join with her body and soul.

  Eyes narrowing, he clenched his teeth as he scowled wondering just what tidbit of information Emrys had failed to tell him.

  Emrys barely stirred the waters of the pond with the tip of his seer’s staff. Grunting as the reflection of a dark haired man appeared in the pool, he frowned as he nodded toward the image.

  “That one is going to be a problem and cause our Rachel a great deal of pain. Some things never change with the passing of the centuries; powerful men can either be instruments of great good or weapons of cruelty and unhappiness.”

  Stretching to see the face of the man reflected in the rippling mirror of the pond; Caelan committed to memory the cruel blue eyed gaze. He knew he’d remember that ruthless mouth and jutting chin with no problem the next time he saw it.

  )O(

  Rachel trudged down the driveway in silence, her mind whirling into overdrive at all the jumbled thoughts and emotions coursing through her being. Worried eyes cast to the ground, Rachel didn’t even notice the family of raccoons scurrying across the road only a few feet in front of her. Usually completely in tune with nature, her latest confrontation with Caelan was pushing everything else from her awareness.

  Barely rubbing her fingertips across her lips, she shivered as she remembered the taste of him the feel of his mouth on hers. Shoving her hands back into her pockets, she shook her head as she scuffed the rocks with the toes of her shoes.

  Where had Caelan come from? How in the world had she dreamt of him and then all of a sudden he was there? What did he mean that she was going to love him? That he wouldn’t go back empty handed and the two of them would be one? What kind of man talked like that other than the heroes in her fantasy romance novels?

  Inhaling deeply, Rachel had to admit that Caelan stirred emotions within her that she’d never felt before. She didn’t think she loved him in fact she didn’t think she was capable of loving anyone other than her fickle dog, Sam. She was positive her dysfunctional childhood and disaster of a marriage had cured her of that possibility.

  She lusted for him definitely but there was something more than just the physical urge to tear his clothes off and run her hands and mouth over every wonderful inch of his enticing body. She grudgingly admitted to herself that she found herself looking forward to him just walking into the room. The sound of his voice alone made her heart skip a beat with every lovely Scottish rolling of his rrrrr’s.

  “David cost you a freakin’ mint and was more trouble than he ever came close to being worth.” Frowning, she mumbled under her breath as she pulled her collar up against the quickly cooling evening breeze. Crossing her
arms, she hugged her body as she continued trudging along.

  Thanks to David, she was on the verge of bankruptcy and could even lose the two hundred acres her parent’s will had resentfully left to her since she was their only child. So far, she’d managed to keep the bank and the creditors at bay, by working out extended payment plans and at least sending a little bit of money to each of them every month.

  But she didn’t know how much longer that was going to work, especially since some out of town big wig named Christopher Larkin had set his sights on obtaining her land. A real estate developer, Larkin was ruthless in his never-ending search for more potential acreage gold mines.

  Larkin was well known for ripping away every tree and form of growth upon the land. He was famous for running off all wildlife and ruining their age-old habitats.

  His subdivisions with their cookie cutter houses had already filled up several thousand acres in this end of the state. Her banker had already approached her once, gently wheedling with her about perhaps selling off a hundred acres or so to Larkin as a way to get back on her feet.

  But Rachel had watched Larkin Construction’s raping of the land for so long, the bile rose in her throat at the thought of giving over even a single blade of grass. Two hundred acres might be more than she could handle right now, but at least all of the deer, fox, owls and other woodland creatures would have a sanctuary against his machines for as long as she could hold out. She’d never met the avaricious Mr. Larkin but she looked forward to spitting in his eye if she ever did.

  Shivering as the sun sank even lower behind the hills; Rachel stopped and decided she’d probably better turn back. She couldn’t keep walking down the gravel road forever and the farther she ended up walking down the road than the farther she was going to have to walk back.

  Suddenly realizing how tired she really was, Rachel paused a moment to take in the view. The oranges and reds of the setting sun gently kissed the fresh spring growth pushing its way through the ground. Everywhere she looked there were signs of new life new beginnings with the promise of what was yet to come.

  Taking a deep breath, she felt herself relaxing as the cool evening breeze kissed her cheek and sang to her through the budding branches of the trees. One way or another, everything was going to be all right she wouldn’t consider otherwise.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Caelan ran his finger along the line in the cookbook one more time to ensure he was preparing the baked chicken pie just right. Shaking his head, his eyes narrowed as he inspected the piecrust from every angle. He’d never realized what a complicated task it was to prepare even the simplest of dinners. He thought with reverence of robust Mistress Ellen and bustling Mistress Yvonna and the ease with which they’d prepared meals for some days what was the entire clan.

  The women had seemingly pulled suckling pigs, loaves of bread, savory puddings and baked pies out of thin air without so much as batting an eye. There had always been something wonderful bubbling in the kettle over the kitchen fires just in case the Laird would be needin’ somethin’ for tidin’ him o’er.

  When he got back, he was going to wrap his arms around both the women and tell them just how much he appreciated all the wonderful meals they’d provided over the years.

  Never again would he take Mistress Ellen or Mistress Yvonna for granted, or bellow at them from the head table in the midst of the great hall. He would ensure they both understood just how much they were appreciated just in case he’d taken them a might for granted over the years.

  Sliding the pie carefully into the oven, he straightened at the banging of the broken screen door. Smiling before he even turned around, his senses told him Rachel had entered the room.

  “Sit ye down at the table and I’ll pour ye a bit of mulled wine. It’ll take the chill off.”

  Looping the handles of two mugs with one large hand, Caelan neatly ladled the aromatic liquid from the pot on the back of the stove. Sitting at the table across from Rachel, he set her steaming mug in front of her.

  “Tis a recipe my clan has known for so long that we’ve forgotten where it began. Many a warrior has lost his heart to his maiden over such a mug of wine.”

  His green eyes dark and vibrant with smoldering desire, Caelan watched Rachel closely for her reaction.

  “You have a very unusual way of speaking. Do all Scotsman talk the way you do?” Rachel stared down into the steaming mug, her fingers lightly tracing the rim.

  Sipping his wine, Caelan eyed Rachel over the edge of his mug, carefully considering his next words.

  “I’m not sure about all Scotsman I’m a Highlander and we speak from our hearts.”

  “I’ve always dreamt of going to Scotland. The pictures I’ve seen are beautiful.”

  Rachel hesitantly tasted the liquid in her cup trying to steer the conversation to a safer topic. The warm heady liquid slid smoothly down her throat, surprising her with the aromatic taste left wafting upon her tongue.

  “This is wonderful.” Smiling, she took a deeper drink, inhaling to increase the intensity of the flavor.

  “Aye ’tis wonderful.” Caelan smiled his agreement as he leaned back in his chair.

  He loved the windblown look of Rachel’s raven hair, the unruly tresses framing her delicate face. The breeze and the first few sips of the sweet warm wine, had colored her skin high upon her cheekbones. Her usually brilliantly purple eyes had gone so dark they were nearly ebony. She looked tiny and fragile, like a wild young fawn on its first forage away from its mother.

  He inhaled deeply as he watched her heartbeat pulsing the ivory skin at the base of her throat. His lips twitched as he longed to kiss the spot and warm her blood with his caress. He grunted in aggravation as the buzzing of the timer on the stove, rudely interrupted him from his reverie.

  “What’s for supper?”

  Rachel tried to peer from her place at the table to spy what he had in the oven. The wine was pleasantly warming her stomach and spreading its way through her limbs. Another cup of this relaxing liquid, and she’d be curled up and snoring in the floor.

  “Chicken pie.”

  Caelan frowned as he tapped the crust with his finger, trying to judge from the bubbling holes as to whether the pie was in fact done. “Your wee book said ‘twould be done by this time but I think the crust should be more brown.”

  “That stove is older than I am and the oven has a mind of its own. You’ve got to go more by what the food actually looks like than by what the recipe says. If you want it darker put it back in there for another five minutes. That should do the trick.”

  Propping her chin in her hand, Rachel’s eyes narrowed as she enjoyed the view. The man had to have the nicest ass that she’d had the pleasure of viewing in a while. She had to admit, there wasn’t a part of his body that wasn’t pleasing to the eye.

  She drew a deep breath as she imagined running her hands up that wonderfully muscular back. She swallowed hard as she also imagined raking her fingernails back down it and ended up filling both hands with his beautiful behind.

  Her eyes widened as Caelan turned, catching her in her erotic reverie. Her cheeks flaming, she ducked her head and quickly took another sip of her blood warming wine.

  Immediately picking up on Rachel’s guilty behavior, Caelan rubbed the end of his nose with the back of his hand to hide his smile. He’d been a successful laird for the past fifteen years partly because he was so adept at reading people by their body language. He would show her mercy this time.

  “Why have ye never traveled to Scotland since ye say ye’ve always dreamed of going there?”

  “Money.” Shaking her head, Rachel rose from the table and placed her empty mug in the kitchen sink.

  “A trip to Scotland is a luxury I can’t afford right now but maybe one of these days you never know ” Rinsing out her mug, she stared dreamily out the window as she slowly swished the water in the cup.

  Moving slowly closer as though carefully easing up on unsuspecting prey, Caelan meticulousl
y folded the dishtowel in his hands as he watched Rachel standing at the sink.

  “Ye know ye could always come back to Scotland with Emrys and m’self when it’s time for us to return. I’m sure we could find a way to fund the trip and ye wouldna have to fash yerself about paying for an inn we’ve plenty of rooms in our keep. Ye could stay with us as long as ye like.”

  Rachel braced herself against the sink, her knuckles whitening as her grip tightened. Inhaling deeply, she slowly turned, her eyes narrowing as she carefully chose her words.

  “I appreciate the offer. But I don’t take charity if and when I ever go to Scotland, it will be because I’ve paid my own way.”

  Frowning, Caelan tossed the dishtowel to the table as he closed the distance between them. Placing his hands on the countertop on either side of her body, he effectively trapped her as he leaned closer to her face.

  “Have ye so quickly forgotten what I told ye earlier?”

  His voice was barely above a whisper but his tone was lethally seductive. “I’ve been waiting a verra long time to be with ye. I’m not a patient man. The love and the life I intend to offer ye is in no way charity and ye would do well to remember that when ye think of me.”

  Just as he was claiming her mouth with his, a loud banging shook the screen door leading to the side yard. Mumbling a Gaelic curse under his breath, Caelan pushed himself away from Rachel so she could answer the door.

  Pushing a shaking hand through her hair, Rachel risked a glance at Caelan’s stormy face as she turned toward the door. What was she going to do with this volatile Scotsman who had dropped into her life out of nowhere? She knew what she’d like to do with him and in exactly what position. But the long term effects of Caelan’s presence on her emotions and her libido could be quite dangerous the man could end up being more addictive than meth.

  Smoothing down her shirt, Rachel opened the inner door to find herself staring up into the darkest pair of blue eyes she’d ever seen.