by Sarah Hoss
When she began to cry, he gripped her gently by the arms to still her, then placed a finger below her chin to make her look at him. His eyes searched her face. This beautiful woman was worried about his well-being. She had enough to handle without him being a burden, too.
Brushing the back of his fingers across her cheek, he spoke. “Doona cry, lass. As ye said, I’m all right. Together, we are going to be all right.”
A tear slid down her cheek and she leaned in, wrapping her arms around his waist and laying her head on his chest. He stood there, holding her, letting her have her cry. She needed to let it out. So much had happened to her and she’d been trying to be strong this whole time.
She leaned back out of his arms for a moment and peered up at him. She was beautiful. Her long black hair, the expression in her chocolate-colored eyes, and the rich color of her skin made her seem so exotic compared to the people of Scotland or anyone he had ever met. Sometimes he couldn’t stop staring at her.
“Thank you for what you did for me.”
He wanted to kiss her, to ease the pain in her heart, and erase the fear in her eyes. His lips touched hers and he felt her sigh into him as she responded. It was full of emotion and reassurances. Their lips parted and he gently touched his tongue to hers, tasting her. She was everything he had dreamt of and he let himself explore her mouth. She was as eager as he was. After a moment, she pulled back.
“We need to go. We have no idea if anyone followed us or not.”
She was right. He had to get her to safety. He grabbed her hand, unlocked the bathroom door, and led the way back to the car. He opened the door on the left side and waited for her to climb in, searching the area as he did. Something caught his eye and he stood still, staring at it. Closing the door, he walked around the car and headed to the sidewalk. There stood a large wooden frame with the information on the house he stood in front of. Mount Pleasant was beautiful and had been built by a man named James Macpherson.
After quickly reading the board, he turned to stare at the house. It stood proud—white brick with red brick trimming the edges and around the windows. A cement base with windows lined the bottom requiring a person to climb six steps to reach the front door. A chimney peeked up from the roof on each side. Standing on each side of the house, about thirty feet of separation, stood smaller but identical houses for the help, one for the men and one for the women, according to the information.
The mansion was beautiful sitting on its manicured lawn. James Macpherson was said to be a Scottish sea captain and an American patriot. He was born in 1726 and died in 1792. Hamish read about his life and marveled.
“Hamish, we have to go.” The car door opened and Gillian got out. “What’s wrong?”
He felt her hand rest upon his shoulder and turned to look at her.
Pointing, he said, “Look.”
They both turned at the same time to read the sign.
“1726, Gillian. When I was in Scotland, this man wasn’t even born yet and here I am, now, in yer time, and he’s been dead for two hundred and twenty-one years.”
He reached out to touch the picture of James Macpherson and his hand was shaking. He’d been having a hard time wrapping his brain around the thought of being here in the first place but to see this, to see it laid out for him in such a manner amazed him and if he was honest, scared him.
“Hamish, sweetie, we have to go.” She glanced back over her shoulder. “Let’s discuss this in the car.” She grabbed his hand and led him to the taxi.
Sitting in the car, he glanced back out the window to the house as they pulled out of the circle.
“Hey, are you all right?”
She tugged on his sleeve and he turned to look at her. His eyes searched her face. He’d come to know her, but this world of hers he just wasn’t sure about. The car they rode in turned a corner and he watched the scenery fly by out the window past her head.
He found her eyes again and smiled, trying to reassure her. “I will be. It’s just . . . Once in a while, where I am hits me like a slap in the face.”
Chapter 12
Reaching into her pocket, Gillian grabbed her phone and dialed information, asking for the number of the store that sold her the spell.
The phone rang three times before someone picked up.
“The Four Corners, how may I help you?”
“Um, yes. Is this the owner?”
“Yes, my name is Shelly.”
She wiggled her eyebrows at Hamish. “I’m Gillian. I was in your store around Halloween. Two men were chasing me and you hid me.” She placed a finger at her lips and nibbled on her nail waiting for a response.
“Yes, Gillian. Are you all right?”
She heard the soft Celtic music through the phone and for some reason it soothed her.
“Well, I’m not sure. I did everything you said to do for the spell and it worked, in a way.”
“What do you mean?”
She swallowed. “It sent me a man from the past.”
Silence on the other end.
“Are you there?”
“Yes. This isn’t possible. I only gave you a simple protection spell. It was to be like a cloak.”
“Well, it cloaked me, all right. I watched a six-foot-six-inch, three hundred pounds of raw muscle come to me in my living room out of thin air.”
“I’m going to close the store for the day. Meet me here as soon as you can.”
“Thanks.” She closed her cell phone and relayed the plan. “I’m hoping she can give me a spell and we can send you back.”
“But what about ye? I canna just leave ye here to be murdered by those men.”
She scooted closer to him and laid her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and held her. And for a moment, peace fell over her. She didn’t want him to go either. But he didn’t belong here.
“I’ll go somewhere and hide out. Move completely away if I have to, but I promise, I’ll be okay.”
They rode to the store in silence. She imagined he was as lost in his thoughts as she was. She kept telling herself this was a good idea but was having a hard time convincing herself it was true. He’d invaded her life and in the process protected her from danger; winning her heart, while feeling lost and alone in a world that he knew nothing about.
She knew he felt a duty toward her, but she also knew he missed his time, his home, and his family. If there was even a remote possibility that he had feelings for her, this plan would have never come to be and she would be finding some way to hide out with him. But the possibility of that was slim to none and she knew what she had to do.
When the front of the store came into view and the cab parked, she sat up, sad. She didn’t want him to go. She stared at the store, felt his thigh touching hers, and she was torn. When the cab driver turned and asked her if she was getting out, she nodded. Handing him the fare, she opened the door, climbed out, and waited while he came around to stand beside her. Shelly opened the door and waved at them to come in.
Grabbing his hand, she glanced up at him and took a deep breath. “Let’s go see about getting you home.”
Hamish listened intently as the two women talked, eager to hear and understand how all of this happened.
The store owner studied him for a moment, clearly appreciating what she saw, then focusing back on Gillian. She leaned in and whispered something, causing Gillian to turn and look him up and down. He understood enough to get the meaning of the hidden comment. He shifted his stance uncomfortably.
“Ladies, might we focus on the task at hand?” he asked, then winked at them.
Gillian held one of her hands out as the woman put a sack into it, then filled it with colored candles. “I want you to place the candles in the exact order as the last time. Remember?”
Gillian
nodded.
“I want both of you to meditate in the circle. Focus on the goal of getting him home. Neither one of you can leave the circle until the task is completed. If you do, you will have to start all over again the next day. No casting the same spell in the same night.”
He took a few steps to join them and placed his arm around Gillian’s waist. She glanced up at him and smiled, warming his heart. He wondered if she felt the same uncertainty he did at this moment?
Would the spell work? Also, as much as he missed his family and wanted to go home, he was becoming attached to this woman and there was a part of him that didn’t want to leave her. Especially under the circumstance she was in.
“Say the words exactly as I have written. Once the spell has been cast and he has gone back, I want you to burn the paper the spell is written on and take the ashes outside to the wind.”
Gillian hugged the store owner. “Thank you for so much.”
“Oh, well, it’s my pleasure. I hope it works.”
Shelly walked over and hugged him. “It’s a pleasure to have met you.”
“Aye, and it is my pleasure as well.” He grabbed her hand and lifted it to his lips for a gentle kiss.
Gillian nudged him in the side. “We need to go.”
“Aye.”
Saying their goodbyes, they walked out of the store and hailed a cab. She turned to him. “Ready?”
“For what?”
She chuckled. “For everything.”
Antonio stood and watched. His side ached and he stretched slightly, trying to ease the bandages. He turned the coin over and over in his left hand as he concentrated. Gillian and her large companion got into a cab and drove off, his eyes trailing them until they were out of sight. Soon Blackbird, very soon.
His men standing at the car were ready to get in and follow them. He, ever so slightly, shook his head no. He had something else he wanted to do first. He focused on the store across the street. He needed to know the layout before he entered and found himself in a trap. She had gone in there and he wanted to know why.
Checking traffic, he crossed the street. Opening the door, he was greeted by a strong smell of incense and Celtic music.
A bell rang over the door and a woman stood up from behind the counter. She was pretty, he noted, with flaming red hair that fell well past her bra-line and bright green eyes. She smiled back at him, until his two other men stepped through the door behind him. Though she kept her smile, it had faded quickly.
“I’m sorry gentleman, but as you can see,” she pointed to the sign on the door, “the store is closed.”
He strolled, as if he had all the time in the world, over to the counter. Picking up a trinket, he examined it. She appeared to be someone that he might be able to use his charm on, but he was smart enough to know what kind of store he stood in and he took nothing for granted.
He would try smooth first. “My friends and I apologize. I’m not here to purchase anything; I only want to ask you a question.”
He watched as she eyed all three of them and he gave her credit for standing her ground. If she was afraid, she didn’t show it.
“What can I help you with?” She focused her attention back on him.
“There was a man and a woman that just left your store and I wanted to know if you could tell me where they went?”
Crossing her arms over her chest, she asked, “Why would I do that?”
“You see, I own a restaurant in town. Two days ago, they ate dinner there and left something. I didn’t know what to do with it. When I saw them just now, I thought maybe you could help me find them.”
“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t know where they live. I only had interaction with them when they came into the store.”
She began to take bags out of a box and place them on a shelf behind her. To be disrespected like that burned him. She brushed him off as if he didn’t matter. Women were all the same.
He pulled out a pistol and cocked the hammer. She paused in her task, turned, and stared straight into his eyes.
“Gentleman, you don’t frighten me. If you’re going to kill me, then go ahead, but I will not give you the information you seek for I don’t have it. All I gave her was a spell, just like I did the first time she came in here. She paid in cash. I don’t know her address or anything else.”
He watched her for a moment, just as her cell phone rang. The screen flashed HOME. “You know, I just don’t believe you.” He pulled the trigger and the look of surprise that crossed her face disappeared as she fell.
He turned to his men. “Make it look like a robbery,” then he grabbed her cell phone and left out the back door. “I’ve got some investigating to do.”
Chapter 13
Gillian hands worked the steering wheel of her car as they headed out of town two hours later. The radio was on and she tried to use the song that was playing as a distraction, but it wasn’t working. She had so many emotions running through her. She couldn’t imagine how Hamish was handling all of this.
She stole a glance and found him staring at her. “What?”
He twisted in his seat a little. “Tell me what ye are thinking. I can see ye are troubled.”
“Hamish, really.” She reached over and turned the volume down on the radio. “Aren’t you thinking about the same thing I am? What are the chances that the spell will work and we can get you home?” She glanced over at him.
She took a deep breath and let it out, focusing back on the road. “I don’t understand it,” she said as she shrugged. “I’ve seen this stuff work first hand, but I still don’t understand it.”
She licked her lips in thought. Looking briefly at him one more time, she asked, “What are you thinking?”
Through her peripheral vision, she watched as he adjusted himself in his seat and tried to loosen the seat belt.
“I doona know what I think sometimes. Most of the time, this seems to be a dream. The things I have seen. They doona seem possible. Yet, here I am and I know it is real.”
She made a left turn onto the highway and got into the right lane. “I owe you an apology.”
“For what may I ask?”
She gave an irritated sigh. “For everything. For bringing you here is a good place to start. For another, how about involving you in my mess?” She glanced at him again. “But I think, most importantly, for wallowing in my own self-pity and not really talking to you about what you’re going through.” She reached out and laid her right hand over his left one that rested on the seat between them. “I’m sorry.”
He grabbed hers and held it, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Doona be sorry. It’s not as if ye did it on purpose.”
They drove in silence and he continued to hold her hand and she was grateful for the comfort he offered.
After about twenty minutes, he stirred. “Might I ask where we’re going?”
She released her hand from his, gripping the steering wheel again. The scent of her air freshener tickled her nose, making the interior of the car smell like fresh linen. She rolled down the window, letting the wind blow her hair and the sound of the passing traffic serenade her.
“We’re going to my father’s house in Oklahoma. I need to get out of the city and away from them. I need to be able to think without looking over my shoulder.”
“But we doona have any provisions or clothes.”
She turned slightly to look him up and down as he sat beside her. “Speaking of clothes, where did you get yours?” Not that she was complaining. He looked fabulous in twenty-first-century clothes, like he’d just walked out of an American Eagle ad or something.
“After you left, I decided I had to find ye. I also knew I couldna go out in my kilt. So when I saw a man walking toward the building, I inquired about his clothes. Told him mine were lost
and he blamed it on the airport. He loaned me his.”
She nodded. “Very well done, sir.” She took one more peek at him before focusing back on the highway. “I packed a small bag for us. As for the other stuff, I have some cash on me and I can get more. I’ll get us what we need.”
“Yer father.”
She giggled when she saw his face grimace at the thought.
“He’s a good man. You have nothing to be afraid of.”
He turned toward her and she felt his eyes on her. “What will ye tell him?”
They stared at each other for a moment. “The truth.”
He stared back out the front window. “That’s what I was afraid of.”
Chapter 14
As the sun rose through the trees, the sky turned a radiant shade of colors from pink, orange, to a vibrant blue. Billowy clouds filled the sky like cotton balls. Sitting crossed-legged on the prairie floor, Gillian meditated all morning. Her heart and soul searched for answers. This was her way and for too long she’d lived in the city and not practiced her beliefs. The only sounds on her walk back to the farm were the symphony of the birds around her.
Her father greeted her as she stepped through the barn doors.
“Osiyo, E-do-da.” She smiled at him. He was all she had left. Her mother had died of a heart attack three years past and her parents had never been blessed with any more children after Gillian’s birth.
“Father, I need to talk to you.”