Celtic Knot

by Shannon MacLeod

  Lily giggled. “No, the vision I’m going to have is of you last night, all fierce and scary. You completely terrified me, you know.”

  He heaved a dramatic sigh. “And here’s me thinking those were screams of passion. So it was fear all along, then? I’m obviously not doing something right. Mayhap I should take up reading, too.”

  Laughing, she said, “I think you’re perfect just like you are.”

  “I’m far from perfect, love, although I did find what was left of that lace thing you were wearing and I did perfectly destroy that,” he said. “I’ll buy you a new one. Or maybe several. Yes, several,” he decided, “one in every color so the floor will look like it’s covered in lace confetti.”

  “Mmm…sounds like a plan,” she said. “I love you.”

  “I love you too, my sweetheart,” he said softly.

  * * * *

  The small scarlet-haired woman awoke with trepidation. She spent the morning walking the estate grounds in troubled solitude and the afternoon staring sightlessly out the window of her study. Hunger eluded her all day and she only picked at her dinner, waving the tray away after only a few bites.

  Retiring to her suite, she opened a dresser drawer and pulled out a silk pouch containing a shallow black stone bowl. She placed it on the table near French doors that opened onto a balcony adorned with planters. Taking a decanter of clear water from the windowsill, she filled the bowl to the rim then sat in front of it and took a deep breath to relax. Her bright blue eyes lost their focus and gradually, figures began to appear in the surface tension. She recoiled in horror, watching the scene play out in the reflection before her.

  When the images faded away, she rose and took the bowl onto the balcony to water the brightly colored blooms, murmuring a quiet prayer of gratitude. She returned the bowl to its hiding place, picked up her embroidery and settled down to wait for the urgent phone call she knew was coming any minute.

  * * * *

  Lily awoke before the alarm went off, keenly missing the strong arm that wasn’t holding her close to a large, warm body. Shaking off the longing, she reached for her bag to draw a card. “Now there’s a rousing endorsement to stay in bed the rest of the day,” she muttered, shivering at the frightening image of the tall Tower being struck by lightning, bodies being cast off into the darkness of the storm by the impact. Sudden and irrevocable loss. She got up anyway, displacing a very disgruntled Bella, who was not eager for her to get up and take the warmth with her.

  She showered quickly before she chickened out and chose the dress that best would show off her new necklace. Part of her hoped Lucas wouldn’t be there, but another part of her wanted to get the showdown over and done with. She sent Ian a text in case he wasn’t up yet that said simply, thinking of you

  Hardly a minute had passed before she got his response.

  thinking of you too beautiful lady

  When Lily arrived at work, she was relieved to see Lucas’s blue SUV absent from the parking lot. She also noticed that the pile of folders on her desk had spent the weekend breeding because their number had tripled since she left the office on Friday.

  Janice was the first to notice her necklace and squealed with delight. “Oh, honey, it’s gorgeous. When do we get to meet him?”

  Lily shrugged, uncomfortable. “Soon, I’m sure,” she said.

  Irena interrupted their conversation. “If there’s anything ya’ll need me to do this morning, let me know now. I’m leaving for my doctor’s appointment at eleven.” Her gaze flickered over Lily, stopping at the necklace. She didn’t comment, but her eyes gleamed with undisguised jealousy.

  Lucas did not make an appearance all morning, but Lily stayed busy and barely noticed. She sent Ian several texts, all of which were quickly returned. When asked what he was working on, he responded with a cell phone picture high overlooking the Castle grounds.

  almost finished, great view from up here

  Lily fired back immediately.

  please be careful, I need you in one piece

  She could just picture his cheeky grin when he answered.

  which piece?

  You are a wicked man, Ian Kelly, she thought, feeling the heat creep into her cheeks again. I’ve blushed more in the last month than I have in my entire lifetime.

  Lily didn’t want to work through lunch, but knew she would have to take drastic steps to reduce the pending files dumped in her inbox. Janice went to lunch at noon, promising to hurry back.

  … Sudden and irrevocable loss…

  Of course, as soon as both of her co-workers left, Lily got swamped, but when Janice returned a short time later they managed to clear both the office and the calls on hold in record time. Once the frantic burst of activity had settled down again, Lily opened the bag and dug into the cooling cheeseburger and fries Janice had brought her.

  “I was so hungry. Thank you,” she said between bites. “So where’s Lucas today?”

  “I don’t know. He called before we opened this morning and said he wouldn’t be in today.” Janice’s phone lit up and she caught it before the second ring. “Bell Insurance,” she said brightly then listened for a moment. “Don’t worry about it. Thanks for letting us know.” She replaced the receiver. “That was Irena. She’s still waiting, hasn’t seen the doctor yet.”

  …lightning…

  Irena returned just after three, complaining to anyone who would listen about her doctor visit. “They act like you got nothing better to do than sit and wait on them,” she said with a sniff. “My appointment was supposed to be at noon and they kept me waiting for hours.”

  An hour later, Lily’s cell phone vibrated noisily, the caller ID reading Ian cell. Stepping outside the front door for privacy, she answered with a smile in her voice.

  “Hi, sweeth–”

  Dan’s deep male voice cut her off. “Meet us at the hospital. There’s been an accident.”

  20

  Lily hit the entrance doors of the emergency room at a full run, glancing wildly around the waiting area for a familiar face. Dan came out a door marked No Admittance a few minutes later, looking tired and haggard. “I’m glad you’re here,” he whispered, pulling her into a quick hug. “Right now we don’t know much of anything other than he’s breathing. Meg’s back there with him now.”

  The room spun as Lily fought to stay upright. “What happened, Dan?”

  “He was working in that damn harness all day. He’s always so careful. He checks those ropes constantly. I don’t know how this could have happened,” he muttered, wringing his hands.

  Lily tugged him down to take a seat beside her. “How what happened, Dan?” she asked again, placing her hand on his.

  “His rope snapped. He must have fallen eighteen, maybe twenty feet. Reef got to him first, said he wasn’t conscious. He called 911…there’s Meghan,” he said, jumping to his feet.

  Meg looked terrible, pale. “They just came and took him. They’re doing some class of brain scan or something. Nobody’s telling me much of anything…” Dan opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off with a fierce shake of her head. “No, he’s still not awake,” she said, bursting into tears. “They keep shining that flashlight in his eyes and he don’t flinch or nothing. It’s like he’s not even in there.”

  Dan immediately wrapped his big arms around her. “There now, love, cry all you want out here but not back there where he can hear you,” he crooned, rocking her back and forth. He guided her to the seat next to Lily and held her while she sobbed into his chest.

  This is all has a big mistake, Lily thought, biting her lip to keep it from trembling. I just talked to him last night. We texted earlier today. He has to be all right. Any minute he’s going to come walking out and wonder why everyone’s freaking out. Fifteen minutes had passed–an eternity in Lily’s eyes–before a nurse came to the double doors. “Kelly?”

  Dan motioned with his head toward the door. “You go,” he said. “We’ll stay here.”

  Lily gulped and nodde
d, and walked quickly to the security door where the nurse waited to lead her to an examination room. Pushing back the privacy curtain, Lily bit back a cry of dismay as hot tears sprang to her eyes and spilled onto her cheeks. Ian lay very still, draped in a sheet and hooked up to so many flashing and humming machines it was dizzying. His face was bloodless, his lips pale, his chest barely moved as he took the oxygen in shallow breaths. She quickly swiped at her face before leaning over to speak directly in his ear. “Ian? It’s Lily, sweetheart. Please wake up.”

  There was no response. She squeezed his hand but when she let go, it fell limply to the bed. Dragging the chair up next to the bed she sat and took his hand again. “I’m right here, mo chuisle,” she said, smoothing back his hair, and murmuring soft encouragements. Before long, the curtain opened again, admitting a somber doctor in his early sixties.

  Meg followed close on his heels, her jaw set firm and determined. “Lily, this is Dr. Thorne, our family physician. Lily is Ian’s…fiance,” Meg explained, shooting her a definite you-just-keep-your-mouth-closed-missy look.

  Dr. Thorne nodded in greeting. “The MRI and CT scans aren’t back yet,” he said, his quiet voice colored with a hint of brogue, “but nothing appears broken in the preliminary x-rays. Good on him, that he’s as healthy and fit as he is, but being unconscious this long has me concerned.” He scanned through the information on the chart then looked down at his watch and frowned. “I wonder what the holdup is,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”

  When the doctor left, Lily arched an eyebrow. “Fiance?” She kept her face blank, not wanting to give away how right the word sounded to her.

  Meg shrugged. “Feel free to interpret that any way you like.” She left to go report to Dan, leaving the privacy screen swaying in her wake.

  Once again alone with the patient, she decided a new tactic was in order. “Marcus Ian Kelly, this has gone on quite long enough. Wake up,” she said briskly. “You’re scaring the living daylights out of me and that’s just plain wrong. Not to mention your poor sister is having kittens out in the hall and Dan’s going to twist his own hands off worrying about you.” When those sharp words got no reaction, her bravado fled and the tears threatened again. “Please, sweethe–oh,” Lily cried out when Ian’s hand twitched in hers. He turned his head toward her voice and his unfocused eyes cracked open. His gaze flickered around the room before they closed again.

  “Oh, no you don’t.” Lily reached for the call button and pressed it until she heard footsteps approaching at a run. Flanked by two nurses, Dr. Thorne yanked the curtain back and went into action.

  Ian’s eyes were dull and confused. He opened his mouth to speak, but when no sound came out he blinked and shuddered. He tried again and Lily had just made out the word cold when his entire body began to shake violently. “Get some warmed blankets in here,” the doctor barked and the nurses scrambled to comply. Within minutes, the shivering subsided and Ian was resting more comfortably. Meg rejoined them a moment later, holding her hand over her mouth to keep the silent sobs of relief from escaping.

  Dr. Thorne spoke loudly. “Ian, do you know who I am?”

  Ian stared at him for a long, tense moment before a flicker of recognition crossed his face. “Thorne,” he whispered.

  “What day is it?”

  “A bad one,” he mouthed, closing his eyes again.

  The doctor patted him on the hand. “Stay with us, now. Do you remember falling?”

  Ian tried to shake his head and moaned. Dr. Thorne checked his pupils again. “Severe concussion at the very least,” he told Meg. “I want to keep him overnight for observation. There’s a risk of seizure with head injuries. He needs a close watch.”

  Ian frowned and with a monumental effort rasped out, “Home.”

  “No. You’re staying right here until the doctor says you can leave.” Meg’s face softened as she leaned over to kiss her brother on the forehead. “So you’ll be behaving yourself and do as he says.”

  “I’ll be here to keep you company,” Lily said, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze.

  “Why don’t you run home and get into some more comfortable clothes? Take Dan with you. I’ll stay and get this one settled in,” Meg said.

  Lily leaned over and gave him a light kiss on the lips. “I’ll be back in just a few minutes, handsome man.”

  Ian managed a weak smile and closed his eyes.

  * * * *

  By the time they returned to the hospital, Ian had been moved to a spacious private room with a couch and two chairs. The machines hummed quietly as they monitored blood pressure and respiration, the oxygen a steady hiss in the background. Ian rested peacefully in the dimly lit room. Meg sat vigil in the chair next to him, her hand resting on his arm while she watched the muted TV.

  “How is he?” Lily whispered.

  Ian’s drug glazed eyes fluttered open at the sound of her voice. “Hi,” he mouthed weakly.

  Relief flooded over her. Unthinking, she ran to the bed and gave him a fierce hug. When he let out a moan, she jumped back in horror and the apologies tumbled out. “Sorry, oh, God. I’m so sorry. Where does it hurt?”

  He grimaced and haltingly spoke. “S’okay. Faster to…say where…doesn’t hurt.”

  Dan gave him a wide grin and said, “Anything to get out of playing golf, eh?”

  Ian tried to smile, but it came out more of a wince and he closed his eyes again from the effort.

  “He goes in and out a bit,” said Meg. “Doctor said he might be doing it for a day or so.”

  “Ta me go maith,” Ian mumbled.

  “No, dear. You’re most assuredly not fine.” Meg said patiently, patting his hand.

  Ian turned an adoring, puppy-dog-eyed gaze up to Lily. “You are so…beautiful.” He closed his eyes again. “Tooo meeee,” he sang softly, then giggled.

  “Hush, fool. You are beautiful, dear, but he’s a bit loopy right now. They gave him something for the pain,” Meg told them. “He took a hard jolt to the brain, so it’ll take a little while for it to start working properly again. In the meantime,” she said in a louder voice for Ian’s benefit, “he’s to stay quiet and rest.”

  Ian opened his eyes to look at his sister, crossed them comically and closed them again. Meg pinched his cheek affectionately. “Aw, would you look at that now, hovering at death’s door not two hours ago and he's still acting the maggot.”

  Ian made a small snuffling sound that might have been laughter. “You…call Ma?” he asked softly.

  Meg nodded. “She already knew.”

  “How could she have known?” Lily looked from Ian to Dan to Meg, puzzled.

  “Our mother’s very…intuitive,” Meg answered before her full attention was captured by something under her fingernail. Dan snorted, drawing a fierce scowl from the little redhead.

  Ian shifted under the crisp hospital sheets. “Scrying with…black bowl,” he whispered.

  I’m sorry. Your mother does what? Lily immediately decided to file that tidbit away to digest later.

  Ian spoke again. “Is Ma coming?” He smiled faintly when Meg shook her head. “Must mean…I’m going…to live, then.”

  When visiting hours were over, Meg and Dan departed with assurances they would return first thing in the morning. Lily gave Ian’s hand a squeeze. “Looks like it’s just you and me for now. Or maybe just me,” she added when she got no response. Ian drifted in and out of sleep throughout the evening and Lily experienced a great rush of relief every time his eyes opened. A few minutes after midnight, the nurse came in and smiled appreciatively at the attractive man in the bed. Ian watched her check his vitals and update his chart with a detached interest. When she caught Lily looking at her with raised eyebrows, she flushed and was once again all business. “Is there anything I can get for you?” she asked.

  Ian’s voice was weak but his tone was hopeful. “Food?”

  The young nurse checked the chart and shook her head. “Sorry, clear liquids only. Think you’d like some c
hicken broth?” At his nod, she grinned. “I’ll be right back,” she said, darting from the room.

  Alone again, Ian turned his gaze to Lily. “I know…a secret,” he whispered. “You’re jealous.”

  “I don’t share well, either, it seems.” She smiled, trailing a fingertip across his cheek.

  The nurse was back in minutes with a steaming mug full of the aromatic broth. Ian drank it through a straw then fell asleep almost at once. Lily dozed off soon after, curled up in the chair beside the bed.

  When she jerked awake a few hours later, a fast survey of the room told her why. Speaking solely in Irish, Ian lay whispering to the empty chair on the other side of the bed. He paused for a moment as if listening then spoke again in the same hushed tones. I wonder what he’s dreaming about. Lily yawned before slipping back into sleep.

  * * * *

  Early the next morning, Dr. Thorne and Meg arrived at Ian’s room at the same time. Lily was already up and moving around, and Ian was awake but groggy. “How’re you feeling, lad?” the kindly doctor said, giving Ian’s shoulder a reassuring pat.

  “Better,” Ian said. “Still hurts, though.”

  “You took a bad fall, but it’s never the fall so much as it is the sudden stop at the end. How’s the head, then?” he asked, shining his penlight into Ian’s pupils. Ian shook his head and grimaced at the intense brightness.

  The doctor skimmed over Ian’s chart then turned to address Meg and Lily. “The MRI and the CT scan both came back negative, but I don’t feel comfortable releasing him just yet.”

  Ian sighed. “I’m not going home today. I’m going home tomorrow.”

  Meg laughed. “And just how would you be knowing that, Doctor Kelly?”

  “Grandmother told me,” he yawned, his eyes closing sleepily.

  Meg’s smile went from genuine to forced in record time. She and the doctor shot each other a dubious look. “What else did she say?” Meg asked cautiously.

  Ian mumbled something incoherent as Dr. Thorne leaned over to Meg and whispered, “Didn’t she…”

  “Yes,” Meg whispered back, “several years ago.”