Distracted By The Highlander: A Scottish Time Travel Romance (Highlander Forever Book 4)

by Rebecca Preston

  "These are barely firearms…"

  "Sure, but they could still do a lot of damage if they went off in the wrong direction. Those iron filings move fast."

  "You're right." Elena nodded. "Besides, it'd get them out from under Oliver's feet, too." They were standing in the stables — Oliver had just almost tripped over a well-meaning guard who'd brought him another armful of fuel for the forge. The quiet blacksmith was being patient, but they could tell that he was tense from the set of his shoulders and how quiet his voice had gotten.

  So Elena began drilling the men in gun safety in the courtyard. They were all very eager to sign up for her classes — especially with Anna's urging. The pint-sized soldier had clearly earned the respect of the men of the guard… it might have something to do with the fact that she could beat any one of them in a sword fight, according to Liam. He was helping Oliver out in the forge, the only accepted assistant… but Kay could tell he was itching to get out and fight the wisps.

  Later that night, a group of guard went out to keep an eye on the wisp population, worried that they'd strike at the herds again. This time, after what they'd seen that morning, each one of them stopped by the forge to fill their pockets with iron filings to throw if the wisps got close. Kay couldn't help but smile at that — something she'd done, an idea she'd had, was now actively keeping the men safe. She watched them ride off toward the village, already splitting up into the pairs they'd be guarding in, hoping that the iron would be enough to keep them safe.

  And it was. The men returned before breakfast the next morning, ebullient with success. Just as they'd predicted — she got the story out of one particularly excitable guard whose hands were still covered in the dust of the rusted iron filings he'd been throwing — the wisps were on the hunt again, clearly hungry in the wake of their considerable losses at Kay's hands. They'd come out of the forests, determined to snag a cow or two for a meal — but the guards, with pockets full of iron, had not only driven them back, but actually killed half a dozen or so. It was clear that there were more in the swamp, and that this was still an interim measure… but Kay couldn't help but smile at how high morale was among the men. There was a feeling of being in motion, a sense of progress that was only improved when she headed down to the blacksmith's to check on Oliver.

  "Have you been working all night?" she said blankly, staring at the man. He looked tired, but still composed, dark circles under his eyes as he took a brief break from working on the forge.

  "Aye," he said simply. "I felt the need. If the guards are riding out so soon, the more time I can give them to practice with the weapons and grow familiar with them, the better."

  "You're amazing," Kay said, smiling at the man. "Please get some rest tonight, though."

  "I will," he said with a soft smile. "Now, I suppose you're here for a progress report? I've made five so far, and I think progress should speed up over the next few days. I'm confident that we'll have twenty by the time the men ride out in a couple of days' time."

  "That's brilliant," she said softly. Twenty blunderbusses… would it be enough? It would have to be, she told herself firmly. Even one would make a huge difference, and twenty? This was going to be a successful hunting trip. Now all she needed to do was make sure that she'd be there, too….

  "We're going too, right?" she demanded of Elena and Anna later that afternoon. The three of them were having lunch — Nancy had dropped by briefly to check in, but she was too busy to stay with them. She was keeping a sharp eye on proceedings — Kay had a suspicion that she was interested in the capabilities of the blacksmith to invent more futuristic devices. It was common knowledge among the women that she sorely missed SCUBA diving... but there'd be time to explore those possibilities later. For now, the focus was on the impending attack.

  "I'd like to see them try and stop us," Anna said with a grin. She'd been assisting Elena in training the men in firearm safety all morning, and Kay could tell she was enjoying the work. She'd been a drill instructor back home, and it was clear that she'd missed it. "I'm not interested in being on the front lines, but they'll need people to manage ammunition — I've suggested to Donal that that be our role."

  Kay nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. How are the guards going with the training?"

  "Some better than others," Elena said with a grimace. "Some of them are getting it just fine, but others are struggling to realize that you're just not meant to point a loaded gun at anyone's face…"

  "Give them a break." Anna chuckled. "This is all brand new to them. They didn't grow up around guns like we did."

  "Always treat a gun as if it's loaded, right?" Kay said, thinking back to what her father had told her when she was a girl. "Even if you know for a fact that it isn't."

  "Yes. And only put your finger on the trigger when you're getting ready to shoot… that one's tough for these guys. The archers are better at it, actually. They seem to understand that you don't nock an arrow until you're ready to shoot, and that logic carries across, but still…" Elena sighed. "It's alright. They're rough, but they'll be trained enough to fight the wisps in a few days."

  "They'll have to be." Anna shrugged. "That's the long and the short of it. If we can't get rid of these wisps for good, we're in trouble. The villagers can't afford to lose any more of their herds… or their people."

  "I'm worried about them going after Maggie again," Kay said softly.

  Anna snorted laughter. "Worried about them, or worried about Maggie?"

  "Oh, them. They're all going to wind up in the Loch if they tangle with her again."

  The three of them laughed — a welcome tension break. Kay couldn't help but smile to herself as she looked around at these women. She'd never have thought she'd find such close friends in such a strange place… but she wouldn't have given them up for the world.

  Chapter 57

  The days wore on. During the days, Liam was busy with the weapons — helping build them, helping test the ones they'd made already, and assisting the eager guards in learning how to use them. But during the nights, his attention was squarely on Kay. They were spending a lot of time together — they'd eat together, then spend long evenings talking in the dining hall, or wandering around the castle together, hand in hand. It was rather sweet… but she had to admit, she was a little confused about what he was up to.

  On the last night before the attack was planned, he brought her an enormous bouquet of flowers he'd picked outside the castle walls. She took a deep breath of the sweet-scented flowers, pleased despite herself… then she sighed, pinning him with a helpless look.

  "Liam, what are you doing?"

  He blinked, clearly a little taken aback by the question. "What am I doing? What do you mean?"

  "I mean — all of this. The presents, the surprises… the other night you even sang to me. It's not that I don't appreciate any of it, but… but what are you doing?"

  He ducked his head, clearly a little taken aback by her frank questioning… and she felt a pang of guilt in her belly, worried that she'd offended him somehow. "Courting you," he said blankly, as though that should have been obvious.

  She sighed, putting the flowers on her bedside table — he'd even brought them in a vase, ready to display.

  "You don't… you don't have to court me, Liam. I'm — I'm courted. You've caught me," she said with a grin at the pun… but Liam didn't seem to think it was funny. He was gazing at her, frowning a little, clearly not convinced.

  "I feel like I'm losing you," he said softly. "You're one of the best things that's ever happened to me, Kay. I don't know how to tell you how much I admire you, how much I adore you, how beautiful you are to me. But I can't help but feel that you don't feel the same way. I'm just trying to… to keep your interest, I suppose."

  She almost laughed… but she forced the instinct down, not wanting to embarrass him any further. This vulnerable side to him was incredibly endearing… she hadn't seen much of this version of Liam, and she didn't want to scare it away. So ge
ntly, she reached out and took his hand in hers, finding his eyes. "Liam, you have more than my interest. You have… you have my respect, my admiration, my sincere affection. I just… it's hard for me to do this kind of thing," she said helplessly, gesturing around the room. "We have such different ideas of romance. You're not losing me. I just…" She took a deep breath. "When you started talking about marriage… it scared me."

  "Scared you?" He frowned, clearly taken aback. "I thought you'd be glad that I was taking this seriously. Taking our — our relationship seriously. That I wasn't some man who was going to use you then cast you away…"

  "It doesn't really work like that where I'm from," she said frankly, raising an eyebrow at the rather unpleasant metaphor. "Women aren't… ripe pieces of fruit that can be used up. Do you think that I've taken something away from you by having sex with you? Devalued you?"

  "No, but —"

  "Then why would you think that you've devalued me?" She sighed. "Marriage isn't something we start talking about a few weeks into a relationship, that's all. And I know it's different here, and I really am trying to readjust my thinking, but… I'm just going to need time, that's all. Is that okay?"

  "So long as you still — want me," he said simply, spreading his hands.

  Kay sighed. "Of course I still want you, you idiot. Look at you. I've wanted you since we met. I tried very hard to stop wanting you when we had that fight, and even then, I couldn't. I just… I just need to think a bit more about marriage, that's all."

  He seemed satisfied with that, a broad smile spreading across his face when she admitted to how much she liked him… and then he cleared his throat. "So. This thinking that you have to do… do you need to do it by yourself, here?"

  "Not really," she said, raising an eyebrow. "What are you suggesting?"

  "Well, my bed's awfully cold these nights," he said, his eyes twinkling, and she couldn't help but giggle. "You'd be doing me an enormous favor if you were to come and warm it tonight…"

  "A favor," she said thoughtfully. "You're giving me great power over you, Liam Grant."

  He laughed, scooping her into his arms — and for the first time in a long time, he kissed her, deep and passionate. She could feel her body responding, feel it calling out for him, for the intimacy they'd shared… it felt like it had been years since she'd touched him, since she'd felt his arms around her. Breathless, she nodded, and they half-walked, half-ran down the hallways to his quarters together, giggling and laughing like teenagers.

  They fell into his bed together, already half undressed, desperate for each other's bodies. They knew that tomorrow was going to be a hard, frightening day… but for now, lost in each other's arms, they were both able to find an island of peace amongst the chaos.

  Chapter 58

  The next day dawned bright and early, and Kay woke slowly, still wrapped in the comfortable embrace of Liam's broad arms. He was fast asleep, and she took a moment to gaze at his face, still utterly floored by how gorgeous he was — how lucky she'd gotten to find such a good-looking man who also happened to be strong, and kind, and funny… and, importantly, available. Her mind returned to her first few nights here, and she couldn't help but smile to herself. Was there really supernatural matchmaking going on when the Sidhe brought her here? She had met Liam almost immediately… had there been more to her relocation here than just saving her life from the erratic driver who'd almost seen her sent to a watery grave?

  She supposed it was possible. And that made the thought of marrying him a lot less scary. After all, the Sidhe had brought Anna and Donal together, Malcolm and Nancy, Brendan and Elena…. and those three couples were incredibly strong and loving, exactly the kinds of relationship she wanted for herself. Could she really trust to fate, and the Sidhe, and Liam himself? Could she really fall into a marriage just like that?

  She dressed slowly as Liam stirred from his sleep, not wanting to distract him with this kind of topic when he had such an important battle to prepare for. His iron sword was laid out on the table, freshly cleaned and ready to claim some wisp lives. She admired it for a moment once she was dressed… then, shooting him a quick smile over her shoulder, she headed for breakfast, leaving him to his own morning routine.

  There was a buzz in the castle, knowing that today was the day of the big attack. The guards were already deep in conversation with one another — it seemed that all of them would be riding out, though only twenty would be equipped with the weapons. Elena and Anna had consulted with Brendan and Donal about who would be bearing the primitive guns, selecting the men who'd demonstrated the best accuracy and the coolest heads with the new weapons. There was some disappointment amongst those who weren't chosen, but they were still excited to be part of the attack.

  The day seemed to drag on forever. Kay busied herself in the stables, helping get the horses ready for the night's activities. Shadow was safe and sound, thankfully. Liam had seen her on his desperate ride into the forest to save Kay — her presence had been what alerted him to where to start his search, and the fire and sound of wisp attacks had done the rest. After he'd brought Kay home, he'd waited until dawn then sent a few of the guards, heavily armed with iron, to fetch the mare from where she'd been loosely tethered. He knew she was Kay's favorite — he wasn't going to let any harm come to her. And after a few apology bribes for leaving her alone in the forest the other night, Kay had won her affections back. She'd be riding the mare, carrying spare iron powder for the weapons. Oliver had made all the weapons he was going to be able to finish — twenty of them, just as he'd said — and now he was busy grinding up old, damaged horseshoes to provided them with more powdered iron as ammunition.

  "These are going to change things for us," he confided in her. "I can see the Sept making considerable use of these in the future — not just for the wisps."

  She frowned a little at that. Had she done some damage to the timeline, somehow, by bringing this idea back? What if it was too advanced for this era? She'd seen a few sci-fi movies in her time about time travel… about certain ideas damaging the space-time continuum, inventions being developed too soon… she remembered a movie about a man bringing a record of sporting events back so he could win a fortune by gambling. This had the potential to be a lot more dangerous than that… didn't it? Or did the fact that similar weapons already existed in other countries mean it would all be alright in the end? Well, too late to worry about that now. The weapons were made… and Kay was much more interested in saving real lives now than averting some hypothetical time-travel apocalypse.

  They rode out just after sunset. Kay's heart was pounding in her chest — she could feel that Shadow sensed her excitement, feel the mare's nerves a little in the shuffling of her feet. The men were calm, quiet — they had their game faces on now, she thought with amusement, comparing these stoic men to the excitable boys who'd whooped and hollered every time they tried the weapons out. The guns were distributed, loaded and ready to go.

  A shiver ran down her spine as they reached the swamp, remembering her own solo trip here not so long ago… but she felt a lot more comfortable with her friends at her side. Elena, Nancy, Anna and Kay worked together to set up a reloading station for the weapons, iron and black powder at the ready so that the men could get the guns reloaded when they needed to. The men headed off into the swamp, dispersing to give themselves as much range as possible, and to avoid striking each other with the blasts from the weapons. And it wasn't long before she heard the first shot ring out.

  It was nerve wracking, being so far away from everything. She could tell that both Elena and Anna were nervous, trying to see what was happening through the trees. The shots rang out one by one, and Kay realized to her shock that she could hear the chittering and chiming of the wisps. The torch lights moved through the trees, the men advancing slowly through the swamp. Men began running back to them to have their weapons reloaded — no injuries, Kay realized with delight, and it was clear from the excitement on their faces that the weapons were
working.

  It must have been an hour or two before Liam himself came striding up to their little encampment, a broad grin on his face. Kay looked up from a half-empty bucket of iron filings, ready to take his weapon and refill it, but he shook his head.

  "We think it's done," he said softly, that grin lighting up his face. "There were waves upon waves of the things… but these weapons just blasted them apart. The swamp's full of iron and corpses. We're doing a thorough sweep of the area to make sure they're all dead, but, Kay… I think we've done it."

  She leapt to her feet and hugged him, laughing as he scooped her off the ground and swung her around. The relief she felt was unbelievable as he buried his face in her neck, hugging her tight. She cleared her throat as he put her back down, aware that her friends were watching them… but not really caring as he claimed her lips in a deep, passionate kiss.

  "Okay," she said finally, breaking away from him and trying to regain her composure a little. "So they're gone. I suggest we spread this iron right through the swamp — just in case any more think they can come through the Burgh and start up where this lot left off."

  "Good idea," he said, nodding firmly. The other women jumped onboard with the idea, too, and they paced the bog for another couple of hours, sprinkling iron here and there, watching it sink into the depths of the mud. It felt like a ritual, oddly… as though they were cleaning the place out, keeping it safe from the wisps for good.

  And finally, when dawn was just threatening to lighten the sky, they turned from the swamp and trudged back to where the horses were waiting curiously for the return of their riders. The mood was tired but satisfied — the guards were all grinning at each other, clapping each other on the back despite their exhaustion. And Liam hadn't stopped smiling all night — he kept looking down at Kay, his eyes dancing with that gorgeous light that had made her fall for him so quickly.