Blue Bells of Scotland: Book One of the Blue Bells Trilogy (63 page)

"Tell us about the events of last midsummer's day," the reporter said.

"He, um, spent the night in a castle ruin," Rob said. His eyes darted from side to side. "When we found him the next morning, he had injuries, severe infection, and amnesia, and for the next week, he behaved strangely. After the last concert, he went into the, uh, mountains and walked from there to the re-enactment of the Battle of Bannockburn. We saw him on the field, we tried to reach him, but a horse came between us, and then he was just…gone."

"The police have speculated that he deliberately walked away from his life," the reporter suggested. "Thousands of people do it every year. They do not want to be found. Is that possible?"

"No." Rob spoke with certainty. "Shawn had everything. Talent, money, fame." He stared directly into the camera. "He had a beautiful woman who loved him. He'd be insane to walk away from that."

The camera skimmed past the towering statue of Robert the Bruce astride his horse, back to the reporter. The breeze lifted her hair off her shoulders. "Who was Shawn Kleiner?" she asked. "And where did he go?"

Another picture of Shawn flashed on the screen. His long hair blew in the wind. He squinted, laughing, into the sun. The camera closed in again on Shawn's smiling face, the face of a man who loved life.

* * *

Rob let himself into her kitchen. "How did I do?" His eyes held hope. She hated herself for deflating it again.

"I'm not marrying you."

His face flushed. "I didn't ask."

"You made your feelings clear on television in front of everyone. You're not going to find him, Rob."

"And you are?" He snapped off the whining kettle. "Looking in museums and at reproductions of books that fell apart hundreds of years ago?" He slapped two black mugs on the counter, filling each. Twin tendrils of steam twisted toward the ceiling.

"I know what I saw, Rob. Why do you listen to a thousand strangers calling a toll free number but not me?"

"Because what you're saying is insane."

"Am I the only one who remembers Niall reading page after page saying the Scots lost? We went to a re-enactment of the Battle of the Pools, won by the English, and left a re-enactment of Bannockburn, the Scots' greatest victory."

"That's impossible, Amy. You know it is."

"I showed you the crucifix and ring." She sipped her cooling tea. "I showed you what Niall wrote. You verified it for yourself."

"It's a huge leap from 'Shawn researched a crucifix' to 'Shawn and his medieval twin made a daring leap across time.'"

Amy sighed. "I saw Shawn throw himself between a charging warhorse and a child. I saw it, Rob!"

Rob circled behind her, rubbing her shoulders, and laying his cheek on top of her head. She knew the look of grief that would be on his face. "It wasn't a real battle. And even if it was, you and I both know Shawn would never do a thing like that." She sat quietly, Rob's hands on her shoulders, seeing Shawn running straight at the armored horse, as if it was still happening. Rob spoke again. "It was his joke. Shawn means…"

She finished the sentence with him. "…self, and Kleiner means centered."

"He wore it like a badge of honor," Rob said.

They remained quiet for several minutes, before Amy spoke again. "People change. Sometimes they grow up and become who they really were. One of the German translations of Kleiner is 'less.' He finally did something selfless."

The End

# # #

About the Author

Laura Vosika grew up in the military, visiting castles in England, pig fests in Germany, and the historic sites of America's east coast. She earned a degree in music and worked for many years as a freelance musician, playing trombone for pit orchestras, ballets, big bands, and symphonies, and flute, harp, and piano for other venues.

After earning a masters degree in education, she took a job as a music teacher and band director. She has also taught music lessons on winds, piano, and harp for over twenty years.

In addition to
The Blue Bells Trilogy,
Laura is working on several other novels and a non-fiction book on raising a large family.

She is the mother of nine children, and lives in Minnesota.

The
Blue Bells Trilogy
continues with...

The Minstrel Boy

The Castle of Dromore

Learn more about the books

and the world of Shawn, Niall, Amy, and Allene,

at www.bluebellstrilogy.com

and www.bluebellstrilogy.com/blog

For more books from the Night Writers,

visit www.nightwritersbooks.com

Connect with me online:

www.twitter.com/lauravosika