Mark of the Highlander (The MacLomain Series: Next Generation, Book 1) (3 page)

Leslie’s shrewd look made it plain she was unconvinced. Strange. Her cousin had a talent for looking straight into a person. When they were kids, Sheila nicknamed her ‘soul reader’ with good reason. Leslie understood people better than they did themselves. It had always been uncanny, spooky almost. As an adult, the peculiar gift made her a razor-sharp agent amongst many other things.

Instead of answering Ferchar, Leslie handed the sheet of paper to McKayla. “You should keep it. They’re your words.”

McKayla stared at the sheet and shook her head. “But they’re not. You must’ve heard garbled words from another Skype channel or something. That happens sometimes.”

“Garbled words that sounded so clear and actually translated into something halfway coherent? Not to mention ancient.” Leslie shook her head. “Doubt it.”

“Definitely crazy,” Seth said, peering at the sheet.

The front door opened again and this time Caitlin and Sheila stepped out. Laughing about something, they made their way over.

Sheila shook her head at Seth. “How many friends do you have? There have got to be at least twenty single men in the house and believe me, it isn’t big enough for all of them.”

Seth shrugged. “I didn’t think so many would bite when I put out the Facebook invite.”

“Oh shoot, really? A Facebook invite?” McKayla looked skyward. “That meant it hit all your Boston friends. Most from the single scene.”

“Uh,
yeah
, kind of the whole point,” Seth said.

“Not really,” she replied. “The whole point was to celebrate my book contract not invite all of Boston’s night life to our home.”

Sheila snorted and handed her cell phone to McKayla. She’d pulled up the ‘event invite’ Seth had sent out. There was a picture of her, Sheila and Leslie taken at a party last year. They’d all been feeling pretty good. Their selfie made that apparent. The invite said, “Partying with my girls. Come join the fun!”

“Seth! You made it sound like we’re all looking for a good time.”

“Well aren’t you?” he asked innocently.

Leslie shrugged one shoulder. “I actually
am
having a good time.”

“Me too,” Sheila said.

McKayla sighed and handed the phone back to her cousin. “You’re a sweetie, Seth. Of course I’m having a good time too.”

He was about to respond when headlights appeared down the old dirt road leading to their house. In little time, a silver Land Rover pulled into the driveway.

“Another one of your friends?” Sheila asked.

“No idea,” Seth said. “Don’t think so.”

It took all of two seconds for McKayla to realize who was getting out of the car and only another two for her to run and jump into his waiting arms.

“Trevor, you came!” McKayla said.

“Of course I did.” He spun her a few times. “This is a big day!”

She pulled back and looked him over. As always, he was immaculately dressed in dark slacks and a button down white shirt. With wide shoulders and a tall, lanky build she always thought he’d make the perfect cowboy for a western romance. He looked nothing like the techie he really was. So while women were always drawn to him because of his good looks they inevitably found out that the latest gadgets interested him far more than their cloying antics.

McKayla grinned and pulled him over to the others. They all greeted him with big hugs and warm smiles. It appeared nobody knew he was coming. But that didn’t surprise her in the least. Trevor, for the most part, was both secretive and spontaneous. She’d bet he hadn’t planned this visit. The thought probably popped into his head and he went for it.

Now
her perfect day was complete. Everyone who mattered most was here to celebrate with her. After spending a few minutes catching up with everybody Trevor nodded toward the woods. “Mind if I steal McKayla for a few minutes?”

Sheila laughed. “It was only a matter of time.”

Leslie gave her a stern look. “Now you know these two don’t like each other like
that
.”

“Of course not,” Caitlin added, a twinkle in her eye.

Her cousins knew feelings like that didn’t exist between her and Trevor. At least not anymore. That was the beauty of their friendship. They knew precisely what did and did not work between them. Somehow, eliminating the sexual end of it had only made their friendship strengthen into something impregnable.

As they split from the group and headed toward the dark forest, Trevor grinned. “It’s been years since we dated. When are they going to let up?”

“When we’re both entrenched in long-term meaningful relationships with other people. I think us remaining so close after all this time has stumped them. They’re convinced we’ll get back together.”

Trevor said nothing to that but leaned into his SUV and grabbed a device. “Check this out. A little something I whipped up.”

Only about fist size and square, he placed it on the ground. McKayla squealed with delight when it emitted a faint buzzing sound. Then, long, thin, electronic legs snaked out and lifted the box. The next thing she knew they were following a spider-like, self-controlled flashlight into the forest.

“You’re too much.” She continued to smile as they followed it. “I imagine it’s already pre-programmed to lead us to Stonehenge.”

He took her hand and smiled. “Where else?”

When he’d helped her move in six months ago, it’d been one of the first places she’d visited. Salem’s Stonehenge was supposedly built thousands of years ago by an ancient people. Now a tourist attraction, it drew in all of those fascinated with a culture long gone. As a history buff, it’d been the main perk to moving into the old colonial. A short walk through the forest and she could enter a slice of time long gone.

“So how are you getting on here, Kay? I know how much you loved the Cape.”

She’d grown up in Cape Cod and never thought she’d leave. Very few loved the ocean like she did. But when Caitlin’s grandmother Mildred passed away, Caitlin, Ferchar and their son had moved into Mildred’s old house at the end of the drive and the colonial became available.

“We Skype nearly every day. You know how much I like it. Especially the inspiration I’m getting from being here.”

“I’m still surprised that Caitlin and Ferchar moved so soon after her grandmother died,” he remarked as they walked. “But it makes sense. Renting out this place to you and your cousins is a financially sound idea and pulls the family closer together.”

She nodded. “I think that was some of it. But she was so close to her grandmother and Ferchar was very close to his grandfather, Adlin. They feel like they’ve kept a little piece of them alive by living in Mildred’s house. The move didn’t surprise me in the least.”

Trevor remained silent for several long moments before he softly said, “It’s unusual how they died together like they did.”

McKayla only met Mildred a few times and had never met her new boyfriend, Adlin. But she couldn’t help agree. As a romance writer she didn’t know which aspect of their relationship to focus on first. The fact that they’d fallen in love so late in life or when they died it had been together, hand in hand, sitting on the front porch.

Then again, their whole situation had been peculiar. Caitlin’s grandmother fell in love with her husband’s grandfather. If that wasn’t odd enough, Ferchar’s appearance in Caitlin’s life caught everyone off guard. He was a man raised in Scotland that no one had heard of a month before. Not even Caitlin! It was like he materialized out of nowhere. And then, poof, his grandfather also from Scotland showed up, and was suddenly living with Mildred. On top of all that Shane, Caitlin’s brother, vanished after writing a Scottish war novel. One that still sat securely on every bestseller list. What she wouldn’t give to talk to Shane right now.

McKayla and her cousins had been estranged from Caitlin and Shane for far too long. So long, in fact, it was a shock when Caitlin reached out to them. Though she supposed she shouldn’t be that amazed. Caitlin was great. She had to be in order to forgive like she did. Not that McKayla, Sheila and Leslie had done anything wrong, but their parents, that was another story.

Sibling rivalry had created a dam between Caitlin’s parents and theirs. Nobody spoke for years. Everyone drifted apart. So no one was there for Caitlin and Shane when their parents died. Good thing Mildred stepped in to help or the two would have had to fend for themselves. When Caitlin got in touch with Leslie over a year ago it breathed new life into their family.

The Broun cousins had reconnected.

That’s how Caitlin liked to phrase it because they were all descendants of Mildred and her siblings. Hence they were all a part of the great Scottish Broun clan.

“Plotting out your next book?”

She was about to respond but Trevor shook his head. “No, of course not. This time you’re deep in thought about loved ones lost then found.”

It was hard not to smile. “You know me too well. Yeah, I was busy thinking how lucky I am. It’s great to have us all together again.”

“Even in the maelstrom of Leslie and Sheila?” he asked.

“Aye, even.”

“I like how you’ve started talking like you write. It’s cute.”

“What? Oh. Right. Sorry. It’s becoming a habit. I’ve gotta stop.”

“Naw, it suits you somehow. Don’t stop.” They trailed after his little spider flashlight, its glow cutting through the woodland with amazing precision. “It means you’re truly becoming part of what you write. Like you always say, ‘Show, don’t tell.’”

“Rule of thumb in writing,” she agreed. “But not really the case here. Love your vote of confidence, though. The truth is I think I’m becoming a little too immersed in the worlds I create. In fact, I think I’m going a little insane.”

“How so?”

“For starters people are creeping up on me. Well, I shouldn’t say it like that. What I mean is people are suddenly next to me when I don’t see or hear them coming. If that isn’t enough, I guess I spoke gibberish this morning when Skyping with Leslie. Ancient Scottish Gaelic or something.”

A warm summer wind blew through the woods, cooling off her enflamed skin. She’d be lying if she said what Leslie showed her wasn’t alarming.

Trevor squeezed her hand in reassurance. “You’re just under a lot of pressure, honey. That’s why I’m here. I knew things were getting intense for you.”

“Intense? That’s an understatement,” she muttered. But she felt better just by having him here. Seth might keep her upbeat but Trevor grounded her. The world could go upside down crazy, but with Trevor here it all made sense. Everything that’d been crooked stood upright. “I guess I spoke about unbroken circles and a guy. It sounded almost intimate.”

“And Leslie caught this?” he asked, astounded.

“Yep, can you imagine? The most down-to-earth person I know. Which sort of freaked me out even more. Had it been Sheila I might not have taken it too seriously. No offense, but we all know how much she loves fantasy fiction. That type of thing would be right up her alley.”

“You’re not completely free of the bug yourself, you know,” he remarked.

“What bug?”

“The fantasy fiction one. Didn’t you imply that Iosbail had a special gift? One that allowed even the most calloused of Highlanders to see women a wee bit differently than they had before.”

They’d nearly reached Stonehenge and still it seemed his little spider flashlight had a specific destination so they dutifully followed. “Iosbail was only ever a figment of the heroine’s imagination. It was never really meant to be a fantasy element just a voice in my character’s head. One of many might I add.”

“I thought her pretty special. In fact, I always figured she was sort of your alter ego.”

She pressed her teeth together. Only Trevor would think as much. “Which would mean you think I compare myself to my heroine who at first came off as a shy, unobtrusive creature with little or no backbone.”

“Well…” He laughed when she scowled. “What?” he asked. “Should I have responded differently? Okay.” His face grew serious then his eyes rounded. “McKayla, I would
never
think that of you! You should know better. I’ve never met a more forthright, my-way-or-the-highway woman.”

“Oh please.” McKayla rolled her eyes and followed the little tech spider to a spear shaped rock at the heart of Stonehenge. She leaned against the rock and stared out at the forest. This stone fell in line with Summer Solstice. “I really love it here.”

Trevor smiled, placed his hand against the rock and peered out over the swath of land. “Me too. It’s peaceful.”

She picked up the spider flashlight and put it on the rock. As if understanding it could relax, it whirred and preened, its little legs retracting before it settled down. The light vanished and the faint sound of bagpipes emitted from an unseen speaker.

McKayla put a hand over her heart and stared at the little piece of technology programmed specifically to celebrate the release of her Highlander novel. “You are completely insane.” She looked at him. “And entirely too sweet. Thank you.”

He winked. “If we weren’t trespassing I would’ve had it in a kilt, programmed it to speak with a brogue, and trained it to play a miniature bagpipe, but I knew you’d want to be here. Or at least I’d hoped.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Because while you think it’s the colonial that inspired your novel, I know it’s really this place. Every day you talk about your walks out here. Then you come back, sit down and write like a mad woman. Never forget, I was there with you nearly every step of
Plight of the Highlander
. I think I understand Colin MacLeod better than you do.”

“Do you?” She grinned and shook her head. “Actually, you probably do. Good thing I wrote the book in the off season so I wasn’t breaking the law too awfully bad.”

“Oh, you were a regular outlaw,” he promised with a devilish glint in his eyes. “But it was a great thing.”

“Was it?” She gazed up at the sky. “The story is so unlike anything that I wrote at the Cape.” McKayla couldn’t help but look at him and ask, “Do you think my other stuff was totally boring?”

“No,” he responded instantly. “While it may have been safer it was still interesting.” His eyes covered her face, suddenly reminding her of how he’d once looked at her. “Everything you’ve ever written is profound, McKayla.
Plight of the Highlander
will draw eyes and eventually your old work will be recognized. I don’t doubt it for a second.”

In that moment it was hard to remember why they ever broke up. Trevor knew her better than anyone and supported her always. If only that’d been enough. But with him nothing was ever enough and she’d been smart enough to recognize it. He could never be tied down by any one woman or any one obligation. For that matter by anything that made him feel trapped. In a weird way, he was sick. Sick with fear of something she’d never understand. McKayla remembered well the day she’d discovered that Trevor would never be hers for too long. 

It had been the day he proposed marriage.

“To celebrate I’ve brought you something very special.” He pulled an object from his pocket. “A gift.”

Ripped from thought she stared down at what he held out. She took the odd contraption. “What’s this?”

“It’s my latest creation. Actually, I’m an unseen partner in this project. Partly my idea, mostly their money.”

McKayla studied the fabric in the dim moonlight. It appeared to be something one would put over their eyes to keep the light out when they tried to sleep. “What does it do?”

Excitement radiated off him. “You know how you’ve been having dreams about Scotland. Ones that never quite make sense. You never see anyone, never talk to anyone yet you know they’re there?”

He was the only one she’d told about the dreams that had started when she moved into the colonial. “Yes, what of them?”

“This device will help make them clear,” he whispered eagerly, touching the fabric and her hand all at once. “This will help you see everything you couldn’t before. It allows you to control your lucid dream state.”