My Highland Lover (3 page)

“If ye had a daughter such as Aileas, would ye no’ pay dearly to be rid of her?”

Tamhas made a valid point. “Ye canna resist traipsing through m’thoughts, can ye, old man?” Gray relaxed across the length of the bench and allowed his arms to dangle free on either side. He had no idea what was in the nasty mess smeared across his back, but once the initial shock of its chill wore off, it felt damn good. The pain of the burns was gone.

Tamhas shuffled back to the worktable and set the mortar down. “I hear yer thoughts as clear as m’own because we share a bloodline.” Tamhas paused. His voice softened as he fingered a faded bit of braided hair looped around his neck. “Ye have truly done m’sister proud.”

Gray swallowed hard against the sudden aching lump threatening to choke off his air. “I wouldha rather saved her life than done her proud.” Gray shifted on the bench and turned his face to the wall. “Pray dinna put more wood on the fire until I leave. I canna stomach the roar of the flames. They hold the sound of
Máthair’s
screams.”

“Aye, m’chieftain.” Tamhas’s voice had a hollow ring; he cleared his throat with an uneasy cough.

“Show me the traitor, Tamhas. I want the one who set the fire that took Mother’s life. I want the one who lured Father to his death. I shan’t rest until I hold the traitor’s neck between m’hands.” Gray pushed himself up from the bench and swung around to a seated position. “Ye showed me a monster. A roaring beast with great glowing eyes. Why would ye do such when ye ken I seek to avenge the death of yer sister and the chieftain ye loved enough to call brother?”

Tamhas stood taller behind the bench, stroking his gnarled fingers through the thickness of his graying beard. Eyes narrowed, his face darkened into a scowl. “I showed ye the key. Ye need nothing more to find the answers ye seek.”

“Ye showed me nothing. Ye showed me some unholy vision ye might use to scare trespassers away from yer cave!”

Tamhas slammed the stone mortar atop the table. His words rumbled out in a deep, throaty growl, echoing with barely controlled rage. “I showed ye the only answer yer prepared to see at this time! I would ne’er lead ye astray.” Every bowl, crucible, and pot in the small room shook and rattled on the shelves. Candle flames danced and shivered atop their dripping tapers as though frightened by the power in Tamhas’s voice.

Gray lunged up from the bench and yanked his plaid off the wooden peg beside the door. “N’more of this foolishness.” He had been a damn fool to come here. He shouldha known Tamhas would be of no help. How many times had
Máthair
told him her brother had long ago been addled by his unnatural gifts and the loss of the one woman he had e’er dared love?

Loosening the ties from his belt, Gray pulled free a pouch heavy with coin. He hefted the small leather bag in one hand and returned the old man’s scowl. “I thank ye for the poultice for the burns, but know this, Uncle. Never again will I make the mistake of seeking yer counsel.” He plopped the bag on the table between Tamhas’s fists and turned to leave.

“She will be here soon,” Tamhas said in a low, ominous tone.

“Who will be here soon?”

“The one ye need. Yer answer.”

Gray shook his head and yanked open the door. “N’more, old man. No. More. Riddles.”

Tamhas shrugged and turned away to stoke the fire. “As ye wish, m’chieftain.”

Hostility. Prejudice. Loathing.
Negative energy flashed an unpleasant tingle across Trulie’s senses. She didn’t bother turning from the shelves of multicolored bottles, beeswax candles, and neatly labeled paper bundles of herbs and soaps. Dark emotions so strongly transmitted before the shop door even opened could only belong to one person: the hateful Mrs. Hagerty.

A low-pitched growl rumbled from the enormous black dog standing beside Trulie. The warning confirmed her suspicion. Karma, her faithful guardian, liked Mrs. Hagerty even less than she did.

The tiny brass bell hanging atop the shop door jingled out a cheery alarm that Mrs. Hagerty had invaded the fragrant confines of Trulie’s homeopathic store. The sour-faced woman slammed the door hard and glared around the brightly lit shop. Her nose lifted slightly, as did her dark, painted brows. She short-stepped forward with angry, clicking steps to ensure all in the room properly noticed her arrival.

“Good morning, Mrs. Hagerty. How are you today?” Trulie pasted a welcoming smile on her face and widened her stance.
You look just as bitchy as usual.

“I do not have time for your fake pleasantries, Miss Sinclair.” Mrs. Hagerty curled back her chalky, painted lips. Her sneer revealed a startlingly white set of overly large teeth dotted with the same red lipstick smeared around her mouth. Any time the woman spoke, she looked as though she smelled a stink. “Where is your grandmother? I demand to see her this very instant. I’ve a bone to pick with that vile woman.”

Trulie’s cheeks ached with the polite smile. She’d be damned straight to hell before she gave Hagerty the satisfaction of a reaction. “My grandmother isn’t in the shop today, Mrs. Hagerty. Is there something I could help you with? A soothing tea for your nerves, perhaps? Some lavender oil to help you relax?”

Mrs. Hagerty stomped to the counter in short, clicking steps. She slapped a plump hand down hard atop the glass. “How dare you mock me.” She slowly swayed back and forth like an overweight adder about to strike. “I know about your family.” Hagerty paused long enough to rake a sneering gaze from the tips of Trulie’s brightly painted toenails to the top of her ponytailed head. “I know what the lot of you really are, and I will not rest until I cleanse this town of you and your trash.”

Hackles raised, Karma edged closer to Trulie and sounded a guttural warning growl.

“You better keep that beast away from me!” Mrs. Hagerty jabbed a gaudily painted nail toward the dog’s shining black nose.

“Karma is harmless,” Trulie replied. She rested a staying hand atop Karma’s broad head. He really didn’t need to bite Mrs. Hagerty. The old bitch was probably poisonous.

Mrs. Hagerty pressed her round body tighter against the counter and struggled to peer across it at the still-rumbling dog. “Is that one of those pit bulls? Or a Rottweiler? You know I convinced the council to pass an ordinance against those monstrosities. I don’t think you should keep him in a place of business. I think I shall have animal control come over immediately and check his papers. That’ll put an end to his nonsense.” She excitedly drummed the tip of one manicured nail atop the glass case and sneered down at Karma. “One shot in your wicked heart and you’ll never growl again, mutt.”

Enough. It was bad enough the woman hated Granny, but nobody threatened sweet, lovable Karma. Trulie pulled Karma closer, leaning against his reassuring weight as she returned Mrs. Hagerty’s hateful glare. “Animals are not born evil or mean. Humans torture them into that disposition. And if you don’t have any business here other than insulting my grandmother or threatening my dog, I suggest you leave and put us all out of our collective misery.”

Mrs. Hagerty’s eyes widened behind the rhinestone spectacles perched on the end of her hooked nose. “I have never been so insulted in all my life. I don’t have to stand here and listen to such.”

“Good.” An effortless, wicked smile felt quite pleasant as Trulie nodded toward the exit. “Then we understand each other perfectly. Don’t let the doorknob hit you where the good Lord split you.”

The few customers perusing the shelves tittered and snorted behind their hands. Mrs. Hagerty puffed up even further, stomped back across the room, and slammed the door so hard upon her exit everything on the shelves rattled and swayed.

“Bitch,” Trulie said under her breath.

“Trulie! Such language.” Granny playfully shook a bent finger as she emerged from the back room. Kismet trotted in beside her, greeting everyone with a trilling, happy
pprrtt.

“How long have you been back there?” Trulie’s mood lightened as Kismet’s loud purr vibrated through the shop. The cat rubbed against the still-irritated dog while weaving in and out between his front legs. The bright mood faded as every customer quickly filed out without buying a thing. As the last person closed the door, the soft jingling of the bell confirmed Trulie’s assumption. Everyone feared the backlash of Mrs. Hagerty’s wrath. No one would go against her.

“I heard every word the old crow cawed.” Granny took an apron off the hook behind the counter and tied it about her waist. A solemn look replaced her grin as she joined Trulie behind the counter of the now empty store and laid a soft hand atop hers. “You know she won’t rest until you and I are ruined and gone. Since her money’s never bought her happiness, she uses it to spread misery and make everyone around her hate life as much as she does. It’s time we resettled to another time. I know in my heart if you and I left, things would be much easier here for Kenna and the girls until it’s their time to join us in the past.” Granny softly chuckled and shook her head. “For some unfathomable reason that woman steers clear of Kenna.”

“Kenna has dirt on her. She caught Hagerty’s housekeeper buying some of our blackberry elixir. The woman fessed up that Hagerty’s a closet drinker. Poor thing lost her job once Hagerty found out she’d told Kenna she likes her elixir spiked with whisky.” Surely Granny wasn’t using old Hagerty as an excuse to retreat to the past. “Since when do you let somebody like Hagerty run you off? I thought you enjoyed one-upping people like her. And now you want to leave Kenna and the girls here? Alone to fight their own battles?”

“We wouldn’t be alone. Granny showed us how to use the fire portal. It’s easier to get a hold of you and Granny with that than if we use a cell phone. You don’t have to worry about a crappy signal or a dead battery with the fire portal.” A curvy brunette in tight-fitting jeans bounced out of the back room. She was followed by two auburn-haired girls still too young to have many curves, but old enough that their physiques promised beautiful things to come.

“Yeah, Trulie.” One of the green-eyed twins agreed. “Half the time your phone is dead and Granny won’t use one. She thinks they’re part of a conspiracy for the government to track down time runners and harness our powers for warmongering.”

The other twin skipped over and nudged Trulie’s shoulder with an affectionate punch. “And who do think helps Granny with her ‘pester Hagerty’ campaign? We’re not as innocent and helpless as we look.”

Granny looped an arm around the shoulders of the oldest girl and hugged her with a shake and a wink. “See? Kenna, Lilia, and Mairi would be just fine. If they need us, they know how to reach us. All they need is a roaring fire with plenty of red-hot coals.” Granny nodded to Kenna and hugged her tighter with a gentle shake. “Actually, any source of heat will do, but coals give the best reception in the portal.”

Granny’s smile faded as she gave the four girls a meaningful look, then strode across the room. “I need to see the lot of you settled.” She pointed a finger toward Trulie. “And you’re the first, young lady. You don’t belong here, and if you search your heart, you’ll see the truth of it.” Granny opened the cash register drawer and pawed through the plentiful receipts, dollars and coinage. “The shop is doing well in spite of not being endorsed by Hagerty the Horrible.” Granny paused, winked at Mairi, and nodded once toward Lilia. “Kenna’s twenty years old. Old enough to manage her sisters. All the girls will be just fine. They know every remedy and recipe for our twenty-first-century snake oil that keeps folks coming back for more.”

“Homeopathic remedies and aromatherapy oils.” Trulie struggled not to rise to Granny’s bait. Granny was wearing her down and she damn well knew it. “The recipes are yours. You know the stuff really works.”

Granny turned and gave Trulie a look she knew all too well. As she handed Kenna the oversized wad of credit card receipts, Granny added the final barb. “Your precious Dan won’t protect you against the likes of Hagerty either. I’ve seen how he fawns all over that snobby woman and her connections. When she convinces him you’re nothing better than the doormat she wipes her shoes on, what do you think he’ll do? No granddaughter of mine would ever accept being treated like dirt.”

Kenna, Lilia, and Mairi collectively eased away to the far side of the room and pretended to dust and straighten items on the pristine glass shelves.

Cowards.
Trulie glared at her three sisters. She’d had enough of Granny’s damn nettling. It was time to clear the air. “I want the truth once and for all. What the hell is going on? You can’t be that concerned about me hooking up with Dan.”

Karma and Kismet laid back their ears and trotted across the shop to hide behind the safety of the girls’ legs. Trulie rounded the counter. She was on a roll. One way or another, they were going to settle this. Today. “You’ve always talked about someday resettling to the past but in the past six months you’ve shifted your nagging into overdrive. I want the truth. Plain and simple. What the hell is the deal? Why now? You’re gnawing on me worse than a dog worrying an old bone and I’m tired of it.”

Trulie followed Granny across the room, flipped the Open sign on the door to the Closed side, and yanked down the shade. “What is it with you? Just tell me the truth instead of all this damn maneuvering. Why are you so adamant about permanently moving back to the past? Why does it have to be now?” Trulie couldn’t understand it. What was this burning need Granny suddenly seemed to have to see Trulie settled in the past? It was almost as though she was afraid of something, and that just didn’t make sense. Granny didn’t fear anything.

Hadn’t the tough-as-nails woman jumped to an unknown future with two little girls and an unhealthy set of newborn twins to honor her only daughter’s dying wish? Trulie remembered the family’s first jump through time better than any of the other jumps Granny had led. Before that jump, memories of the first twelve years of her life were faded and patchy at best. Granny had filled in the blanks about those early years, and from all Trulie learned, Granny was an unwavering force.

How many times had Granny told her how Mother had died bringing Lilia and Mairi into the world back in the thirteenth century? How Father had been so despondent over the loss of Mother, he had pressed the unhealthy, blue-tinged babies into Granny’s arms and begged her to do whatever it took to save his children? How many times had Granny told her how her parents’ bond had been so strong, Father had climbed down into the grave beside Mother and ordered his men to bury them both?

Trulie shivered and rubbed at a tiny scar at the base of her throat that always ached whenever she thought about the past. Granny had saved her life too, by bringing them all to a future where a child’s underdeveloped heart could be repaired with a simple surgery. How could the woman who endured so much be afraid of something as insignificant as a snarky rich bitch and her whining lackey?

“I fear nothing for myself, Trulie.” Granny paused and twirled the white stick hanging from the curtain rod between her bent fingers. Her frown deepened as the window blinds slowly closed. “But for all of you, I fear much once I am gone and there are none like us left in this particular patch of time to protect and teach you.”

Trulie caught Kenna’s eye and nodded toward Lilia and Mairi. “We won’t forget the old ways, Granny. I promise we’ll be all right.” Trulie wrapped an arm around Granny’s shoulders, noticing for the first time how thin and frail the old woman suddenly seemed.

“You don’t belong here, Trulie. None of us really do. This troubling patch of time is good for nothing but a training ground.” A heavy sigh shuddered through Granny, shaking her against Trulie’s side. “But you, Trulie, especially right now, must travel back. ’Tis time to put the wheel in motion. If you stay, you will suffer. We all will. Greatly.” Granny gently slid out from under Trulie’s arm and bent to scoop Kismet up against her chest. “Look into your heart, Trulie. Look hard and you’ll understand exactly what I mean.”

Hugging the cat, Granny slowly walked across the room. A troubled look darkened her face when she reached the back-room door and turned back to Trulie. “One last thing I want you to know before you give me your final refusal. The time grows near for my last leap, and I will be damned if I make that crossing alone out of this godforsaken century.”