My Highland Lover (8 page)

One of Granny’s hands flew to the base of her throat while the other one stifled a sob. A tear trailed down one of her wrinkled cheeks as she stood in place shaking her head. “My Tamhas,” she finally choked out with a trembling smile.

“Ye know these women?” Gray struggled to keep his voice tempered to a low roar. He turned his back to the irritated huff from Trulie. He didna relish the role of fool, and from where he stood, he was being well fitted with that title. He wanted to know what the hell was going on and he wanted to know now. “Explain. Now.”

“Well, aren’t you the little moment killer.” Trulie’s vacant gaze snapped toward Gray. Her scowl reinforced her reprimanding tone as she groped for Karma’s collar. “I’m freakin’ blind and I could tell they needed a private minute or two to reconnect. Would it have killed you to keep your mouth shut that long?” She finally latched onto the worn leather strap around Karma’s neck and leaned toward the dog. “Take me to Granny. I don’t like this guy.”

Gray promptly forgot all questions for Tamhas as his gaze followed Trulie across the clearing. He didna ken where the woman had come from and at this verra moment, he didna truly care. The way those trews molded to the sightless beauty’s fine round arse chased all reason from his head. Gray widened his stance to accommodate the hardening ache growing in his crotch.

Tamhas’s quiet chuckle brought him back to reality.

Gray whirled around and faced the grinning old man. “Explain this. Now.” He bit out the words from between gritted teeth to keep from roaring them across the hillside. He didna like the amusement dancing in the old man’s eyes. Tamhas had ne’er been this happy. It didna bode well.

Tamhas stepped out of the doorway with a graceful swing of his walking stick. He motioned a gnarled hand up the hillside toward a small stone cairn as he smiled tenderly at Granny. “The marker worked, me fine lass, just as ye said it would.” Then he tucked his chin and playfully waggled a finger. “Ye surprised me, love. Ye said she would come alone.”

Gray slammed his hand down atop Tamhas’s staff, stopping the old man in his tracks. “Do not err by continuing to ignore me, old demon.”

Tamhas faced Gray and bowed his head. “Forgive me, m’chieftain. The excitement of reuniting with m’love of so long ago has muddled me brain.” He nodded toward the pair of women standing behind the great black dog and the still-growling cat. “The answer to yer problems lies with that one there.” He directed his staff toward Trulie. “I assure ye, I hadna dared hope m’love would join us…at this time.” Tamhas’s smile widened and his beard trembled as a soft chuckle underscored his words. “But then again, who can predict all Destiny has planned?”

Destiny.
The word sent a chill down his spine, especially when used by Tamhas. Gray motioned to Colum. “Fetch the wagon to carry our guests to the keep. I prefer the safety of me own walls to learn of this
destiny.
”

Trulie buried her fingers in the comforting depths of Karma’s thick ruff. How could she have been so stupid? She knew better than to dive across the web with her eyes wide open. But the glowing stars streaming by like rivers of white lava had been too tempting. Usually, she settled for a few quick peeks as they leapt across time. This time, she’d eagerly watched the entire trip. She blew out a disgusted breath.
I guess that’s what I get for being greedy.
Trulie pressed her face against Karma’s velvety ears. The comforting dog leaned against her, grumbling his sympathies.

Trulie straightened and ran her hand down the dog’s broad back. Granny might have sucked them into one of her biggest schemes of all times, but Trulie had to admit she had never heard so much emotion jammed into one word as when Granny had said “Tamhas.” Years had fallen away from her grandmother’s voice. She had sounded like a young woman again. A young woman totally consumed with love.

Trulie shifted on the bench and leaned back against the cold stone wall. What kind of love lasted over so many years of separation? Trulie counted backward. It had been almost fifteen years. Trailing her hand lightly over the wooden bench, Trulie sucked in a deep breath. How could a love last across centuries? A twinge of jealousy flitted through Trulie. How would a love like that feel?

A shuffling sound across the room pulled Trulie from her thoughts. “Who’s there?” She squinted and scanned the room. Nothing but a flannel-like mist filled her vision. She held her breath and strained to listen. She didn’t like this place. It smelled odd and there was too much of…something…permeating the very atmosphere. Trulie shifted on the bench and smoothed clammy palms up and down the gooseflesh prickling her arms.

As soon as they had helped her from the wagon and led her up those stone steps, her senses had kicked into overdrive, flooded with—Trulie inwardly groaned—flooded with what? Hatred? Betrayal? Jealousy? What? She couldn’t quite nail the emotion down. All she knew for certain about this place was that it was filled with negative energy.

Trulie slid her hands to the wall at her back. Stone. Rough chiseled edges fitted together. She slid her bare feet across the floor. This part of the room felt…furry? Trulie blanched. That could only mean one thing. This room’s interior decorator liked killing things and spreading their pelts on the floor.

A throat cleared.

Trulie jumped and turned toward the sound. “Don’t you know it’s rude to sneak up on someone who can’t see?” Patting the air for Karma’s back, Trulie rose from the bench and lifted her chin. Never. Show. Fear. Even when your innards feel like jelly.

“Ye have nothing to fear from me, young one. I would ne’er cause ye harm.”

Tamhas.
Trulie relaxed. A little. She scanned the room until she found the bright cloud of undulating colors. There he was. Tamhas had the strangest aura she had ever seen. She wasn’t quite sure about him just yet. But if Granny trusted him, he had to be okay. She just wished her sight would hurry and return. She could always tell a person’s true spirit by reading their eyes. “Why aren’t you with Granny and Kismet? I thought you were going to help her get settled. I’m sure a lot’s changed after fifteen years.”

A calloused hand pressed up into hers. Tamhas led her gently but firmly across the room and settled her on a cushioned seat. This part of the room seemed warmer. She must be closer to the fire.

“Ye know yer grandmother, lass.” Tamhas’s chuckle filled the room like the sound of deep, soothing wind chimes. “Tha’ woman needs no one’s aid when her mind is set. She only needs me love.” A rough palm lightly patted the top of Trulie’s hand. “And this place is nay so unknown to her. The fire portal has been her window to this world o’er the years.”

Trulie relaxed even more, allowing herself to trust Tamhas. It sounded like the man knew Granny to a tee. “Where are we? Or maybe I should say ‘when’ are we?”

“Ye dinna ken?” Tamhas sounded surprised.

“Well…” Trulie pushed tickling curls away from her face and edged closer to the warmth emanating from her right. That had to be the hearth. She wouldn’t mind getting closer to the fire. A damp chill permeated this room. “I know where I was aiming, but I just wanted to make sure I hit the right year. I’ve never led a leap across so many centuries.”

“The twentieth of February in the year 1247.” Tamhas patted Trulie’s hand. “And I dare say the earthquake ye caused was felt from shore to shore, and will be recorded by every monk possessing a quill.”

Trulie cringed. “Sorry.” She spread her fingers toward the heat of the fire, rose from the cushions and edged closer. Stone floor now. And it was warmer. “For some reason, I’ve never been able to control my entry as well as Granny.” Trulie turned and backed up to the fire until the blaze warmed her nicely through her jeans. “But it’s because she rarely lets me jump as the beacon.” In fact, she could count on one hand the times Granny had allowed her to lead any leaps across the continuum’s web.

“Hmm,” was Tamhas’s only reply.

“Who was the hardheaded guy I landed on?” Trulie frowned as her body flushed from heat not caused by the fire toasting her rear. The man had felt rock solid—quite nice in fact, if you liked the muscular type. Trulie swallowed hard and cleared her throat. Why had her mouth suddenly gotten so dry? Maybe because she had never sprawled on top of a breathing mountain before…and liked it. A lot.

Tamhas chuckled from across the room.

For some reason, Tamhas’s amusement grated on her nerves.
Dammit, I wish I could see the old man’s face.
“I really don’t see the humor in that question.” Trulie wiggled her toes on the rough floor. She needed to find her backpack and slip on some shoes. The feeling was just now coming back to her toes after nearly freezing them off in the chill of a Scottish February.

“The fine man who caught ye when the time cloud spit ye forth was Chieftain Gray MacKenna. Ye should ask yer grandmother of that action’s significance.” Tamhas’s sparkling aura bobbed slowly across the room. The old man was on the move. “And Chieftain MacKenna needs the assistance tha’ can only be given by yerself. Ne’er forget that.” Hinges creaked and then came the sound of a door thudding closed.

Trulie shivered. That sounded like a door that weighed a ton. Images of thick oak doors sealing off dank medieval dungeons materialized in her mind, quickening the already fast pounding of her heart until she grew breathless. Trulie sucked in a quick lungful of air and shook away the feeling. “What do you mean he needs my assistance?”

Nothing but silence filled the room.

“Tamhas?” Trulie scanned the room for the sparkling aura of indescribable colors. Gone. The old man had just left without saying another word. Trulie expelled a frustrated huff and rubbed her hands up and down her now toasty backside.

“Karma?”

A soft woof made Trulie feel slightly better. At least she wasn’t alone.

The hinges of the door creaked again, followed by Karma’s low, clicking growl. That warning tone could only mean one thing. Trulie stood taller and widened her stance on the hearth. “Did Tamhas send you in here?”

“So yer sight has returned?” Gray’s rich, deep voice filled the room like a seductive melody.

Trulie blinked harder. She wished her sight would hurry and return. All she could make out were fuzzy shapes of light against darkness. Her sensory abilities to pick up auras seemed to be healing faster than her normal eyesight. The circle of light standing beside the doorway was a brilliant royal blue. The light shimmered when the chieftain spoke. Blue? Trulie blinked again. Loyalty. Intelligence. Honor. Maybe her first impression that Gray MacKenna was an insensitive ass had been a bit premature.

Muffled footsteps moved closer. “Can ye see me, lass?”

“Sort of.” Trulie rubbed her hands together. What was it about this man that made her palms—and a few other places she refused to acknowledge right now—go all warm and tingly?

“Sort…of?” Gray repeated.

“It’s kind of hard to explain.” Trulie shrugged in the direction of the speaking blue cloud, aiming her words at the top half. No need to spill all the beans about her abilities just yet. In the thirteenth century, one never knew for sure which side of the “witch issue” someone might be on. She had already revealed enough when they entered this time to send them all to a witch rotisserie. “Tamhas said you needed my help. What is it you need me to do?”

A chair scraped against the stone floor and the blur of royal blue folded in the middle. He must have taken a seat. The sound of liquid gurgling into a container reminded Trulie of just how dry her mouth currently felt.

“Can you…um.” Well, crap, she hated to ask him to help her, but who knew if there was another chair over there? Irritation flashed through her. And crime-a-nitly, wouldn’t a gentleman ask if she wanted to sit or would like a drink before he took care of himself?

A large warm hand cupped her elbow. Trulie squeaked and jumped away from the touch.

“Forgive me, lass.” Gray’s deep voice rumbled. “I only mean t’lead ye to the table. I thought ye might like to sit and have a drink. Would ye care to?”

“But I saw you sitting over there.” Trulie turned toward the spot where she had last seen the royal blue cloud. It was gone. Now the blue blob shimmered right beside her.

“I nay sat.” Gray’s tone sounded confused and just a little bit insulted. “I pulled out the chair to better lead ye to it. And I thought ye said ye couldna see me?”

“It’s complicated.” Trulie swallowed a groan and rubbed the hot gritty corners of her eyes. Now she was irritated with herself. The color of his aura paired with his current behavior completely overrode his bullish attitude back at Tamhas and Granny’s reunion. She felt like a complete idiot.

“Thank you,” Trulie mumbled as she reached toward the shimmering patch of blue. She swallowed hard. Confusion, irritation, and pride stuck crossways in her throat. She hated being wrong. “I really do appreciate your help.”

Gray didn’t respond. Just slid his broad palm up into her hand and stood there.

Trulie chewed on the corner of her bottom lip as her hand sank into the soothing blue light. The pulsating tingle in her hand shifted into high gear and rippled through her body. A sly voice in the back of her mind whispered,
“Wonder how good the rest of him would make us tingle?”

The memory of lying across the muscled expanse of Gray’s chest sucked every last drop of moisture from her already dry mouth. The
rest
of him had felt very nice. Very nice, indeed.

Gray gently pulled her forward. “Your grandmother is resting comfortably farther down the way.” Gray cleared his throat. “And that cat is with her as well.”

Trulie couldn’t resist a smile. When Gray said “that cat,” his voice took on a resigned tone, as though he struggled with the fact he despised the feline. “Kismet takes some getting used to. She thinks she’s the center of the universe and everything revolves around her.”

“Kismet?”

Trulie nodded as Gray carefully placed her hand atop the smooth arm of a large wooden chair. “Granny’s cat.”

“Aye. Well…” Gray’s voice receded as the blue aura eased a few steps away and another heavy chair scraped against the stone floor. “If ye ask me, cats belong down in the pantries keeping the rodents at bay.”

Trulie smoothed her palms atop what felt to be a large wood table. She shivered as she folded both hands in front of her. She missed the warmth of the fire. Maybe. Or could it be nerves making her insides feel as though she were on the verge of a monster case of caffeine jitters? Trulie inhaled another deep breath, catching the same scent of mouthwatering spice she had detected when she first realized she was sprawled across a very large man.

The tantalizing aroma grew stronger as the blue aura leaned toward her, took her hand, and wrapped it around a cool metal container. Trulie’s nose twitched, and before she caught herself, her thoughts tumbled out of her mouth. “You smell good.”

Gray chuckled. “Thank ye, lass.” His voice deepened with a seductive echo. “Ye smell verra fine yourself.”

Trulie pressed her cold hands to her now very warm cheeks. “I mean…” Trulie patted the air to relocate the glass Gray had placed in front of her. “It seems like I remember this era smelling really bad the last time I was here.”
Oh Lordy, did I just say that out loud?
Trulie raised the glass and took a sip of water. Maybe if she shoved something in her mouth, she’d stop babbling like an idiot.

“I see,” Gray responded in a strained tone.

Trulie lowered the glass and closed her eyes. What the crap was wrong with her? She never babbled. Babbling was for…well, she just didn’t babble. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that everything stunk. It’s just that…” Oh holy hell, the more she talked the farther she shoved her foot in her mouth. At the rate she was going, she would soon have her leg inserted clear to the hip.

Gray’s rumbling laugh filled the room. “I canna say I understand a word yer saying, but I will say ye definitely have me intrigued.”

Intrigued was good. Maybe. Trulie settled the glass back on the table and slid it farther away. “Tamhas said you needed my help. What exactly did he mean by that?”

The atmosphere of the room immediately shifted. Tense silence filled it. Karma’s toenails clicked across the stone flooring, then faded into muffled thumps. A grumbling huff told Trulie the dog had found a spot on the pelt-covered portion of the room and settled down. Apparently, Karma had decided Gray MacKenna wasn’t a threat. That made her feel better…some.

“Mr. MacKenna? Did you hear me?” Trulie settled against the curved back of the chair.

“Mister?” Gray spit out the word with an impatient huff. “Ye may call me Gray, or the MacKenna. If ye wish, ye may call me chieftain. But I canna say I take to the word ‘mister.’ Sounds like lowlander speech t’me.”

“It’s only a term of respect.” Trulie curled her laced fingers into a tighter knot. He didn’t like the word ‘mister’? Had it originally held a different connotation? “Granny always taught me to respect my elders.”

“Elders?” Gray’s voice now had the clear sound of someone who had just been insulted. “I dare say I am no’ an elder to ye. How old do ye think I am?”