A Highlander’s Homecoming (2 page)

Apparently his plans would have to change.

MacQuarrie Keep had been a fine place for him growing up, and though he would not return to his family home to live, he felt certain the child would be welcomed there.

With something of a plan formed, he pushed all thoughts from his mind. None of them mattered for the moment. When he finished the task his king had assigned him, nothing save death would keep him from his oath to see to the safety of Isabella MacGahan.

Chapter 1
 

S
ITHEAN
F
ARDACH

S
COTTISH
H
IGHLANDS

P
RESENT
D
AY

As it turned out, death was exactly what had kept Robert from fulfilling his oath to protect Isabella MacGahan. Or more precisely, the death he would have suffered had Connor MacKiernan’s bride not whisked him more than seven hundred years into the future through the use of her Faerie Magic.

The battle they’d fought to overpower those who had sought to murder Connor and Cate had been hard won. Robert had paid with a sword to his rib cage that would have ended his life had he not had the expert medical care afforded him in this new time.

That had been almost ten years ago, and though he found this new world to be very much to his liking, his
failure to carry out his oath to Thomas had haunted him since that day.

Leaning against the doorjamb next to his friend Connor, Robert pushed away the memories of his past as he scanned the people in this room. His new clan surrounded him here. MacKiernan, Coryell, Navarro—all as much a part of him now as if the blood of the MacQuarries ran through their veins. A good thing since he’d likely never have the family he’d imagined in his youth.

A fierce loyalty to each and every one of the people in the room surged up in his breast as he forced himself to concentrate on the urgent matters at hand.

“You don’t know them like I do. They’ll find me.” Leah Noble spoke up from the corner of the massive living room in Connor’s home. The teenager sank back into her chair, arms crossed defensively in front of her, almost as if she hoped to make herself invisible.

As a Faerie descendant, Leah carried the gift of the Fae Magic. That gift had made her the target of the evil Nuadians, renegade Fae exiled to the Mortal World. They’d held her prisoner for over a month, subjecting her to things no young woman should endure. She and her older sister, Destiny, had gone through hell before Jesse Coryell, with Robert’s help, had rescued them.

Now they were both here in Connor’s living room surrounded by those who would do everything in their power to change the women’s lives for the better. And considering how many of those present were also of Fae heritage, that
power
was considerable.

Destiny reached out a hand and Jesse captured it, pulling her to sit on the arm of his chair, close to him.

Robert smiled to himself at the seemingly unconscious action. Anyone with eyes could see that his friend Jesse had found his Soulmate.

“We’ll no let that happen, lass. Dinna you worry yerself about it.” Though Connor spoke with absolute confidence, his expression betrayed the concern they all felt.

Leah shook her head, her serious brown eyes haunted in her fear. “You don’t understand. You have no idea what they’re like. They’re Faeries, for God’s sake. I’ll never be safe from them.”

“No all Fae are evil, Leah.” Mairi, Connor’s sister, spoke from her spot on the sofa next to her husband, Ramos Navarro. “And we do know what you fear. We’ve dealt with these renegades ourselves.”

Leah rejected their comments with a shake of her head but didn’t answer, tears dripping down her cheeks.

Destiny dropped Jesse’s hand and crossed to kneel at her sister’s side. “We’ll think of something. I promise. That’s why we’re all here.”

“There’s nowhere I’ll be safe,” Leah whispered, clutching at Destiny’s hand. “I can’t go back to them, Desi. I can’t.”

“You’ll stay here.” Connor spoke again, taking charge as he was wont to do. As if by the power of his sheer will he could eliminate the young woman’s fear.

“That won’t be enough to keep her safe.” Ramos turned to look up at his brother-in-law. “She’s right. Adira won’t give up. They’ll find her and then every female in this family will be at risk. We have to find a more secure spot.”

Robert silently agreed. If anyone in this room should
know what the Nuadians were capable of it would be Ramos. After all, he’d been raised by the devil’s spawn.

“I believe I may have a solution.” Pol, High Prince of the Realm of Faerie, long-distant ancestor of many in this room, rose to his feet. He turned his gaze toward Leah, his eyes sad. “If our young guest is agreeable to my suggestion, that is.”

Leah straightened in her seat, her face a mask of false bravado. “I’ll do anything that keeps me away from that woman. What’s your plan?”

“If the Nuadians’ new strength prevents Leah from living out her life without fear, perhaps we err in looking for a
where
to take her. Perhaps we should consider a
when.
”

Of course!
Leave it to the Prince to point out the obvious. The solution that none of them would ever consider on their own.

“I suppose it could be done,” Cate said thoughtfully. “We’d need to choose the spot carefully. Send her to someone we could trust.”

“But we couldn’t send her alone.” Mairi added her voice, betraying her growing excitement to anyone who knew her as well as Robert did.

“Send her where?” Destiny’s face had taken on an ashen look of panicked suspicion that spilled over into her voice. “What’s going on here that I’m not getting?”

“Not where,” Jesse explained. “When. They’re talking about sending Leah back in time.”

“That’s crazy.”

Robert fought the urge to shake his head. After all the woman had been through, how could she still doubt?

How could she not, he reminded himself. The knowledge that Faeries and magic existed was difficult to work your mind around in the beginning. He’d had his own time to get used to the idea. Destiny would need hers as well.

“You could really do that?” Leah sat up straight, interest lighting her eyes.

“Yes,” Jesse answered. “They can. But you’d need to understand, once you’re there, there’s no guarantee they could ever get you back.”

“Like you think I’d ever want to come back?” Leah scooted forward in her chair. “I’d spend my life in the Stone Age if it meant I could be safe from . . . from them.”

“I promise it’s not the Stone Age we’re considering.” Cate smiled at the young woman. “But it would be a very, very different life for you.”

“Anywhere.” Determination radiated around Leah. “How soon can I go?”

“As quickly as we can make a few preparations,” Cate answered.

“And decide who’s to accompany you,” Mairi added.

“I’ll go.” Jesse rose from his chair and crossed to where Destiny knelt next to Leah’s chair.

Robert’s spine stiffened. Jesse felt as much brother as friend to Robert after all these years. There was no way he could allow Jesse to take this kind of risk. Not now that he’d discovered the one woman fate had intended for him.

Before he could voice his opinion, Leah rejected the offer herself.

“Not you.” She shook her head, her hand fisted on the arm of the chair. “I didn’t go through all that agony
to save your life just so you could abandon my sister. You need to take care of her.”

“She already knows that I have every intention of doing exactly that,” his friend responded indignantly.

This time Robert made no attempt to school his expression. If there was a single soul in the room who couldn’t see how Jesse felt about Destiny by now, they were too far beyond blind for help. They were lost in the land of stupid.

Those two might need a lot of things going forward, but time apart wasn’t one of them. In fact, there was no one sitting in this room who could afford to take the risk of being left behind in time.

Except him. Were he to go, there would be no one left behind to worry over his return. No loving wife. No passel of children clamoring for a spot in his lap each evening.

He pushed the thought away. His was a good life, filled with trusted friends and blessed opportunity. That he seemed destined to live out this lifetime without finding his own Soulmate was out of his control. Had these people not become a part of his life, he would never even have known that he was supposed to have a Soulmate. He would have simply traveled his life’s journey alone, accepting what came to him.

He wouldn’t waste his days filled with envy for what his friends had found. Perhaps in another lifetime he would cross paths with the one meant for him. For this life, he would simply have to content himself with filling that empty spot in his heart by being the friend, the uncle. He was a warrior. Certainly he could be strong enough to face life alone.

Besides, this could well be his one and only opportunity to redeem himself. A last chance to keep his promise to a dying friend.

As far as the risk was concerned? He scoffed at the idea. He lived on the thrills that came from risk. This situation was a gift, pure and simple.

Taking a step forward, he broke the silence that had fallen in the room.

“I’ll do it. I’m the one to go with the lass.”

“Yer sure about this?” Connor questioned, his ice blue eyes intent as they turned in Robert’s direction.

“Even knowing we can’t guarantee getting you back here?” Cate added, her pretty brow wrinkled with concern.

Robert shrugged. His going only made sense. He’d sworn an oath. What happened to him was of little consequence as long as he was able to keep his word. “I’ve a small matter left undone by my abrupt departure. It would be good to get it off my conscience after all this time.”

The one nagging failure of his life. Bad enough to have failed a friend. Inexcusable to have failed a helpless child. Though he would never have children of his own, there was one small girl waiting for him to rescue her, seven hundred years in his past. At long last he’d keep that vow.

Across the room, Jesse chose this moment to announce his intention to marry the woman who gazed adoringly up into his eyes. Right there in front of all of them.

About time the man publicly acknowledged what they all could see.

Robert smiled and shook his head, turning from the celebration erupting around him and heading out toward the silence of the well-shaded grounds surrounding the renovated Scottish castle.

Though he shared his friend’s joy, he needed to step away from it for a moment. Not that he envied his friend. Not that the couple’s happiness highlighted the empty place by his own side. The empty place in his heart. He was too strong for such womanly feelings as that. No, it was simply that he needed the quiet and solitude to think. He needed time alone. Time to carefully plan.

There actually were any number of details to take care of before he left. Charlie, his bright-eyed Boston terrier came to mind. He knew Connor would see to picking the dog up from boarding and take it to his home where Charlie would be cared for and well loved. That was no worry. Though the idea he might never see his adoring pup again—that was a bit harder to stomach.

There were other arrangements to make as well. Legal paperwork of some sort would be required. He should set up a power of attorney, turning all his property over to someone.

Just in case.

If all went well, he’d do what needed to be done and then the magic would bring him home. The problem with using Faerie Magic was that it didn’t always do the expected, and Robert knew going into this he could well be giving up the life he’d come to love.

When a woman with Cate’s considerable Faerie Magic told you she might not be able to get you back
home, you’d be well advised to take her seriously. If this was going to end up being a one-way trip, he’d best make sure someone here would have access to his belongings. None of his wonderful toys, not the vehicles or the machinery he’d collected—none of it would do him any good where he was going.

When
he was going, he corrected himself. The Highlands of Scotland in 1272. The exact same time he’d left behind all those years ago. As long as they’d determined to hide Leah in the past, he could think of no better time than the one he’d left. It would suit both their needs. He’d be able to fulfill his vow to Thomas, and there were many people in that time they could trust to keep Leah safe.

The Nuadians had vowed to hunt her down, no matter where she went. No one in the room he’d just left doubted for a moment they would do exactly that. But as everyone sitting in that living room had reasoned, while the Nuadians might well track Leah down wherever she hid in this world, they’d have no chance at all of finding her in a completely different time.

He would accompany Leah on her unimaginable journey to thirteenth-century Scotland. He’d see her safely settled.

And then?

Then he’d be free to fulfill the oath he’d made over seven hundred years ago. He’d find Thomas’s daughter, Isabella, and take her to his own family’s home, where she would be cared for properly.