Hope Everlastin' Book 4 (24 page)

"Tis no' like I canna build
anither fortune," he'd told her with all sincerity, confident of
his ability to provide her and his children with what he considered
to be a proper way of life.

Beth didn't tell him what
present day life was like in the outside world. And she didn't
voice her concern with his refusal to wear anything but the clothes
he favored. She could just imagine him going on a job interview,
dressed like a gentleman pirate minus the gold earring, his
swaggering speech and his eighteenth century attitude, and his
reaction when asked which computer program he knew.

She could hear him say,
"Wha' do I need a computer for, mon? I have a brain, dinna
I?"

"Beth?"

Lachlan's chuckle of her
name wrenched her from her reverie and she found herself staring
into the smiling depths of his dark eyes. Her heart skipped a beat,
and she felt the heat of a flush in her cheeks.

"Sorry. I was
daydreaming."

With a sigh, he looked down
at each of the babies' sleeping faces. "Do you hear tha', young
Broc and Ciarda? Yer mither is cravin’ ma sorry bones again." He
looked up at Beth and shook his head. "Shame on you,
lass."

Beth laughed and fanned her
face with a hand. "Shame on you! I do think of other things besides
your body."

"Hmmm." Again he glanced at
his children. "And how easily a lie passes her sweet
lips."

"You're
incorrigible."

His eyes rolled up to study
her mischievously. "And a handsome devil, if I say so
maself."

She laughed again and
focused on the peafowl for a time then adoringly met his
gaze.

He was handsome. His brow
was broad and smooth. Black expressive eyebrows and a long,
straight nose. Long, thick black eyelashes surrounded eyes that
were so dark, only in daylight could the pupils be seen. High
cheekbones, and a squarish jawline. Grooves in his cheeks and a
cleft in his chin. Chiseled lips, the lower fuller. Unless his hair
was touched by sunlight it looked black, but in fact had glossy,
dark red highlights. And since their return, he'd lost the paleness
of his ghostly pallor. His skin wasn't tanned, but naturally darker
than her own.

"Beth, ye're lookin’ me
over like a hungry wolf abou' to pounce on its prey."

A warmer blush suffused her
face. "Am I?"

"Aye, you wicked
womon."

She released a short sigh
then said nonchalantly, "I love you."

He blinked in surprise.
"Wha' brought tha' on?"

"Can't I tell you I love
you whenever I like?"

"Tis no' like you to just
say it."

"Life is about
change."

She hadn't meant to sound
so cryptic, and knew from his mild frown that her behavior was
perplexing him. "Lachlan, may I ask you something?"

"O' course."

"I want a straight answer,
okay?"

He nodded.

"Why do you love
me?"

His first reaction was
astonishment then he softly laughed and gave a shake of his head.
"I canna believe you asked me tha'."

"I'm not questioning your
love, really I'm not. I guess what I'm asking is, what do you think
makes people fall in love?"

His eyebrows peaked
comically.

"Okay," she said with a
little smile. "Every time I look at you, I can't help but think how
you could have any woman you want, and yet you choose to be with
me."

"Beth," he moaned
humorously.

"Let me finish." She took
Ciarda into her arms, caressed her pink cheek for a moment then
looked into Lachlan's eyes. "I know I'm not homely, but I'm not
beautiful, either. I use to be mousy, but now I'm short-tempered,
and I'm certainly not knowledgeable enough to wow you with
intellectual conversation. So what's the attraction, Lachlan? Why
me?"

He blinked once, twice,
then blew air out the side of his mouth. "You never fail to amaze
me, or insult ma character when I least expect it."

"I'm not fishing for
compliments, or trying to insult you. I just don't
understand."

"Are you fancyin’ a crazy
notion tha' I'll tire o' you?" he asked with a hint of
pique.

"I've thought about the
possibility."

"Ah." He repositioned
Ciarda into his left arm then cupped Beth's nape with his right and
drew her toward him. His mouth covered hers in a slow, deep kiss.
When he ended the kiss, he pressed his brow to hers for a few
moments. When he straightened back, he somberly looked her in the
eye. "Beth, I could ask the same o' you. As for me havin’ any womon
I want, if memory serves me, afore you, the only womon I chose
dirked me in the heart."

He smiled ruefully. "But I
didna choose her because I loved her. I had no mind o' wha' love
was abou' then. I only knew she would give me grand
babies.

"Beth, I've ma share o'
intelligence, but you have yers as weel. It disheartens me to hear
you think so little o' yerself."

"I'm sorry," she
murmured.

Lachlan shook his head in
amazement. "You are mair'n maist men dare to dream o' havin’ in
their lives. You
are
beautiful. You have a timeless beauty tha' give wings to a
mon's heart. Ye're sensitive and carin’, and have a way o' lookin’
at me tha' makes ma knees weaken and a lump to form in ma
throat.

"I once told you, lass, I
wasna capable o' lovin’ anyone but you. There's no' anither mouth
in the whole o' this vast world I want to kiss, or anither body
tha' I will ever long to pleasure. So in answer to yer question, I
love you because you are who you are. You gave life and love to an
embittered
bòcain
—ghost—and hope to a mon who, to be honest, doesna deserve
you. Wha' created the love atween us, God only knows, but I refuse
to question its existence."

He fell silent and Beth
stared at him misty-eyed. She was ashamed to have doubted him, and
ashamed that she did in fact think herself unworthy of
unconditional love.

"Beth," he said softly, "I
promise you you'll never regret marryin’ me. Were I a mon wi' a
wanderin’ heart and eye, would I have died a bloody
virgin?"

This last wrenched a laugh
from her. The twins jerked, startled, but quickly settled back into
their cozy realm of sleep.

"Uncle Lannie, watch!"
called Kahl.

Beth and Lachlan turned
their attention to the boys. Kahl made a valiant attempt to stand
on his hands, teetered, and flopped onto his back. Droplets of
water sprayed up around him. Soaked to the skin, he gasped then
peals of laughter erupted from him and his brothers joined
in.

Beth passed Lachlan a grin,
and said to the boys, "Change your clothes. It's still chilly out
here."

The three ran to the
gazebo, dashed up the steps, and stopped in front of their adopted
aunt and uncle. His hair dripping wet, cheeks rosy and hazel eyes
bright, Kahl swiped a hand under his nose, then exposed his small
white teeth in an impish grin.

"I'm not cold. Can't we
play some more?"

Lachlan glanced at Beth
before saying to the boys, "Change into warmer clothes, laddies,
then come back ou'. But you might want to try to stay
drier."

"Okay," Alby beamed. He
stepped closer and peered down into each of the tiny faces visible
within the folds of the blankets. "They sleep a lot."

"Pretty soon," said Beth,
"they'll be chasing you."

"Really?" said Kevin,
wide-eyed. "When do babies start walking?"

Beth shrugged. "I think
about ten months old."

"That's a long time away,"
Kahl said.

"Yeah," agreed Kevin.
"We'll be old by then."

"Laddie," Lachlan began
wryly, a twinkle in his eyes,
"I'm
old. Tis a fair wager you will all still be lads
when the bairns start runnin’ abou'. Now scat, and get ou' o' those
wet clothes afore you catch cold."

A ponderous expression
masked Kahl's face and he asked, "How can you
catch
a cold?"

"I can catch a ball," said
Kevin.

"I can catch a worm," Alby
giggled.

"And I can catch yer
bahookie wi' the sole o' ma boot," said Lachlan with mock
seriousness.

With a squeal, the boys
dashed off in the direction of the house, Kevin in the lead and
Alby trailing as they held out their arms like wings and made
sounds that were supposed to be that of engines. They didn't stop
until Laura came out of the house and met them a few feet from the
front door. They briefly spoke to her then disappeared
inside.

"She doesna look happy,"
Lachlan commented, watching Laura approach the gazebo.

"I hope she's not upset
because the boys got so wet."

Lachlan frowned. "No.
Somethin’s troublin’ her."

Beth decided not to
question the conviction in his tone, for she also felt a shadow of
foreboding pass over her awareness. By the time Laura stepped onto
the floor of the gazebo, she was briskly rubbing her arms for
warmth. She sat to Beth's right. With a burst of breath, she turned
her gaze on the couple with a look that bespoke of
uncertainty.

"You look as if you've seen
a ghost," Beth said, not thinking about her choice of
words.

Laura paled. "I have. Roan
thinks I'm crazy, but I know what I saw in our bedroom."

A chuff of a laugh escaped
Lachlan before he realized Laura was serious. Sobering, he asked,
"A wha' in yer room?"

"A man," Laura said with a
tremor in her tone. "Short dark hair. Glasses. A black raincoat. I
swear I could see him as clearly as I see you both."

Lachlan's face darkened
with a scowl. "Perhaps a reporter has gotten into the
house."

"I could see through him!"
Laura exclaimed.

Two pairs of eyes stared
blankly at her.

"I know how it sounds, but
it's the truth. Roan and I were in bed, about to—" She caught her
breath and blushed hotly. "Well, we were in a compromising position
when I caught sight of this man in the corner of my eye. He was
there for a second or two while I looked straight at him. It wasn't
an illusion. He was there."

"Oh, damn," Beth
murmured.

"Is it possible another
spirit could have come through with you?"

"Laura, I think we would
have known," said Lachlan.

"I agree. And if one had
somehow managed to come through, why wait so long to
appear?"

Angrily, Laura sputtered,
"Do you know how unnerving it is to realize something has been
watching you when you're naked? I'm so pissed off, I could spit!
The sonofabitch seemed to be getting off watching us make
love!"

"Roan didna see
him?"

Laura made a gesture of
futility. "No, but my hero felt the air for the
bastard."

Lachlan and Beth chuckled
in unison, but regretted it when Laura scowled at them scoldingly.
"Look, this may strike you two in the funny bones, but I'm not
amused. Beth, how would you like it if you found a stranger
watching you during an intimate moment?" Before Beth could reply,
Laura charged on, "And how would you like it, Lachlan, if a dead
man was drooling over Beth?"

"I'd split ma spleen," he
grumbled.

"So how do we get rid of
him?"

"Laura," Lachlan said on an
exaggerated sigh. "I was in the business o’ spooking,
remember?"

"How could I forget?" she
retorted.

"Weel, now, how would I
know how to send a spirit off?"

The green eyes stared at
him with a sour accusation. "You think it's amusing, don't
you?"

"Laura, be serious," Beth
said.

"I am!"

"Fegs, lass, dinna put
thoughts in ma head or words in ma mouth. I dinna know wha' you
expect me to do, is all."

Laura became instantly
contrite. "I'm sorry. Seeing him has me so damned rattled, I don't
know what I'm saying."

"Tis all right," said
Lachlan kindly. "Laura, soon as Deliah and Winston return, you'll
have yer answer. If they canna tell us how to handle this, no one
can."

"You're right." Laura
released a pathetic little laugh. "I guess I thought you two had an
inside connection to the afterlife."

"I hope not." Beth grinned,
but it vanished when she noticed Lachlan shiver. "What is it?" she
asked him.

"I wish I knew. It has
happened afore."

"What has?"

"The best I can explain it,
tis like a wink o' darkness inside me."

Laura's features contorted
in a grimace and she shivered. "I'm going to have
nightmares."

Lachlan's dark eyes became
glazed and riveted on Laura as swift images flashed through his
mind, too nebulous for him to decipher. A loud hum from an unknown
source filled his ears, and something akin to flames licked along
the periphery of his vision. The hum moved into his throat, his
chest, and spread into his fingers and toes, numbing him. Through
it, he vaguely heard Beth calling his name. He forced himself to
concentrate on her, using her as a lifeline to tow himself back to
reality.