Night Games (33 page)

Will it ever stop, Eamonn?

Aye. When the keep topples, never to rise again, then he'll take her home forever
.

Brian shook his head. “Eamonn waited too long for his Bridget. I wouldn't take her away from him.” His memories of this time would never be about the keep, but about the woman standing beside him.

Ally wrapped her arms around his waist and settled her head against his chest. “You're a wonderful man, Brian Byrne, and I love you.”

 

 

 

 

Ally had told Brian she loved him, and he'd just hugged her. Guess that pretty much defined their relationship. She loved, he liked.

She stood beside the wagon with Katy and watched him walk toward her. This would be one of her enduring memories of him. He strode down the hill in the morning light with his long hair lifting in the breeze, the rubble of his ruined keep behind him.

The essence of the man lay in that jumbled pile of stone. He could have easily rebuilt the keep, but his generosity extended to an old man he'd met only a few times and who'd died more than three hundred years ago.

He stopped in front of her and smiled. Brian's smile lit the morning and dispelled her poor-pitiful-me feelings. She'd live in the moment, enjoy
the little time she had with him, and let the future take care of itself.

“The others are leaving today. The stag should be here any minute now. I thought you might want to see it.” He included Katy in his invitation.

Ally's heart caught, then started beating again, but twice as fast to make up for the skipped beats. “And you?”

His smile faded. “I'm staying the full three weeks. You don't think I'd leave now, do you?”

She didn't know what his question meant. The important thing was he wouldn't be leaving today. “What do you say, Katy? Want to see time travel in action?”

Katy nodded enthusiastically. “I'll go get my camcorder.”

Ally watched Katy disappear into the wagon. Anything rather than look at Brian. She'd better say something. Silence that lasted more than thirty seconds made her nervous. “At least the rest of your vacation should be uneventful. Erica admitted everything to the authorities. They'll probably schedule a psychological consultation for her. She kept babbling about a monster under the keep.”

For a moment, Ally thought he wouldn't comment.

“I guess that frees up Dave. Ever thought of going back to him?” Brian's voice gave no clue to his thoughts.

Shocked, Ally finally met his gaze. “Why would
I do that?” It would be like . . . She couldn't think of a comparison that would do justice to the difference between Brian and Dave. Wait, she had it. She hated raw oysters. It would be like eating raw oysters after a box of Godiva chocolates. She shuddered.

Brian shrugged. “Just checking.”

Katy hurried from the wagon, freeing Ally of the need to fill the silence with speech. Speech that might stray into the personal range and lead to her blurting out the “L” word again.

“With everything happening, we haven't done much with your book. Do you think you have enough material?” He turned to look toward Cap and the others gathered near the small grove of trees.

“Sure.” She'd
never
write that book. How could she when every word would remind her of Brian?

He slanted her a wicked grin, one that turned his gaze to smoke and fire. “Still need a night of endless foreplay. Thought you said women in 2002 wanted lots of foreplay.”

She widened her eyes. “Did I say that? If I did, then I was wrong. Too much foreplay can kill you.”

Katy reached them. “What's that you said about foreplay?”

Brian started walking toward the others. “Ally doesn't want it.”

“I'm a main event kind of woman.” She made sure Katy walked between Brian and her. It gave her the illusion of safety.

Thank heavens they reached the others before Katy could comment.

Jupe turned a worried glance toward Brian. “Sure you won't come back with us?”

Brian shook his head. “I'm staying the full three weeks.”

Conversation ceased as the air shimmered and shifted around them. Suddenly, the white stag was there. It stood, large and majestic, its antlered head turned expectantly in their direction.

Cap cast Brian a searching look. “Think real hard about what you want out of your life.”

The Old One looked as though one of her mouths was about to comment on Cap's advice.

She never got the chance. A shot rang out from the small grove. With an expression of shock in its wide eyes, the stag went to its knees.

“What the hell!” Brian moved toward the trees just as a man emerged with gun in hand.

Ally knew him. It was the heavy-set man who'd eaten breakfast at the Fitzgeralds'.

He blinked as he took in the outraged circle of people. “I was after doing a little hunting.” He fixed his gaze on Katy. “Ye mentioned that ye'd seen a white deer here. I . . .” Realizing that Katy didn't look encouraging, his glance shifted away.

Suddenly, the Old One reared up from the back of the group. At her full height, the Old One was a scary proposition. She roared her fury.

The man opened and closed his mouth a few times before he was able to get out a screech.
Dropping his gun, he turned and raced back into the trees. No one followed him.

Brian ran to the stag, which had managed to push itself back to its feet. It stood there trembling while Brian ran his fingers over its side. He turned to the anxious group of travelers. “There's a bad gouge here, but it's not life-threatening. I'll get my first-aid supplies.” He ran for his shelter before anyone could speak.

Silence moved in uneasy waves around the huddled group of travelers. For once Katy had nothing to say.

Ally's heart had left its normal position and was quickly sliding into despair. Ally knew what they all knew, but weren't saying. The stag had found danger in 2002. It would never return to this time.

Brian would have to go home with the others, or not go home at all.

No! She wasn't ready for this. She hadn't worked herself up to final good-byes.

Brian returned and pushed his way through the silent group. He worked quickly and efficiently, then backed away from the stag. “That should do it.”

Jupe stepped forward and said what they all knew. “You'll have to come back with us, Brian.”

Ally heard his words as though from a distance. She stood amidst the rubble of her own belief in what she'd wanted for her life, her plans for her future, and knew her personal pile of despair
was a mountain compared to the keep behind her.

Strangely calm, she did a final checklist. In a choice between Brian and everything she knew and cherished—her family, her home, her career—which would she choose? She mentally put a check beside Brian's name. It was that simple.

And if he didn't want her? She'd watch him leave. But she wouldn't let him go without giving love a chance. “I want to go with you.”

“Be sure, Ally.” Katy's voice was quiet, her usual spunk gone.

Brian turned toward her, and for a moment something warm and welcoming darkened his gaze. Then he looked past her, at the remains of the Byrne legacy. “You don't want to do that, babe. You'd be giving up everything you've ever known to go with a man who makes his living by—”

“I don't care.” Ally didn't try to hide her feelings, but she sure wished she could do something about the tears filling her eyes. She blinked madly. Pretty soon she'd be sniffling and hunting for a tissue. A runny nose would
not
add to her sensual mystique.

But I do care
. Brian looked back at the avid audience hanging on every word Ally and he exchanged. They all cared because each owned a piece of his past. His gaze returned to Ally.

But Ally owned his future.
He'd fought the good fight through the long night. His code of honor
demanded he return to play out his contract.

After hours of wrestling with his soul, he'd reached the only possible conclusion. The hell with his contract. He'd break a thousand contracts for Ally.

And in choosing the one person he wanted for all time, he'd discovered something important. Maybe he'd been wrong about his mother. What did he know about the choices she'd had to make? Life-altering decisions touched a lot of people, just as his decision would affect many people in 2502. He could never judge his mother without first looking into her heart, knowing
why
she'd left him. He felt free for the first time in his life.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, he prepared to break a promise for the second time in his life. “I'm not going back to 2502. Ever. I'm staying here.”

Ally's eyes widened, her face paled. “Your contract . . . I know how you feel about promises.”

Brian heard Jupe's oath and Cap's triumphant shout. Strangely, he heard nothing from the Old One. But then, she'd always been a pragmatist. The Boss would cut her losses and go on to win with someone else.

Right now, Ally was the only person who mattered.

Brian touched her face with the tip of his finger, felt the dampness of tears on her cheek. “
Ta' gra' agam duit.
I love you, Ally O'Neill.”

She gazed up at him and smiled through her
tears. “Where'd you learn Gaelic, Byrne?”

He returned her smile. “I had the Language Assimilation Program tuck in a few common Gaelic phrases.”

She swiped at her tears. “And how common is
that
phrase?”

“More common than you think.” He finally gave in to temptation and pulled her into his embrace. “An Irishman is always prepared, babe.”

Ally planted her palms against his chest and pushed. Puzzled, he backed up.

“What about your contract? We have to get the Old One to release you. I don't want you to feel bad about going back on your word.”

He shook his head. “You know, I always thought breaking a promise was the worst thing I could do. Wrong. The worst thing I could've done was to walk away from you.” He took her hand and started toward his space-age bathroom. “Fate has a way of evening things out. Years from now I'll tell my grandchildren how broken promises brought me my greatest sadness and my greatest joy.”

“Wait. Where're we going?” She yanked on his hand, forcing him to stop.

“You're right about one thing. I owe the Old One an explanation. She probably scuttled off to the bathroom. It makes her feel secure. Reminds her of home.”

Ally dug in her feet. “We have a bit of unfinished business before
we
face the Old One.”

Before he could voice his question, she stood
on tiptoe, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him. She covered his mouth with soft lips, while the tip of her tongue traced a path of fiery exploration. He opened his mouth to her, and her tongue tangled with his. Her sweet seductive taste, the slide of her tongue over his, and her breathed words of love were a promise for all his tomorrows.

When she finally moved away, he just stared at her. “Hate to tell you, sweetheart, but that didn't finish anything.”

Never breaking eye contact, she slid her fingers over his erection. “Oh, yes.” Her murmur was warm anticipation. “I'm going to enjoy pleasing you, Brian Byrne.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were through pleasing men.”

Ally smiled a wicked, feline smile. “Your pleasure will be my pleasure. Of course, if you expect me to fluff your pillow, you're out of luck.” Her gaze slid over his body and stopped at his groin. “I'm not totally against fluffing, though.”

His groin was into fluffing possibilities. He exhaled sharply and yanked his attention from sexual imaging. Tonight he'd explore growth, expansion, and fluffing issues with Ally. “We'd better find the Old One before I drag you into the wagon and lock the door.” He continued walking with Ally at his side.

He knew she was thinking of that wagon. Locked doors, erotic paintings, and steamy ceiling mirrors. So was he.

Brian flung open the bathroom door without knocking and strode in with Ally close behind.

The Old One squatted in the center of the pristine white bathroom. She radiated outraged majesty.

Brian controlled his urge to shift from foot to foot. She might have an overwhelming presence, but he had love behind him. Ally moved to his side. Okay, now he had love on his side.

He drew a deep breath and faced his angry employer. “Okay, Boss, here's the deal. I'm staying here and nothing can change that.”

The Old One's bulging eyes narrowed. All twenty of them.

“You're a survivor, and you'll figure out a way to win another championship without me.” He turned thoughtful. “The fans will probably expect you to retire my number sixty-nine.”

The Old One's narrowed gaze suggested what she'd like to do with his number 69.

“Look, you'll save all kinds of money. You can steal a great young player from some other team. There's Reylan from the Raunchy Raiders or Kestor from the Carnal Cowboys. Both will be all-stars some day. And both are free agents.”

The Old One's gaze had turned assessing.

“Why isn't she talking?” Ally edged closer to his side.

“She's sulking. She never talks when she sulks.”

Ally stared at the Old One. “That's a pretty immature
reaction, Boss. Reasonable adults should be able to discuss things—”

The Old One opened her jaws and roared.

“Reasonably,” Ally finished on a mutter. “Boy, she's touchy.”

“Comes from too many years of getting her own way.” Brian had one more thing to say to his former boss. “I'm sorry about the contract, but you're smart and I guarantee you'll find someone to replace me for a lot less money. You're a winner, and you'll always come out on top.” A little flattery never hurt anything.