Prescribed for Love (23 page)

She now only joined Keith on the days when Alasdair could not spare as many men
.
She was excited today was one of those days. Each time she joined her brother
, she made it a point to bathe in
Alasdair
’s pond. The task had become less and less pleasant with the cooling temperatures, but Cat still preferred being clean to being warm.

“I was beginning to think you weren’t coming,
” greeted Keith.
“I thought you might have decided to sleep in instead.”

“It was tempting, but I knew you’d be short on hands today. Well, that and I knew you would need my superior intelligence. I’m surprised you were able to get anything done without me,” Cat replied
with a wink
.

“Actually, we’re almost done. Everything should be complete by the end of the week.”

“You should try and stretch it out a while longer. I stil
l have not found any sign of that stupid
book. I don’t want to run out of a reason to stay here. It will give
Alasdair
the wrong impression if we stay past when we are needed.”

“Speaking of my future nephew’s father, how are things going with the
big oaf
?” asked Keith.

“Or niece,” amend
ed Cat. “They’re not going at all, which is exactly how I like it.”

“I don’t believe that,
” replied Keith,
“T
he man seems crazy about you.”

“Now that’s an exaggeration. Sure, he still tries to approach me from time to time, but I always turn him away.”

“Do you need me to go all ‘big-brother’ on him and tell him to leave you alone?”
asked Keith while flexing his muscles.

Cat laughed at his antics.
“No, I can fight my own battles. And he hasn’t been really pushy.
But thanks for the offer.
”

“Good, I’m glad you said no, because I probably would have refused. I understand why you don’t want to tell him about the baby, but he’s a good guy. It just seems wrong to keep him in the dark,” said Keith.

“But like I’ve said before, it seems just as wrong to tell him. It’s not like the kid can visit every other weekend.
” She
sighed,
“
Not unless time travel machines have been
invented
in the time we’ve been gone.”

Keith must have been content to let the matter drop for now.
“Do you think if we make it back, the same amount of time will have g
one by in the future?”

“Not if, but when
,
”
insis
ted Cat. “I honestly don’t know. Time seemed to continue in a parallel manner for you, but who knows with that stupid book.”

“Well, there isn’t much we can do about it now.
” Keith wrapped his arm around his sister’s shoulder,
“
Let’s get down to the village and get to work. We can try to figure out an excuse about why need to stay longer while we’re there.”

“Sounds like a plan,” said Cat, wrapping her arm around him in a similar fashion
.

***

Alasdair
listened to Niall’s and Bra
nan’s explanation before asking,
“But why are ye so
concerned about cattle being stolen. It is common enough along the borders. While it is a nuisance, it doesnae necessarily mean the Camerons are planning anything.”

“Aye, but it is the quantity,” said Branan.

“And the frequency,” said Niall. “We
had dismissed it at first as ye
have.”

“We even went onto their lands to see where the cattle had gone,
” added Branan,
“B
ut none of the homes near the border had the animals. They dinnae appear to have any animals actually.”

This
last statement concerned
Alasdair
. He wondered why Cameron would need so
many animals
. If it was not for his people, he worried
for
whom the animals were
intended. “Continue ye
r observations
. If this continues for much longer, or anything changes, make sure I am informed
.”
Alasdair
hoped his
conclusion was wrong.

But
just in case
his fears were warranted, he went in search of Keith.
Alasdair
found him just as he was finishing for the day. “Keith, can I talk to ye for a moment.”

“Sure, what’s up?”
said the man.

“Are ye skilled in masonry as well?
” Alasdair explained,
“
I would like to talk about possible improvements for the castle.”

“Well, that depends—what are you trying to do?” asked Keith.
Alasdair
described
the additional security and reinforcements he wanted to add. If the Camerons were planning another
attack, he wanted his home well-
fortified. “I think I can handle that,” said Keith after hearing his explanations. “I would just need to look at a few things. Let’s go take a look now. Oh wait! First, let me go tell Cat where I’m going.”

“Why? Where is she?”
asked Alasdair.

“She lef
t just a moment before you came,” replied Keith,
“
I was leaving to meet her at the pond.”

“She went alone?”

“Well, she wouldn’t have been alone if you hadn’t stopped me,”
counter
ed Keith.

Disgusted,
Alasdair
left Keith behind. He intend
to retrieve Catriona and lecture her for going off on her own
when he had specifically asked her not to engage in such foolishness again
.
The siblings’ complete disregard for safety baffled
Alasdair
. Did they have no comprehension of the possible dangers? When she was in sight he yelled, “What were ye thinking coming here alone? Ye promised ye wouldnae come here again unaccompanied!”

“Jeez, M
ac! Why are you yelling? I haven’
t come here alone. Well, not before today,
” she amended,
“B
ut Keith was right behind me when I left.”

“I tried explai
ning that to him,” added Keith. Alasdair did not even know he had followed. “B
ut
,
he didn’t want to hear it.”

“And ye!” roared
Alasdair
. “How could ye be so irresponsible as to let yer sister leave without ye?”

“First of all, my broth
er doesn’t ‘let’ me do anything,” seethed Catriona.
“
I’m a grown woman and I make my own decisions.”

“And second of all,” interrupted Keith.
Alasdair
was a bit shocked—he had never heard Keith yell in anger before. “You’ve got a lot of balls calling me irresponsible when you’re the one who got my sister pregnant!”

“KEITH!”

“Oh shit!” said her brother. “Cat, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to say anything.”

Alasdair
could hardly fathom what he had heard. “Is this true?” he asked Catriona. But rather than answer, she just cl
imbed out of the water, put
her dress
on over her soaking wet body,
and began to walk toward the castle without saying a word. She would not even look
at either of them
.

Alasdair
began to follow immediately after her, but Keith held him back. “You should give her some space. Trust me, you want to let her cool down before you try to talk to her.”

“She still shouldnae be alone,” s
napped
Alasdair
. “It isnae safe.”

“Fine, we’ll just follow behind and make sure she gets back
in one piece
,” agreed Keith. Neither man said
a word to the other
as they followed
behind Catriona. Intending to talk to her, Alasdair
continued to follow her once they were within the confines of the keep
, but was once again stopped by Keith
, “Wait, there’s one more thing.
”

“What?”
demanded Alasdair in exasperation.

But
rather than a verbal answer
, Alasdair received a punch
in the jaw
.
“You’re lucky I like you,” said Keith, “But I did owe you that; she is my baby sister after all.”

Alasdair
’s guards had moved in
closer
in case they were needed, but he waived them off.
He rubbed his jaw and
nodded at Keit
h, “Are ye sure that is enough—o
nly one blow?”

“I’m sure. Besides, Cat will probably do worse to
you
and then kill me,” scoffed Keith.
“
Good luck!”

Alasdair
knocked on Catriona’s door. She did not answer, but he had not expected she would.
He let himself in anyway, prepared to duck under any flying objects
.
While he knew she was upset, he had not expected to find Catriona crying
, “Catriona, I
a
m sorry, I didnae…”

“You don’t need to be sorry,” she interrupted, “This is just as much my fault as it is yours.”

“How long have ye known?” he asked.

“Since just before Keith arrived.”

This surprised
Alasdair
. “So ye knew when I offered ye marriage, but
ye still refus
ed me?”

“
Of course I turned you down
Alasdair
, I can’t stay here. Hell, I don’t even know if I could stay here even if I wanted to.
”
She quickly amended, “
I don’t want to
by the way—just so we’re
clear.”

“But why did ye nae tell me?”
he could not understand why she had kept silent.

“Because it doesn’t change anything, I have to go
home,
”
she insisted.

“Yer home is worth taking a child away from its father?”

“You just don’t understand,” she said.

“What is there to understand? Ye are now my responsibility, as is
my
child.”

“No, that is where you are wrong. I am no one’s responsibility. I deserve to be more than a burden.”
The fierceness in her reply took Alasdair aback.

“Ye wouldnae be a burden,
”
he insisted.

“Maybe you see it that way, but I don’t.
I need to be able to take care of myself.
Back home, my parents died when Keith and I were very young. Our aunt was forced to take care of us. Well, we saw how much of a strain that could be and how it soured any affection she may have had for us. I vowed to never let that happen again, and worked hard to ensure I could
keep that vow. I went to school just
so I could work in a job that paid well enough to provide for any needs I may have.
I can’t just throw that all away!
”

“But ye wouldnae need to work if ye stay here,” he interrupted when she stopped to
take in a
breath. “And I will provide for yer needs.”

“Ugh, you just don’t get it, and I can’t even explain it to you. Yo
u just don’t think the way I do,” she replied with a huff. But then she calmed,
“
Look,
Alasdair
, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but this is exactly why. Nothing you can say will keep me here. I thought it would be cruel to tell you
that you
had a child, only to take it away.”

“Then why have ye nae
left?” asked
Alasdair
, even though he knew it had something to do with the book he kept hidden.

“Because…because I can’t—not yet anyway.”

“Why?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” said Catriona. With this statement, all of
her remaining anger dissipated
.

“I will believe ye. I ken
ye are nae a liar, even though ye tend to keep secrets.”

“Just the one secret.”

“N
ay, I know of at least one more.” Alasdair prompted,
“
I overheard ye and yer brother one night, I know ye need yer spell book to
get home, but I dinnae know why.
”

“
I guess I’m not the only one keeping secrets, huh?”
Alasdair
inwardly cringed at this
accusation
.
He was ashamed he had not told her about the book, but now he found he could not regret his decision—not after learning what he had this day.
But, he still needed to
discover what it was about the book that was so important
.
Rather than answer her mocking question, he waited for her to answer his query.
“Fine, I’ll tell you—even though I don’t think you’ll believe me. With any luck, you’ll think I’m crazy and be more than happy to get rid of me.”