Time Everlastin' Book 5 (16 page)

An oppressive silence
cloaked the Victorian mansion. Sitting on the carpeted landing
between the first and second floor, Laura Bennett braced her elbows
on her thighs and lowered her chin into upturned palms. She was
bone tired and yet couldn't sleep. Her mind was fuzzy with fatigue,
her eyelids gritty and heavy. For the sake of her unborn child, she
repeatedly told herself she had to get past her
insomnia.

To no avail.

As soon as her head
reclined, her mind kicked into overdrive, rehashing every event
that had taken place in Baird House since her arrival.

Granted, she missed Roan.
Although she'd known him for less than a year, his absence left a
terrible void. A bed without his presence was intolerable. She'd
tried sleeping in other rooms and on the sofa in the library.
Without Roan's arms around her, though, sleep was an elusive
companion.

Her nephews didn't help the
long days pass any quicker. At breakfast, lunch and dinner, amidst
their play and while she readied them for bed, they hounded her
with questions of when their Uncle Roan would return. If only she
knew. The last phone call was four days ago. Roan, Lachlan and
Reith were on the Isle of Lewis. No one was sure when the battery
in Winston's cellular phone had died. They'd only discovered it
this morning. Soon, she hoped, electricity and a phone line would
get installed at the manor.

Laura's eyes watered with a
yawn. She stretched the small of her back, her bleary gaze
semi-focused on the landing below.

Again, the depth of the
silence weighed heavily on her shoulders. It was an unnatural
ambiance in Baird House, more unsettling than the restless spirits
that had inhabited the estate not so long ago. Even more
distressing than Eilionoir and Dugan Ingliss' visit had
been.

Thought of Roan's parents
caused a moan to rattle in her mind. Not only had they arrived
uninvited, but Eilionoir had pushed everyone's patience beyond
endurance. The only good that had come of having a killer's ghost
plague the estate, was that he had driven the obnoxious woman away.
With Dugan at her heels.

Laura wasn't sure if Lachlan
had deliberately waited to escort the spirits of reporter Stephan
Miles and the serial killer Wade Cuttstone—a.k.a The Phantom—to the
afterworld, or if the glorious absence of the elder Inglisses had
inspired him. Less than fifteen hours after Roan's parents had
taken off for Edinburgh, Baird house was purged of its last
ghosts.

"Little wonder I can't
sleep," Laura murmured, and glanced up the staircase to her right.
She could check in on the boys again. No. They were fast asleep,
otherwise they would be huddled around her asking about
Roan.

A weary smile played across
her mouth.

They loved Roan as much as
she did. She couldn't imagine what her life would be like if she
hadn't happened across Baird House—actually, wrecked the car she
was driving on its grounds.

That seemed so...so long
ago.

Getting to her feet, she
descended the stairs. Her intention to go to the kitchen was
diverted when she glanced down the hall to the front door. There
wouldn't be many fall nights to enjoy. Winter was closing in
already.

Taryn had been gone over
five months.

How many treks would the men
make before they gave up the search?

Laura passed through the
inner double doors, and beyond the small glass plant house to the
exterior doors. The instant she stepped into the cool night air,
she filled her lungs and felt the edge of her restlessness ebb. It
crossed her mind to return inside and fetch a bathrobe. Walking
outside in nothing but one of Roan's T-shirt's and her panties
would not have been acceptable in Chicago, but the Baird estate was
relatively isolated on its hill overlooking Loch Ken and the town
of Crossmichael. The gardens and rhododendron hedges provided
privacy from the roads bordering two sides.

Still, she was a little
self-conscious as she roamed the grounds and imbibed the fact that
it was also too quiet here. Even the peafowl, who usually shrieked
when anyone passed them by.

After a time, she left the
south garden and headed for the house. She wasn't sure what drew
her attention to the gazebo. In the meager light of the crescent
moon, she couldn't make out anything but the structure, yet she
felt a tug on her awareness that refused to be ignored.

Laura climbed the three
steps and onto the planked floor. Although the roof blocked out the
sparse moonlight, she spied a figure sitting on the opposite
steps.

"Blue?"

The head turned slightly
then a hand lifted and gestured Laura to approach. Laura sat
alongside the Faerie queen and tugged the hemline of the T-shirt
over her knees.

"Can't sleep again?" Blue
asked, her gaze remaining fixed on something straight
ahead.

"No. What about
you?"

Blue's small shoulders
lifted in a half-hearted shrug. "They're on their way back," she
said in a barely audible tone.

"Really?" Laura exclaimed,
but sobered when Blue's sadness permeated her elation. "What's
wrong?"

"He isn't with
them."

Dread squeezed Laura's
heart. "Roan?"

With a start, Blue looked
into Laura's eyes. "Forgive me. I meant...."

"Reith."

Braussaw strutted from a low
hedge and perched between the women's feet. Laura stoked his sleek
neck before she lifted her gaze to study Blue's profile.

"You still can't say his
name," she said, and folded her arms against her midriff. "Why do
you suppose he's not with Roan and Lachlan again?"

"I only know he's not with
them."

Long seconds passed in
silence until Laura heaved a ponderous sigh. Although Blue's face
was shadowed, Laura felt the bright blue eyes searching her
face.

"Last night I told my mother
I was the reincarnation of the woman who murdered Lachlan." Laura
chuckled softly. "She took the news pretty well."

"Why did you tell
her?"

Again Laura chuckled. "We
were sitting in the parlor, enjoying a cup of tea, and I blurted it
out."

A soft laugh escaped Blue.
"Your parents are good people. Roan's now...."

"Hmm," Laura said, the sound
laden with dry humor. "I keep thinking about Taryn, Blue. Roan is
convinced her childhood was fraught with disappointments. I guess
she did have it rough. I don't imagine Eilionoir was a loving
mother."

"Taryn had choices, as we
all have."

"Sure...but...." Laura fell
silent for a time. "My parents adored my brother. He could do no
wrong. Now, me, on the other hand, couldn't do anything right. I
may have lived to a ripe old age blaming my parents for my faults.
Being here and seeing them now, I realize the problem was
me."

"What with Tessa Aiken
wrapped around your soul, little wonder," Blue said.

"Funny thing is, Blue, I'm
grateful to her." When a small gasp came from the Faerie queen,
Laura rushed to explain, "Discovering her part of me has made me
open my eyes. I've been an introvert most of my life. Had a few
affairs that meant nothing and went nowhere. My world consisted of
designing perfume bottles and watching the world go by on a
television."

Braussaw angled his head,
inviting Laura to scratch his throat.

"You see," Laura went on,
obliging the peacock, "I know now that my parents loved me as much
as my brother. They didn't neglect me. I neglected them. Until the
boys and Roan came into my life, I didn't have a clue about love.
Didn't have a clue about a lot of things. And...if not for Tessa
popping out and compelling me to return here, I would have returned
to the States with the boys and made a miserable
guardian."

"Choices," Blue
murmured.

"Actually, Tessa made the
choice for me. Looking back, I think she mistook guilt for hatred
of Lachlan. Or maybe I'm trying to make excuses for her behavior. I
don't know."

"You know her better than
anyone," Blue said kindly, and squeezed Laura's hand. "And now you
know yourself."

"I hope so," Laura chortled.
She sighed. "All I want is to make Roan and the boys
happy."

"You have
doubts?"

"Not so much
anymore."

"Ahhh."

"What?"

Blue smoothed her hands over
the white gown covering the top of her thighs. "I sense insecurity
in you, Laura."

"No. No, I'm not...well,
maybe a little."

"Why?"

Laura released a breath
through pursed lips. "Roan's a lot of man."

"As you are a woman. He
loves you, Laura. Surely, you don't doubt that."

"No, I don't. He has the
most incredible way of looking at me." She grinned shyly. "I
just...just want us to hold onto the magic we have."

Blue laughed outright. "I
think I know a wee about magic!"

Laura's face grew warm with
a blush. "You know what I mean."

"I do," Blue said merrily.
Her hand lit upon Laura's rounding stomach. She closed her eyes
momentarily, a look of rapture softening her features. "She's so
tiny," she murmured, and lifted her eyelids to regard the grin
youthening Laura's features. "Have you felt movement
yet?"

"Oh, yes. She likes to kick
me in the ribs."

"What's it like, Laura?
Carrying life inside you."

Laura released a low
chuckle. "Both scary and exciting." When Blue's hand slipped away,
Laura cupped her own over her abdomen. "I want so much to be a good
parent, Blue."

"The boys are proof of your
ability."

Laura made a rueful face.
"I've made plenty of mistakes with them."

"You love them."

Laura nodded. "That I
do."

"What you and Roan, Deliah
and Winston, and Lachlan and Beth have is real. There is no greater
magic, Laura. For three hundred years I've tried to analyze how
love works."

"Have you come to any
conclusions?"

Blue shrugged. "Only that
it's the greatest mystery of life. What the heart wants, the soul
craves." Her voice dropped low and husky. "Neither pain nor
disillusionment can dissolve the chemistry between destined
lovers."

"However we try to resist?"
Laura asked softly.

Again the aqua-blue eyes
penetrated the semi-darkness. "We were only destined in the sense
MoNae created me for him."

"Are you saying Mother
Nature erred?"

"It happens. She created
weeds, didn't she?"

Laura laughed. "True,
but—"

"Don't say it,
please."

"I know you love
him."

A choked sound escaped
Blue's control.

"Blue, if it hurts so much
to deny your love for him, shouldn't you reconsider?"

"There is no going
back."

"I'm talking about going
forward."

"I'm a
three-hundred-year-old virgin, Laura. My legs are useless, and my
heart...." She sighed emotively. "The wants of my heart are not my
own. The needs of my soul must first be for my people."

"Blue—"

"I know you all
love...him...but I can't get past the bitterness, Laura. He nearly
destroyed my kingdom."

"How?"

"I can't talk about
it."

"Okay, but I think you hurt
more for what he did to you."

"That, too," Blue said, her
tone throbbing with tears. "I worshiped him from the dawn of my
existence."

"You-umm...." Laura blinked
back tears. "You aren't being fair to either of you."

"What is fair? Forgiveness?"
she asked bitterly. "I cannot forgive myself for defending him back
then...before that night."

"I'm sorry I've upset you,"
Laura murmured.

"You're a good friend,
Laura. Your curiosity is understandable."

"I'm worried about
you!"

"No need to be. Mind if I
ride your shoulder?"

"What?"

"They're coming up the
drive."

Laura shot to her feet.
"Sure. I see the headlights!"

Within seconds, two bright
beams came around the rhododendron hedge and bypassed the
gazebo.

"Hold on," Laura said
excitedly when she felt the now four-inch fairy queen light on her
shoulder. She darted toward the house, the plush grass cushioning
her bare feet.

By the time Laura reached
the car parked in front of the carriage house, Lachlan stood beside
the driver's door stretching kinks in his back, and Roan was
unfolding from the passenger side, muttering beneath his breath. He
no sooner straightened up, Laura released a squeal and flung her
arms around his neck. His grunt of surprise turned into a joyous
whoop, and his arms enfolded her shoulders.

"Laura-lass!" he exclaimed,
and planted a quick but meaningful kiss on her lips. "Are you a
sight for ma tired eyes!" He gently ran a palm over her stomach.
"And how are both ma ladies?"