Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
T he moor stretched endless and gray, mist clinging to the grass where Gareth’s body had fallen. He could feel the cold seeping into his bones—no, through his bones, for he had no true flesh anymore. Just spirit, just rage, just the crushing weight of knowing he was dead yet somehow still here.
“Aiden!” His voice echoed strangely in the fog. “Liam!”
They materialized beside him, as insubstantial as he was. His brothers, lost with him on this blood-soaked field. The battle’s aftermath lay strewn around them—broken weapons, torn tartans, the bodies of their clansmen growing cold in the dawn.
“Why are we still here?” Liam’s young face was twisted with confusion. He reached for a fallen sword, his hand passing through it like smoke. “Why can we not rest?”
Aiden stood silent, staring at his own corpse with haunted eyes. The wound that had killed him gaped red against his chest, visible even through his ghostly form.
Gareth tried to touch his brother’s shoulder, but his hand passed through. Always through. Never touching, never feeling, never able to offer comfort. The rage built in his chest, hot enough to burn.
“Mother will come,” he said, though the words felt hollow. “Father. Tavia. They’ll mourn us properly.”
But days passed. Then weeks. Months stretched into years, decades, centuries. They watched the moor change around them while they remained unchanged. Watched as their clan scattered to the winds, their language fading, their ways forgotten.
Sometimes visitors came—tourists, historians, the occasional descendant tracing their roots. But none could see them. None could hear their cries.
“We’re cursed,” Liam said once, his eternal youth now a prison. “This is our punishment.”
“For what?” Gareth had raged, his voice carrying no further than the mist. “For defending our land? For dying with honor?”
But there was no answer. There was never an answer. Just the endless moor, the eternal fog, and the bone-deep cold that never lifted...
Gareth jerked awake with a gasp, his heart thundering. The bedroom was warm, lit by moonlight streaming through gauzy curtains. Beside him, Lissa slept peacefully, her hand resting on her swollen belly where their son grew strong.
Real. This was real. He could feel the sheets against his skin, smell Lissa’s lavender shampoo, hear their daughter’s soft breathing through the baby monitor. He reached out with trembling fingers to touch Lissa’s cheek, nearly sobbing with relief when his hand met warm flesh instead of passing through.
He pulled her closer, careful not to wake her. His wife. His miracle. The future he never thought he’d have during those endless years on the moor. Now he had everything—Lissa, their children, his brothers nearby with families of their own. Even the technology still amazed him sometimes—phones that could reach Liam anywhere in the world, cameras that captured precious moments forever.
And Ella. Sweet, stubborn Ella, carrying Tavia’s blood without knowing it. Wearing their sister’s pendant like it was meant to find its way back to family. She wasn’t ready to accept her place in the clan, but she would. He would make sure of it. He had lost one sister to time and fate; he wouldn’t lose another.
Lissa stirred against him. “You’re thinking too loud,” she murmured sleepily.
“Just a dream, mo chridhe,” he whispered, his accent thick with emotion. He pressed his face into her hair, breathing in her warmth, her life.
He would do it all again, he realized. Every moment of those centuries trapped on the moor, every second of cold and loneliness and rage. He would endure it all knowing it would lead him here, to this life, to this love.
To family.
The morning fog hadn’t yet lifted from Harmony Falls when Ella ducked into Bean There, Done That, the smaller coffee shop on the edge of town. She’d started varying her coffee routine, hoping to avoid another “coincidental” meeting with the entire MacGregor clan. The fact that this place made better scones was just a bonus.
She was halfway through her morning pastry, reviewing her lesson plans for the day, when three familiar shadows fell across her table. So much for avoidance tactics.
“Fancy meetin’ ye here,” Liam said cheerfully, sliding into the chair across from her without waiting for an invitation.
“Is it fancy?” Ella didn’t look up from her papers. “Considering you’ve been watching me through the window for the past ten minutes?”
“Told ye she noticed,” Aiden murmured, taking another seat.
Gareth remained standing, looking almost comically offended. “We were merely passin’ by.”
“Three times?” Now Ella did look up, arching an eyebrow. “In the opposite direction from your pub?”
“The mornin’ air is bracin’,” Liam’s grin widened. “Good for the constitution.”
“And the surveillance?”
“We prefer tae call it protective observation,” Gareth said with dignity.
“I’m sure you do.” Ella set down her pen. “Well, since you’re here, maybe you can explain why my rent check this month was returned? Apparently, the property management company no longer handles my building.”
The brothers exchanged glances. Aiden suddenly became very interested in the café’s wall art, while Liam developed an urgent need to examine the pastry case.
“Ach, that,” Gareth shifted uncomfortably. “We may have recently acquired the property. Along with a few others on the street.”
“A few others?” Ella’s eyebrows rose. “Just how much of Harmony Falls do you own?”
“Enough tae keep things runnin’ smoothly,” Liam shrugged. “We like to invest in the community. And in a few other places.”
“Funny how that community seems to center around my apartment.” Ella leaned forward. “Are you going to tell me that’s just coincidence?”
Another loaded glance passed between the brothers. Then Gareth pulled out the last chair and sat, his expression softening.
“We just want tae make sure ye’re settled properly,” he said. “That ye have everything ye need.”
“I had everything I needed before you started... whatever this is.” Ella started gathering her papers. “Look, I appreciate the thought, but I moved here for a fresh start, not to have three overly invested Scotsmen micromanaging my life.”
“We just want tae help,” Aiden said quietly.
“Help with what? I’m fine. I have a job I love, a place to live—which apparently you own—and absolutely no need for three self-appointed guardians monitoring my coffee habits.”
“Ye seem to be adaptin’ well,” Liam observed innocently. “The town suits ye. And certain residents seem particularly... welcoming.”
Ella stilled, catching his meaning. “Don’t.”
“We didnae say anything,” Gareth’s eyes twinkled. “Though that security system at the school is certainly gettin’ a thorough inspection these days.”
“That’s Tom’s job,” she said firmly, ignoring the warmth in her cheeks. “And none of your business.”
“Everything in Harmony Falls is our business,” Gareth said, then winced as both his brothers kicked him under the table.
“What my tactless brother means,” Liam interjected smoothly, “is that we care about the happiness of everyone in our town. Especially those who?—”
“If you say ‘belong here’ or anything similarly cryptic, I’m leaving.”
“Would we be that obvious?” Liam pressed a hand to his chest in mock offense.
“Yes,” Ella and Aiden said simultaneously.
A ghost of a smile crossed Aiden’s usually stoic face. “She has our number.”
“Aye, that she does.” Gareth’s expression softened into something almost proud. “Sharp as a tack, this one.”
“This one is sitting right here,” Ella reminded them. “And this one has a class to teach in thirty minutes.”
She stood, but Gareth caught her sleeve gently. “Just... know that ye have people here who care about ye. Whether ye realize it yet or not.”
Something in his tone made her pause. There was an earnestness there, an almost desperate need to connect that tugged at her heart despite her irritation.
“I appreciate the thought,” she said more kindly. “But I can take care of myself.”
“Course ye can,” Liam said cheerfully. “Doesnae mean ye have to.”
Ella shouldered her bag, shaking her head. “Have a good day, gentlemen. Try not to buy any more of my neighborhood before lunch. And this time when I send my rent check in, I’ll expect you to cash it.”
As she walked away, she heard Liam say, “That went rather well.”
“She’s startin’ to warm up to us,” Aiden agreed.
“Give her time,” Gareth’s voice carried a note of satisfaction.
Ella quickened her pace, pretending she hadn’t heard. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that the MacGregor brothers knew something she didn’t.
“Not your problem,” she told herself firmly. She had lesson plans to finish, a class to teach, and a perfectly normal life to live.