Chapter 14
Zeke and Helene were enjoying a leisurely breakfast. The studio was closed today and Zeke had planned to take Helene on a little sightseeing tour of San Francisco.
He had the whole day planned out, down to the romantic dinner spot he’d chosen.
If things went well today, he planned on making his move tonight.
He thought Helene might possibly feel the same way he felt, but she was shy and reserved, never saying anything that might give herself away.
It was one of the many things about her that Zeke found attractive.
“Where are we going today?” Helene asked.
“It’s a surprise. You’ll see. I’ve got lots of special things planned.”
Helene spooned some eggs onto her plate and took another piece of toast. “Thank ye fer being so kind to me, Zeke.”
“You’re easy to be kind to,” he said, taking a sip of his coffee. “You’re also easy to be around.”
“As are ye,” she replied, giving him hope.
Zeke reached out to take her hand. The small connection he was making felt better than he would have imagined. He’d touched her before, but never with the intention of wooing her. He’d always been careful to keep their relationship friendly, not wanting to push things too far too fast.
A knock at the door took them both by surprise.
“I’ll get it,” Zeke said. “I wonder who it could be this early in the morning.”
“Mayhap ’tis Sara,” Helene said.
“Sara would use her key. I’ll go see.”
He strode to the door and upon opening it, he found a sword at his throat. Instinctively he froze, moving his head back just enough to be out of contact with the blade.
“Where’s Helene?” the man on the other end of the sword said.
“Dougall!” Helene rocketed out of her chair. “Put that sword away.”
Dougall moved swiftly, never once putting the blade down. He grabbed Helene by the arm, pulling her in to his side, where he wrapped a protective arm around her.
“Helene.” Zeke watched carefully as Dougall rested his cheek atop her head. The moment Dougall’s eyes were off of him for a split second, Zeke made his move, backing away and pulling his own sword from the scabbard hanging on a hook in the entryway. The two men now faced each other.
“Let her go,” Zeke calmly stated.
“I willnae. She is mine.” Dougall said with equal calmness.
“Hey, you two,” Sara shouted. “Helene isn’t a piece of meat for you two to be fighting over.” The other man with them filled the doorway, letting Zeke know without words that he was there to aid Dougall.
Zeke was shocked. In his wildest dreams, he’d never imagined Dougall and a companion showing up on his doorstep along with his sister. “Sara, what’s going on here?”
“I think it’s kind of self-explanatory. Dougall and Logan arrived here in San Francisco this morning. Dougall’s come to take Helene back home with him.”
Helene remained silent in Dougall’s embrace, a shocked look on her face. She finally pushed herself free of him. “What are ye doing here, Dougall?”
“I’ve come for ye, Helene.” He glanced from Helene to Zeke, who noted that Dougall was doing his best to make himself appear bigger and scarier than anyone else in the room.
“Why do ye think I’d want to go anywhere with ye?” Helene’s voice was filled with a venom Zeke hadn’t heard before and from the look on Dougall’s face, neither had he.
“I ken yer angry with me, but ye must let me explain meself.” Dougall’s tone softened as he spoke to Helene, but she apparently wasn’t having any of it. Zeke was proud of her.
He was pleased to see Helene’s inner strength showing.
It was obvious in the way she stood up to Dougall.
“There’s nae need to explain. Ye left me with yer Da to go off with yer men.
’Tis more important to ye that ye please him so ye can become laird.
Ye may as well go back home and do as he wishes. ”
“Helene, please listen to me.” Dougall’s shoulders drooped as he pleaded with her.
Helene looked righteously indignant. “I’ve nae time to speak with ye today, Dougall. Zeke has planned a special day fer me and I willnae disappoint him.”
Zeke hid his satisfied grin behind his hand and a feigned cough. She was angry, that was obvious and Zeke was pleased that she’d chosen to go with him despite her history with Dougall.
“Helene I dinnae wish to stay here even a second longer, ye must return with me. ’Tis nae right that yer living here alone with this man. I cannae believe ye’d allow that to happen.”
“Zeke came to me rescue while ye were off doing yer duty as the future laird of the MacRaes. I dinnae wish ye to stay and wait fer me.” The longer Dougall persisted, the more obstinate Helene appeared to become.
“Ye dinnae mean that Helene. Ye love me, dinnae ye?”
“I dinnae ken what I feel fer ye now. I’ve been through so much since ye disappeared, leaving me alone with yer Da. Ye didnae even see fit to come and tell me.”
“I’m sorry, Helene. I had nae choice.”
“There always be a choice, Dougall and now ye’ll have to go back without me.”
She went and got her things and then came back to take Zeke’s arm. “Shall we go?”
Zeke didn’t know who was more surprised by this new Helene, him or Dougall, but he wasn’t going to pass up this opportunity. He had competition for Helene’s heart now and he was planning to win. Sara moved out of the way so they could pass. “Lock up when you leave,” he directed her.
Dougall couldn’t believe his eyes or his ears. He knew Helene would probably be angry with him, but he had no idea she wouldn’t be happy to see him. He didn’t know what to do about the situation.
“You boys can come with me. I guess you can stay at my place.” Sara said.
“We should stay here,” Dougall answered.
“No you shouldn’t. You weren’t invited to stay,” Sara said, appearing quite irritated with him.
“Come, Dougall.” Logan said. “We’ll stay with Sara. What else can we do?”
Feeling totally lost and devastated, Dougall followed along behind Sara and Logan who were chatting happily as if they’d known each other for years instead of having just met this very morning.
He wasn’t paying any attention to where they were going or to the fact that both Logan and Sara had stopped.
He walked right past them and was greeted by a horrific sound as Sara reached out and grabbed him, pulling him back to where she and Logan stood.
“You’re going to need to be more careful. That car could have killed you. Are you okay?” She seemed genuinely concerned for his well-being.
Dougall nodded his head, noting that they stood alongside several other people waiting for something.
Fast moving vehicles buzzed past them and then suddenly they all stopped.
Everyone began walking and he followed suit.
Sara was right. He needed to pay attention to his surroundings.
He was usually much more alert than this, but all he could think about was Helene and how heartbroken he was to have seen her leave with this Zeke person.
He planned to put an end to that as soon as possible.
Helene was his. She knew this. Why couldn’t she understand that he’d only done what he thought was best at the time?
Granted it was the completely wrong thing to do, but no matter.
Helene loved him. How could that change so quickly?
“Dougall,” Logan said, sounding somewhat exasperated. They’d arrived back at Sara’s home and Dougall would have been hard pressed to say how they’d gotten there.
Sara was gazing at him with her hands on her hips.
“Where are ye? I’ve been speaking with ye fer a while and just now realized ye havenae heard a single thing I’ve said.”
“I’m thinking about Helene. How could she go running off like that? Wasnae she happy I’d come for her?”
“Listen, Mister. You’ve got to understand something about women. They don’t like being thrown into dungeons and left for dead,” Sara pointed out.
“I’m nae an idjit, ye ken,” Dougall’s patience with Sara was nearing its end.
No one ever dared speak to him the way this wee lass did.
She obviously had no idea who she was dealing with.
He was a respected warrior back in his time.
Anyone speaking to him thusly would soon find themselves at the end of his sword.
“Well, ye could’ve fooled me. If you love Helene so much, then you shouldn’t just expect to show up and have her fall into your arms. She’s going to need some time to deal with seeing you again. She feels betrayed. Don’t you get it?” Sara threw her hands in the air in apparent exasperation.
“Get it?” His head was hurting him from Helene’s rejection and now from these strange words Sara continued to fire at him like arrows.
“Understand,” she said.
“Sara, I cannae live without Helene. Ye must help me.” He would do anything to get Helene back.
She was his love and perhaps she’d changed, much as her appearance had.
It pained him to think about it, but perhaps now that she was a woman of the future with her painted nails and unusual clothing, perhaps she didn’t love him anymore.
“I’m not so sure how much help I can be.” Why did she keep looking at him as if he were some foul beggar she’d found on the street.
“Tell him what he must do to get her back. Yer a lass. Surely ye understand the ways of women, even if they’re not from yer time.” Logan put his hands on Sara’s shoulders as he implored her to help Dougall.
Sara hadn’t wanted to feel sorry for Dougall, but she did. She still thought Helene would be better off with Zeke, but she also knew that Helene did still love Dougall, even if she refused to admit it to him. “Okay. I’ll try.”
“Shall we go after them now then?” Dougall didn’t want Helene spending any more time with Zeke. He had to get her away from him. Perhaps then she’d listen to him and love him again.
“Are you nuts? It wouldn’t be a good idea to interrupt their date. At the very least you’d really tick off Zeke.”
“Tick off?” More words he didn’t understand.
“Anger,” Sara explained.