Chapter 14
The cab ride from Zeke’s place to the hotel where they would meet Eric had been uneventful in Elle’s eyes, but Hamish couldn’t seem to sit still, craning his neck from side to side to see everything they passed.
“What do you think?” Elle asked.
“If I werenae seeing it with me own eyes, I’d nae believe it.”
Elle grabbed his hand and squeezed it.
“Are ye worried?” he asked.
“A little.”
“I’m here with ye.”
The cab stopped in front of the hotel, and the doors were opened for them by the hotel staff.
Elle took Hamish’s hand and they walked through the hotel’s massive glass doors and into the lobby. “We’ll wait in the bar,” she said.
They sat and Elle ordered a whisky for Hamish and a red wine for herself. “He should be here shortly,” she said. This meeting would make or break her. She wasn’t sure which it would be, but she prayed Eric would have good news for her.
“There you are,” Eric approached and laid a hand on her shoulder, leaning in to kiss her cheek.
Elle noticed Hamish stiffening beside her.
“You haven’t been waiting too long, I hope.”
“No. Just long enough to order drinks.”
“Drinks?” Eric looked past her to Hamish, a wary look in his eyes.
“This is Hamish,” Elle introduced him. “Hamish this is Eric, my manager.”
“You have a bodyguard now?” he asked.
Rather than try to explain who Hamish really was, she went along with his assumption. “I should’ve hired one a long time ago.”
“He looks scary enough.”
Elle peeked behind her to see Hamish in all his scowling highlander glory, and it seemed to be having a big effect on Eric. If her entire life wasn’t falling apart, it would be a pretty funny sight.
“Let’s sit at a booth. I don’t need everyone in the bar hearing our conversation.”
“Sure.” Elle hopped off of the stool and Hamish stood.
“Just the two of us, okay?” Eric sighed
“Oh, I guess so. Hamish, do you mind staying here?”
“I do,” he said, but he sat back down on the barstool anyway.
“We won’t be long,” she said.
They found a booth and sat. “He takes his job seriously.”
“He’s good at it.” She turned to see Hamish glaring at them. She better make this quick. “Did you get the tour back on track?”
“I’m afraid not. The venues feel that they’ve been burned and they’re not willing to take another chance in case you disappear again. The good news is I told the police you were safe and sound, so case closed.”
Elle’s stomach dropped. She felt sick.
“I’ve got some other ideas, but it’s going to take some time. Why don’t you go visit your family? They’ve been worried sick over you. I know over the past few years you haven’t been able to see much of them, but look at this like an extended vacation.”
“I feel like you’re letting me go,” Elle said.
“No. Of course not. There’s just nothing you can do at this point. I will figure out how to promote the new album, maybe get you some interviews so people know you aren’t dead.”
“I’ve been working on some new stuff, Eric. It’s different from what I’ve been doing. I thought it might be time to change it up a bit.”
“Elle, we’ve talked about this before. I know pop isn’t your favorite, but that’s what sells. Don’t go creating another problem for me to deal with. I’ve got enough on my plate as it is,” he said, sounding every bit the jerk she knew he could be.
The happiness she’d felt collaborating with Hamish at Breaghacraig was gone. Slapped in the face by reality once again. How long had she been unhappy, she wondered. She hadn’t noticed before.
“I’ve got to go,” Eric laid a hand on hers and quickly pulled it away. “Your bodyguard is giving me the evil eye, so I’ll be on my way. We’ll talk soon.”
Left alone in the booth, Elle’s optimism faded even further away.
Hamish squeezed himself into the booth beside her. Elle rested her head on his arm. “Did he nae tell ye what ye wished to hear?”
“No. No, he didn’t.” She sat up and turned to him, “We’re going to go visit my family.” Eric was right. She hadn’t been able to spend time with them and she could now. Nothing was holding her back. Besides, her mother’s birthday was the day after tomorrow. She’d surprise her.
“Let’s go shopping. You need some clothes and I need to find a birthday present for my mother.” Despite her disappointment, she was feeling better. She was excited to introduce Hamish to her family. She did need a vacation and why not do it in the place where she grew up.
***
“What is this?” Hamish held the pants in his hands looking baffled by them.
“Jeans. Everyone wears them. You’ll love them, I promise.” Elle had taken him to a men’s shop around the corner from the hotel, knowing he’d be hard to fit at any of the regular department stores. She handed him more pants, shirts, socks and underwear. “There. That should do it.”
“Do ye wish for me to wear all of this?” he asked.
Poor Hamish, she was confusing the heck out of him. “No, silly. I’ll hold these things. You put those on.” She left him with jeans and one t-shirt. “Go on. In the dressing room.”
He nodded his head towards the curtained stall, “Here?”
She had to laugh at the comical expression he wore, “Do you want me to help you?”
He shot her a look that said he didn’t need her help and she went on her way, still shopping.
Hamish came out of the dressing room after what seemed like an hour. “Elle.”
“I thought you got lost in there,” she said, turning to see Hamish standing there looking even better than he had when he went in, if that were possible. “Wow! Look at you.”
“Ye like it?”
“I do,” she gave him a sultry smile, a smile he returned in kind. “I’ve got a few more things for you. You’ll need shoes, but we’ll get those somewhere else.”
He neatly folded his plaid and handed it to Elle, who put it on the counter along with all the clothes she was buying. She’d never done anything like this before and she decided she liked it. It felt good to share her good fortune with this man who had somehow found his way into her heart.
***
“Well, look at ye,” Brenna said as they returned to the house. “I’d never guess ye were from another time.”
Hamish looked down at his clothes, smiling broadly. “’Tis good?”
“Aye. ’Tis,” Brenna answered.
“We’re going to head out of town tomorrow,” Elle said.
“Oh?”
“My parents have a ranch near Livermore. I haven’t seen them in a while and it’s my mother’s birthday. I’m surprising her … and everyone else, too.”
“’Twill make her happy, to be sure.”
“That’s the plan. I’d like to take you and Zeke out for dinner tonight as a thank you for your help.” She noticed that Brenna seemed unsure.
“I’ll call Zeke at work,” Brenna said.
Elle pulled the business card out of her pocket and called the stable where Aylwen was being kept.
“Hello,” a man from the stable said.
“Hi. This is Elle Carrera. You took my friend’s horse to your stable earlier.”
“Yes. He’s doing fine. Beautiful animal.”
“He is. I was wondering if you could trailer him to my parents’ ranch. I’ll text you the address and, of course, I’ll happily pay whatever it will cost to transport him.”
“I think we can do that for you. When would you like him to arrive?”
“How about the day after tomorrow?”
“That works.”
She gave him the address along with her credit card info before hanging up.
“How is Aylwen?” Hamish asked, sounding worried.
“He’s doing well. I’m having him sent to my parents’ ranch. He’ll arrive once we’re there and you’ll be able to see him everyday.”
He looked pleased and she was happy once again to be able to do this for him.
“I’ll take these to our room,” he said, holding up the shopping bags.
“Okay.” She watched him walk away, enjoying the sight of him in tight jeans and a t-shirt.
“Ye’ve spent much money this day,” Brenna observed.
“It was well worth it,” Elle said, continuing to keep an eye on Hamish until he was out of sight.
“Are ye in love with him?” Brenna asked.
“I don’t know,” Elle answered. It was true. She was feeling something for him, but she couldn’t be sure it was love. Not yet. It was too soon for that. She needed to change the subject. “What about you? How are you adapting to life in the twenty-first century?”
“I’ve only been here a short while, but I like it. I’m so happy Edna sent Zeke into me life. He treats me with such respect, unlike the people in me own time.”
Elle was surprised to hear this. “The people at Breaghacraig all seemed so nice.”
“Nae. Not Breaghacraig. ’Tis as ye say. They are like Zeke. I’m speaking of the people at Castle Treun, what was once me home.” Brenna gave a dismissive wave of her hand as she spoke.
“Do you miss it?”
“Nae. I’m happy to be away from there.” She made a comical face that told Elle exactly how she felt about her life in the past.
“And you love Zeke?”
“Aye. Verra much.” Brenna got a dreamy look on her face and smiled. Somehow Elle knew that smile wasn’t just Brenna being friendly.
Everyone she’d met who’d been matched by Edna seemed very much in love with their spouse.
Could Hamish be her soulmate? When she’d dreamed of love as a teen, that was what she’d wanted.
A soulmate, the puzzle piece missing from her life.
She hated to say someone who completed her, that seemed so cliché and unrealistic.
She wanted the same type of relationship her parents had.
They’d been married for close to forty years.
Their love was as strong as it had been on the day they wed.
Of course there were ebbs and flows, but they always rode those out, knowing that they were better together than apart.
“I don’t think I’m ready for love. I have things I want to do with my life. It’s just isn’t the right time.”
“Is it ever the right time?” Brenna asked. “Love sneaks up on ye when ye least expect it. If ye wait for the right time, ye may let that special someone slip away. ’Twould be a shame.”
Hamish returned to join them, his presence filling the room.
“Ye look quite handsome,” Brenna said.
He knew it, too, and so did Elle.
“Thank ye,” he replied. “Do ye agree?” he asked Elle.