Chapter 24 #2
“I remember Mark and Dianne. They were wonderful people and made Mother and Father happy whenever they visited. Looking back on their visits, their strange ways, I can believe they were not of our time. Can ye believe, Callum and Donal?”
“Aye,” Donal said slowly, as if remembering another time. “We trusted Dianne and Mark as Laird MacLaren did, and another thing. I remember our laird telling us they had great secrets that he would tell us one day.” He shook his head as if trying not to weep. “But he never got the chance.”
“Aye,” Callum said. “The laird was always taunting us with the things he could tell us about them, but never even giving us a small clue. I for one would never have thought they were from the future, but now that ye say it, I can see it is so.” He wagged his head. “It all fits into the puzzle now.”
Maeve went to Iain, placing her hands on his shoulders. “I can see Abigail means a lot to ye, Brother. Ye have succumbed to her charms and are now embroiled in her fate. What will happen to ye if she decides to leave us and return to her time?”
Iain’s chest tightened at the thought. He didn’t want her to go back. He wanted her to stay with him—to wed—and to have his bairns.
Rising onto her toes, Maeve kissed his cheek. “I can see I have caused you pain.”
“Abigail’s family have come to take her home.”
Maeve jumped back. “What? Now? We cannae allow that. Where are they?”
Iain hesitated. He didn’t want a fight to break out between his family and hers. He didn’t even know if he could ask Abigail to stay with him, to share the trials of what to her was the past.
He must have waited too long, because Jannet spoke up. “She is in her rooms.”
Maeve spun on her heels and headed out the door.
“Wait,” Iain said.
Pausing on the threshold, Maeve looked over her shoulder and raised her brows. “Do ye want her to go?”
“Nay but let me go first. I dinnae want ye to scare them into leaving.” He looked at his old nanny. “Jannet?”
She got up, and Donal and Callum moved to join her.
“Nay,” Iain said to Donal. “Ye and Callum wait here.”
He didn’t want the two brutes standing over Abigail’s family. They would scare them more than his sister ever could.
Iain strode ahead of Maeve and Jannet, knocked on the door, and opened it without waiting for an answer.
“Iain,” Abigail said as soon as he stepped into the solar.
He ignored her family’s piercing gazes and pulled her into his arms, kissing her as if he would never taste her sweet lips again.
When they parted, Iain said, “I love ye. Would ye stay with me? Stay in my time?”
“I love you too. But would you come with me? We’d be safe in my time.”
Iain bent his head and shook it. “My duty is here. My honor would be lost if I were to forsake my sister and my people. My oaths bind me to my lands and people.”
“Then we’re at an impasse, then.”
“Aye.” He crossed his arms over his chest, and his heart ached at her forlorn look.
Had he done the right thing? He looked at his sister, who sent him a thankful smile. But Donal would make a good laird, and he would look after her. Would she hate him if he left her?
“Come on, Abby, we have to go,” Garrett said.
Iain put his arm around Abigail’s waist, not wanting to let her go.
“Not yet we don’t,” Maxine said, looking at the two Scottish women. She smiled. “Hi, we’re Abby’s family. I’m Maxine, this is Elizabeth, and the grumpy man is Garrett.”
“I am Iain’s sister, Maeve MacLaren, and”—she flicked her hand for Jannet to come forward—“Jannet here was our nanny, our parents’ friend, and now, our guiding hand.”
Jannet laughed. “Aye, I guide, and you go the other way.”
“Not all the time,” Maeve said. “I am here, am I not?” She turned to Maxine and Elizabeth. “I am glad to meet ye and would love to hear stories of the future.”
“You know?” Maxine asked.
“Aye, Jannet convinced us that it is true. Jannet, do ye want to show them their parents?”
“What?” Elizabeth spluttered. “You knew our parents?”
Jannet stepped forward and held out the picture. “Aye, they were constant guests of the late laird. But we haven’t seen them since the Laird passed.”
Maxine took the picture and gasped, Abigail hurried to look. She gazed at the picture and lifted her sight to Iain.
He smiled. “Is that them?”
Abigail nodded. “It’s Mom and Dad.”
Elizabeth stroked her fingers over the images. “It is Mom and Dad.”
“Looks like it,” Maxine said.
Garrett snatched the frame out of the women’s hands. “Let me have a look.” He eyed Jannet. “Where did you get this?”
“Yer parents gave it to Laird MacLaren a week before he passed to the other world. I was there at the time, and they and the laird entrusted me to keep it safe for when ye came here.”
“They knew we would come here?” Garrett kept his eyes narrowed.
“Aye.”
That was all Jannet said, but Iain had a feeling she knew more.
And Garrett must have sensed the same because he said, “What aren’t you saying? What did they say about us?”
Flitting a glance in Abigail’s direction, Jannet said, “That is all ye need to know right now.”
Iain would learn more from Jannet but for now, it all made sense to Iain in a strange way. It was as if Abigail was fated to come to him, to be his always.
***
Abby wondered if her parents had visited the MacLaren Keep after the old laird died. Were they somewhere in Dorpol right at that moment? She jogged to the window and peered down at the inner buildings of the castle walls. “What if they’re here right now?”
“They can’t be,” Izzy said. “If they were, they’d let us know.”
“Not necessarily,” Max said. “If they had visited at a later date, then they would know how this little problem turns out, and they wouldn’t want their presence affecting the decisions Iain and Abby made today.”
Clearing his throat, Garrett gazed at the picture.
“And if they have seen or know of us being here, then they know they’re dead.
How else would we have come into possession of the orb?
Actually, if they’re here right now, that means two white orbs are in existence in the same place.
We shouldn’t be here. Fooling around with time could be dangerous.
” He nodded his head as if coming to a decision.
“We have to go before we run into them. Now!”
Max placed her hand on his arm. “You’re right, but our parents would know that, wouldn’t they? So they probably have gone back already, and we’re all sitting around the table eating dinner sometime in the future as we speak here.”
Garrett frowned at her. “You don’t know that.”
Max shrugged. “No, not for sure, but I know our parents, and I think they would have guessed we would put two and two together, and they wouldn’t take a chance on fudging around with our timelines.”
“I agree with Max,” Izzy said.
“Me too,” Abby said, wondering if the picture was telling her she could stay, could marry Iain, could live happily in the eighteenth century.
Garret focused on the picture as if he were trying to read their minds. “I suppose you’re right.”
Izzy nudged Abby. “What are you thinking?”
Abby tried not to smile, but her mouth had its own mind. She loved her family but she loved Iain more.”
Izzy gave Abby’s shoulder a little slap.
“I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking of staying here, aren’t you?
Listen, Abby, I can see how much Iain loves you, but he can’t be with you twenty-four seven.
We’ve just found one another again, and I don’t want to lose you.
” She gazed at Max. “You don’t want to lose her, either, do you, Max?
Who else will listen to you when you go into command mode?
I won’t, and I know Garrett won’t, either. You need her.”
Max eyed Abby, who sent her a pleading look.
Max laughed. “Actually, I think if Abby wants to stay, she should.”
Nearly choking, Garrett spluttered, “What? You’ve got to be joking. I thought you had more sense than that, Max.”
“I guess it isn’t that different from falling in love in the modern world, is it, Abs?” Max tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. “For better or worse, right?”
Nodding, Abby beamed at her sister. Max would know how happy Iain made her, she knew more about Abby than anyone.
Max’s gaze took in her brother and sister.
“It’s crazy to me, and it does feel irresponsible to let Abby stay, but what choice do we really have when that’s what she wants?
I can say that she needs to come back to reality, but this is her reality now.
It’s insane and no one would believe it, but it would be pretty difficult to separate her from it now. ”
Garrett crossed his arms over his chest with a huff. “I don’t like it.”
With tears in her eyes, Izzy said, “Max is right.” She turned to Abby. “I don’t want to lose you again, but I understand, and I can see you love Iain.” She took Abby’s hands in hers. “I’m really happy for you. I really am.”
Once Izzy dropped Abby’s hands, Iain moved to Abby’s side, put his arm around her waist and smiled down into her eyes.
She smiled back and rested her head on his shoulder for a few seconds before realizing that her staying there didn’t have to be goodbye. She snapped her head back up and widened her eyes at her siblings.
“Hey, just because I choose to live here doesn’t mean you can’t visit.” Abby eyed the orb in Garrett’s hand. “You could come back here anytime, right?”
Garrett studied the orb. “I have no idea. I don’t even know how it brought us here this time.”
“But it did, didn’t it? So, it could do it again,” Abby said to all three, her smile radiant and her heart filled with love for all of them.
“I think we all need some time to digest all this.” Izzy turned to Maeve. “Can we stay here a bit longer? Have a look around?”
Maeve looked to her brother, who said, “Aye, but we need ye to change yer clothes.”
Izzy clapped her hands. “Great.”