CHAPTER 11
“Wife? You’re married?”
Evie flushed, her cheeks turning pink, as she helped her to her feet. Chloe cut a glance to the men standing at the table. One was clearly younger than the other one.
“Sorry I didn’t send you an invitation to the wedding, but you were a few hundred years in the future,” Evie said with a sheepish grin.
She took her by the hand and led her way from Malcolm, who remained where he stood.
“Chloe, this is my husband, Callum MacLeod.” Evie beamed with pride as she introduced him.
He stepped forward with a nod of greeting. “We’ve been waiting for ye, lass.”
Her brows drew together. “What does that mean?”
“It’s a long story. And this is Jamie MacLeod.”
As he approached, Jamie’s grin deepened, two dimples carving into each cheek as he reached for her hand.
His fingers were warm and sure against hers as he lifted it, brushing a delicate kiss across her knuckles much like Duncan had when he had bidden her farewell.
A spark of amusement flickered in his dark eyes, and the way he looked at her sent a shiver racing up her spine.
He was effortlessly charming, devastatingly handsome.
As soon as he took her hand, Malcolm was at her side, shooting a dark glare at his brother.
“’Tis good to meet ye at last, lassie.”
Evie shooed him away. “That’s enough of that.”
“Aye,” Malcolm agreed.
If Chloe didn’t know any better, he was jealous. She turned back to her sister.
“It sounds as though you were expecting me.” She said it in jest, but the look on their faces told her she had struck on the truth.
Evie cleared her throat, then hooked her arm in hers and led her away from the great hall. “Let’s get you to a room so you can rest. I’m sure you’re exhausted. I’ll explain everything.”
Chloe stole a glance over her shoulder and met Malcolm’s gaze. He gave her a smile and a nod. She had many questions, questions she hoped Evie would be able to answer.
Evie led her away from the great hall through a doorway and to a stone curved staircase. It was narrow and they had to climb single file up and up and up. At the top, Evie led her down another hallway with several closed doors. She pushed open the last door on the far end.
The room was small with only a bed, a large chest, a couple of chairs in front of the hearth, and a bedside table that held a candelabra.
The hearth was cold and dark across from the bed, but Evie set about building a fire as though she’d done it all her life.
Chloe watched, fascinated, wondering how she had acquired those skills.
They had grown up in Texas where there was no need for a wood burning fireplace except for one or two times in winter.
And even then, they had survived by building pillow forts in the living room and bundling up in their favorite flannel.
“You’ll want different clothes,” Evie said as she placed the logs on the rack. “Roslyn can help with that.”
“Who’s Roslyn?”
“She’s the cook. Well…” Evie paused, and sat back on her heels. She peered up at Chloe. “She’s more than a cook. She does a lot of things for the household. She’s taken me under her wing and taught me to cook.”
“You cook now?”
The only thing Evie knew how to cook was a box of mac and cheese and sometimes she even burned that.
“Not well, but I can knead a mean loaf of bread.” She turned back to the fireplace and finally got the fire started. “There, that should warm up the room nicely.”
Overwhelmed, Chloe backed her way to the bed and sat. She pressed cold fingers against her temple that was throbbing with a raging headache. Everything ached from her head to her toes and she was cold. She clutched her elbows.
“I don’t understand any of this,” Chloe said.
“I know but you will.” She perched on the bed next to her. “How do you feel? Like hell?”
“Yes,” she said.
“And everything hurts?”
Chloe lifted her gaze to meet hers. “Yes.”
She nodded understanding. “That’s the time traveling. It wrecks you for a few days, but you’ll be fine soon enough.” Evie reached into her pocket and brought out something clutched in her hand. “Do you have one of these?”
She opened her fingers to show Chloe the piece of stone resting against her scarred palm, the scar that looked remarkably like her own.
A strange sensation went over her as she reached into her jeans pocket and pulled it out.
She held it up for Evie to see. Evie pressed one edge against her stone. It fit perfectly.
“It’s part of the keystone,” Evie said, her voice full of wonder.
Chloe’s gaze flickered from the stone down to her hand. She opened her fingers and rested the back of her hand against her leg, showing Evie the inflamed imprint. Evie placed her hand next to hers.
“You, too,” she said.
“Eve, I don’t understand any of this. I looked for you in Edinburgh after you disappeared in the museum. I thought you were kidnapped or worse.”
Dead. She didn’t want to say it aloud. A shudder went through her at the thought of losing her sister. Evie was her anchor to the world. When she thought she was gone forever, a well of panic had bubbled through her.
Her sister took a deep breath, expelled it. “I wished there was some way for me to tell you what happened to me, but there wasn’t.”
Chloe took Evie’s hand in hers and held it. “You can tell me now. I’m here.”
Evie smiled, her eyes lighting with joy as she nodded. “I’m so glad you are.” She squeezed her hand. “Remember the day on the Royal Mile when I left you and Bruce?”
She nodded, fear trickling through her hearing Bruce’s name. She thought back on that day and how distracted Evie had seemed and yet how attentive Bruce was. She wondered now if that was all an act. If he had been trying to get close to her—or Evie—to get his hands on the stone.
“I found a little antique store. It seemed to call to me. That’s the only way I can explain it.”
A gasp escaped her. She remembered the card in her back pocket. Reaching for it, she slipped it out and showed it to Evie.
“Mystic Treasures. It called to me, too. I found this in your luggage.”
Evie took the card from her. She traced the gold-embossed letters with her forefinger. “I should have told you about Moira.”
She handed the card back to her. Chloe peered down at the glittering letters. It was truly a mystical place.
“She gave you the stone, didn’t she?” Chloe asked and she nodded. She understood then why Evie had disappeared. She had fallen through time. It all made sense. “You had it with you at the museum that night.”
“I did. When I was in the bathroom, I heard the gunshots. The only thing I escaped with was the stone. I ran up the stairs. I…” Her voice faltered. She paced the short length of the room. “I don’t know how to tell you this, Chlo.”
“There isn’t anything you can’t tell me, now, Evie. We’re in this together. Whatever this is.”
She had no real understanding of their current situation. But it was clear Evie was trying to tell her by starting at the beginning.
Evie cut her a glance and nodded, but there was still worry creasing her face.
“When I ran up the stairs, a man grabbed me. I managed to kick him and get away. He followed me to the second level. He told me the stone called to him, but I hid behind a statue.” She halted her pacing and turned to face her. “Chlo, it was Bruce.”
She stared at her in silence, wanting to be shocked but wasn’t. She knew before Evie said it. She knew she was telling the truth. Because Bruce had attacked her in her flat.
“He tried to take the stone from you,” Chloe said.
“Yes, and I used it. I didn’t know what I was doing when I swiped my thumb over it. I had no idea it would send me back in time. I woke up in Callum’s bed.”
Chloe wiggled her brows. “That must have been fun.”
“It wasn’t like that.” Evie waved away the thought but even so, they shared a giggle.
“Bruce tried to take the stone from me, too,” Chloe said, her voice soft. “I thought he was trying to help me find you. Instead, he attacked me. The stone was humming and glowing. I guess in my panic, I activated it.”
“Yes,” Evie said, a hint of excitement in her voice. “The stone hummed and glowed for me, too. That’s how it sent you through time. Here. To me. To us.”
A trickle of fear and dread went through her as she looked up at her sister. “It also sent Bruce here.”
Evie’s face drained of color. “What? How?”
“He grabbed me when it happened. We both landed here together. If it hadn’t been for Malcolm…” Her voice trailed off.
If he hadn’t been there, the right place at the right time, there was no telling what would have happened to her. She might be dead by now and her piece of the stone would be in Bruce’s hands.
She hadn’t thought to question why Malcolm was there. Truthfully, it didn’t matter.
“Malcolm was there?”
“Yes. You still have a lot to tell me. Like, how you ended up married.” She lifted a brow at her sister. “I thought you didn’t believe in love at first sight.”
But Chloe had. Chloe had believed Bruce was the one and had fallen head over heels in love with him. And yet he had betrayed her.
She flushed again. “Oh, well…I didn’t mean to fall in love with Callum. It just happened.”
Chloe patted the bed next to her. “Sit and tell me everything. I want to hear all about this man who has captured my sister’s heart.”
“Geeze, Chlo, it’s like you think I’d never fall in love.”
“You were busy trying to keep things together for us while I got my degree. My thanks for you doing that was leaving you for a work visa in Scotland.”
And how did that turn out? She thought about that a long moment.
She was so happy at first, exploring Edinburgh and learning the city.
The day Bruce had come into the museum, he had chatted her up.
She was enamored with him and enticed by his Scottish brogue.
He was witty and charming and gave her butterflies in the pit of her stomach.
“You don’t have to thank me for—”