Chapter 5 #2
“Shut it hard, child.” Mairwen started the engine. “Ye must show the stubborn contraption that ye’ll not be cowering to it. Make it known ye are to be obeyed. I hate this temperamental thing. Horses are so much more reliable.”
“Okay.” Lyla opened it again and shut it harder this time. It still didn’t latch.
“Slam it.” Mairwen gave her a stern look. “Pretend it’s that Derrick fellow’s neck ye’re chopping. Put some force in it.” With a wry grin, she added, “And aye, Keeva told me about that wee bastard who robbed ye. Dinna fash yerself. Karma has promised to take care of him. My cards told me so.”
“Your cards?” Lyla slammed the door so hard that it rocked the truck. This time, the latch caught.
“Aye, the tarot.” Mairwen nodded. “Keeva said ye enjoyed a good reading now and then yerself.”
“I do.” Lyla found herself relaxing and not feeling nearly as irritated with Mairwen.
The elder must be wearing her down. “I’m not very good at reading them myself, though.
I look up the meanings in the books, but they don’t always make sense.
When other people—professional tarot readers—do it, seems like they’re a lot more accurate. ”
“Aye, but that’s when ye must be careful.
” As Mairwen shifted gears, making the rickety vehicle shudder and lurch, she nodded.
“There’s many a charlatan just looking to empty yer pockets by telling ye whatever ye wish to hear.
They’re able to glean enough hints from seemingly innocent questions to know what to tell ye. ”
As the truck bounced through a series of potholes, Lyla grabbed hold of the dash and held on tight. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. “Feels like the village road crew needs to do a bit of patching.”
Mairwen laughed. “’Twould do no good. The next good rain would wash it out.” She clamped hold of the steering wheel so tightly that her knuckles whitened. “Hang on. This stretch is even rougher.”
Lyla braced for impact but still bounced across the worn bench seat with the cover split in several spots. “Wow. That was a good one.”
“Aye, we’re nearly there. See up ahead? That wee stone building with the lovely red shutters?
It connects with the sacred caves of the mountain there at the back of it.
” She proudly nodded. “That’s my spa and the origin of the healing waters of Seven Cairns.
A fine, relaxing massage and a good, long soak in those springs blessed by the goddesses themselves will have ye feeling right as rain in no time. ”
“You’re a massage therapist?”
Mairwen nodded as she brought the truck to a screeching halt in front of the cottage.
“Aye, Shona and I are. I’ll introduce ye to her.
She is a specialist when it comes to tranquility, and my specialty is time—among other things.
” She killed the engine and smiled. “I feel sure we can help ye find the right path to follow for peace.”
Lyla had her doubts, but why not? It wasn’t like she had anyone waiting back at the practice rooms. “That would be great.” She climbed out of the truck and followed Mairwen inside, inhaling deeply as she walked through the door.
The clean, soothing scent of freshly sliced cucumbers and clean linens welcomed her.
“Oh, it smells nice in here. Very upscale spa-like.”
Laughing, Mairwen led her through a set of swinging half-doors into an area lit only by the warm golden glow of dozens of softly flickering pillar candles.
The musical sound of trickling water danced through the air.
“Just because we’re set off in the wilderness of the Highlands doesn’t mean we canna offer the verra best.”
A tall, slender woman with long, strikingly golden hair flowing well past her waist came out from behind a wood-framed parchment room divider at the far end of the room. She smiled, then gracefully bowed her head. “Welcome to ye. I am Shona, and verra pleased to at last meet ye, Miss Lyla.”
“Thank you—Shona.” Lyla did her best to suppress another shiver.
The woman’s pale blue eyes were as sou-grabbing as Mairwen’s.
Forcing herself to get a grip and stop being ridiculous, Lyla turned to include Mairwen in the praise of the welcoming ambiance of the room only to discover she had gone. “Wow, I didn’t realize she’d left.”
Shona gently took her by the arm and led her to the portion of the room partitioned off by the parchment screen. “Master Mairwen had another client scheduled. She has graced me with the honor of helping ye find the path ye need.”
Master Mairwen? What an unusual way to address the lady in charge. Lyla couldn’t remember Keeva ever calling Mairwen that. Maybe it was just a spa thing. “Mairwen said you’re a master of tranquility?”
“Aye, that is my specialty.” Shona nodded at the fluffy white robe hanging from a hook beside a bench made of thick wooden slats.
A stack of folded, plump white towels also waited on the bench.
“I think we shall start with a deep tissue massage, and then a good long soak in the healing springs. If that sounds acceptable to ye, there is yer robe and slippers. Come out to the table once ye are ready.”
She turned and walked away without another word, leaving Lyla to stand there behind the privacy of the screen, wondering how the massage therapist would react if a deep tissue massage and soak in the healing springs wasn’t acceptable.
“Well, it’s not like I have anything else to do.
” Lyla cringed at the snarkiness of her dismal mood.
She needed to work on her frame of mind.
A firm believer in attracting whatever you put out, the current darkness of her thoughts would surely plunge this day into disaster.
Determined to do better, she seated herself on the bench, untied her boots, and shed them, thankful that she’d worn a decent pair of socks that didn’t have any raggedy holes or thinning.
Her feet were invariably always cold, so she kept them on but removed everything else and donned the cozy, soft robe.
Shona waited beside the padded table, rubbing her hands together.
The oils she warmed between them made her long, slender fingers gleam with the warm, golden glow of the candles.
“Simply loosen yer robe, then place yerself on the table. Face down, if ye please. Then I’ll cover ye with the additional draping and help ye slip the garment down off yer shoulders.
Yer privacy and comfort is of the utmost importance. ”
“Thank you.” It had been a long time since Lyla had enjoyed a massage. She tried to remember exactly when, then realized it had been well before her surgery. “This will be the first massage I’ve had in years.”
Shona held up the draping and waited for her to get situated on the table. “Ye are well ready for a bit of relaxing, then. Shall we get started?”
Lyla tucked her face into the pillowy hole in the table, closed her eyes, and released a deep sigh.
“I’m ready whenever you are.” She breathed in the calming scents filling the air and tried to quiet the constant stream of chatter in her head.
All the worries. All the wonderings. All the bothersome what-ifs about what might or might not happen.
It was time to take back control, get her head together, and adjust to the uncomfortable new normal her life had become.
The money Derrick had stolen was gone for good.
Worrying wouldn’t bring it back. She was still okay financially and needed to be thankful for that.
Her voice was gone forever. More tears and cursing the universe wouldn’t return the talent she’d often taken for granted.
She still had the ability to coax music out of any musical instrument she picked up.
Not everyone could do that—well, at least not as quickly as she’d always managed it.
Breathing easier as Shona worked on her poor, knotted muscles, Lyla smiled to herself.
The abrasive, annoying Jana was gone for good.
That was a definite plus. And Shona was one of those massage therapists who remained silent—a big plus on that too.
Silence was sometimes a therapy in and of itself.
That revelation made her smile even more.
Silence was usually her enemy. It allowed her thoughts to spiral into an even darker than usual abyss.
But not today. Today, she would take control and force that deranged worry rat that always raced on the hamster wheel in her mind to give it a rest.
“Relax now. As long as ye like,” Shona said in a soft, soothing voice that could probably sing the most effective lullaby in existence.
“Whenever ye are ready for yer soak in the warm springs, pass through the door beside the privacy screen. Ye will be the only one in that particular pool. Again, stay as long as ye like, ye ken?”
“Thank you,” Lyla said, struggling to find the energy to speak. Shona’s masterful massage had sent her into a floaty, boneless state of oblivion. “You are definitely a tranquility master.”
“Godspeed to ye, child. May ye not only find what ye seek but recognize it when ye find it.”
What an odd thing to say. Lyla pulled in another deep breath, then released it.
Maybe she would just take a little nap. Shona had told her to stay, however long she wanted.
But as was always the case, as soon as she decided to take a nap, that stupid, deranged rat got back on the hamster wheel and started her thoughts spinning.
She should’ve just gone to sleep and not thought about it.
“And here I’d hoped you’d settled down for a while,” she told her mind as she pushed up from the table, shrugged back into the robe, and hopped down while tightening the cloth belt around her waist. Oh well, at least she felt refreshed and better able to battle it.
Maybe a nice soak in the warm springs would help her regain even more calm.