Chapter 24 #2
“I’ve already told you he was like a father to me?
” At her nod, I went on. “He was this towering bear of a man. A great Scot, but with a heart as gentle as the morning dew. He had a kindness within that endeared him to all he met. While Aenan was off learning how to run the estate, Lachlann would keep me company by teaching me all about the horses. He worked in the stables, having a knack for the beasts. Taught me how to ride and how to catch a fish. Apart from your brother, he was my closest companion.”
I smiled fondly, remembering the man. I had loved him just like a father and had been devastated when he left and never came back. Rowan smiled at me, squeezing my hand.
“He told me stories all about the human world. Ones that I struggle to believe are true, despite him assuring me they were.” I grinned at her.
“What kind of stories?”
“Well, he told me about a fat lazy cat that likes to eat cake, and a black-and-white dog that would lie upside down on the roof of its doghouse.”
She laughed at my descriptions. “Those are just cartoons,” she explained.
I had no idea what that meant, so gave her a questioning look.
“They’re make-believe, not real animals. Stories told to children to keep them amused.”
I nodded, understanding. “Aye, that they did.”
“What about Lachlann’s family? Did he have one before he came here?” she asked.
Saddened by the memory, I stared off into the distance. “Aye. He did. He told me about them once. It wasn’t a happy story, so he didn’t talk about them much. He had a wife and daughter.”
I paused, looking at her. At the disquiet on her face.
“On the eve of Beltane, they were entertaining friends at their home when his wife went into labour. She was thirty-six weeks, and his daughter was born quite quickly. He told me it was as if she couldn’t wait to join in on the celebrations.
In his excitement, he took her outside to meet their guests, and the next thing he knew, he was waking up in Assyntian. ”
Emotions flittered across Rowan’s face as I told the tragic tale, and she sat up in alarm. “Oh, my goodness – what about the baby? What happened to her?”
“He said he searched and searched the woods but could not find her, so presumed, and hoped, she had not come through.”
“How very sad. Did he ever try to return?”
“Aye, he did. Every six months he would go back to the Mystwoods in the hope he would be able to return. I think it broke his heart to think of his child growing up without a father. Sometimes I went with him, into the woods.” Concern flashed in her eyes.
“I had no desire to leave, though, and I think the Mystwoods knew. Then one day, not too long ago, actually, he left as he usually would at Beltane, and didn’t return. ”
“You think he made it through?” she whispered.
“I hope so. I haven’t heard word of him since, and we found evidence that he had been in the cabin, so can only assume he made it.”
“And what about you? Did you ever want to return?”
“No. I’ve only stepped into those woods once since then, and that was to find you.”
She frowned. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about that. About why you were there that day. How did you know I would be there?”
I looked away, wondering what I should tell her.
I kept my response vague. “I didn’t. Not really.
We had hoped, you see, based on the prophecy.
Aenan was there at Beltane, and I went for Samhain.
Someone from the estate is usually in the area on those two days just in case someone comes through.
It’s why the cabin is kept stocked and ready for use. ”
She appeared slightly disappointed with my response, her eyes breaking away from mine, so I grabbed her about the waist and pulled her down into my arms, hoping to distract her.
Her face hovered just above mine, and I was just about to lean up and kiss her when she beat me to it, reaching down to kiss me first.
The slight pressure of her lips against mine made my heart thud, but I longed for more.
Everything around us seemed to drift away as I deepened that kiss, and when she made a small mewing sound, my senses focused until all I could hear, all I could feel, was her.
The sound of the burbling stream, the noises the horses made as they grazed on the grass – it all faded into the background.
There was only her and me. Nothing else mattered.
When she drew back, I stared at her in confusion, but she only settled herself back down, aligning more intimately with a part of my body that I had been subtly shifting away, trying to alleviate the pressure there.
Rowan made a little noise in the back of her throat when she felt it.
One that sent a rush of blood straight to that region.
She pressed her lips back to mine and began kissing me with just as much fervour as I was feeling.
“Rowan,” I said, when she let me up for air. “We need to stop.”
She looked at me, startled, confused. “What? Why?” she asked, her voice heavy with desire.
A fat drop of water landed right on my forehead, rolling back into my hair.
We both looked up just in time for the heavens above us to unleash.
The squeal Rowan made as she jumped up and raced for shelter under the nearby tree had me laughing.
I collected the blanket and gathered the horses before following her at a less frantic pace.
“That is why,” I said, with a grin, eyeing the grey clouds. “It doesn’t look like it’s going to stop anytime soon. Should we make a run for it?”
She stared out at the rain as well before giving me a nod.
Spurred on by thoughts of dry clothes and a warm fire, we galloped across the fields, the ground beneath us transforming into a slick muddy path, beaten by the horses’ pounding hooves.
By the time we entered the stables and handed our steeds off to the stable master, the downpour had turned into a deluge, and we were soaked through.
We entered the castle through the rear doors, bypassing the servants’ quarters and trekking our way to the entrance hall.
When we stood at the bottom of the stairs a short while later, looking up, I turned to her.
I wanted to say that I didn’t want the day to end just yet.
That I wanted to continue what we had been doing before we’d been so rudely interrupted by the heavens.
But before I could speak, she turned to me, a twinkle in her eye, and raced off up the stairs, only pausing to send me a flirtatious look over her shoulder when she reached the first level.
One that told me everything I needed to know.
Chuckling to myself, I ran up behind her, taking the steps two at a time.