Dawns Everlastin' (former title: Dusk Before Dawn) Book 2 (15 page)

"Of course." Her bemused
expression melted to one of deep compassion for Laura. "You poor
dear. I'll let you know as soon as the lines are in working
order."

"Damn me," Roan muttered,
then, "Laura, this is Lachlan Baird, Beth Staples, and Viola
Cooke."

Laura offered them a stilted
nod.

"The lads," Roan went on,
glancing over his shoulder, "are Kevin, Kahl and Alby."

Viola beamed them a
grandmotherly smile. "Such handsome boys," she crooned.

"Little devils," Roan
murmured. Clearing his throat, he asked Viola, "Could you also call
ma Aunt Aggie and let her know I'm all right?"

"Of course, Mr. Ingliss."
Viola's bright eyes peered up at the laird. "Could I stay a spell
and play with the boys?" She looked at Laura. "There are all sorts
of toys in the attic." Her gaze shifted to the boys. "We could pick
out a few and bring them down to the library. Would you like
that?"

Kevin, followed by his
brothers, eagerly came forward. "Toys, huh?"

"Lots of toys."

"Goofy stuff, I bet," Kahl
grumbled.

"Let's find out, shall
we?"

When Lachlan and Laura
nodded their approval, Viola merrily urged the boys toward the
staircase. "Now we must stay together," she said, heading up the
stairs with them. "You wouldn't want me to get lost in this big old
house, would you?"

"Relax, Laura," Beth said
kindly, drawing the woman's troubled gaze to her. "This will give
us a chance to talk. Have you had breakfast?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Lannie—" Roan scowled at
the couple across from him. "Now would be a bloody good time to
show Laura yer stuff—if you get ma drift."

"Not now," Beth
chided.

"I agree," sighed Lachlan,
and smiled at his guest. "Tis true, though, the roads are too bad
to travel, Miss Bennett. We'll get you to Edinburgh as soon as
possible."

"Lannie," Roan
growled.

"But...." Laura gestured
toward the staircase. "She managed to get here. The roads can't be
that bad."

"Miss Cooke doesna live
far," Lachlan explained. "Edinburgh's a fair travel, even in a
motor car." A twinkle in his eyes, he glanced at Roan. "Has no' the
new master o’ Baird house made yer stay comfortable?"

New master?

Her stomach knotting, she
spared Roan a scowl. "He's been most...generous."

"Generous," Roan parroted,
an edge to his tone. "For pity sake, mon, tell her!" His eyes sent
a mute plea to Lachlan. "She no' only thinks me a liar but a
womonizer!"

"If the shoe fits," Laura
clipped.

Clicking his tongue, Lachlan
shook his head. "Ingliss, ma friend, I think you need to work on
yer approach."

"You swine—"

"No' in the company o' the
ladies," Lachlan grinned. "Beth, darlin', try to put Miss Bennett's
mind to ease. Roan.... A walk in the morn's chill will do you
good."

Glaring down at Laura, Roan
retorted, "I've had all the fresh air a mon can take in one
day."

"Come along, Laura," Beth
said lightly. "I'll fix us something hot to drink."

Trailing behind her hostess,
Laura stopped long enough to retrieve her teacup from the bottom
step. She didn't know what to think about the foursome. Part of her
wanted to believe that the roads were truly hazardous, but another
part, conditioned from watching too many movies, held their motives
suspect.

She and the boys
could...
disappear
...and who would know?

Would Allen Treddock, her
boss, think to question her extended absence, or would he simply
replace her with one of the 'hopefuls'?

Withdrawing from her grim
thoughts, she seated herself at the kitchen table and took a long
look at the woman refilling a teapot at the sink.

Is Roan having an affair
with this woman?

The thought pained her more
than she cared to admit.

The other woman was
striking. Taller and shapelier than Laura. Her movements were
carefree, graceful. Confident.

A pang of jealousy stabbed
at Laura. Something else that was normally alien to her
character.

"We're not lovers," Beth
said, lighting a burner beneath the pot.

A chill erupted within
Laura's chest and swiftly coursed through her. Her fingers curled
against her palms, the manicured fingernails digging into her
flesh.

Was the woman a mind reader,
or responding to Laura's inauspicious return to Roan's room last
night?

Turning to face the blonde,
Beth folded her arms against her chest. "I love Lachlan, Laura.
There'll never be anyone else for me."

"I saw you—"

"In Roan's arms?" With a low
laugh, Beth crossed the kitchen and seated herself across from
Laura. "I was upset, and he was simply consoling me."

Laura couldn't bring herself
to meet the other woman's gaze. "It's really none of my
business."

"May I ask you a personal
question?"

The green eyes cast a
furtive look at Beth.

"You're attracted to
Roan."

Deep color spread across
Laura's cheeks. "I thought you were going to ask me a question, not
make a statement."

"Forgive me. Are you
attracted to him?"

"I don't know you." Laura
forced herself to meet the blue eyes watching her. "And I don't
care to know you. I just want to return to the States with my
nephews."

An understanding smile
softened Beth's mouth. "There was a time, not long ago, I wanted to
run away from this house, too. I'm glad I didn't."

"Well, I'm not you, am I?"
Laura closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. "I just want to go
home."

"Roan and I were discussing
fate, last night."

"Whose?"

Beth again laughed, drawing
Laura's despondent gaze to her. "His and yours, mostly. Do you
believe in magic?"

The question struck Laura as
humorous. "No. Magic is for dreamers."

A glow of enigmatic
wistfulness appeared on Beth's face. "Magic is mostly for
disbelievers,
Laura. I
should know.

"You and I may walk
different paths, but we're a lot alike." Planting an elbow on the
table, Beth rested her chin in the upturned palm. "Sometimes fate
deals us a left-field hand. You have to learn to trust the dictates
of your heart, Laura. It may tell you that you are already
home."

It was on the tip of Laura's
tongue to tell the woman that she was insane, but she bit the words
back.

Until the weather cleared,
she was stuck within these walls.

What would Beth Staples say
if Laura told her that Roan had said she was a ghost?

"Miss Staples—"

"Please...call me
Beth."

A strained smile came and
went from Laura's mouth. "Beth, I can't help but feel helpless in
this situation."

"You're not helpless. Laura,
I don't blame you for feeling out of place and trapped. The truth
is, you couldn't have stumbled across a safer haven. Put your fears
to rest. When the roads are safe to travel, we'll see to it that
you and the boys make it to Edinburgh."

The doubt in the green eyes
prompted Beth to add, "Just trust your instincts."

The kettle began to whistle.
Beth left her chair. When she reached for a potholder on a hook to
the left of the stove, her hand passed through it. The whistling
grew louder. Quelling a stab of alarm, she forced a smile and
turned to her guest.

"Laura, I have to run. Help
yourself to whatever you need." She ran toward the parlor door.
"Sorry about this."

Several seconds later, Laura
rose to her feet. Cloaked in blessed numbness, she turned off the
burner then stared for a time at the door the woman had passed
through.

Was it her imagination, or
were the members of this household completely
unpredictable?

"My instincts tell me to run
and never look back," she murmured. "What do you think of that,
Beth Staples?"

* * *

Roan tired of biding his
time out in the snow-covered east gardens. Brushing aside the downy
substance on the wide lower lip of the two-tier fountain, he seated
himself and stared off across the landscape. Even with thermals,
Lachlan's clothing, and his lined coat, the morning coldness
permeated the marrow of his bones.

He was the master of Baird
house?

How was it possible that he
could feel so...
frightened
...of such a magnanimous
gift?

"Ye're losin' yerself, mon,"
he said sadly, staring into nothingness. "The events o' late have
forced you to experience the pains o' the heart again. It’s no'
like I
breenge.
I've never been a rash mon."

Sighing deeply, he rubbed
his icy hands up and down his face. "Trouble wi' people is," he
sighed again, lowering his hands to his lap, "they can't understand
tha' an achin’ heart bends to no hurt, no matter the force o' the
deliverance."

"Aye, but a heart o' oak can
splinter."

Roan looked up and frowned
at Lachlan, who stood an arm's length away. Coatless, his full
sleeves flapping in the flurry-ridden breeze, he grinned before
sitting alongside Roan.

"Take it from me, ma friend,
self-counsel can drive you up a wall."

Despite himself, Roan
smiled. "You know tha' for a fact?"

Releasing a woebegone sigh,
Lachlan nodded. "Aye. Self-counsel and women. Brrr. Ye're bloody
damned if you do and bloody damned if you dinna."

Roan laughed.

A sly gleam stole into the
dark eyes. "Course, now, we're better off than ma friend Braussaw
there."

His gaze following the
direction in which Lachlan pointed, Roan searched until he focused
on what he was sure was the object of Lachlan's statement. Perched
in front of a barren azalea bush was a partially, snow-blanketed
peacock.

Roan gulped.

"Earlier, I came ou' to
check on him." Lachlan lazily scratched beneath his chin. "I
thought at first he'd frozen to daith, then it hit me. Ma bloody
bird's full o' sawdust. Imagine tha'."

Drawing in a fortifying
breath, Roan forced himself to look Lachlan in the eye. "He got
under the wheel o' ma van."

A dark eyebrow
lifted.

"At the time, old mon, you
and I weren't on the friendliest o' terms."

"So you had ma bird
stuffed?"

Roan shrugged. "He's a
bloody sight quieter than the ithers."

"Aye." A grin cracked
through Lachlan's soberness. "Aye, he is. However, Roan, try to
spare the ithers. The birds have been here for mair generations
than I can count."

Roan nodded.

"Now, suppose you talk to me
abou' yer troubles."

"Nothin’ to say,
really."

Lachlan grimaced. "Tis me
ye're talkin' ta. By the way, she is pretty." He grinned broadly.
"And stubborn."

"Laura?" Straightening back
his shoulders, Roan frowned. "Can't say as I blame her. It must be
scary to find yerself dependent on strangers."

"Fond o' her, are
you?"

The gentleness in Lachlan's
tone, further unsettled Roan. "I'd have to be dead no' to notice
such a fine-lookin' lass."

"Fegs, mon!" Lachlan
laughed, clapping Roan none-too-gently on the back. "Wha's dead got
to do wi' anythin'?"

Roan blushed, a smile
twitching on his lips. "I keep forgettin'. Sorry."

"I dinna mind. Truth be, I
sometimes forget, maself." Suddenly serious, he went on, "Alive or
dead, a mon must face his fears, Roan. You'll be a fit master o' ma
home, I've no doubts in tha' respect."

"But...?"

Lachlan looked deep within
the soft brown eyes. "Yer personal life is anither
matter."

"None o' yer
business."

"You've made it
so."

"No. You like to sick yer
nose where it doesn't belong."

"Perhaps, but I never
interfere unless tis somethin' tha' affects me personally. Roan, ma
lad, I never faithered a child, so I can only imagine the loss
you've suffered. But I do know somethin' o' pain, and how it
embitters the soul. You've got yer whole life ahead o' you. Start
anew. If you keep ignorin' the opportunities passin' you by, you'll
wake one morn and wonder who be the old mon starin' back at you in
the mirror."

"I've lived alone too
long."

"Tis never too late to
embrace life."

"No?" Resting his elbows
atop his knees, Roan shook his head. "I don't know how."

Lachlan released a long,
impatient sigh. "Ye're an arse, mon."

Straightening, Roan narrowed
his eyes on Lachlan. "At least I'm an honest one."