My Highland Bride (2 page)

“M’chieftain,” Colum greeted him, nodding as he studied Gray’s expression closer. He couldna pinpoint exactly what it was. What the hell was the man thinking?
Verra strange.
More oft than not he knew Gray’s thoughts before the man e’er spoke them; they’d fought side by side that long. But he had no idea what the man was thinking this time. Sucking in a deep breath, Colum turned and politely bowed to Lady Trulie. “M’lady.”

Lady Trulie didn’t say a word, just lowered her chin in a polite nod and continued rubbing the wool-covered mound of her belly.

Colum got the uncomfortable feeling he was being sized up for prey. He widened his stance, sent up a prayer for divine protection, and hoped like hell Galen was in fact making that promised sacrifice to the old gods.

Gray blew out a noisy exhale and shifted among the pillows. He still didna speak, just appeared to be struggling against some inner turmoil. Whate’er it was had to be serious. The man looked as though he was about to explode. What the devil had come o’er the chief? Had the clan been attacked? Was the king on the rampage again? If that was the case, why would the Sinclair women intervene? Had the Fates sent them one of their visions?

Colum caught a subtle movement out of the corner of his eye. Senses on edge, he jerked and faced it. Nothing moved but the slight shifting of the MacKenna colors hanging beside the great stone fireplace. Lady Trulie’s huge beast of a dog, Karma, rolled to his side on the hide stretched before the hearth and groaned in his sleep. Colum swallowed hard. Damn them all. What the hell was afoot? He turned back and faced his chieftain.

Lady Trulie resettled herself in the corner of the settee. The devilry flashing in her smile worried Colum more than anything else. Her thoughtful expression sent a chill through his bones. Lady Trulie was a great deal like her grandmother. She demanded a heavy dose of respect, and any who underestimated the woman quickly rued their stupidity. Her mischievous smile shifted to a look of intense concentration as she wriggled uncomfortably in the seat. Leaning forward as far as her rounded belly would allow, Lady Trulie shoved another colorful tapestry pillow down behind her lower back. “Lordy, I wish this baby would come soon. I feel like a bloated cow.”

Colum bit the inside of his cheek. Lady Trulie had ne’er behaved like any other woman he had ever known. But he supposed that stood to reason, since she came from some strange place called Kentucky in the even stranger sounding future.

“Are ye no’ well then, m’lady?” Colum ignored Gray’s barking laugh. And damned, if his chieftain didna sit there and shake his head as if he couldna belief Colum had asked that question. What the hell was he supposed to t’say to the woman? ’Twas obvious she was miserable. He was merely attempting to show proper respect to his chief’s wife.
Damn ye to hell and back, Gray.

“Yes.” Lady Trulie smiled as she swatted Gray’s arm with a disapproving smack. “I’m quite well, thank you.” She motioned toward a cushioned chair beside a low table containing a metal pitcher and several cups. “Please—pour yourself a drink and have a seat while we wait for Granny.”

“While we wait for Mother Sinclair?” Every muscle tensed several notches tighter as though someone had just doused him with a bucket of water from the coldest part of the loch. Why the hell were they waiting for Mother Sinclair? Damn Galen and his faulty eavesdropping. When he’d heard Gray mention Mother Sinclair, why had the man no’ found out what in blue blazes was about to befall?

“Aye.” Gray grinned and slid out of swatting reach of his wife. “Mother Sinclair wishes to have a word with ye.”

“I see.” Colum settled his stance and clasped his hands to the small of his back.

Gray’s grin widened into a knowing smile and a wicked chuckle escaped him. “D’ye no’ wish to sit, man?”

“Nay.” Colum rolled his shoulders. “I prefer to meet Mother Sinclair standin’.”

Gray laughed out loud and rose from his seat. “I know ye need a drink before she arrives.”

Colum verra much doubted there was enough whisky in all of Scotland to prepare a man to face Mother Sinclair. “Will the two of ye give no hint at all about what the woman wants with me?”

“It’s nothing bad.” Lady Trulie fidgeted in the seat, arching her back at the same time that she pressed a hand to the bottom of her ribs and pushed against the subtly moving swell of her stomach. “I promise it’s nothing bad.”

Colum verra much doubted the accuracy of her statement.

The door creaked, then softly bumped closed behind him. Colum didna have to turn to know Mother Sinclair had entered the room. The hairs prickling up the back of his neck announced her presence like a blaring battle horn.

The slight old woman hurried past him. Her twisted staff with the odd crystal imbedded in the top tangle of roots lightly thumped out her every step. “I’m sorry to be late, everyone. I had a small situation to attend to in the hall.” Mother Sinclair shot Colum a disapproving look as she lowered herself into a chair.

Colum straightened his shoulders and stood taller. He’d be damned if he’d cower over something as normal as charming a pretty maid. Hell’s fire—he was a man. What the devil did the woman expect?

“I have a very important task for you, Colum Garrison.” Granny straightened her tiny frame in the high-backed chair like a Fae queen holding court. Her eyes narrowed as she glared at him over the tops of her wire-rimmed spectacles. “But you will have to change your ways.”

“Aye?” Colum shifted in place but kept his hands clenched to the small of his back. Damned, if he didna feel like a prisoner waitin’ for the king’s choice of gallows or the axe. “And what
ways
might those be?”

“I believe you know exactly what
ways
I’m referring to.” Mother Sinclair took a deep breath and glanced over to Lady Trulie. “You still agree, even considering the man’s past behavior?”

What the hell did she mean by that? Colum stole a glance at Gray, but his fine Highland chieftain refused to look him in the eye. Verra well. He’d battled alone before and won.
Aye. But ne’er against Mother Sinclair.
Colum sucked in a deep breath and stuck out his chest.

“I think he’ll be just fine, Granny.” Lady Trulie beamed at Colum as though he were a prized horse being selected for breeding with a favored mare. “Besides, you said you received the same vision I did.”

Oh holy hell.
Colum stiffened. Both the Lady Trulie and Mother Sinclair had seen him in another of their damn visions? The last time he’d appeared in one of their visions, they’d seen him poisoned and left for dead.

“Very well.” Mother Sinclair’s mouth tightened into a flat, determined line. “In one week’s time, another of my granddaughters”—she motioned toward Lady Trulie—“Trulie’s middle sister closest to her in age, will arrive.”

Colum waited, all the while wondering from where or maybe from
when
the next Sinclair sister would come. He’d speak to Gray later about the disloyalty of the man toward him.
Hell’s fire.
He’d fought at the man’s side for years. Did that no’ account for anything? ’Twas damn shameful the way his own chieftain had allowed a pair of women to reign over him in such a way. If all they needed were additional guards to protect such an important visitor, why the blazes had Gray no’ given the order himself? “I’ll see to it additional guards are set in place. Have no fear for the lady’s safety. I shall personally see to it.”

“That’s exactly what we want,” Granny said as her tight-lipped frown softened into a sly smile. “We want you to
personally
see to Kenna.”

Gray leaned over the fur-covered arm of the settee and scrubbed one hand across his mouth. His gaze was locked on the floor, and his shoulders trembled as he coughed a strange snorting sound into the folds of the plaid draped across his chest.

Was the MacKenna laughing? Colum took a step closer and glared at him. “M’chieftain?”

Gray straightened and let his hand drop to his lap. He sucked in a deep breath, then cleared his throat. “Aye, Colum. See to it the guards are doubled about the keep. But I do charge ye personally with the seeing after of Lady Kenna at all times. As soon as she arrives, she is yer responsibility. See that ye stay at her side.”

Stay at her side.
Colum smelled a verra large rat. What the devil did these three play at? “Is there anything more I should know about the Lady Kenna?”

“Nay. Not a thing.”

Colum studied Gray. The man’s face grew ruddier by the minute. Instinct warned Colum, “
Run like hell, man!”
Colum cleared his throat and edged closer to the door.

Granny strolled behind the couch and set a staying hand on Gray’s shoulder as he leaned forward to speak again. “I’m sure you’ll figure it all out when the time arrives. But know this…” Granny pointed the crystal end of her staff at the center of Colum’s chest. “Trulie and I chose you for a reason. You would be wise not to disappoint us.”

Disappoint them? When had he e’er failed to protect a charge? When had he e’er failed his chieftain? “I swear to ye, I will keep the Lady Kenna safe.”

Again, Gray scrubbed a shaking hand across his mouth and muttered something toward his lap. Colum peered closer. Wariness set off more inner alarms as he picked up on the unspoken byplay going on between Lady Trulie’s pointed glare and his chieftain’s apologetic shrug.

Colum swallowed hard and eased closer to the door. Had Gray just said it wasn’t the Lady Kenna’s safety that concerned him? Colum studied Gray closer. Aye and fer sure, the man had said just that—he felt certain of it.
Lore a’mighty, may the gods have mercy on my soul.

Chapter 2

K
ENTUCKY—
T
WENTY-FIRST
C
ENTURY

The fire popped and crackled in the cast-iron stove, but Granny’s voice came through the red-hot coals loud and clear. “It’s time, Kenna—time for you to join us here in the thirteenth century.”

Kenna balanced the bowl of popcorn on the arm of the couch and leaned toward the open grating of the stove. The handful of popcorn she’d just shoved in her mouth at the exact moment of Granny’s announcement threatened to strangle her. Kenna coughed, swallowed hard, and thumped her fist against her chest.

“Come again, Granny?” She wheezed in a deep breath, then hurriedly gulped down a sip of iced tea to wash away the knot of popcorn lodged in her throat. “You want all of us to join you and Trulie? Permanently?”
Please say it’s just time for a short visit. I’d love to see you and Trulie…for a short visit.

“No. Not all of you. Just you. It’s time you came back and grabbed hold of your destiny.” Granny paused. The only sound coming from the woodstove was the lively crackling of the fire. Granny’s firm tone silenced the sound of the flames as she continued, “The twins will be staying in the twenty-first century for a bit longer.”

Kenna unfolded from her cross-legged position on the couch. What if she didn’t want to grab her destiny in thirteenth-century Scotland? What if she liked it right here in twenty-first-century Kentucky just fine? Yes, seeing Granny and Trulie would be wonderful, but there was just too much going on here to leave right now. Life was finally starting to settle down and run smoothly. It was kind of nice living like
normal
people for a change—or as close to normal as a girl born to a long line of women able to jump back and forth across time ever got.

“The twins are graduating this month. Tell Trulie the terrible twosome turned into a pair of intelligent eighteen-year-old beauties,” Kenna said, hoping that if she changed the subject Granny might back off a bit. But that was another thing. Even though her baby sisters were eighteen years old, how could Granny suggest leaving them alone to fend for themselves? Granted, Mairi and Lilia were mature for their age, but they still weren’t ready to get booted from the nest and fly solo.

Kenna scooted to the edge of the couch and propped her elbows on her knees. She had to buy them all some time. “Lilia’s creating her own line of natural cosmetics for the shop. She’s already got every teenage girl in town clamoring for the lip gloss she developed.”

The flames lengthened and danced faster across the chunks of wood. The coals fanned a hotter orange-red as Granny’s tone took on a decided edge. “Tell the girls I’m very proud of them and it’ll be their time to join us soon. I’m sending an old friend to look after them, since you’re coming to join us now. Eliza will help them sort through whatever they might need until their time to come back to us arrives. They have a bit longer to hone their skills in the twenty-first century before I call them back to the past.”

So the twins got to enjoy more time with indoor plumbing, Internet, and take-out pizza but she didn’t? Why did she have to leave now? “But Granny, I need—”

“Enough, Kenna. You knew this time was coming, and you know better than to argue with me once I’ve made up my mind.”

Kenna blew out a huffing breath.
Isn’t that the freakin’ truth
. Arguing with Granny was a lot like arguing with the weather. Both did as they damn well pleased no matter what anyone said. But maybe she could at least get away with bargaining for a little reprieve.

“Just give me a month.” Kenna held her index finger up closer to the fire. She couldn’t see Granny, so she didn’t think her elder had opened the fire portal enough to create a viewing window, but you never knew for sure with Granny. “Give me one solid month to get everything ready before I jump back.” Surely Granny would grant her some time to get things settled…and maybe in that time, if she thought about it really hard, she could figure out an excuse Granny wouldn’t be able to deny that would allow her to stay comfortably ensconced in modern times for a few more years—at least.

“One week.”

“A week?” Kenna scooted off the couch and knelt in front of the woodstove. “I can’t be ready to jump the web in just a week. That’s impossible.”

“Make it possible, Kenna. One week is all you get.”

Gray-white ash crept up the chunks of glowing embers as the heat of the fire abated. Granny’s voice took on a metallic, hollow sound, fading in and out as the connection through the fire portal weakened. “Don’t waste your time pouting or plotting to stay in the future. You knew this day was coming. Accept your destiny and embrace it.”