Highland Protector (MacCoinnich Time Travels Book Five) (20 page)

Kincaid felt his arms grow cold. If
he hadn’t come, she would be gone by now. Of that, he had no doubt. “I’m sworn
to protect her.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

Kincaid felt the headache he’d
finally managed to shed returning.

“Maybe instead of asking about the
future, we need to look in the past. Who knows, maybe you both return to her
time and you manage to wear that kilt you love so much.”

He ignored his friend’s sarcasm,
knowing damn well Giles understood his discomfort in a skirt.

Before Kincaid could comment on
living in the past, he felt the presence of others and turned toward the door
of the library. The sound of the front door slammed at the same time a book
fell from one of the top shelves.

A rough voice of a man shouted
Simon’s name in the hall.

Jake stood grasping Selma’s arm in
the hall while the members in the house took little time to meet them.

Jake held a suitcase, which he
promptly tossed at Simon’s feet, and said. “Selma’s staying here.”

“Not necessary, Jake!” Selma pulled
out of his grasp.

“The hell! You have some nutcase
stalking you. You’re staying here!”

“Nutcase?” Simon asked.

“Yeah, some freak threatening her
life.” Jake turned his back to Simon to glare at Selma.

Helen moved to Selma’s side. “I told
you Jake would believe you.”

“Wait? You knew about this?” Jake
asked.

Selma pushed between Jake and Helen.
“I told Helen and Amber about the email last night.”

“That was before the personal phone
call,” Jake said.

“A phone call?” Helen asked.

Simon shoved in. “Wait, what are you
talking about? Some of us in the room have no idea what’s going on.”

Kincaid was glad the other man asked.
He for one was clueless. He did know, however, Jake was acting out of fear, and
even though Selma was defensive and combative, she too was scared. Their
emotions were as real as his own.

He met Amber’s gaze and silently said,
He believes she’s in real danger.

Agreed. Do you feel this or are you
assuming?

Just a knowing. Your gift?

Aye.

“I sent a love potion to a guy in
Arizona,” Selma started to explain.

“Several potions.” Jake rolled his
eyes.

“Several. And they worked! Just not
for him. The girl he wanted ended up realizing her love for someone else.”

Kincaid glanced at Giles and laughed.
“Love potions? Seriously?”

“Hey! Don’t judge. A girl has to make
a living. Anyway,” Selma tossed her hair over her shoulder as she explained. “The
guy was pissed and sent a nasty email—”

“
Threatening
email,” Jake
corrected.

“Then he left a message on my home
phone,” Selma told them.

Now that wasn’t a laughing matter,
Kincaid thought. The nutcase was probably only that, but that didn’t make him
any less of a threat.

“This is the man you think murdered
the couple in Arizona?” Helen asked.

Jake swung his gaze from Helen to
Selma. “Murdered? What are you not telling me, Matilda?”

“I don’t know if he was
that
nutcase
or not. I got spooked after I saw a newscast. I’m probably paranoid,” Selma
told Jake.

Jake rested his hands on his hips and
stared at her. “And when did this newscast air?”

Selma shrugged, glanced at her feet.
“I don’t know…last weekend.”

“When you came over to my house?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

She’s lying.

“I knew there was something bothering
you!” Jake yelled. “Why didn’t you say something then?”

The two of them had their fight while
everyone else watched. Seemed Jake was handling everything perfectly. If Selma
had been threatened, she needed to be with others. Why she lived outside of the
manor was a puzzle to Kincaid anyway. They were stronger together. Always had
been.

“Oh, c’mon, Jake. Like you’d believe
me. Besides, I didn’t want to bring it up with your girls around. You have
enough to worry about.”

“You don’t get to tell me when I can
and can’t worry.” Jake moved within three inches of her body.

She glared at him. “And you don’t get
to tell me what to do just because we slept together!”

Helen gasped.

Oh, my.
Amber’s words shot into Kincaid’s
head.

I take it, that’s a new thing?
He asked her.

Aye.

Kincaid smiled. He liked this new
gift, he decided. The ability to talk to Amber without anyone else hearing them
was already turning out to be beneficial.

“You’re right,” Jake told Selma. “It
doesn’t. I’ll let everyone here tell you how stupid it is to try and fight an
unknown enemy by yourself. My guess is they’ve all done it more than once.” He
poked a finger in her chest. “You, on the other hand, haven’t.”

“Jake—”

He placed a finger over her lips.
“I’ll find the bad guy. You keep your skinny ass here and stay out of my way.”

“But—”

Kincaid spoke at the same time as
Simon. “He’s right.”

“Selma?”

Kincaid nodded for Simon to continue.

“Jake is right. You know he is.
You’re safe here.”

The tension in the room slowly drifted
to a low purr. From down the hall, Mrs. Dawson issued a request.

“Amber, Helen? Why don’t you prepare
one of the rooms for our guest? Selma, dear, can you please help me in the kitchen.
You do seem to have a way with herbs.”

Selma growled at Jake as she walked
past him, and Helen and Amber moved in the opposite direction.

“Stubborn woman,” Jake whispered
under his breath.

Chapter Twenty-One

After two painfully quiet days and
nights, Kincaid wanted, no needed, to break free.

He purposefully let Amber have the
room and slept anywhere but at her side. He didn’t want her feeling pressured,
didn’t want her questioning his intentions. Not that he knew his intentions. He
was a married man in the blink of an eye, and he had no way of knowing how to
handle the new status in life.

He’d watched his wife slowly come out
of the shell he’d seen her in since they met. Her smile was brighter, her
personality bigger. She wore pants with the encouragement of Selma and Helen,
and managed to keep herself out of his head whenever she wanted. Something he
had yet to master.

Still, when he cornered her in the
yard, she appeared shocked. “You and I are leaving here in one hour,” he told
her.

She blinked. The smile on her face
didn’t fall as she turned away from her friends to speak to him. “Leave?”

“A date. You and I. One hour.” He
turned then and left the other women to explain the word that circled in her
head like a cloud.

A date?

Ask Helen and Selma. They’ll explain.

She was quiet then, until a half hour
later when the inevitable question was asked.

What shall I wear?

Kincaid stood before the bathroom
mirror and smiled as her question popped in his head.

Women were predictable about that same
question throughout all times.
What you have on is fine.

He found Simon in the library with
Giles. The two of them had been bent over the books for some time, neither of
them taking notice of him. “Amber and I are leaving for a few hours.”

Simon and Giles sat motionless as
they took in his words.

“Leaving?” Simon asked.

“A date. We won’t be gone long.”

“A date?”

Kincaid held his ground through
Simon’s stare.

“Yes.” He lifted his hand. “I need
the keys to the R8.”

“My car?”

“I’d take Mrs. Dawson’s Lincoln, but
I’m more familiar with the power of yours.”

Giles sat forward. “You have an R8…as
in a combustible engine Audi? Really?”

Simon gave a curt nod, his eyes never
leaving Kincaid’s. “Where are you going?”

“Dinner. Alone. We’re bonded, Simon.
She’s safe with me.” The man took his role as protector seriously, but Simon
had no idea how seriously Kincaid took the role.

“The key is on the hook in the
kitchen. There’s a cell phone in the car.”

Kincaid offered thanks and moved
through the library with purpose. The western wall, three shelves up, he found
the book titled
Contingency
. The same book was situated in the exact
space in his time. There, he removed the book, opened it, and found several
bills of the currency of the time.

“What the—?”

“Mr. Dawson’s legacy is embedded in
this library. The man knew more than he let his wife know.”

Simon stood, crossed the room, and
looked at the hollowed out book filled with hundred dollar bills.

“Emergency money is always here, no
matter the time or the currency used.”

Simon frowned. “What do you need all
that for?”

Kincaid sucked in a breath. “My
wife.”

Showered, clean, and ready to take
his wife on their first date, Kincaid met Amber at the foot of the stairs as
she walked toward him. She wore black slacks with a tiny black halter shirt and
sheer black cover up. She was dressed like him, and it didn’t go unnoticed. It
was impossible to notice the little things that hadn’t been there before. The
small amount of makeup, the way her hair was slicked back. Put her in tight
leather, and she would resemble the exact image of a female warrior of his
time.

Damn she was beautiful. The large
dark gaze, the full sensual lips…the smile.

He envisioned the stream he’d seen in
her head for days to keep her from seeing every thought inside his mind.

He offered his arm, which she took
with a coy smile.

“You’re beautiful,” he told her.

A rose blush filled her cheeks.

What are you up to?

 Her voice pushed through his head.

“Let’s try and speak out loud,” he
suggested.

“All right.” She stood back, only her
fingertips touched his arm. “Where are we going, Mr. Kincaid?”

The stream ran in his head, he hoped
his thoughts were hidden. “You don’t know?”

“Nay,” she told him. “I do not.”

“Good.” He winked and pulled her out
the door. “My guess is you haven’t been outside of this house much since you’ve
been here.”

They walked down the steps of the
manor to the waiting car.

Amber hesitated at the door of the
car, and her anxiety wavered over him.

“Twice. I’ve left this home two times
since my parents left me here.”

Kincaid paused and opened his mind.
You’re
safe with me, Amber. Always.

She offered a nod, but her anxiety
was palpable.

He tucked her in the car and moved to
the driver’s seat. He hadn’t driven a gas-powered vehicle in years, but much
like anything learned as a child, he knew enough to make the car work.

As they left the sanctuary of the manor,
Amber’s anxiety increased.

With purpose, Kincaid reinforced the
barrier between the two of them and the world. “I won’t let any other emotions
hit you,” he promised her.

“I keep waiting for their return,”
she told him. “The voices.”

“You’ve managed to wield my power
since our bond. Have the emotions of others returned?”

She watched the world pass by. Her
hand gripped the handle on the door. “Nay…well, only when I searched for them.”

“What about my gift? Do you have to
concentrate on it for it to be there?”

“Aye…nay.”

“Which is it?”

“I need to think on it now, out here.
At the manor, I don’t think about it. It’s just there. When I feel burdened by
the thoughts of others, I bring up your shield.”

“Our shield.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

He wove through traffic; his
destination embedded in his mind.

“I don’t have to think about your
gift. I sense others, their feelings. I thought it might be important for both
of us to experience life outside the manor for a couple of hours. It’s hard to
judge other’s true feelings when you trust those around you the way we do.”

“I trust my family,” she told him.

“Trust is important in the manor.
Always.”

“Throughout time?”

He moved off the highway and toward
his destination. “If someone isn’t trustworthy, they’re banished. There are few
exceptions.”

“With the gifts of perceptions and
premonitions, it would be very difficult to deceive the occupants.”

He nodded. “In my time? Yeah, that’s
true. Not in this time. It’s something Simon and Helen need to fortify.”

“Why Simon and Helen? Why not us?”

He glanced at her. “I’m not sure
we’re meant to fortify the future of the manor, are you?”

“I’d ask my mother if she were here.
But nay, I don’t know if we’re meant to stay in this time.”

He wanted to ask if her desire was to
stay here now, but he wasn’t sure he’d like the answer.

Kincaid pulled into the parking lot and
ignored the stares of those as they exited the sporty car.

Amber moved close to his side and
watched the mass of people as they walked by them.

“I have you,” he whispered in her
ear.

The tight smile on her face had him
squeezing her hand. He ushered Amber inside the high-end mall and guided her
into a jewelry store.

“What are we doing here?” she asked.

He pulled her closer. “We’re married,
Amber. I don’t want anyone thinking you’re not taken.”

She turned toward him. “I’m not
around anyone who doesn’t know of our status.”

Kincaid shrugged. “Humor me.”

She did.

They picked out a diamond-studded
band that Amber insisted reminded her of her mother’s. He in turn, placed a
titanium band on his finger before they left the store.

Amber’s anxiety hovered like a mist.
Unlike any other woman who might enjoy a shopping trip, she kept pace with him
for a speedy exit. The threat of so many people around her sent a cold sweat
over him.

“Should we find a quiet place to
eat?” he asked.

“The manor?”

He shook his head. “I was thinking a
restaurant.”

She glanced at those coming and going
from the mall.
Is it safe?

I wouldn’t take you if it wasn’t.

Inside the car, Amber followed his
lead, buckled her belt, and sat back with a heavy sigh. “I keep waiting for
everyone to crush in.”

He covered her hand with his. “I know
you do. Just think of my shield, see the blue color grow solid, and know it
will hold. It’s never failed me.”

The car started to shudder as if it
were in quicksand. “Okay, perhaps a little less would help us actually move,”
he told her.

Amber’s brow pitched together. “Is
that me?”

“Just pull it back to reach only
inside the car.”

The thick band around the car eased
in slow degrees.
Distraction. She needs a distraction.

“So…” he began, “Jake and Selma?” He
could care less about the gossip of the two in question, but the car instantly
surged forward when Amber thought of the couple and released his shield from
around the car.

“I should have seen that coming,” she
told him as he pulled the car into traffic en route to the restaurant.

“You didn’t?”

Amber shook her head. “When I met
Selma and Jake, everyone’s emotions were rampant in my head. Concentrating on
any one person was difficult.”

“He cares for her.”

“Agreed. She has no idea how much,”
she told him.

“Agreed.”

They sat in silence for a moment. “It’s
not easy for the others,” he said. “The ones who join us and aren’t Druid.”

She stared at the passing traffic and
a sense of peace washed over him.

“I was a child when Todd joined us.
Myra’s husband is from this time—Jake’s brother in arms. He adjusted eventually.”

“There are plenty of Todd’s out
there. Men and women who join the manor and keep order. Not everyone picks a
spouse who shares his or her Druid heritage. Those of us who do understand the
risk or the gain.”

“You make it sound as if the manor is
filled with people from all walks of life in your future.”

“It is. Though the manor is larger
than it is now. The houses surrounding Mrs. Dawson’s home become sanctuaries
for families who attempt to raise their children in relative normalcy.”

“Not unlike my parent’s home.”

He laughed. It was hard not to.
“MacCoinnich Keep is much more than a home.”

Amber shrugged, looked out the
window. “For me it was home. Nothing more or less than Dawson Manor. I kept up
with the cats in the barn, knew when they were giving birth. Those who roamed
the halls—the maids, the cooks, the knights—all were essential in the movement
and protection of my childhood home. But it was still my home.”

The thought sobered Kincaid as he
parked in the lot and jumped out to help Amber.

His wife had grown up the youngest
child in a medieval Keep…during medieval times. She had family members who had
crossed centuries and would again to keep her from harm. He however, grew up
with menial financial means in a single room apartment with strangers. Growing
up, even his own father was nothing more than an unapproachable enigma. Kincaid
had leapt at the opportunity to belong to something, anything.

The host sat them at a table in the
back of the restaurant where Amber picked up the conversation from the car.

“Where is it you grew up?” she asked.

“Outside the manor,” he told her. “My
mother disappeared early on and my father was stuck with the burden of raising
me.”

“She left you?”
How can a mother
leave her child?

“Not all mothers are the same. Mine
spawned and left.”

“How very cold.” She looked away.

“It’s hard to feel anything for
someone I don’t know.” Anything other than hatred and disappointment, that was.

Amber sat rod-straight, her eyes
never left his. “I’m sorry,” she told him.