One Summerhill Day (The Summerhill Series Book 1) (18 page)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Caitlyn drove over to Ryan’s house on Sunday afternoon. She just had to see him. Her life felt like it was falling apart and he was the only person she wanted to see. She hadn’t even called before hopping into her car and driving over to Ryan’s apartment. Just as she was about to get out of her parked car, she saw the door of his building open.

Out stepped a beautiful dark-haired woman. She turned and Ryan gave her a hug and a kiss. He spoke to her, but Caitlyn wasn’t close enough to hear what he said. Her head had exploded…or at least it felt ready to explode.

She opened her car door and stood waiting for Ryan to recognize her. He didn’t so much as glance her way until the mystery woman was in her car. When he finally noticed her, he smiled and said, “Cait? I didn’t know you were coming over. What a nice surprise. Come on in.”

Caitlyn glared at him. “You, too?” she said, in a whisper that grew to a shout. “You cheated on me? What am I, the biggest fool in the world?” She jumped back into her car and slammed the door, pulling away without waiting for a response.

She saw Ryan in her rearview mirror, chasing after the car and shouting, “No, Cait, it’s not what you think.”

Well, he had that part right, didn’t he? He wasn’t at all the man she had thought him to be. She had thought Ryan was her rock, someone she could depend on, someone who would always be there for her.

Tears flowed down her cheeks. Yep, he was there for her all right, he was there for her and any other women who needed him. How many people was he dating? Just the two of them, or were there more?

What was wrong with her? Why did men insist on cheating on her? Her vision blurred from all the tears. She swiped at them, only to have them quickly replaced by a new deluge. When she got home, she pulled into her garage and closed it. Once inside, she threw herself on the couch and sobbed, wrenching from her gut. How the hell had this happened? She’d lost her job and her boyfriend in just twenty-four hours.

Ryan stormed in behind her a few minutes later. “Cait, you have it all wrong. She’s not who you think she is. Please listen to me.”

“Who was that?” she wailed at him.

“You don’t understand. That was Chad’s wife, Erin. There’s nothing between us.”

“You haven’t even mentioned her once. I don’t understand why you wouldn’t have said something if this thing between you was so innocent. When was the last time you saw her?”

She could see the panic set in Ryan’s face. He was going to lie right to her face. He was going to lie and say they never spent time together.

“A couple of nights ago. We went out for pizza.”

Well, he hadn’t lied, but this woman was clearly a part of his life…and he hadn’t said a word about her. Surely there was a reason for that. And experience had taught her what that reason likely was.

“Cait, I spend time with her and her son, Sammy. I promised Chad I would watch out for them…that’s all there is to it. I…I don’t know why I didn’t mention her to you.”

“And where was Sammy today? I didn’t see any little boy with her.”

“He wasn’t there. She wanted to talk to me alone. She…”

“Have you been fucking her and me at the same time?” Rage raced uncontrollably through her body, driving her out of her seat.

“No. Cait, no. I would never do that. Erin has never been in my bed.”

“I want to believe you, but I just can’t. If that were the truth, you would have said something, Ryan. You would have
said
something.” Her voice started to climb. She had learned what it meant when men didn’t speak. When they made excuses to see other women. And the brunette—Erin—was beautiful, much prettier than Cait believed herself to be.

“Please, Cait, it’s not like that. She and I are just friends.”

“I will not be played the fool again,” she said in a small, cold voice she barely recognized as her own. “Get out. I never want to see you again.”

Ryan gaze caught hers. “I never meant it to be like this. You have to believe me.”

“It’s a little late for that. Just leave.”

Ryan nodded and walked out the door.

As soon as he left, her entire world fell apart. She had no one, and no job. What the hell was she going to do now?

***

Ryan had managed to make it through the rest of the day, but not without feeling like a piece of shit. He couldn’t believe how upset Cait had been and how she had twisted everything the wrong way. Yeah, he knew how it looked, and he knew that after what her husband had done to her, it was what he would have expected her to conclude. Erin had been walking out of his apartment after a kiss and a hug. He just wished Cait would have given him the chance to explain, but she clearly hadn’t wanted to hear anything from him.

It would probably be best if he left her alone for a couple of days so she could calm down. Maybe after a few days he would try to talk to her again. He finally decided to head over to the inn to see if the family could help him out at all.

When they sat down for their meal, Mallory said, “Where’s Caitlyn? Why didn’t you bring her tonight? She really could use some friends right now. Jake said before he left that he thought you were going to see her today. How’s she doing?”

“Cait won’t be coming with me anymore.” Ryan stared at his plate.

“What? Why not?”

“We’re not seeing each other anymore.” He played with the food on his plate, heaping on piles that he would never be able to eat.

Mallory stood up, her hands braced on the table. “What did you do, Ryan Ramsay? Please tell me you didn’t break up with her. Not now.”

“No. Reality is she just broke up with me. I think her exact words were she never wanted to see me again.” Ryan refused to look at anyone in the room, not wanting to see any derision.

“I can’t believe that. She was in such a bad state after the situation with her job, I don’t picture her breaking up with you unless she had a sound reason.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Ryan glared at Mallory. “What happened with her job?”

“Caitlyn was asked to find another position within the hospital last night. Lucille complained about her three times—one of which, I might add, was because of you—so our nurse manager told her to leave the department.”

Ryan swallowed the huge lump in his throat. “How was I supposed to know that? And again, she broke up with me.”

“What happened?” Mallory asked. “I’m calling Jake. He needs to be here to kick your ass for me.”

“She saw Erin leaving my apartment and assumed we were seeing each other. You know that’s not true, but she wouldn’t listen and chose to believe the worst. Maybe after she calms down, she’ll listen to me.”

“Oh my God. She thinks you cheated on her like her husband, and within twenty-four hours of almost losing her job. Ryan. What have you done? I need to call her right now.” She pushed away from the table and grabbed her phone out of her pocket.

Ryan said, “I had no idea, Mal. I’m sorry. She kicked me out of her house.”

As she waited for Cait to answer, she said, “And how was she when you left?”

“Pretty upset.” He glanced around the table, hoping someone would stand up for him, but they all stared at him with blank expressions.

Mal left the room to talk to Caitlyn. Ryan glanced at his father and the rest of his family. “I had no idea.”

Lorraine spoke first. “Ryan, you told her Erin was just a friend, didn’t you?”

“I did, Lorraine, but she wasn’t ready to listen. So I left. If anyone has any suggestions on how to convince her there was nothing between Erin and me, I’m all ears.”

“She probably just needs a little time, dear,” Lorraine answered, loading his plate with more food.

Mallory strode back into the room, putting her phone back in her pocket. He didn’t like the look on her face.

“Well? How is she?” Ryan was worried now. He knew how this looked to everyone and how the situation looked to Cait.

“I don’t think she’s doing very well, but it’s hard to tell. I haven’t known her that long, but she told me she doesn’t want any company.”

Their dad said, “Maybe you should go anyway, Mallory. With everything that has happened to the poor girl, I think she could use a friend right now. It wasn’t that long ago that she left her husband and had to deal with someone stalking her.”

“Dad, I know what you’re saying, but I have to respect her privacy. She asked me not to come over. I’ll go tomorrow. I promised to help her find another job.”

Ryan stood up. “She shouldn’t be alone. Somebody has to go over there. I didn’t know about her job. And how did I have anything to do with that, anyway?”

Mallory’s voice climbed as she spoke. “Because Lucille reported her for ‘making out’ with a cop in the break room. Unless you know of another cop she might have been kissing?”

“No.” Ryan ran his hand through this hair. Oh, he had been a major fuck-up, for sure. Now what the hell should he do? “Mallory, you need to go over there. And who knows when the stalker could show up again.”

“I thought her stalker was in Florida?” his father asked.

Ryan answered, “Well, he was there. We’re not sure if he’s staying, so she still needs to be on alert. She was getting a new security system installed. But again, everything about William was all conjecture. I’ll go see her.”

Mallory jumped in front of him. “Um, excuse me, but you lost the right to have any say about Caitlyn McCabe. She definitely does not wish to see you.”

“I’m still the police officer handling her case.”

Mallory got in his face and whispered. “I’ll make sure Jake knows about everything, so I’ll make sure he pulls you from it. You need to stay the hell away from her.”

Shit. He put his face in his hands. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Caitlyn had never been so down in her entire life, not after her father’s death, her mother’s death, or her divorce. She had no one, and she didn’t know what to do. Mallory had been nice enough to offer to come over, but the last thing she needed right now was company.

She felt like a failure—she hadn’t been able to save her mother or her aunt, and now Ryan had chosen another over her, just as her husband had done.. And the job she loved had slipped through her fingers.

Needing to be near the lake, she strolled out onto her deck, then down the steps to the part of the lawn nearest the water. All the while her mind was whirring with thought. The feelings inside her—the loneliness, hopelessness, and lack of control—were like a bottomless pit. It made her understand why people took their own lives. Not that she would ever consider suicide, but she could empathize with those that did.

This wasn’t the first time she had felt destitute, she just needed to come up with a plan—something, anything to give her a reason to get up in the morning.

She thought about her nursing career. Maybe emergency nursing wasn’t for her, she did often think of her mother when she was there. Perhaps she should consider ICU nursing or the PACU, where people came out after surgery. She wouldn’t have to be so cheerful there, would she? The patients would be sleeping, and they’d probably never remember her. Eventually, she walked out to the end of her dock, arms crossed to warm herself…or was it to give herself courage?

As tears formed on her lashes, she stared at the icy glass covering her beloved lake and wished it were summer. In summertime, she would have been able to dive and swim for long enough to forget her troubles, if only for a moment. But the healing powers of Orenda Lake were no good to her now, not in this cold season where the most you could hope for was the peacefulness of winter, or the sheer beauty of the sparkles on the crystalline surface of the water. She had believed she belonged at Summerhill, believed it down to her bones, but now that hope had been dashed for good.

Out of nowhere, a loud yelp sounded from under the dock, and a young lad slid across the ice on his bum, yelling as he struggled to slow his tumble across the freezing surface.

When he finally came to a stop, he scowled and placed his hands against the frosty plane. “Whoa, my laird. ‘Twas a bit rough, was it not? Can you no’ push so hard the next time?” He glanced up at Caitlyn and, scowling, said, “Your pardon, my lady.” He brushed his hands off and lifted himself up, then strode directly toward her on the dock, slipping along the way but managing to keep himself upright.

What was this boy about? She’d seen him before. He looked vaguely familiar.

When he climbed up over the planks of the weather worn wood, he stopped in front of her and broke into a wide grin as his eyes met hers.

Caitlyn stared at the boy, dressed in baggy old pants, a small sword strung across his back, and a faded red tartan plaid wrapped around him. “I’m sorry, but who are you?” Totally perplexed, she had no idea where he had come from. Suddenly, she remembered. “No, wait. I know you. My accident, I saw you twice. With a big dog. Who are you?” Caitlyn’s heart pounded in her chest as she remembered him clearly from the field in Summerhill and the median on the thruway.

“My name’s Loki Grant and I’m your guarding angel.” He straightened his plaid garment and rubbed his bum. “That ice is cold. Can we go inside? Do you no’ have a hearth?”

Caitlyn hadn’t budged, her gaze still locked on the urchin in front of her. “You mean my guardian angel?” She tried her best to stifle the small grin begging to break out across her face. He was a cheeky boy.

“I suppose so, but my sire said guarding, and I am a Grant warrior, so it must be guarding angel, not guardian. Guard because my sire is a warrior, and angel because my mama, Celestina, is missy angel.” He patted his chest. “And I am a Grant warrior, too. My laird made me one.” He chuckled and jumped up and down on the dock. “This does not move verra much, does it?”

“Your sire, your laird? Where exactly did you come from, Loki? How did you get under my dock? I didn’t hear you walk across the grass or anything. Do you live down the lake?”

“Och, nay. I lived in Ayrshire when the Norse attacked us. ‘Twas in the 1260s.”

“1260s, huh?” Caitlyn rolled her eyes. This boy had a very active imagination.

“See, we each died when our time came, and now we live, well…we do not really live, but we are all together. We keep an eye on our family, on all the other Grants and Ramsays. That’s our job. If one of our family needs us, we come to help. Sometimes we are old and sometimes young. I had to come to you as Lucky Loki. You’ll see, missy angel. Can I find something to eat? Do you have a leg of mutton or boar stew or something? This trip made me verra hungry.”

Caitlyn decided the least she could do was feed the boy. What did she have to lose? She had no husband, no boyfriend, no family, so she may as well make a new friend. She sighed and nodded, then beckoned for Loki to follow her up the slope to the stairs and her deck.

He ran ahead of her and peppered her with questions. “Is this your castle?” Then he glanced at it and scowled. “‘Tis neither a castle nor a keep.” His finger tapped his lip. “‘Tis verra strange looking.”

“No, this is my cottage on the lake.”

“Cottage?” He grew wide-eyed. “This doesn’t look like our cottages, or any huts I have ever seen. Or a tavern either. Look,” he said as he bounced with glee. “I can hop up your steps on one foot. See?”

Caitlyn smiled. She might not know much about children, but this one was rather entertaining. She held the door open for him and he hopped up the last step and charged inside, coming to a halt in front of her fireplace. “Why, ‘tis warm in here, and you don’t have a fire in your hearth. How do you do that?”

“We heat our homes in the winter. Don’t you?”

“Aye, with wood in our hearths. You must use magic.” His brow furrowed as his gaze scanned her house. “Aye, ‘tis different here, just as my sire told me it would be.” His gaze flew back to hers. “Where are your kitchens? May I have something to eat?”

Caitlyn escorted him over to the fridge. She opened the door and searched inside for something to give the lad. “Hmmm…what could I give you? I wish I had some pizza.”

“Some piece of what? Rabbit legs or a leg of mutton will do me.”

She swung her gaze back at him. Rabbit legs? Where in hell had he come from? No one she knew ate rabbit. “How about a peanut butter sandwich? I have peanut butter and jelly.”

“Aye, jelly! I like jelly. Strawberry?”

“Yes, strawberry.” Caitlyn pulled out the bread, along with a knife and the peanut butter. The boy’s hands rested on the edge of her counter as he watched her. “Who cuts your bread so nice and even? Ours never looks like that. And my mama makes strawberry jam, but where do you get the fancy label and the container? She just puts it in a bowl.”

“I buy it at the store.”

“What’s a store?”

“A market?”

“Och, aye. We have a market. My sire buys ribbons for my mama there.”

The glitter in the little imp’s eyes was contagious. She desperately needed someone like him right now. Anything to take her mind off her present circumstances. She took one look at his dirty hands and said, “Why don’t you wash your hands in the bathroom just down the hall?”

He peered at his palms. “They are not so dirty. And I don’t need a bath, but can I use the garderobe?”

“The what?”

“The garderobe.” He whispered, “I have to pish.”

“Oh,” she laughed and pointed down the hall.

He scurried down and headed into the door, but then stuck his head back out at her. “Where are your torches? ‘Tis dark in here. Uh, never mind, I’ll leave the door open.” He stepped inside and yelled to her. “Do not look, missy angel.”

She grinned. Missy angel. That wasn’t a term she’d heard before. She had been called an angel by a patient once, but never missy angel. The little Scottish lad was a puzzle, but a pleasant one at least. She would have to walk him home shortly. His mother had to be wondering where he was.

She hadn’t heard anything from him in a while, so she stopped what she was doing to listen. All she heard was his laughter, which made her shake her head and laugh along with him. Apparently, he was entertaining himself with his stream of urine. Then she heard the shower turn on, followed by a screech. Oh, hell, what was he into now? Rushing toward the bathroom, she rounded the corner and froze once she turned the light on.

Loki stood in her bathtub, water raining down on him, his head tipped back in a screech. He continued to wail as she tore in and shut off the shower.

“Don’t tell my laird. Please do no’ tell him or he’ll bring me back. I promised to be good. What is this? Why does water come out of your wall?”

Before she knew it, he was blubbering away, pointing to the drain and trying to wipe his face. She grabbed a towel and dried him while he continued to sob.

“My sire told me the garderobes were different and you had to wash your pish down with water. I hit the drain with most of my pish and I was just trying to wash it all down like he taught me. Please don’t send me back yet. I have more to do. Please?”

“It’s okay.” She grabbed a dry towel and covered him. “Why don’t you take those wet things off and I’ll wrap you in a big towel. I can wash the clothes for you if you’d like.”

As Caitlyn helped him remove his wet clothes and wrapped him in a towel, he pointed to the drain. “Is that not correct? Is that not where I was meant to go?”

Caitlyn hid her grin and shook her head, pulling the cover up on the toilet. She pointed to it and then flushed. “No, this is where you go.”

He climbed out of the tub, the towel still wrapped around him, and peered at the white contraption. “Och, ‘tis what my sire meant. My apologies. I did not see the hole there. I hope I did no’ hurt anything.”

“No, don’t worry about it, Loki.”

“Can I go in there the next time?” His eyes lit up and he grinned. “Will it splash out when I hit the water with my pish? In my castle, we just hit the stone wall inside the garderobe. I could always hit farther than Torrian.”

“Of course you may use it, and no, it won’t splash out. Who’s Torrian?”

“Torrian’s my cousin. I have lots of them. Lily and Torrian and Jake and Jamie and Gracie and Ashlyn and Bethia and Kyla, those are the older ones, but there are more bairns. I have a sister and brother, too.”

“That’s a big family you have. Come on. I’ll finish your sandwich.” She threw his clothes in the washer on her way. After settling him at the table, she placed his sandwich in front of him and a banana next to it.

“What’s this yellow thing?” He picked it up and turned it over to look at it.

“A banana. You’ve never had one?”

He shook his head but bit into the peel and promptly scowled.

“No. Not like that.” She reached over and peeled the banana for him. “Like this.” She sat across from him at the table.

He took a bite, and his eyes widened. “This is good. Can I have it all? Or would you like some?” He held a piece out to her.

She shook her head. “No, you eat it.” Unsure of what to make of her strange visitor, she reviewed everything that had happened since his arrival. Loki Grant, he had called himself. He chewed happily and stared out the window occasionally, humming as he ate and swinging his legs briskly under the table. He didn’t know what a bathroom was or a shower or a banana or electricity or heat or…Was she dreaming?

Where had the lad come from and why was he here? At first she’d thought he was a neighborhood kid who’d come for some snacks. But now as she thought about the clothes she’d put into the wash for him, his comments about a garderobe and hearths and legs of mutton—it didn’t make sense. All indications led her to believe he was not from this year or even this century. She chuckled. She had read too many time-travel books lately.

“Was it you I saw when I was in the accident, Loki?” Caitlyn was almost afraid to ask, but she had to know. Both instances had been fleeting images, but she was sure she had seen something both times.

“Aye, ‘twas me. And Growley was with me. Do you no’ remember? I told you I would take care of you. I just wanted to calm you.”

“Growley? Why are you here, Loki Grant?”