Prescribed for Love (19 page)

When it became apparent to
Alasdair
that
Catriona
had given up on finding the book, he
suggested they continue
to
ward
their destination.
As
they arrived at the witch’s hut, they found the old woman working in her garden. Catriona
immediately ran to the woman to give her a warm hug. Keith followed closely behind; after he was introduced he also hugged the old woman, but lifted her off the ground as he did so. Alasdair would not have thought the witch could giggle in such a manner.

Soon, the three were in deep conversation.
Alasdair
moved
forward nonchalantly in an attempt to hear their words
, but he was only able to
catch
bits and pieces
.
H
e could not
even
fully di
stinguish who
s
e
voice
belonged to whom
. “Return without it?…still have no idea who used it…still don’t know what is needed…possible for him…just don’t give any advice…if successful, how will I know?...
must find it, or I’ll probably never get home.” As their conversation came to a close, Catr
iona looked completely dejected. In frustration she walked away, Keith following closely behind her.

The absolute
ly
forlorn look on Catriona’s face made
Alasdair
want to comfort her, but
Keith
had already begun to follow
her
.
Alasdair knew he should take advantage of their absence to question the witch
. He
approached, but the old woman spoke first. “Dinnae
even bother asking,” said the witch. “I know wha
t ye want to ask me, but tis nae
my place to tell.”

“But I need to know why this book is important
—just to ensure it willnae bring any more danger to my clan,” insisted Alasdair.

“All ye need to know is that that book will never cause yer people harm. Never!” said Elspeth
ardently
. “But let me give ye some advice. Ye have some complications coming in yer life. Ye should have seen these
them
coming, but somehow, men never do.
I advise patience and an open mind.”

“What is this some kind of foretelling of my fate?”

“Nay
, tis just the simple advice of an old woman
with more years of experience in these types of things than ye
.
”
As the woman strolled
into her hut Alasdair heard her mumble, “Poor laddie—he
doesnae have a clue.”

***

“It’s been a long time since
we’ve been up in a tree,
hasn’
t it?” asked Keith
.

Cat smiled as she watched her brother climb the rest of the way to join her. “Maybe for you, but I was in this tree a few weeks ago.”

“Why
?” he asked.

“I’d been staying with Elspeth while trying to figure out how to get
that stupid
book
back
from
Alasdair
so I could
get outta this damn century
.
I
had been
worried
you would be freaking out because of my disappearance
—and
I had no way of knowing how you were coping with the
situation.
I climbed up here to feel a little closer to you, and
to
hopefully get some inspiration.”

“
W
ell
,
at least now
you don’t have to worry about me
,
” said Keith.

“
True. But now, I don’t even know where the damn book is
!”

“I know where it isn’t, and that’s in this tree,” said Keith in an attempt to lighten the mood. “However
, I must admit, I’ve impressed you were able to climb this thing in your current state.”

“
Hey,
I’m not
that
preggers!
”

“And
I’m
not talking about that
, I was referring to your dress, this stupid kilt kept getting in the way.
”

“Oh,” said Cat, then she laughed. “Yeah, it wasn’t easy. At least last time I
was wearing
pants.
Yet,
I don’t feel sorry for you—
you’re the
one who insisted on the ‘authentic 1412 Scotland experience.
’
”
She finished the last sentence in perfect imitation of her brother.

“
I’ll admit it, this was definitely
not my best decision,” replied Keith. “
But l
et’
s regroup
…
what do you think we should do now that we can’t find the book?
” asked Keith.

“I’m not sure. I guess for right now we’ll
need to either figure out what stupid ass brought us here, or what stupid ass need we are here to fulfill
.”

“
Spiteful much?” laughed Keith. “But I do need to correct you. I know what stupid ass brought me here—you. And, I know what stupid ass need I’m here to fulfill—giving you advice.
Ow!” Cat punched Keith
repeatedly
in the arm for his sass.
He then took on a magnanimous tone,
“However,
since I don’t like leaving
you in the past all by yourself…ow…
I will do as the witch says and refrain from giving you any
more
of my
brotherly
wisdom
…ow…hey, not cool!” Returning his voice to normal Keith continued,
“
While it seems unlikely I could get sent home without the book, I don’t wanna risk it.”

“How can anyone be so mean and so thoughtful at the same time?” asked Cat
sarcastically
.

“It’s part of my charm,” said Keith
with his best smile
.

“I don’t see it.”

“You wouldn’t,” said Keith, “But seriously we need to stay focused.
W
hat have you done to fulfill your purpose here?”

“I wouldn’t have any trouble staying focused if you would just act like a normal human being.”

“Tut
-
tut, no excuses!”

“Ugh fine,” said Cat. She contemplated her recent endeavors and then began reciting the list to her brother.
“I helped heal Ailsa, well not so much ‘healed,’ but you get the idea. I treated Lainie’s mother’s pneumonia. After that I would help heal
anyone who came to me looking for aid
…
” Catriona noticed her brother’s skeptical gaze, “Yeah I know, I mostly deal with drugs, but most of what’s needed is mostly first aid. Hell, you’d probably be a better healer with your Eagle Scout skills. Most of what I did I
learned from you at some point.” Finished with her justification she continued,
“
I’ve also been helping out around the keep. I help the women with the mending, and use my crocheting when I can. Oh, and I’ve helped
with increasing their food storage for the winter
. You’d be surprised how laborious that can be,” finished Cat
proudly
. She waited for her brother’s reply.

“That’s it?” asked Keith.

“What do you mean that’s it? I’ve
put in a lot of hard hours!” Cat felt annoyed her brother thought so little of her efforts.

“You mean to tell me that you thi
nk you were dragged six hundred
years in
to the past
to
play nursemaid
a
nd
housewife? No, something else is needed
here—
something bigger.”

“I don’t know how else to help. It’s not like I could fight a war with the Camerons
for them. They worry about that constantly, ever since the Camerons destroyed all of their homes and their food. Hell, they still haven’t recovered their stores; and many people are living in huts that look ready to fall over!”

“See, now you’re talking!” exclaimed Keith.

“What? What did I say?” asked Cat. Then she saw her brother’s eyes glaze over as his mind began to
whir
. “
No
Keith, you can’t seriously be thinking that!”

“What? I think it seems like the logical thing to do,” replied Keith.

Cat wanted to explain that she thought his idea was pointless,
especially
sinc
e it did not involve her skills. B
ut
before she could protest further, they were interrupted.
Alasdair called up to them from the ground,
“I am beginning to think
ye were named
after a feline as Branan suggested. Are ye both ready to leave? We should depart now if ye wish to get back to the keep much before dark.”

“Ladies first,” said Keith, gesturing toward the ground. Cat rolled her eyes at her brother and then jumped. Unfortunately, she forgot she had been wearing such a voluminous skirt. The fabric caught on another branch and she lost control of her descent.
Before she even really knew what happened, she was hanging upside-down
with her face just a couple
of feet from the ground.

“I take back my last observation; A cat would
alight from a tree with more grace
,”
said
Alasdair
as he
helped her safely to the ground
.
“Are ye alright lass?”

Keith jumped down to join them. Lau
ghing hysterically
he said, “Oh my g
od Cat, that was one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a long time.
” He tried to continue, but he could not get any words out through his laughter. Finally
,
when he had
gained control over his mirth, he said,
“Now
that was clumsy, even for you. You looked like
a
freakin’ piñata!”
His last sentence sent him sputtering into another round of hysterics.

“I
t couldn’t have been that funny,” pouted Cat.
“
And you’d think my brother would be a little more concerned for my safety, especially considering…”

“Especially considering I haven’t seen you
in so long,” interrupted Keith in a suddenly serious tone.

This brought C
at up short.
I can’t believe I was about to mention the baby in front of
Alasdair
!
She mouthed a silent ‘thank you’ to her brother. He may make fun of her incessant
ly, but he always had her back. She turned to Alasdair, “Thanks for helping me get down—unlike this jackass over here.” She used her thumb to point to Keith.

“It wasnae any trouble. But, ye never answered me,
”
said Alasdair.

“Yes
,
I’m fine
,” said Cat.

“Good, I wouldnae
want any more harm to come to ye,” s
a
id
Alasdair
.

This caught Keith’s attention, “What do you mean any
more
harm?”

“Oh relax Keith, it was nothing. The last time we were coming back from Elspeth’s some Cameron thugs attacked us.
Alasdair
wanted me to hide while he and two of his men fought. But as I was hiding, I saw another Cameron sneaking through the bushes. He looked like he was gonna attack
Alasdair
from behind.
”

“You jumped him, didn’t you?”
asked Keith
.

“Hey
, you know me, sometimes I don’t think before I act
,
”
said Cat with a shrug of her shoulders
.
She continued her explanation,
“T
oo bad I forgot I really don’
t know how to fight.
Anywho
, I trie
d to run away,
but he jumped me with a knife—he
cut me on my arm.” Cat raised the fabric on her arm to show Keith the scar.

Keith looked absolutely furious, “Where is the man? I’ll kill him.”

“There is nay
need,
” said Alasdair,
“I already did.”