CursedLaird (12 page)

“We ran into him last night and you’re never going to
believe what he told us. Hang on, Caledonia,” Percy said. She heard him
answering Abel in the background but couldn’t understand the conversation. He
must’ve covered the receiver with his hand to muffle the sound. “Sorry about
that. I’ve got to go. Remind me when I get back to fill you in on the details.
You’re going to love it. We’re staying at Big Mike’s. Take down this number and
we’ll see you tomorrow.”

She wrote down the number he recited.

“You guys don’t still happen to have that diving suit of
his, do you? You know the one we found in the bottom of that crate of stuff Kip
shipped to me right after the divorce?” She crossed her fingers and prayed they
hadn’t been responsible enough to return it or throw it out. When he answered,
she smiled.

“Yeah, it’s still in the bottom of that crate in the back
corner of the shed,” Percy replied. “If I knew we were going to run into him, I
would’ve brought it with us and returned it. I’ve really got to go. Abel and
Mike are waiting.”

She couldn’t tell him she was happy he hadn’t done as she
asked so many months ago. It was probably the only suit in existence that would
possibly fit Struan. Caledonia looked to the heavens and issued a silent word
of thanks the suit was still in the shed. She leaned against the wall beside
the kitchen phone after hanging up. One more day with Struan. She couldn’t help
but smile. Then it hit her. He wouldn’t wake until dark. She rarely dove after
dark. This was going to be a whole new experience for her.

She shoved off the wall and nearly tripped over Streak. His
pissed meow let Caledonia know he didn’t like being ignored. She scooped him up
and headed out the back door. Several hours separated her from Struan and she
wanted to have everything in place and ready to go when he woke.

* * * * *

It was late afternoon when she finally opened the shed
doors. “Ah,” he sighed. There it sat. Sun glistened off the majestic statue. He
focused the telephoto lens. Odd, it seemed positioned differently than he
remembered. Maybe it was because they had it turned facing inside the shed
instead of out like it was yesterday. He shrugged. It didn’t matter. All he
needed was evidence a valuable find such as this existed.

Click. Click. Click.
He took multiple shots, hoping
for at least one good one to post online. His hand faltered and his mouth
dropped open. What the hell was she doing? He zoomed in on Caledonia. She held
several different diving masks and kept switching from one to the other as if
she were sizing him up for a perfect fit. After a couple of tries, she seemed
to have found the right one because she placed it on the statue’s head and left
it there.

Kip’s brows bunched. Had she lost her mind? She disappeared
into the far corner of the shed out of view. No matter how hard he tried, he
couldn’t see what she was doing from his position hidden in the trees directly
across Loch Tay. He didn’t have to wait long to find out.

He couldn’t believe what he saw through the camera.
Caledonia stretched an oversized diving suit between her hands and held it up
to the statue’s back. Was she seeing if it would fit? Oh lord, had she been
drinking? That had to be the reason behind her playing dress-up with the
statue. At least that was the one he was going with for lack of a better idea.
The longer he watched, the more her actions befuddled him.

It appeared as if she prepared for a dive. She checked and rechecked
equipment. He even thought it looked as if she was talking to the statue. He
knew for a fact no one else was in the dive shed with her. The OReillys left
the day before with the van and her parents took the boat out earlier and had
not returned as of yet. So he was reasonably sure she
was
talking to the
statue.

“Oh, Caledonia,” he whispered. “Why can’t you see you need
me? Without me, you’ve gone mental.”

* * * * *

When her parents returned, she explained the new plan.
Because the O’Reillys got tied up in Glassboro, she decided to teach Struan to
dive, which turned out to be a good thing. Poppa was unable to borrow the
forklift. When they arrived so did an unexpected delivery of heavy materials
needed for renovations being done at the hotel.

“Looks like this was meant to be,” Momma said as she patted
Caledonia’s shoulder. “I’ll make dinner and hold it for when you’re done.”

“Thank you.” Caledonia kissed her momma’s cheek.

Poppa watched Momma until she was inside the back door. He
spun to face Caledonia. “I’ve got some bad news. Kip is staying at the hotel.
He hasn’t left.”

“What?” Caledonia couldn’t believe Kip hung around. “Are you
sure?”

“Aye,” Poppa said, nodding his head. “Fergus saw him
earlier, leaving the hotel.”

“Any luck he checked out?” Caledonia asked though she had a
sinking feeling he hadn’t.

“Nope, and you can bet he’s up to something,” Poppa replied
in a tone filled with distrust. “I feel it all the way to my bones.”

Caledonia didn’t say a word. She felt it too. Mistrust for
the man she used to call husband boiled in her gut. She knew him too well. He
wasn’t one to hang around and enjoy the sights. So why was he still here? Was
he watching her or was he after something else? In a slow-motion sweep, she
scanned the landscape for possible signs of Kip. Her spine tightened at the
thought he might try to steal from her again.

A quick glint of light caught her eye from the wooded area
across the lake. And she instantly knew Poppa had seen it as well.

“Did you see that?” he asked, pointing in its direction.

It disappeared before she got a good bead on its actual
location. Was someone hiding in there? No. She shook her head. Even Kip knew
better than to do something as stupid as spy on her, or was he? Caledonia took
a deep breath and tried to reason with this sudden onset of jitters and her
poppa. “The light was probably the sun bouncing off a hiker’s piece of gear,”
she said, trying to sound convincing.

She heard Poppa shuffling through a cabinet in the shed.
Seconds later he held the replica pirate’s eyeglass she’d given him for his
birthday. He placed it to his eye and turned the end, focusing the lens. As if
searching for an enemy ship on the high seas, he scanned the opposite bank.

“Somebody’s hightailing it out of there,” he stated. “But I
can’t get a good look at him. The trees are in the way.”

Caledonia snorted. Without seeing the person, she had a gut
feeling it was Kip. With the sun sitting low on the horizon, she decided it was
best to close the shed doors. No need for him—or anyone else for that matter—to
see Struan’s release. It would be hard to explain. Poppa followed suit and
grabbed the other door and helped her close them tight. Together they waited.

It seemed like an eternity before the sun’s last rays left
the sky. The ground around them vibrated. The air sizzled with sudden heat.
Every hair on the back of her neck and arms lifted as energy rippled through
her core. Struan was waking. The stone split and light shot from it, filling
the room for a second with blinding brightness. She heard his first gasp for
air before her eyes adjusted and she saw him. Looking disoriented but alive,
Struan stood in the exact spot where the curse took him the night before, just
inside the doorway.

“Caledonia.” His first word spoken was her name and it thrilled
her to hear him say it. She stepped forward and cupped his face with her palm.

“It’s good to see you awake again, Struan.” She smiled as
she met his questioning gaze.

“What happened?” he asked, confusion haunting his features.

“The curse isn’t entirely broken,” Caledonia said.
“Unfortunately, you turn back into stone when the sun rises and you are
released at nightfall.”

His mouth opened as if to speak but closed just as quickly.
Mixed emotions crossed his face—confusion, sadness then anger. All of which she
understood. If she were in his shoes, she didn’t doubt she’d suffer from every
conflicting sensation the body produced.

“Struan,” Caledonia spoke softly without releasing his wary
gaze. “Would you like to learn to dive? To reach the bottom of Loch Tay?”

She liked the fact he didn’t hesitate in his answer. “Aye.”

“Then you’re in luck,” she stated cheerfully, hoping to lift
his mood before giving him more bad news. “I’d like to give you your first
diving lesson tonight. Are you interested?”

“Though the temptation ye present mi is great, I would like
to return to Castle MacKinnon.”

“Unfortunately,” Fin stated as he placed a hand on Struan’s
shoulder. “That’s not a possibility tonight. We are still without the van until
the morning. So,
m’cariad
, you might as well relax and enjoy an evening
in the loch.”

Though she sensed he struggled inwardly over his
predicament, he nodded. “Aye.”

“Then let’s get you suited up and taught how to use the
equipment.” She may not have the answer to end the curse but at least she could
share the love of the water with him and hopefully give him an ounce of joy by
doing so.

Chapter Seven

He took the items she handed him and held them at arm’s
length as he examined them. The suit was made of something soft and it
stretched when he pulled it. He held the mask to his face and looked through
it. When Caledonia helped fit it properly on his face, he couldn’t help but
blink repeatedly as a fog coated the inside. He snatched it off his head,
exclaiming, “How does this help one see? It hinders mi breathing and created a
fog through which I could not see.”

“I’ll show you,” Caledonia explained patiently. She grabbed
another mask and positioned it on her face with the strap across her head. She
sounded funny when she spoke. “You have to breathe through your mouth and not
your nose. That way it doesn’t fog up so you can see. Also, I’ll show you
another trick that will help keep that from happening once we’re in the water.
Now let’s get that suit on you.”

She removed the mask, turned and stripped in front of him.
His lips parted slightly and his breath hitched in his throat at the sight of
her shirt lift. But his eyebrow arched and puzzlement twisted his expression at
the color of her skin. Green? Curiosity guided his hand. Without asking, he
touched her tummy. She jumped, snatched the shirt off over her head and stared
up at him.

“I apologize,” he said sincerely, dropping his hand to his
side. “I have never seen green skin.”

Caledonia looked down and he noted her expression light with
humor. Her lips trembled slightly and he knew she fought the urge to laugh.
After a moment, she returned her gaze to his and explained, pulling the fabric
from her and releasing it with a snap.

“This is a bathing suit. It fits tight. Most people wear
them when they swim.” This time she didn’t even attempt to halt the smile that
split her lips, which made him smile as well. “Not everyone skinny-dips like
you do.”

“Explain this skinny-dip,” he requested even though he had
an inkling it meant swimming naked.

He liked the way a light-red hue brushed her cheeks as she
licked her lips then found the courage to answer. “Skinny-dipping is what you
did last night.”

Struan couldn’t help teasing her. Leaning in close to her
ear, the response left his lips before he could think better of it. “Ah, ye
mean naked. That is how I prefer to be. Swimming and in mi bed.”

Instantly, the light hue turned a brighter shade and he
didn’t even attempt to hide his amusement. Sliding a finger beneath her chin,
he tilted her face, which was a mistake. If he leaned even the slightest bit,
their lips were within kissing distance. Desire rippled through his core at the
memory of her sweet taste. But he also remembered the accurate aim of her knee.
Before he stepped back, he said, “Caledonia, ye are even more beautiful when ye
blush. Ye remind mi o’ mi sister. Easily teased yet filled with the inner
strength befitting o’ any man.”

“If you want to learn to dive, then you better think twice
about teasing the teacher,” she quipped.

She stepped away from him and grabbed a suit similar to the
one he held but much smaller. The fire that burned within her delighted him. A
woman with a feisty spirit. He liked that. Struan once again held the suit in
front of him and stretched it out.

He looked over at Caledonia and his jaw dropped. He
concentrated hard to prevent his tongue from lolling from his mouth at the
sight of her trews hitting the floor. Though her bottom was wrapped in the
green clothing she called a bathing suit, he couldn’t help but notice her perfect
womanly shape. The image of his hands on her arse, kneading it as he held her
close speared his brain and knotted his balls. Quickly, he looked at the suit
in his hands. Need flashed to life within him. Hunger for a woman’s touch
watered his soul and made his cock twitch.

Och
, Caledonia was all woman. He closed his eyes and
dug for a measure of control over the rampant rush of a man’s basic needs for
sex, which gripped his system. Deep in concentration, he missed what she said.
He cleared his throat then turned his gaze to her, making sure he aimed his
eyes at her face.

“Excuse mi. I was not listening.”

“Well, at least you admit it,” she stated and he noted the
concern in her tone as well as in her gaze. “Do you think you can pay attention
or should we do this another time when you don’t have so much on your mind?”

He shook his head as he found his voice. “Nay, Caledonia. I
wish to learn. Please teach mi how ye reached the bottom o’ Loch Tay and saved
mi from mi watery grave. I promise to be the perfect student.”

Caledonia was impressed with his ability to learn quickly.
He listened, repeated what she told him then practiced what she’d taught. Over
and over she preached the basic safety steps, the use of the equipment and how
it worked before she finally was able to get him suited up. She’d shown him how
to put the suit on by stepping into hers. When he began to strip, she spun
around, giving him her back. With Poppa’s help, he was able to get the suit on.