My Highland Lover (5 page)

“Then what better time to jump back in time and start all over again?” Kenna snickered as she settled back in the seat. “Just think. You’ll be going back to before you loaned me so much money. I’ll be paid in full and you’ll be ahead. Am I smart or what?”

Or what.
Trulie bit back the words before they escaped her mouth. Kenna was such an optimist she was borderline infuriating. She was always upbeat and glass half-full—the Sinclair family’s ray of sunshine. Trulie wasn’t in the mood for sunshine right now. She needed Kenna to butt out, and she needed Granny to get off her back.

Snuggling deeper into the warmth of the damp quilt, Trulie stared at the droplets of rain skittering down the cracked windshield of the truck.
Jump back in time and start over—at least give the past a chance.
Granny had hinted at the prospect for months now—especially every time Trulie voiced a thought about switching towns because even after fifteen years they were still outsiders in the small town of Masonville, Kentucky. Everyone pretty much gave them a wide berth unless they needed a remedy from the shop. The Sinclair women had always been the town’s oddities—some gossip even named them witches.

Trulie glanced over at quietly humming Kenna. Drops of rain glistened in her sister’s dark curls as she carefully examined each trimmed cuticle and painted nail tip.

“You know Granny wants to leave you and the girls here. Alone. In this time. For a few months—maybe even a year or so until I get back. You do realize you’ll have the sole responsibility of running the business and holding the family together until then? That means keeping two teenage girls out of all the trouble the puberty years bring.” Trulie watched Kenna closely. How committed was happy little sister to becoming the one in charge? Could free-spirited, didn’t-have-a-care-in-the-world Kenna really lay down the law when the twins tested the limits?

Kenna shrugged as she extended one hand and compared the nail tips in the fading light of the rainy afternoon. “I can handle it. The girls won’t be that bad.”

“Granny threatened to lock us up in barrels until we turned twenty for some of the stuff we pulled. What makes you so sure the twins won’t be so bad?” Had Kenna forgotten some of the tearful shouting matches they’d had while struggling through the growing pains of puberty? Teenage years were difficult enough for normal kids. But raging hormones coupled with the strain of keeping the family’s unusual abilities hidden had made maturing a royal pain in the ass for the Sinclair girls.

“I’m not the empty-headed ninny you think I am.” Kenna dropped both hands to her lap and turned sideways in the seat. “Who cares if half the town thinks we’re poor white trash and the other half thinks we’re witches? They all flock to the shop, and their money’s still good no matter what they think about us.” Kenna’s voice lowered as her gaze dropped to her lap. “Besides…Granny says she has plans for all of us. You need to find out just what those plans are and cash in.” Kenna’s hands clenched into fists until her knuckles turned white. Her voice grew even softer. “She’s sacrificed everything for us, Trulie. I can’t let her down when she’s done so much for us.”

And there it was. The troubled look on Kenna’s face twisted Trulie’s heart. Kenna had voiced the nagging thought demonizing her own emotions. Granny had given up everything. Left everything she had known and loved to keep her word to her dying daughter and make sure her grandbabies were raised right and healthy in the future.

Maybe little sister wasn’t the perennial sunshine spewer after all. Trulie blew out the deep breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.
Well, dammit.
She had tried so hard to help Granny set them all up with normal lives, but it looked like she had failed miserably. There was no denying the Sinclair heritage, or what the Fates might have in mind. Some things were just meant to be. Trulie drew in another deep breath and curled her legs up tighter beneath her.

Reaching across the seat, Trulie lightly trailed a fingertip across the top of Kenna’s hand. “I won’t know how to act if you’re not around. Who will I talk to when I’ve gotten in over my head?” Trulie struggled to keep her voice from breaking, struggled to keep all the dark uncertainties at bay. “Granny easily blended us into the ways of this era. Jumping back for an extended amount of time will be more difficult. If I’m not careful to completely blend in, I’ll get stuck on a rotisserie at the next village barbecue.”

Kenna yanked her hand away and rubbed it against her jeans. “Cut it out. That tickles.”

“I’m serious, Kenna.” Trulie grabbed Kenna’s hand. She had to make the girl understand the danger of what they were about to do…if she actually decided to go through with it.

“I know you’re serious.” Kenna’s smile quivered a bit as she lifted her chin and winked a sparkling green eye. “I’m smiling ’cause I just won the bet with the twins. They didn’t think I could convince you to do it. And judging by the look in your eye, you’ve finally decided to give the past a try. Now let’s head home and get you and Granny packed.”

“What are you gonna do about clothes?” Lilia edged around the table in front of the couch and dumped another huge armload of assorted clothing into the recliner. Kismet dove into the pile, nosing and burrowing until the only thing visible was the tip of her softly flipping tail. Lilia plucked a shirt from the pile and held it up to her chest. A black paw darted out from under a towel, swatting at the shifting clothes. “If you’re not taking all of these, can I have this one?”

“Tamhas will see to it Trulie and I have proper attire for the era. Of course, we might take a few of our more favorite things to…uhm…help get started.” Granny pawed through the pile of clothing, plucked out a hooded sweatshirt and slipped it on. “Nice and toasty.” She made a sound that greatly resembled Kismet purring as she hugged it around her and rubbed a hand up and down one sleeve. “And we’ll also store some items in our cache. You girls don’t need all of our things. Some things must be set aside for
just in case.
You know that.” Granny patted a folded pile of towels as she nodded at Trulie. “If you ever have to pass through this time again, just remember to get up to the north side of the bluff and you’ll find the sealed cache in the cave just above the pond.” Granny wagged a finger toward each of the girls. “Always remember, you never ever leave a wrinkle in time without stashing away necessities in case you have to return. Your survival could depend on it.”

Nodding to her small pile of clothing on the couch, Trulie snapped her fingers at Lilia. “No. You can’t have any of my clothes. I’m coming back—remember?” Trulie extricated a couple of matching socks, balled them together and tossed them next to the pile of already folded clothes sitting on the table. She’d heard the rat-hole-your-necessities lecture every time they’d visited a different century. She could recite it in her sleep. Time to get Granny off that tirade before she got wound up. “Who exactly is Tamhas?” Tamhas was a name she hadn’t heard before. In Granny’s excitement over their trip preparations, she had apparently let down her guard and allowed the name to slip.

Granny hummed under her breath as she fished a worn T-shirt out of the load and held it up for inspection. “I always loved this shirt, but I’m afraid it’s seen better days. I guess I’ll go ahead and part with it, as much as I hate to leave it behind.”

“Granny—”

“And be certain to take some of those thick socks you love so much, Trulie. You’ll not be able to find those supersoft fuzzy socks in the Highlands of 1247.” Granny pulled a pair of fluffy, hot-pink socks from the back of the pile and tossed them over to Trulie.

“Granny!”

Granny straightened from the pile of clothes and faced Trulie. Her brow puckered into a rare expression of impatient annoyance. “What?”

“Stop ignoring me and answer the question. Who is Tamhas?” Trulie stepped around the table and positioned herself between Granny and the clean clothes. No more babbling about laundry. It was time Granny fessed up about Tamhas.

The lines around Granny’s pursed lips twitched and she quickly looked away. That confirmed it. Tamhas must be someone important, because Granny was never the first to break eye contact when it came to a stare down.

“Wow.” Kenna nudged into Trulie with another load of clothes. “Reckon Tamhas is Granny’s boyfriend?”

“He must be,” Trulie said, joining the teasing. “That explains the voices I’ve been hearing over by the hearth after everyone’s gone to bed. Have you been carrying on a long-distance love affair through the fire portal, Granny? Is Tamhas the real reason you want to go back to the past?”

“I have heard enough.” Granny snapped her fingers within inches of Trulie’s nose, then yanked the sweatshirt off over her head, balled it up, and threw it on the couch. “I didn’t raise any of you to treat me with such disrespect.” Head held at a haughty angle, Granny marched to the bar of cabinets separating the kitchen from the living area and perched on one of the stools. With a sharp flip of one hand, she scowled at them all. “I advise you all to get busy. I will not have us jumping the web before we’ve properly set everything in order and I know all is ready.”

Granny lifted her chin a notch higher and motioned toward a rolltop desk in the corner. “Kenna, you’ll find the papers granting you guardianship and power of attorney in the lockbox in the bottom drawer. If anyone gives you any trouble over their legitimacy, one quick shout through the fire portal will bring Trulie and I home before the coals even cool.”

Trulie shared a meaningful look with her sisters, added a pair of folded jeans to the pile, and stepped over a softly snoring Karma as she headed toward the kitchen. Grabbing the teakettle off the back of the stove, she went to the sink and started a slow stream of water into the pot. “You know we mean no disrespect, Granny.” Trulie settled the kettle on the stove and lit the burner. Leaning against the counter beside Granny, Trulie nudged the sullen old woman’s side. “Now who is Tamhas? Spill it. You know we only want you happy.”

Granny took in a slow, deep breath and ran a fingernail along a meandering scratch running the length of the cutting-board countertop. “Tamhas was the man I intended to marry, what seems like an eternity ago.”

Marry?
Trulie straightened without speaking and quickly double-checked the height of the flame underneath the already sputtering teakettle. Confusion successfully clipped her tongue and muddled her ability to think. Granny had never mentioned leaving behind a man she had intended to marry. Glancing across the counter into the living room, she saw that her three sisters had frozen in place, their eyes rounded as wide as their open mouths.

“Is Tamhas our grandfather?” Trulie shrugged and flipped her hands up in the air behind Granny’s back when Kenna gave her the I-can’t-believe-you-just-asked-that look.

“Your mother was not born illegitimate.” Granny rolled her eyes and shook her head. “My husband—your grandfather—died while out hunting with the chieftain. Wild boars are very dangerous creatures.”

Trulie waited. Maybe Granny would go ahead and spill the beans if she wasn’t interrupted. Catching Kenna looking as though she were about to speak, Trulie made the “zip it” motion across her mouth.

Kenna snapped her mouth shut and folded her hands in her lap.

“Tamhas was your grandfather’s closest friend. He became my protector after I was widowed. The protection grew to love…and it was returned.” Granny’s voice softened as though she were talking more to herself than to them. She swallowed hard and straightened her back as though struggling to contain her emotions. Granny looked up and smiled at Lilia and Mairi. “Tamhas and I were to be married the summer you two were born.”

Trulie’s heart fell and she turned away. Leaning against the sink, she stared out the kitchen window at the treetops swaying in the breeze. The summer Lilia and Mairi were born was when all their lives had drastically changed. Their parents had died and Granny had brought them all to a future filled with the promise of life through the miracles of modern medicine. Granny had made an oath and she had more than kept it. Not only had she saved her granddaughters’ lives, she had raised them at the cost of losing the man she loved.

Granny pressed a trembling hand to Trulie’s shoulder. Her voice hitched with unshed tears as she leaned against Trulie’s side. “I will not have you or your sisters feeling bad. I would make the same choice if I had to do it all over again. You four are my dear sweet babies. You all are the lifeblood that keeps my old heart beating.”

Trulie’s throat ached with unshed tears. All that Granny had lost weighed heavy on her heart. Sniffing against the threat of losing control, Trulie coughed and cleared her throat. “You sacrificed so much. Why didn’t you tell us all this sooner? We could have jumped back to Tamhas before now.”

Granny patted shaking fingertips against the corners of her glistening eyes and shook her head. She swallowed hard, sniffed in a deep breath, and squared her shoulders. “The time was not right. I had to make sure you were all properly trained. You especially, Trulie.”

A sense of uneasiness sprouted deep in Trulie’s core. Maybe she would have been better off if she had just allowed Granny to keep her secrets to herself.

Granny turned toward Trulie, took her hands in her own, and clasped them tightly. Her calloused thumbs rubbed across the tops of Trulie’s knuckles as Granny stared down at their joined hands. “You know the time runner legacy—our folklore. Of all the time runner bloodlines I’ve ever known, our line is by far the most gifted.”

She paused and glanced about the room, smiling at each of the girls. “You each have been blessed with powerful gifts, along with the ability to walk across time. Reading auras and sensing energy have been child’s play to all of you since you were born. And you…” Granny paused again, bounced their clasped hands up and down, then looked up into Trulie’s face with a shaking smile. “You, my dear, are just like me. You are the eldest daughter. Therefore, your talents include those of your sisters as well as many other blessings.”

Granny gently squeezed Trulie’s hands. “As the eldest daughters of our respective generations, we can snip out bits of any timeline and weave them into delightful illusions in the present. If need be, we’re also capable of showing the future or the past to those who need to see it most. With greater focus, we can glimpse down any number of possible futures depending on the choices made. These gifts all demand greater responsibility.”

Trulie swallowed hard. She didn’t want to hear this. She knew the responsibility of a time runner. Granny had also made it quite clear on several occasions the dire risks involved if any of them succumbed to the temptations their gifts created. The Sinclair legacy was sometimes a heavy yoke—and often more a curse than a blessing.

Granny released Trulie’s hands and pressed her own tightly against her middle. Trulie clenched her teeth. She could tell by Granny’s faraway look that her litany of the Sinclair heritage wasn’t over.

With a deep breath, Granny’s unblinking gaze locked on Trulie. “You are just as able to heal when the Fates allow it as Mairi when she lays hands on someone in need.” Granny’s smile faltered a bit more as her gaze shifted to focus on something only she could see. “If only the Fates had seen fit to allow my healing of your mother…and of you and your sisters.”

Granny cleared her throat, took another deep breath, and straightened her shoulders as though shrugging back the painful memories. “Visions come to you, just as they do to Lilia when she happens to meet a person chosen by the Fates to be warned.”

Trulie eased a step away from Granny. She didn’t want or need an itemized review of the gifts and idiosyncrasies of the eldest time runner daughters. Not now. “We’re all special, Granny. We understand that.” Regular responsibilities were enough to worry about. Trulie should know. She had been saddled with them ever since she was old enough to help Granny take care of the rest of the girls. She’d rather not dwell on the additional responsibilities she’d inherited through birth order.

“The burden is yours, Trulie. As it is mine.” Granny’s voice held a hint of sadness. “Life is always more difficult for those of us who feel other people’s true souls and read their auras.” Granny opened the cabinet, pulled down five cups, and dropped a teabag in each of them. “But you should be thankful you also have Kenna’s gift. You can wipe a person’s mind clean of painful memories. Sometimes folks just need a fresh start.”

Trulie accepted the steaming hot cup of tea and leaned back against the counter. She’d done her best to ignore Granny’s private tutoring on the multitude of abilities given an eldest time runner. She’d kept the knowledge to herself, hadn’t even shared it with Kenna. She’d convinced herself the other girls would catch up when they reached a certain age. Lord knows they were all odd. She didn’t want to be the oddest of them all. “When did you know I’d be saddled with all the extra…stuff?”
Dammit. I’m like a deluxe model with extra attachments.

“Since before you were born,” Granny replied as she softly blew across the top of her steaming tea. Her voice took on a chiding tone as she peered across her cup. “You know that, gal. How many times have I had you recite our rede and name off your abilities?”

Kenna, Lilia, and Mairi lined up along the other side of the counter like magpies on a fence line. Kenna reached across the counter and playfully poked Trulie’s arm. “We always knew you were the weirdest one of us.”

“Nice.” Trulie jerked away and dumped what was left of her tea in the sink. A nagging sense of impatience swelled within her. As she turned the cup upside down in the rack, she couldn’t help but feel Granny’s current sense of victory.
You sly old woman.
Granny had successfully steered them all down Mysticism Lane to get the conversation off Tamhas and her cross-century affair.

Turning back to face them all, Trulie crossed her arms and leaned back against the counter. “So tell us, Granny. Once we get back to Tamhas’s time, are you two gonna…” Trulie paused, cocked an eyebrow and twirled one finger in the air.

Granny stood as tall as her tiny four-foot-ten frame permitted and stuck her chin in the air. “That, young lady, is none of your business.”