“Drink your tea,” Mrs. Abernathy scolded with a wave of the hand. “You’ve had quite a shock.”
“I’m not sure that tea is really going to help.” Lily shot Mrs. Abernathy a rueful smile and lifted her lips to the cup in an effort to soothe the older woman.
“I could pull out the scotch,” Jeff offered. “After all, we are in Scotland.”
“Already put a nip in the pot.” Mrs. Abernathy beamed just as the warmth started to spread through Lily’s chest.
“Nice country, this.” She took another swallow and then sat back, her gaze moving amongst her new friends. She’d never really had what she’d call great friends growing up. Too much moving. Too much money. Neither circumstance breeding intimacy. At leasthonestintimacy.
Of course this wasn’t all that different. Nothing like a little time travel to force a feeling of closeness. But with Mrs. Abernathy hovering and the look of concern on both Jeff’s and Elaine’s faces, Lily was forced to accept the very real possibility that these people actually cared, despite the outrageousness of the situation or the fact that she’d only just met them.
Sometimes it happened like that, she supposed, her mind turning first to her mother and father and then to Bram. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind about her feelings for him. She just had no idea what she was supposed to do with them. Follow Katherine’s lead? Go to him? But how? And would he even want her? Maybe she’d mistaken his feelings. But the moment she had the thought she knew she hadn’t.
Perhaps it was the comparison to Justin. He’d never made her feel like that. Never. In truth, he’d filled a void. An empty place in her life. But now, having been with Bram, she realized Justin had just been a placeholder. She shivered at the thought of how close she’d come to settling.
“Penny for them?” Elaine quipped, cutting into Lily’s tumbling thoughts.
“It’s going to sound ridiculous.”
“More than the fact that my sister is alive and well in the fifteenth century?” Jeff asked, his lips quirking up at the corners.
“Well, maybe. No. Oh God, I don’t know, really.” Lily frowned. “I was thinking that maybe it was lucky that Justin dumped me.”
“It’s never easy to be jilted,” Mrs. Abernathy said. “But sometimes it is for the best. Everything in its time, I always say.”
Jeff and Elaine exchanged glances with a smile, then returned their attention to Lily.
“Well, the difficult part of all that is that my parents had to die for it to happen. And despite how things have turned out, despite finding Bram, if that’s indeed what I’ve done, I’d give anything if I could have them back again. And it breaks my heart to think that I could only find my happiness as a result of them losing theirs.”
“Ah, my puir wee lamb, therein lies the joy of being a parent. Although Jamie and I were no’ blessed, I’ve seen it first hand over and over. The love a parent has for a child has no limits. And if indeed death were the requirement for their child’s everlasting happiness, then there would be no hesitation. Not that I’m saying that’s what happened here, Lily,” Mrs. Abernathy reassured. “I’m just saying that’s how much they loved you.”
Lily nodded. “It just seems so disloyal somehow. I’ve lost them forever. And yet here I am discussing the man who makes me… well… happy. And a man, I might add, that doesn’t even live in my century.” She shivered suddenly, the enormity of it hitting her full force. “Oh my God, Bram is dead. If he lived in the fifteenth century, then no matter what happened orwhenit happened, he’s dead.” Her gaze locked with Elaine’s. “That’s why you were so sad on the rooftop. You were thinking of Katherine. Of the fact that she’s…”
“It’s not as easy as all that,” Jeff said, his expression turning serious. “In a linear world, what you’re saying would be true. But if time isn’t linear, if it’s more like a parallel universe, then no, neither of them is dead. They’re just living their lives on another plane. Which doesn’t really make complete sense, but you get the idea.”
“And the important thing to remember is that nothing is cast in stone,” Elaine said. “We managed to change the future with Katherine and Iain.”
“But didn’t that change the fabric of time or some such?” Lily asked, still not really convinced that any of it was possible, but needing it to be so.
“It did,” Jeff admitted. “Slightly. Nothing that threw things completely out of whack though.”
“Speak for yourself, Jeffrey,” Mrs. Abernathy said, a note of teasing in her voice. “Jamie and I lost possession of Duncreag in the process of all those changes.”
Lily’s eyes widened, and Jeff ducked his head in embarrassment.
“Now, now, don’t worry, either of you.” Mrs. Abernathy reached over to pat their hands. “I was teasing. My ancestors turned out not to be very nice people. At least Alisdair wasn’t.” She let out a satisfied sigh. “Things happened the way they were supposed to. And I’ve no regrets as to where it all ended up. Jamie and I have still got our home and more importantly, now we have a family. And I canna think of anything more important than that.”
“Well, we agree on the last bit, Mrs. Abernathy,” Jeff said. “You are part of our lives, now and always.”
The older woman beamed. “So, more tea.” She reached for the pot to fill the cups. “And try a bannock. My cook makes them just the way they were meant to be.”
“She’s not kidding,” Jeff said as he scarfed one down. “They’re awesome.”
Lily reached into the basket for one of the little cakes. “So you’re saying it’s okay to change things?”
“No,” Elaine said. “Not randomly.” She looked over to her husband and he nodded. “What we believe is that time for Katherine and Iain was stuck in a loop. The wrong loop. And it was important for that loop to straighten out. To play as it was meant to play, if you will. Jeff’s going back did that very thing. With a substantial shove from Katherine and Mrs. Abernathy.”
“And a lot of love from you,” Jeff added, his eyes reflecting the depth of his feelings for his wife.
