A tiny chink of light opened in the darkness, like a firefly in a dark room. It was a crazy choice, but it was the only choice she had. Hurrying down the steps, she took off along the path to the lake.
She just hoped she wasn’t too late.
In fact, she wasn’t. Luck, it seemed, was on her side for a change. Running at full pelt, she spotted Arran on the trail ahead and managed to catch him before he reached the spot on the lakeshore where she’d first found him.
“Wait!” she cried. “Wait!”
He turned and she saw a flicker of surprise cross his face as he spotted her. He stopped walking and waited.
Jenna puffed up to him and doubled over with her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.
“What is it, lass?” he asked. “Is something wrong?”
She held up a hand. “Just… give… me… a… minute.” She gulped in great whooping breaths and then finally straightened. “This fee you’re willing to pay. How much exactly did you have in mind?”
He frowned, his forehead creasing. “I thought ye said—”
“I know what I said! How much are you offering?”
He studied her for a moment. “I can offer ye one hundred gold lions.”
Jenna thought about this. She had no idea how much that equated to in modern money but with the price of gold these days, she guessed it was a fair amount. Enough to pay off her mortgage arrears? Probably. And more, if she was lucky.
She took a deep breath and then stuck out her hand. “All right. You’ve got a deal.”
Arran looked at her hand but didn’t take it. “So… ye will do it?” Despite his size and seeming confidence, there was an odd vulnerability in his voice as he asked the question, as though he wanted to hope but didn’t dare let himself.
Jenna nodded tightly, not quite able to believe she was doing this. “I’ll do it. Do we have a deal?”
“Aye, lass,” Arran breathed, his blue eyes flashing. “We have a deal.” He reached out and took her hand, his big hand dwarfing hers. She could feel the strength in his grip, and the callouses that marked his palms. Whatever else he was, this laird of Clan MacLeod was a man used to physical labor.
“Good,” she said with a nod, shaking his hand. “That’s agreed then.”
“Aye,” he replied. “It is.”
He did not release her hand and stood for a second just staring at her. There was a faint dusting of stubble on his chin and Jenna found herself wondering stupidly if they had razors in the fifteenth century. Or toothbrushes. Or soap. Or a million things she took for granted. Oh, heck. She hadn’t really thought this through, had she? Perhaps she ought to go back home and pack a few things—
“This way, lass. We must hurry.”
Before she could say a word, he released her hand and strode off along the path. Jenna trotted behind. She ought to be asking questions, finding out as much as she could about the strange place she was going to and the task she’d be doing when she got there, but all such sensible considerations were pushed out of her head by the craziness of what she was about to do.
Had she really just agreed to go back in time with some strange guy in order to fix some magic she didn’t know the first thing about? What had happened to her promise never to use her magic again? What had happened to her determination to live a normal, sensible life?
Alex happened, she answered herself.The mortgage arrears happened. My normal, sensible life going down the toilet is what happened.
Arran strode along in silence, his gaze fixed on the path ahead. He was getting some strange looks from the dog-walkers they passed, and Jenna wasn’t surprised. After all, it wasn’t every day that you passed a hulking Highlander dressed in a tartan plaid that covered him to his knees and left his muscled arms bare for all to stare at, was it? But Arran barely seemed to notice. Didn’t notice or didn’t care.
They finally reached the spot where she’d pulled him out of the lake. A few ducks were paddling around by the lake’s edge looking for food but there was nobody else in sight, for which Jenna was profoundly grateful.
She looked around. “So what now?”
Arran strode down to the water and looked back, holding out his hand. “Now we go in.”
Jenna took one look at the cold, dark water stretching out ahead of her, and felt her stomach twist with apprehension. “In there?”
“Aye, lass. It’s the portal.”
Oh, bloody hell. She reached out, gingerly taking his hand, and allowed him to lead her into the water. It was bitterly cold and she gasped as it reached her ankles, then her knees, then her thighs.
