Trulie nodded as he carefully placed her hand onto the smooth arm of a large wooden chair. “Granny’s cat.”
“Aye. Well...” His voice seemed softer as the blue aura eased a few steps away and another heavy chair scraped against the stone floor. “If ye ask me, cats belong down in the pantries keeping the rodents at bay.”
Trulie smoothed her palms across what felt to be a large wood table. A shiver rippled across her as she folded both hands in front of her. She missed the warmth of the fire. Maybe. Or could be nerves making her insides feel as though she were on the verge of a monster case of caffeine jitters. She eased in another deep breath, catching the same scent of mouthwatering spice she had detected when she first realized she was sprawled across a very large man.
The tantalizing aroma became stronger as the blue aura leaned toward her, took her hand, and wrapped it around a cool metal container. Her nose twitched, and before she caught herself, her thoughts tumbled out of her mouth. “You smell very good.”
Gray chuckled. “Thank ye, lass.” His tone was textured with a seductive echo. “Ye smell verra fine yourself.”
She pressed her cold fingers onto her now very warm cheeks. “I meant... ” She patted around to relocate the glass Gray had placed in front of her. “It seems like I remember this era smelling really bad the last time I was here.” Mercy, did she really just say that? She lifted the glass and sipped the water. Maybe if she shoved something in her mouth, she would stop babbling like an idiot.
“I see,” Gray said, his tone strained.
She lowered the glass back to the table and closed her eyes. What the devil was wrong with her? She never babbled. Babbling was for ... well, she just didn’t babble. “Please forgive me. I didn’t mean that everything stunk. It’s just that ...” Oh holy hell, the more she talked the farther she shoved her foot in her mouth. At the rate she was going, she would soon have her leg inserted clear to the hip.
His rumbling laugh filled the room. “I canna say I understand a word yer saying, but I will say ye definitely have me intrigued.”
Intrigued was good. Maybe. She settled the glass back on the table and slid it farther away. “Tamhas said you needed my help. What exactly did he mean by that?”
The atmosphere of the room immediately shifted. A tense silence filled it. Karma’s toenails clicked across the stone flooring, then faded into muffled thumps. A grumbling huff told Trulie the dog had found a spot on the pelt-covered portion of the room and settled down. Apparently, Karma had decided Gray MacKenna wasn’t a threat. That made her feel better ... somewhat.
“Mr. MacKenna? Did you hear me?” Trulie settled more comfortably against the curved back of the chair.
“Mister?” Gray spit out the word as though it tasted bad. “Ye may call me Gray, or the MacKenna. If ye wish, ye may call me chieftain. But I canna say I take to the word ‘mister.’ Sounds like lowlander speech to me.”
“It is meant as a word of respect.” Trulie tightened her hands into fists. He didn’t like the word ‘mister’? Had the word originally held a different connotation? “Granny always taught me to respect my elders.”
“Elders?” Gray now clearly sounded insulted. “I dare say I am not an elder to ye. How old do ye think I am?”
An irritated huff escaped her as she raked her fingers through her tousled hair. Could she not keep her foot out of her mouth for five minutes? Now she had insulted the man by insinuating he was old. She tucked her stubborn curls behind her ears. “I do not think you are old. I have no idea how old you are, and I really don’t care. You said you were the chieftain so I figured you were probably very ... mature.” Well, that sounded lame. Somebody just needed to hand her a shovel so she could bury herself in the hole she had just dug herself into.
“I have not led my clan verra long. My father died a short time ago.”
“Oh. I am so sorry.” Her heart dropped with a painful thud. Poor man. No wonder he was so intense. Not only had he just lost his father, but he hadn’t been a leader to his people very long.
She felt more than heard the heaviness of his sigh.
After a few more minutes of uncomfortable silence, she leaned toward the blue cloud sitting across the table. Maybe the third time would be the charm. She had to find out what Tamhas meant about helping this man. There was just something about this whole situation that filled her with an almost uncomfortable anticipation. She had to help Gray to get it out of her system.Was this why Granny had been so adamant about hurrying back to the past? “How can I help you, Chieftain MacKenna? What did Tamhas mean about your needing my help?”
The vibrant deep blue of Gray’s aura shifted to a dark, disturbing misty gray.
She scooted back. She had definitely upset him this time.
“Gray,” he said.
Trulie folded her hands in her lap and nodded. “Yes. Your aura has turned gray. Please forgive me. I did not mean to upset you.”
“No,” he said a bit louder. “I would rather ye call me Gray—if ye dinna mind.”
“Oh.” She caught her bottom lip between her teeth. Never had she had so much trouble communicating with another human being in her entire life. What the devil was wrong with her? It had to be because she had to rely solely on her extra senses. That had to be it. She took another sip of water, trying to deny that the zero comfort level of this conversation had anything to do with the fluttery feeling in her stomach every time Gray MacKenna rolled hisr’s in her direction.
She batted a tickling curl away from her forehead and leaned forward again. “Okay, Gray. What was Tamhas talking about? He said I was the only one who could help you. So, I am asking ... how can I help you?”
The loud scraping of a chair hurriedly pushed aside, accompanied by the elongation of the murky aura told her that Gray now stood. The cloud of color receded, then bounced back and forth with a jerking rhythm. She blinked hard and tried to focus, wishing she could see the man. It was hard to concentrate on a bouncing blob of shifting mist.
“My parents were murdered,” he finally said. “Burned to death in the north tower. I believe the fire was no accident.” The pacing stopped as Gray’s aura darkened even more. “I intend to find and pass judgment on the killer. Tamhas said ye would know exactly how to make that come to pass. He said ye had the sight.”
She leaned back and swallowed hard. Murdered? Burned to death? A violent shudder shook through her. What a horrible way to die. And that explained a lot about the eerie feeling of this place.
