Graham closed the short distance between them and turned her around to face him. “Do ye cry?” The lass had never given way to tears. What the hell had he done?
Lilia’s pale brows arched higher and her eyes widened. The dark green of her irises shimmered brighter than fresh spring grass beneath the sheen of her unshed tears. She sniffed and blinked hard and fast, refusing to meet his gaze. “I’m not crying. I nevercry. Not ever.” The quiver in her voice betrayed her. “I was merely touched because Odin and Buzz trust you.”
“Aye, and now ye ken ye should be able to trust me too. Why do ye find that so difficult to accept?” Graham gently cupped her chin and forced her to look up at him. “I only wish to keep ye safe.” He didn’t add that he would be making her his—not just yet. He must move cautiously even though he had little time. Instead, he brushed his mouth across the warm velvety seam of her lips, breathing in her irresistible sweetness as he whispered, “There is no shame in sharing yer tears. I have strength enough for the both of us.”
His gut wrenched as she pushed away. Son of a bitch. That was the wrong thing to say.He pulled her back into his arms, holding her so tight, her head tilted back of its own volition. “Ye are a strong woman, Lilia Sinclair. Tears take nothing from that strength.” Easing his hold, he cradled her head in one hand while softly stroking her face with the other. “Me mam, right afore she died, when I was but a wee lad . . . ” Graham paused, struggling to sort through the myriad of emotions he saw playing in her eyes.
Help me find the words,he prayed. His mother had been so wise—surely her words would bring Lilia peace.Help me,he silently pleaded, then thanked the gods and his mother’s memory when he felt Lilia gradually relax in his embrace. Certainty filled him as the rest of his mother’s words came to him. “ Me mam said tears are not a sign of weakness. Not ever. They are but the soul’s way of growing and healing.”
Lilia eased back but didn’t pull completely out of his hold and he was sorely glad for it. But her unshed tears had disappeared. His lovely lass had quickly restored her calm mask of control.
“Why are you here?” Her chin lifted as she stirred in his embrace. “And I want to know the truth this time. Why did Granny really send you here?”
“Come, come,” Alberti interrupted from the end of the line of stalls. “We’re losing the day and still need to practice your running jump with Odin.”
Lilia spun out of Graham’s arms, then paused and turned back to face him. “This conversation is not over. I expect an answer later.” She hefted the saddle off the low railing and clumped up a three-stepped stile leaning against the fence. “Come on, Odin. Playtime.”
Odin flicked an ear then ambled over alongside the fence and patiently waited for Lilia to put the padding and saddle across his back. Buzz yapped around the base of the steps, bouncing and leaping around like a spring-loaded ball of fur. “I’ll put you in your pouch in a minute. You know you have to wait until I get all the straps tightened down.” Lilia gently pushed the little dog back as she descended the steps and deftly adjusted and tightened the saddle’s straps.
Graham was impressed. Lilia’s sisters might not have known anything about a horse other than which end ate and which end shit but it was obvious, Lilia was as comfortable with the beasts as he was. Perhaps there was hope of returning to the past and taking Lilia with him after all. Graham shoved the thought away. He needed to bide his time and not rush her.And he suddenly realized, as long as he was with Lilia, he didn’t truly care what year it was.
“What horse shall I ride?” He’d be damned if he’d stand by and watch Lilia and the others enjoy a good ride without him.
“Alberti should have Freya ready for you.” Lilia bent, scooped up Buzz, then fitted him in the custom-made leather pouch strapped across the broad slope of Odin’s right shoulder. The little dog crossed his front paws atop the rolled lip of the thick leather bag, his little face split wide open in an excited doggy grin.
Graham rubbed Buzz’s tiny head as he examined the odd-looking pouch that snugly held the wee dog against the horse’s side. “Why do ye not allow the lad to just run along beside ye?”
Lilia pulled herself up into the saddle and settled comfortably in place. “He’s too little and doesn’t pay attention. I’m afraid he’ll get stepped on.” She reached down and hooked two short straps to the back of Buzz’s harness. “I have to attach these straps to his harness because the little turd sometimes tries to jump out.” Lilia shook her head and double-checked the silver clips. “Odin is an eighteen-hand horse. If Buzz jumps, it’s a long way to the ground but Sir Yaps-a-Lot is fearless.”
“Freya is ready for you.” Alberti waved Graham forward.
A gray, slightly smaller horse, but definitely the same large breed as Odin, tossed its head in Graham’s direction.
Odin stepped sideways, danced a few paces forward then retreated back. His nervous whickering echoed through the paddock.
“Odin’s too restless today to practice the jump.” Lilia smoothed the reins between her hands and nodded at the far end of the building where a set of double doors opened out onto a pasture. “We might have practiced too long the day before. I think he just needs a good stretch of his legs today.”
Alberti studied the great black horse. “Agreed. Perhaps we did push a little hard.” He motioned across the building to Vivienne and Angus. “We’ll head back to the center and double-check the gear for the competition while you take Odin out for a bit of exercise. We can all meet at the paintball arena afterwards. Agreed?” He glanced up at Graham already comfortably settled in the saddle atop Freya. “I assume you’ll be going with her?”
“Aye.” Graham sat a bit taller in the saddle. “That I will.” And if he had his way about it, it would be a long slow ride of discovery for both Lilia and himself. The ride held infinite possibilities.
CHAPTER13
The slow steady thump of hooves against hard-packed earth broke the peaceful stillness of the afternoon ride. The well-oiled leather of the saddles softly squeaked, echoing the horses’ meandering gait and the rhythmic motion of their powerful bodies.
Lilia pulled in a deep breath as they left the noise of the bustling city behind. She rolled her shoulders, relaxing as they steadily climbed higher, closer to the highest peak overlooking Edinburgh, known as Arthur’s Seat. From a distance, the hillside looked as though it was coated in green and brown velvety moss. The closer they drew to the sharp definitions of the craggy hill, the more pronounced and varied the colorful tapestry of the flora became.
“Yer spirit finds peace here.” Graham gifted her with a soft smile, nearly hidden by his mustache but clearly sparkling in his eyes.
She found it mildly disturbing that he could read her so easily but with Eliza’s sharply declining health, it had been a rough few weeks. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to relax her shields a bit and justbe. She was weary—damn tired of running ninety to nothing until she collapsed in bed at night just to keep from feeling.She barely nodded. “Yes. Rides like this restore me.” She turned toward Graham and allowed a genuine smile, an expression totally free of carefully masked emotions. “What about you? How are you handling your discovery of the ways and whys of the twenty-first century?”
One of his burly brows arched a bit higher as his head tilted to the side. “’Tis . . . different.”
A snort escaped her. “I bet.” There was no possible way Granny and Trulie could’ve prepared Graham for all the mysteries of the future.
“But different is not necessarily bad.” He shrugged and affirmed his words with a subtle nod. “’Tis what I seek after being trapped within sameness for well over three hundred years.” Graham shifted in the saddle, encouraging Freya to slow her pace even more.
“Wait—what did you just say?” Lilia gently pulled Odin to a stop. Surely, she had misunderstood. Three hundred freaking years?
