Ronan interrupted his mother by holding up a hand as he turned to Harley. “Did ye happen to hear any stories of the Sea Goddess Clíodhna?”
“No.” She bowed her head and massaged her temples, wondering if information overload was to blame for the sudden vicious throbbing. “The only stories I remember about sea gods or goddesses were always about Poseidon or Calypso.What has that to do with what Aveline said?Explain what she meant that it was you who freed me from a locket.” A locket. She squinted and dug her thumbs harder into her temples. What was it about a locket? There was a memory there that she just couldn’t quite bring forward.
Ronan gently turned her toward him while bending so he could look her in the eyes.“It seems yer soul was trappedinside the Sea Goddess Clíodhna's locket until we performed the ritual to have ye released.”
“What?” She searched his face for a sign that this was a very poor joke. That couldn’t be true. “Gods and goddesses are just stories,” she said. “Mythology, rituals, and magic—that’s all the stuff of good fiction. Not what happens to an average girl from Kentucky.”
“Then how else would ye explain yer presence in fifteenth century Scotland, lass?” Compassion shone in his eyes and echoed in his voice.
She shrugged out of his grasp and stumbled away from the table.“None of this is happening.This is all just a bad dream.All I have to do is wake up, and I’ll be back in my camper.”That was the only possible explanation for this situation.All she had to do was will herself to wake up.
Ronan eased toward her.“I know this is all hard to believe. Difficult to accept.But ye will fare much better if ye sit and try to listen calmly.”
“Calmly? Sit and listen calmly?”Her voice cracked, and she didn’t care. She’d earned the right to sound like a shrieking harpy.“I sit and listen calmly to the sermon at church or to the safety training video at work.This…” She flicked a hand at the room at large. “This magical mumbo jumbo is not something I can sit and listen to calmly.” She jabbed a finger at him. “I can’t listen calmly when my life has been turned upside down, and everything I have ever known or loved is gone!”
As she backed away, she bumped into one of the long trestle benches, swaying as she clutched at it to keep from tumbling to the floor. As Ronan moved closer, she grabbed one of the long handled ladles resting on it and swung it at him.“Stay away from me!No matter what you’ve said, I don’t know who you really are. Not when you only tell me what you want me to hear. Just leave me alone. I don’t trust any of you.”
“Lass, please.” He took another step toward her. “I didna tell ye about the locket, because ye have had so much to take in since ye awakened.” He reached for her. “Please, come and sit.”
Apparently, he thought her a trusting fool—or puppy in need of obedience training. Fine. She’d show him obedience. She wound up and slung the heavy iron ladle at his head, then turned and charged up the staircase. Outside would have been better, but she wasn’t quite sure how to get there. The battlements would have to do. Maybe she could find a low side and shinny down the walls or something. Mama and Papa had always teased and called her monkey when she was little because there was nothing she couldn’t climb.
“Harley!”
The panicked roar made her run even faster, pumping every last ounce of adrenaline she possessed through her veins. She had to get away. Hide. Jump. Climb. Something. She didn’t care which option it took to take control of this craziness and make it make sense.
CHAPTER 9
Ronan took the steps two and three at a time. He had to catch her before she did herself any harm. The wildness in her eyes before she charged away made him fear she would do whatever it took to escape this time and place. He spotted her as he reached the tower room. “Harley!”
She didn’t look back, just scampered down the path along the top of the outer wall. The moon, full and swollen, peeped over the horizon, seeming to rise from its pale reflection shimmering across the waters. Waves steadily crashed below as if shouting for Harley to run faster.
Panic filled him as she threw a leg over the wall and peered downward. “Harley! No!”
The wind whipped her black hair all around. The rising moon illuminated her face, revealing the tears streaking down her cheeks. “Get away from me,” she shouted, her voice shaking.
Ronan forced himself to take a step back and keep his arms relaxed at his sides.“Harley,” he said softly. “Please—dinna cast away yer precious life.”
She glared at him, then held her hair back from her face and peered over the side of the wall again.
“I shouldha told ye about the locket. Forgive me, lass. I was merely trying to shield ye.” He yearned to move closer but feared to do so. Her hopelessness, her heartbreaking desperation held him at bay.
She straightened but still straddled the wall. As she stared out at the waves, she slowly shook her head. “I am completely, totally lost this time.” She shrugged while still staring out at the sea. “I realize my loneliness in Kentucky was by my own choice. I kind of holed up after the wedding debacle.” She flipped a hand at the sea and shook her head again. “But this. Here.”
He had no idea what she was talking about, but at least she was talking and not throwing herself down to her death. Ronan eased a step closer.
She pulled her gaze from the sea and locked her eyes with his. “This is—” She thumped the wall. “This is not my fault. I did not do anything to end up here.”
“I know it is not yer fault, lass. No one would ever say that.” He inched closer until he stood near enough to grab her off the wall should she try to jump. But he didn’t touch her. Not yet. Something deep inside told him to let her talk until she grew weary of the sound of her own voice. “Ye willna be alone here, Harley. Not ever.I am here, and here I will stay.” A huffing laugh escaped him. “I didna ken I was searching for ye, but now that I’ve found ye, I’ll not be letting ye get away.”
She frowned at him and narrowed her eyes. “You don’t even know me.”
“I know enough.”
She swung her leg back around and hopped down from the wall. With her hands tucked into fists, she hugged herself and leaned back against it, then sniffed and swiped the tears off her cheeks. “I will figure out a way to survive here, and with any luck, maybe your mother or that druid of yours can find a way to send me back.”
Ronan arched a brow, crossed his arms over his chest, and leaned against the wall beside her. He didn’t want her to go back to her time. And no matter what she said, hedidknow her—orat least felt as though he had known her all his life. He tilted his head and studied this very frustrating woman whom he needed in his life, and that alone scared the living shite out of him. “Ye canna go back to yer time.”
“We’ll see what your mother and the druid say—I don’t remember his name, but you know who I mean. Until that time, do not feel compelled to protect me. Just go on about your business—or whatever it is you do.” She frowned, as though befuddled, then nodded. “Your ship. That’s it. You pointed out your ship. Go back out to sea. I’ve survived on my own for most of my adult life and done just fine. No one is responsible for me but me. I refuse to be anyone’s burden.”
