“Scolding the tree?”Jessa stared at her, the back of her neck tingling and the hairs standing on end.She scrubbed her arms and suddenly noticed a cloying dampness seeping up from the ground as though it was trying to repel her.She hopped to her feet and brushed off her behind.“That’s odd.The ground wasn’t wet earlier.”
“Sometimes it takes a while for the earth to send its tears up to ye,” Keeva said.She looped her arm through Jessa's and smiled.“Come on, lass.Yer Emily’s waiting inside for ye.”
Jessa halted and fisted her hands against her middle.A breathtaking eeriness paralyzed her, locking her in place.Every yard ornament had moved.And not just a few inches, but drastically.The largest of the pigs was now on a different side of the fenced-in area.Some of the cats had disappeared, and all the chickens now surrounded the fountain as though gathering for a drink of water.“Keeva.”
“Aye?”
“What time is it?”
Keeva glanced at her watch.“Half past two.Why?”
“That means I can’t have been out here any longer than fifteen minutes or so, right?”
The girl recoiled, squinting as if Jessa had lifted a hand to strike her.“I really couldn’t say, since I didn’t look at the time ye arrived.”
Keeva was lying.Jessa could almost taste it.She marched over to the pig that had moved the greatest distance and tried to lift it, straining to shift the heavy thing until she was left trembling with the effort.
“Miss Jessa, if ye dinna want the pig there, I can call my brother and one of his mates.They’ll put it wherever ye want it to be.”
“The pig already moved, Keeva.Stop acting as if you don’t know that.”Heart pounding, Jessa turned in a slow circle, pointing out all the differences.“Those chickens weren’t over there, and some of the cats are gone too.”
“I better fetch Miss Emily.”
Before Jessa could stop her, Keeva disappeared into the cottage.
“I am losing my mind.”Rubbing her eyes with a shaking hand, she stumbled over to the bench against the side of the house and dropped onto it.She bent forward, pulling in deep breaths as she put her head between her knees.
“Jess, come inside.”Emily rubbed her shoulders, then gently pulled.“Come on.You need rest.I’ve already turned down your bed.All you have to do is climb into it.”
“I need to go home, Em.I should never have come here.”Jessa remained locked in place with her head between her knees.“Get out my laptop and see if you can switch our return tickets to, like, right now.Or as soon as we can get back to Glasgow.”
“You’re just tired.Once you’ve rested and settled in, you’ll be fine.”
“I will not be fine.”Jessa jerked away from her.“Since we’ve arrived in Scotland, I’ve seen Mr.MacSexy everywhere, but it always turns out he’s not really there.Our hostess scolded the tree for making me feel so comfortable, then said the earth wept for me, and every one of those freaking yard ornaments was in a different spot twenty minutes ago, and I was the only one out here.”She thumped herself on the chest.“I didn’t move them, and neither did Keeva.Did you sneak out here and move that pig that weighs more than our rental car?”
Frowning, Emily sat on the bench and wrapped an arm around Jessa's shoulders.“It’s going to be all right, Jess.Let’s just sit here for a while and catch our breath, okay?It’s kind of nice out here.”She pointed at a plump little stone dragon peeping out from behind a planter of geraniums.“That little guy is kind of cute.You like dragons.Did he move too?”
Rattled to the point of pure despondency, Jessa shrugged.“I don’t know.Probably.”
“Probably,” Emily repeated.“It would be cool if he did.Maybe we could take him home as a pet.”
“Humoring the insane can be a dangerous thing, you know.”Jessa glared at her, wishing she could be as calm and put together as Emily.
Her friend grinned.“I’ve always loved living on the edge.”
“Ho to the house,” a deep voice called out from beyond the fence and out of sight from around the corner of the cottage.
“Maybe that’s Mr.MacSexy!”Emily whispered excitedly.“Come on.Let’s see.”
With her heart not pounding nearly so hard and able to breathe again, Jessa rolled her eyes, then pushed up from the bench and followed Emily to the side of the yard where a set of wooden steps, complete with handrails that she’d not noticed before, leaned up against the fence.The step-stool-like thing reached the top of the stone barrier, enabling a person to exit the backyard by using the steps to climb over it.Jessa couldn’t remember for certain, but she thought they called it astile.Having had her fill of surprises for the day, she lagged back, tightly hugging herself to keep from shattering into bits.Emily could handle their visitor.
“Keeva sent me,” said the man Jessa couldn’t see.“Said ye needed a pig moved?”
Emily turned and looked at Jessa as though they were asked that question every day.“You need a pig moved, Jess?”
“No.The pig moved itself.”She refused to deny it.“While I was under the tree, that biggest hot pink pig moved itself clear across the yard.”She knew it sounded ridiculous, but it was the truth.
“You saw the pig come to life and walk across the yard?”Emily asked, still infuriatingly calm.
