“We must find a way to get Helene to return with us. I cannae be away too much longer. I wish to begin our life together and I wish to do it now.” He impatiently paced back and forth across the small space.
“Sara thinks ye should take yer time and woo the lass.” Logan was obviously still trying to wake up.
“Sara thinks that does she?” Dougall raised his voice, losing patience with Logan’s moonie-eyed admiration for everything Sara said and did. He stood, arms crossed and a menacing look in his eyes. If Logan knew what was good for him, he’d get up and follow orders.
“Aye. She says ye need to allow Helene to make the choice. Ye cannae force her.” Logan said, finally sitting up and facing Dougall.
“Sara doesnae ken the way of it fer me and Helene. And neither do ye, Logan.” Dougall pointed a finger in the direction of Sara’s room and then at his friend. He hadn’t slept well. His thoughts all night long were of Helene in the arms of Zeke. As much as he tried to blot it from his mind, it kept returning over and over again. Now, this morning, he’d had enough of it and all he wanted to do was get Helene and head back home where they belonged.
“I’m sorry, Dougall. I ken ye love her, but mayhap Sara has a point,” Logan barked back.
“What are you two talking about so loudly.” Sara entered the living room holding her head.
“Do ye nae feel well, Sara?” Logan asked, obviously concerned.
“I think I drank too much tequila last night. My head hurts. You two don’t seem any worse for wear.” She walked past them and into the kitchen.
“Do ye have any food?” Dougall asked.
“I don’t usually cook much. You can get coffee downstairs.” She rummaged through the cabinets and finally found what she must have been searching for. She opened the bottle and poured some of the contents into her hand and then put it in her mouth. She followed that with a long drink of water. “I’ll get dressed and we’ll go down together. Maybe some coffee will help.”
Dougall noted that his friend, who was back down on the sofa, followed Sara with his eyes and a longing that truly must be noticed by the object of his attention. If she didn’t notice, he deduced she must be blind.
“Get up. Ye heard the lass. We’ll go downstairs fer food and more of that coffee,” he commanded. Dougall was feeling very out of sorts this morning.
Logan rubbed his eyes again as Dougall shook his head at their situation.
“Why would Edna bother to send me here if Helene wasnae to come back with me. I dinnae ken it.”
“She’s a witch. She can do as she likes,” Logan said.
“Ashley and Jenna say she sends people through time with a purpose in mind. She can be quite manipulative, but the end result is usually worth whatever she puts ye through to achieve it.”
Sara came back into the room, looking much better than when she left. She had gotten dressed and brushed her hair into something resembling a horse’s tail from Dougall’s perspective. She even had a smile on her face. “Come on. Let’s go.” She bounced off ahead of them. Dougall and Logan followed behind, both fascinated with the way her horse tail hair swung back and forth as she walked.
Dougall and Logan followed her out of the apartment and down the stairs to the street. They sat at the same table Sara had been sitting at when they’d first met her. Now that he thought about it, Dougall was suspicious about the fact that Sara was one of the first people they met and she just happened to know where Helene was. Hmmm…
“Sara, when we met ye here yesterday, ye didnae ken we were coming?”
“No. It was a surprise to me, although seeing two big guys in kilts did catch my attention, which is why I spoke to you before you passed me by.” Dougall noted the flirtatious glance she sent Logan’s way.
“I thought it might have been fer another reason.” Logan gave Sara a look that Dougall knew he had practiced on many a lass back in their time.
Sara blushed and looked away.
“Hey, you’re back with your friends.” The server from the day before approached their table.
“Yep,” Sara said. “Three coffees and cinnamon rolls all around.”
“You got it.” The lass walked away and back into the coffee shop.
“I’m confused by all of this,” Dougall said, gesturing to everything around them.
Sara followed his hand with her eyes. “Do you want to narrow it down to one thing?”
Dougall could tell from her tone of voice that she was having fun at his expense. “Well, for one thing, is this the kitchen of your castle?”
“No. This is a coffee shop. I have my own kitchen in my apartment. I’m pretty sure you saw it, although I’d bet money that it’s a lot different than the castle kitchen.”
