His dear wife smiled and opened her arms for him. “Eternity.”
He strode over and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in the sweet scent of her hair. He kissed her softly on her lips and said one word.
“Finally.”
The Scot’s Angel
Book 6
A little Christmas visit to let you know that Alex is not really gone, he’s with Maddie…
Chapter Eleven
Alex is back, different, but very happy…Claray is lost in the snowstorm.
Then she decided she would do no more crying. She huddled under a tree to gain her bearings for a bit, and as soon as the wind died again, she stepped out into the snow. There was something dark ahead, and she prayed it was a cave. If she could just get inside a cave…
What good would it do? She didn’t know how to start a fire with wet wood, and that was if she could find any wood at all. Her horse had taken off with her saddlebag. She had no extra plaid to sleep on, no soft fur to lay underneath her.
She was going to die.
Her mind roiled from the thought, but then a subtle sense of peace came over her. The shivering stopped, her fear ended, and her breathing slowed.
She took four more steps but had to stop because she’d lost the energy to pick up her feet. It was too difficult, too hard to move, too cold, too…
Out of nowhere, a horse appeared next to her. The snow swirled around it so fast she couldn’t even see if there was a rider on it. Was it hers?
No, it was much too large. This was a massive black warhorse who snorted at her as the rider came to a stop next to her, reaching down for her hand. She gave it to him, and the rider tossed her up in front of him as the horse moved on.
The man’s heat enveloped her, and she sighed with relief. It had to be Thorn. “Thorn? ’Tis it not you?” She turned around to look, but the snow was so heavy that she couldn’t make out the man’s features. “Derric?” Nay, his hair was dark and it blew freely in the wind. He was much too tall for her to make out any features.
Then she knew who it had to be.
“Papa? I’m so glad you came for me.”
She rested against his heat, cocooning herself in this man’s arms, his chest protecting her back. Her father had always been her protector. She’d never thought of him as a stepfather, even though she still felt all the pain of knowing her sire had been an awful man. No stepfather could love her like Connor Grant did.
He led them straight to a cave, the one she’d seen up ahead, and to her surprise, there was already a fire lit in the entrance, positioned carefully so the wind wouldn’t blow it out.
The man dismounted and reached for her, lifting her down from the horse. He tugged her hood down over her eyes and pointed toward the fire, ushering her inside with a hand at her back. She rushed over to the fire and basked in its heat. Unbuttoning her mantle, she stepped inside the protection of the cave and shook the snow from her clothing, watching it magically melt as it landed on the stone floor of the cave.
“I’m so grateful you came for me. I thought I was about to die.” She smiled with pleasure and looked around to thank her hero.
It was then she saw them, a woman near the back of the cave standing with a man who had his arm wrapped around her, both wearing soft smiles.
For a moment, she couldn’t believe her own eyes.
“Grandsire? Grandmama?”
Chapter Twelve
The spirit of her dear grandmama rushed over to her side. “This storm was much worse than we thought. Stay warm by the fire. We can only keep it going for a short time.” Her grandmama fussed over her, brushing snow from her hair and back, while her grandfather stoked the fire.
Claray couldn’t believe her beloved grandparents stood in front of her, both looking younger, their gray hair restored to its original color. Grandsire’s hair was so dark, he looked like her father. And Grandmama’s golden plait would shine in the sunlight.
“Did I die?” she blurted out. Although she feared hearing the answer to her question, it needed to be asked.
Grandmama smiled at her, that smile that had comforted Claray after skinned knees and broken toys and disappointments large and small. “Heavens, nay, Claray. Alex likes to sit and watch you all find your own way, but once in a while, we must step in, though we aren’t allowed to do as much as we’d like. We’ll be forced to leave in a few more minutes. Now give me that soaked mantle.”
