Chapter Eleven
Callum could hardly believe it. One minute he was trying to get his head around the concept of never seeing her again, the next she was by his side, telling him she loved him.
She sat in front of him on the horse, blanket around her shoulders to keep out the chill wind as they headed south. Callum kept one arm around her, the other holding the reins of the horse.
She leaned back against him and sighed. He felt the softness of her hair on his cheek as he held her closer. It was hard to believe it was true but she had said it. She loved him.
It had been so different when they’d arrived at the old hall. He had told her he couldn’t step inside because of the MacIntyres but the truth was he just couldn’t do it. He couldn’t bear to watch her vanish in front of his eyes.
She hadn’t vanished though. She was still there, leaning back against him.
“What are you thinking?” she asked, glancing up at him.
“What to tell my parents. I’m presuming the real Nessa has turned up by now.”
“Oh yes. I’d forgotten about that.”
Callum had too. It was only when they were riding that he remembered he was supposed to marry Nessa MacKay.
“What do you think they’ll say?” Kerry continued. “When you tell them, I mean.”
“They’ll tell me that I can’t marry for love.”
“Oh.” Kerry lapsed into silence.
Callum thought hard about the best way to handle things. He had absolutely no intention of going through with the wedding to Nessa, not with Kerry making the supreme sacrifice of forgoing her own time to be with him. “Will you miss the future?” he asked, breaking the silence that had fallen between them.
“Not really. I’ll miss my mom I guess but I know she’d understand if I told you where I was. I would miss you much more. Besides I like it here.”
Silence fell again. Callum didn’t mind the quiet. All that mattered was the woman he loved was by his side.
Doubt only began to enter his mind when they approached The Red Wolf late that evening. He thought about what he’d told his men. A highland warrior who married should no longer patrol. A highland warrior who patrolled should not think to marry.
He had told his father he would not marry Nessa because he did not want to leave a grieving bride behind if he was killed in battle. Why would the same rules not apply to Kerry?
He wanted to marry her though. He wanted to be by her side for the rest of his life. From the minute he’d met her, he’d seen something different in her, something he had never seen in another woman. Perhaps it because she was from the future. More likely it was something unique about her.
Marrying her was not going to be easy. Go through with it and a rift would open up between the MacCleods and the MacKays, one that would probably end in clan war. His father might disown him too. He might never become laird.
He shook the doubts away. They didn’t matter. All that mattered was right there, climbing down from the horse in the courtyard of the inn. She smiled up at him and he melted inside. “Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked, still smiling.
“Because you look more beautiful in the moonlight than any lass has a right to look.”
She laughed as a stable boy ran over. “Look after this one,” Callum said to the boy, pressing a coin into his hand at the same time. “Belongs to the landlord of The Lantern. He’ll want it well treated.”
“Of course, my laird,” the boy said, the coin already gone.
Callum led the way through the door of The Red Wolf. Inside they hit a wall of heat coming from the enormous fireplace. The place was busy. There were only a couple of empty tables. No one seemed to notice them enter though and they were soon squeezed in the far corner near the shuttered window.
“Callum MacCleod,” a voice said as they sat down. “It’s been a long time.”
Callum looked around in time to see an enormous grizzled man with a shock of red hair that stood strained on end like it was trying to fight its way off his head. The man approached them slowly, squeezing between the tables, his gut brushing the wood as he maneuvered his way over. “Angus,” Callum said. “I havenae seen you since the last clan council. How’s Belle?”
“Gone off to Loch Leven land to learn letters.”
“Lovely,” Kerry said. “I bet she’ll have an ‘L’ of a time.”
Angus gave her a glance before turning his attention back to Callum. “What are you doing on MacIntyre land? I hope you’re not looking for trouble. I’ve enough to deal with without any brawling.”
