"Aye, it's my doing."I feel oddly uncomfortable discussing the topic, but I tell her the truth."I painted it last night, after you fell asleep.It's an ancient symbol that means 'journey' in the old Celtic language.Or so my gran always told me."
She holds the gift as if it feels weighty in her hand."This little painted pebble somehow means more than any expensive gift I've ever received.It's beautiful, Kirk.Thank you."
"I wanted you to have something that would remind you of this place and to remember us."
She lays her hand over mine."You're talking as if we're saying goodbye.But I'm not going anywhere, not yet at least."
I stretch my legs out, letting my boots dangle over the edge of the rocks, near enough that the water occasionally splashes onto them.
"Thank you for showing me this place," Gretchen says as she leans her head against my shoulder.The warmth of her body seeps through my shirt, comforting and solid---arousing too."It means a lot that you'd share something so personal with me, Kirk."
I wrap an arm around the lass, tugging her closer.For a while, we sit here in companionable silence, watching the stream flow past and listening to the birdsongs.
The lass takes a deep breath, releasing it little by little."Something about this place feels like it has healing powers.The gentle burble of water, the occasional flutter of birds' wings, the way sunlight filters through the canopy above.It feels like we've stepped outside of time.Pretty dumb, huh?"
"Nothing you say is stupid.But I've never brought anyone else to my wee sanctuary."
She lifts her head to gaze up at me."Really?Not even to impress a girl?"
"No.Not until I met you."
We lie on the grass for a while, nestled together with our bodies touching and our fingers entwined.The gentle breeze caresses our skin as birds chirp in the trees above.I watch as Gretchen's eyes flutter shut, her face relaxed in a manner I haven't seen before.
"Oh how I wish we could stay here forever," she sighs, her eyes still closed."Just forget about Dougal and stunts and everything else."
I trace lazy circles on her arm with my fingertips."Aye, it has that effect.Time seems to slow down here."
She opens her eyes and props herself up on one elbow."Why me, Kirk?Why show me this place when you've never brought anyone else here?"
The question surprises me, though I should have expected it.I shift uncomfortably under her gaze, the question hanging between us.Why her?The answer seems both blindingly obvious and impossibly complex.
"Because you're different," I finally explain."Ye didnae run when things got complicated.You stood your ground with Dougal.Christ, you jumped on my slackline even though it terrified you."I lift a hand to touch her cheek."And because when I'm with you, I feel something I've never felt before."
Her eyes widen slightly, and I can see her pulse fluttering at the base of her throat.The sunlight catches her hair, turning the dark strands to burnished gold at the edges."That sounds almost ominous."
"No, it's nothing horrible.What I feel...it's peace," I admit."Even with all the chaos that's swirling around us, or maybe because of it, when I'm with you I feel at home.Like I've found the place I'm meant to be and the woman I'm meant to be with."
She studies me, her lips curling into a sweet, loving smile, and for a heart-stopping moment I think I've said too much, pushed too far.But then she leans down and presses her mouth to mine in a delicate kiss.
"I feel it too," she confesses."Like I've been wandering around lost until I stumbled into you."
I tangle my fingers in her hair, dragging her closer, deepening the kiss with every swipe of my tongue.The taste of her, sweet with just a hint of this morning's coffee, lingers on her lips.But it's time for us to leave this wee sanctuary, though I'm dead certain we will return another time.
As we're just reaching the Porsche, Gretchen's mobile pings, indicating a text.As she reads it, her eyes darting, her brows begin to tighten as if in confusion.Then she swivels her head toward me with her eyes wide.
I touch her shoulder."What's wrong,mo leannan?"
"My parents..."
"Has something happened to them?I hope it's not an accident."
"It's nothing like that."She shakes her head, wincing."My parents are here in Scotland.And they want to see me right away."
Mhac na galla.This news does not sound good.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Gretchen
