“Are ye?” He tipped his head to the side in amusement. “Where are ye going then?”
“I’m going to find the nearest town and then call a cab or rent a car. And then I’m going back to Edinburgh,” she said, strong and confident as she tried valiantly to ignore his rugged good looks. “When I get there, I’m booking the first flight back to the Caribbean.”
“I dinnae ken this place, nor do I understand what these things are ye mentioned,” he said. “The only way to Edinburgh is by horse. But are ye sure ye want to be riding there alone?”
Horse? Fine. She’d ride all the way there if she had to. She was good in the saddle.
“Yes,” she said, her voice terse.
The stable boy walked the horse to her, saddled and ready to go. She gave him a nod of thanks, then reached for the saddle, ready to step into the stirrup.
“Are ye sure about that, lass? ’Tis a fifteen-day trek, at least.”
“Fifteen!”She gaped at him.
There was a quirk of a smile on his lips. “Och, aye. It’s no easy ride traversing the terrain on horseback. And then there’s the weather. Rain, wind, snow.”
“Snow?” Her confidence faltered. She wasn’t prepared for snowy weather.
“Aye. Not many inns between here and there, either. Ye would have to camp in the wilderness. Do ye have provisions?”
Her shoulders sagged as she realized her idea to ride to Edinburgh—alone—was a terrible one. There was no way she would be able to navigate the rugged landscape alone, without food or water, facing the elements.
The reality of the situation settled deep within her. She glanced around the stables, saw nothing but horses and tack. A few stable hands were busy tending the stalls and the animals. There were no cars. No taxis. No airplanes. No way to get back home.
A sick feeling clenched the pit of her stomach as the reality became clear. Evie and Chloe were telling the truth. Shewasin the past.
Holy hell.
“No,” she said at last.
“They told ye, did they?” he asked, moving closer.
“Told me about what?”
“That ye time traveled to the past,” he said.
“You make that sound like it’s a normal everyday occurrence,” she huffed.
He chuckled, a sound resonating deep in his broad chest. “I witnessed the two lasses arrive here in the last few months, so, aye, it is.”
Her gaze met his. When it did, her stomach flipped. It was hard not to notice how handsome he was. It was also hard not to notice that he seemed a bit younger than her.
“And you believe that? You believe that we—the three of us—are from the future?”
“I have no reason no’ to believe it, lass.”
The wind whipped through the stables, making him shiver. He pulled up his tartan to cover his head and wrapped it around his shoulders. Brianna turned back to the horse, her hand still on the saddle. Indecision flashed through her. Riding to Edinburgh was likely out of the question. If she made it there, then what? There were clearly no airplanes that would take her back to the Bahamas. That was, if she were truly stuck in the Middle Ages, and she was starting to understand that this was her new reality. She was going to have to come to grips with that new reality at some point.
She took a deep, steadying breath. “If you knew I was from the future, why didn’t you tell me?”
“Would ye have believed me?” he asked.
It was a valid question. She considered that for a long moment, thinking back to waking up on the cold ground with him standing there gazing at her as if her arrival was expected. No, she would not have believed him if he’d told her she was no longer in her future. He’d given her the stone as though he knew she was supposed to be the keeper of it.
Finally, she shook her head. “I suppose not.”
“I thought it best the news come from someone ye trusted.”
