“Oh, good.” She sighed and settled against his chest again.
He wished he could have a thousand night’s like this, with Brie warm and relaxed in his arms. He couldna get enough of her scent, her smile, her quiet strength.
“Mac?”
Aye, lass?”
“What do you—”
“Soncerae!”
“What…?” Confusion shadowed Brie’s face.
“ ’Tis whose voice I heard in my dream!” he replied, bursting with excitement. “I couldna remember the name that went with the pretty voice. ’Tis Soncerae!” He could barely contain his exhilaration and relief. “Her name popped into my head of its own accord! ’Tis a very good sign, is it no’?”
Brie sat up and smiled, but he noticed the sparkle was no’ quite as bright as before. “Yes. Of course. That’s…wonderful, Mac. Is she…That’s a beautiful name.Soncerae,” she repeated hesitantly. “Who is she?”
A bit of his delight dimmed as he searched for the answer. “I dinna ken,” he finally replied. “But, I knew her voice, when it came tae me. ’Tis unusually lovely. Like a chime. And now I’ve a name tae go wi’ it. But I canna remember a face or who she might be. Perhaps ’twill come tae me, sudden and surprising, like her name.”
Brie studied him for a moment. “I hope so, Mac. I truly want that for you.”
“Thank ye, lass.” Though she still sat beside him, ’twas as if she’d drifted away. Mayhap she had. Somehow, with just a name, his forgotten life had taken form, and wedged its way between them.
Soncerae.Who could she be? Someone important? Wife? Daughter? Sister? Friend? An enemy, even? His dreams had certainly been full of those. He tried to get some sense of how he felt about her. What connection they might have had. But he felt nothing at all, save the pleasing lilt of her voice. Whatshouldhe feel about her?
A wide assortment of emotions swirled inside him. Excitement. Curiosity. Anticipation. But ’twas a trickle of dread, as well. He’d known he’d have to set aside his growing feelings for Brie, but he dinna expect to regret it so.
For the briefest moment, he wondered if no’ getting his memory back would be worth it, if it meant he could win Brie. If she could come to care for him the way he’d begun to care for her.
But ’twould no’ be honorable. No’ to Brie, or anyone who might be awaiting his return. ’Twould be a coward’s way to build one life, on the buried memories of another. There could be no chance with Brie, until he faced the life he’d lived, before his fall. And the sooner the better, before ’twas too difficult to leave her.
When Brie slid to the edge of the sofa, he felt a profound loss.
No. Stay. Please, stay.
Was he a blackguard for wanting to hold her again, while he still could? Erase the distance that had crept into her eyes? He sighed, already knowing the answer. Until he knew who Soncerae was, ’twould be wrong to think more, on his feelings for Brie.
Something else nagged at his thoughts. Soncerae had called him Alistair. The same name the highlander Angus, had called out, in Mac’s nightmare. But how was that possible? Mac believed Soncerae to be real. But he knew Angus was no’. So, how had they both called him by the same name? If she was connected to his nightmare, mayhap she dinna truly exist, after all? And, mayhap, ’twas no’ him she’d been calling. ’Twas possible Alistair was someone else, entirely. Simply a remnant from his nightmare.
Och! ’twas enough to drive him mad!
When he glanced at Brie, she hurried to hide her troubled expression. “Ye started to ask me something, lass. Before I interrupted. What was it?”
“It must not have been important.” She shrugged and stood. “I don’t even remember. I’m thirsty. Would you like a glass of water?”
“Nae. Thank ye.”
He listened to the sounds of her moving around in her kitchen, the low crackle of the fire, Gus’s light snore, wanting to burn them into his memory.
When Brie returned, she sat on the end of the sofa, tucked her legs beneath her and fussed with the edge of a small pillow. “I may be gone when you wake up in the morning,” she stated, keeping her attention on the pillow. “I’m going down to start working on that tree, so when the roads are dry enough, we can get you back to…so we can get you back.”
“I’ll help ye.” He felt helpless to close the distance growing between them.
Her eyes met his and she shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’m afraid the noise and vibration of the chain saw might be too much for you, this soon. You need to be careful, for a while yet. At least until you see a doctor.”
He dinna ken how a saw could hurt him. “ ’Tis fine. Truly,” he added when she raised an eyebrow. “My head is still a bit tender, but the hammer inside is no’ so large as it was earlier.” He smiled to reassure her. “Ye’re a gifted healer, Brie. As well as yer sorcery has worked thus far, I’m sure tae be fully recovered by tomorrow.”
“No, Mac,” she argued. “It’s better if I go alone.”
