Reginald tried to roll his shoulders tighter to minimize his size, praying the ache in his muscles wouldnae turn to a debilitating cramp inside the crowded vehicle. After centuries on the open moor, ’twas overwhelming to be stuffed into such a confined space, let alone packed in with five other people. But ’twas the low roof of the thing that troubled him most.
He’d fought the sensation to duck ever since he’d let Lauren coerce him inside. Clearly there wasnae room for a man of his size and the close proximity of her body, pressed tightly to his, was most unsettling. Every shift and movement reminded him of how her body felt, nestled against his last evening, and the kiss that had kept him awake far into the night.
Though ’twas definitely no’ his place to protest, he was grateful it was Lauren’s younger sister who was snugged so intimately against her other side, rather than Phillip who occupied the minimal space beyond Deidre. Neither seemed to find the confines the least bit disconcerting. Quite the contrary, in fact.
In the front, Lauren’s aunt and older sister chatted with Drew as he drove, as if the unholy speed they traveled was of no concern. Gritting his teeth, Reginald tried to ignore both the pace and the soft press of Lauren’s curves by turning his attention to the landscape, or as much of it as he could discern, as they flew past.
Finally, they turned onto a narrower road and, thankfully, slowed through its dips and bends. As they progressed, a chilling tautness took root in Reginald’s chest. The land beyond his window seemed familiar. More overgrown than he remembered, but the landmarks hadnae changed. Could they actually be traveling near his home, or had he imagined seeing it again for so long, he read more into the surroundings than was real?
“We won’t be long now,” Phoebe said, to no one in particular.
“Finally,” Deidre’s beleaguered sigh filled the car. “Maybe now, we can get back to thepleasantafternoon we’d planned.”
Phoebe’s admonishing glance at Deidre seemed to go unnoticed by the chit, but Reginald hadn’t missed the wounded look that flashed across Lauren’s face. ’Twas hard to believe the two were sisters.
He’d regretted no’ having a sibling for so long, he’d never imagined they could be so different in makeup. But, in fairness, perhaps ’twas merely fright and worry over Lauren’s trouble that made her younger sister seem so brash. ’Twas unfair, he conceded, to form an opinion of the lass on such short acquaintance. Besides, he’d be leaving soon, and Lauren’s sister wouldnae cross his mind again. Though he kenned with distressing certainty, Lauren would haunt his thoughts for some time.
They entered a stand of tall trees with mere flashes of grassy meadows as they traveled the winding road toward Phoebe’s home.
Uncannily familiar!
Suddenly, they broke out of the trees into a cozy glen dotted with several small groves of trees and surrounded by hills pockmarked with rocky outcroppings.
Hisoutcroppings?
Reginald’s gaze went immediately to his two favorites, where he’d played for endless hours as a child. Even now, he remembered the names he’d given them.Sleeping Giant,andLaird’s Lair.
Apparently, they weren’t just driving through this area. Unless some major shift had occurred in the last few centuries, there wasnae another outlet. Just the hills on either side and a sheer, rocky crag on the far end. Beautiful, but impassable.
His ragged gasp scraped his dry throat. Phoebe’s homeandhis, were one in the same?
That couldnae be!
“Oh my,” Lauren breathed. “This place! Is this really your home, Aunt Phoebe? It’s wonderful. A hidden paradise. I can’t believe you want to sell it.”
“I don’t, my dear.” The melancholy in Phoebe’s voice spoke for itself. “But life sometimes deals you a hand of cards so difficult to play, all you can do is fold them, and begin again.”
Lauren looked as stricken as Reginald felt.
“I’m so sorry.” She reached across the seat to touch her aunt’s shoulder. “That was terribly insensitive of me. I know you’re heartbroken. Forgive me, please?”
Phoebe laid her hand atop Lauren’s. “Nothing to forgive. Our little valleyisbeautiful. Your uncle was very proud of it, as am I. What you see represents our lives together. All the struggles and all the joys are right here.” She drew a long, slow breath. “Soon, instead of living among our memories, I’ll carry them in my heart. I must learn to be content with that.”
She patted Lauren’s hand as they drove down a wide, tree-lined lane toward a sprawling two story house surrounded by the widest covered porch Reginald had ever seen, or even imagined. ’Twas as if someone had torn a modern-day landscape from somewhere else in the world and plunked it inside the image he’d clung to for hundreds of years, of his beloved glen.
His hand went to his throat. ’Twas suddenly difficult to get enough air.
The emotions pummeling him were so swift and varied, he couldnae put a name to any of them. He could hardly make sense of the fact he was actually here—alive and breathing—once again. Soncerae had made it possible to come home. Though ’twas no’ longerhishome. He thought he’d been prepared for that. But the reality of seeing others so rooted, physically and emotionally, to his family’s land proved more wrenching than he could ever have imagined.
The croft his grandsire built—or what remains there might possibly be—would be beneath the ancient tree line, to the east. Phoebe’s sprawling home stood where sheep had once grazed. Other buildings dotted the property now, as well. What he assumed was a modern barn—bigger than the old church his family had occasionally traveled to—rose up in the distance. New, wooden fences filled empty spaces between ancient stone enclosures that crisscrossed the land in neat, orderly sections. ’Twas no’ longer the glen he’d walked away from, all those centuries before.
When Drew finally stopped the car close to the house, Reginald fumbled with the door handles in his rush to get out. His hand shook as he helped Lauren out, as well. Thankfully she seemed equally distracted, but for far different reasons.
With his heart in his throat, he studied the familiar landmarks; the two converging streams, now with several bridges connecting new, but well-traveled paths leading into the hills. Though much had changed, much had not. He shook his head to dispel the dizzying disbelief.
“Reggie?” Lauren placed a hand on his arm. “Are you okay?”
“Aye,” he muttered, realizing everyone else had gone inside. “I…’tis incredible, is it no’?” He gestured to their surroundings.
