“I think she wanted to honor her promise but also leave us breadcrumbs so that someday we might discover the truth on our own,” Nora said as she stood and walked around the table, pullingher father into a big hug. “Colin seemed like a really great guy. I think if you do a bit of research, you are going to be surprised at what a war hero he was,” Nora said as she let go.
“How did you figure this out?” her mother asked.
“A friend. A journalist for a magazine calledTartan and Thistle,” she said. Just the thought of Alistair left her with a pit in her stomach, and she had to push down the longing she felt to be with him.
“A friend?” her mother questioned. “This friend wouldn’t happen to be a handsome Scotsman, would it? And maybe the reason you want to go back to school over there?” her mother teased.
Nora just smiled, and her mother raised her well-manicured eyebrows. “I see. Well, I think it was about time,” she said, giving Nora a knowing smile.
“When do you plan to go back? Next fall when classes start?” her father asked, picking up the pile of letters and tucking them inside the photo album.
Nora looked over at her bag and then toward the door. “Would you be mad if I said now?” she laughed.
“Now?” her parents said in unison.
“What if I promise to come back for New Year’s?”
“But it’s Christmas, and you know how busy—” her mother began but stopped herself. “Alright, but we get you until your birthday if you come for New Year’s,” her mother bargained.
“Deal,” Nora said.
Her father stood, tucking the photo album under his arm, and pulled her into a warm bear hug. “I’m gonna miss you, pumpkin, and thank you for this,” he said, gesturing to the album and then kissing the top of her head before heading for the door.
“I’m proud of you. I know it wasn’t easy to let go and moveforward, but I am so happy that you finally did it, honey. Go find your dream. Your father and I will always be here whenever you need us,” her mother said, pulling her into a long embrace.
Nora couldn’t believe how well the conversation had gone with her parents. Why had she been so stressed over it all these months? Her dad taking to the idea of Colin being his father went much better than she had anticipated as well. Her worries had built up in her mind so much they had become monsters under the bed, but in the end, there was truly nothing to be afraid of.
As they left, a sense of knowing came over Nora—a knowledge of what she wanted and the assurance that she would be okay, even if her future wasn’t planned out. She had too many lifetimes of planned outcomes, and for once, she was happy not knowing what came next.
With that, she grabbed her bags and walked out the door toward where her heart was calling her. Scotland.
Epilogue
Ayear had passed since Nora’s initial trip to Scotland, and she and Alistair were celebrating by meeting the realtor at Mercat Cross monument to be shown a possible location for their business venture.
When Nora returned to Scotland, she showed up on Alistair’s doorstep after bribing a secretary atTartan and Thistlefor his address. When she arrived, he was sitting on the front step looking down at his phone with a look of defeat on his face and Lochland at his feet.
Lochland spotted her first, letting out a loud string of barks and pulling so hard that the leash broke free from Alistair’s grip. He turned to scold the dog when he saw her. A wide smile spread across his face as he got up and ran to her. Picking her up, he spun her around in the air while kissing her, like a scene out of a Hallmark movie.
“No matter what lifetime we are in, I will always choose you, even without the curse holding us together,” she told him, breaking free of their kiss.
“I love you, Nora Cameron. I couldn’t stand to be another day without you. I was literally just looking at tickets to Vermont,” he said, flashing her the screen of his phone. She smiled and kissed him again as Lochland jumped around them, his leash binding them together.
After an afternoon of lovemaking, he told her he had been fired from the magazine and that no amount of groveling was going to make his boss take him back. In the tangle of bed sheets, surrounded with afternoon beams of light coming into the windows of his tiny flat, they came up with the idea of opening their own print house. It had been their dream as Cora and James. Now that the curse was broken, they could make the dream a reality.
The plans had started as pillow talk almost a year ago, and after a lot of hard work and planning, they were ready to look at a place the realtor said was a hidden gem. Nora had finally been able to put her business degree to good use and now they were on the verge of making their dreams come true.
“She’s late,” Alistair said, looking down at his watch.
“No, she’s not,” Nora said, pointing up at the large clock on the building adjacent to them. “Calm down. You’re making me nervous,” she told him as he paced back and forth in front of her.
“I’m just really excited to see this place. To score a shop space on the Royal Mile is unheard of.”
Nora walked over and stopped him from pacing by pulling him into a kiss. His body relaxed at her touch. Wet, cold rain started to fall, and Alastair pulled his collar up on his jacket.
“Bloody rain,” he said, looking up at the dark sky.
Nora grabbed his hand and looked up. The rain quickly turned to white fluffy snowflakes that floated down around them.
