His Heart's Desire (10 page)

Braden hugged his Catrìona close. “In her grief, Malvina ran over the hillside, weeping bitter tears at the loss of her dream—her heart. Where her tears fell, the purple heather turned pure white. When she saw this, she said, ‘May this white heather forever bring good fortune to all those who find it.’”

Plucking a sprig of white heather, he tucked it behind Catrìona’s ear. “To this day, white heather is given as a token of good luck.”

“Oh, Braden, that was a wonderful tale. Sad, but at the same time so very romantic.”

They sat in silence and watched as the sun finally slipped below the horizon. The day had been a beautiful one and he’d enjoyed it a great deal. “Come, we should return to the keep.” Braden stood and then helped his lass to her feet.

He had a feeling he knew what was bothering her but didn’t know how to address the problem. Did she worry about her place in his life? Braden, better than anyone, knew how fickle fate was, and he refused to let this final chance of a happy ending escape him.

“Braden, I wasn’t totally honest with you earlier.” Cat twined their fingers together and held tight.

“I ken that, lass. Are you ready to speak to me and tell me your worries?”

“Yes.”

They continued their walk. Mist began to thread its way along the landscape. The scent of the sea was muted the closer they came to reaching the castle.

“Talk to me,
mo chridh
.”

“I have to return to New Orleans in a few days.”

The whispered words sliced his contentment like a dirk.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Cat watched as emotions chased themselves across Braden’s handsome face. Her heart clenched. Speaking the words aloud cracked the fragile glass that held her dreams. Literally. Here was her dream man standing in front of her. He was a living, breathing soul, and she wanted nothing more than to turn her back on everything and live the fairytale happily ever after with him. But that would be foolhardy; she wasn’t sure exactly what the future held or exactly how long Braden would even be allowed to stay in this time. So
many questions. So few answers.

The problem with fairytales is they’re as make-believe as Disney and Grimm’s products. She was not
Sleeping Beauty
or
Cinderella
, and even though Braden was Prince Charming and a white knight rolled into one, this simply did not have realistic future written all over it. Then again, stranger things had already happened, and her heart nudged her mind not to discount the possibilities.

“I confess, I never thought when I came here and did what I did that you and Alec would appear. I actually thought I was giving you peace by releasing you into the spirit realm, or wherever trapped spirits go when they’re not trapped.” Cat shut up and nibbled on her bottom lip. “I’m rambling, aren’t I? I always do this when I’m nervous, well, that and pace around like a caged lion.” She tripped over an untied shoelace and came to a wobbly halt.

“Lass, slow down.” He led her into a formal sitting room. The rooms were covered in beautiful blue damask silk. Braden sat in one of the overstuffed chairs near the fireplace and pulled her down onto his lap.

In the silence of the moment, the crackle of the fire soothed Cat and her muscles began to relax. “I’m sorry.” Cat wiggled a little bit and got more comfortable. “I was acting like a twit.”

“I’m not sure what a twit is, but it sounds like an appropriate description.” He kissed her mouth.

Cat smiled. Leave it to Braden to put everything into perspective. Yet this wasn’t something they could ignore. She literally had forty-eight hours left in the country with Braden before she had to return to her life in the States.

“Why can’t you stay here a little longer, my Catrìona?”

“Because I have responsibilities back home. I have friends, a job, a cat, and bills to pay.” She didn’t mention the fear of holding onto that which she wanted most i
n the world.

“But, what of me? Us?”

“You could come with me to the States. You’d need a passport, but I’m sure that could be expedited with enough money.”

Cat fancied she could hear a clock ticking off the seconds. She truly didn’t expect Braden to leave Scotla
nd and accompany her back home.

“I suppose I could request Alec . . .
”

“Ask me what?” Alec strolled in, pointing over his shoulder. “Have you seen the library yet? Wall-to-wall books.”

“Don’t you ever knock?” Braden said.

“Sorry.” Alec drew out the word. “How was I to know you’d be doing whatever it is you’re doing? You know there are like a dozen other seats in here. The lass would probably be more comfortable sitting on a cushion rather than your hard lap.” He smiled at Cat. “How are you, lass? Did you enjoy your walk?”

Cat laughed. She loved Alec’s smart ass comments. “Yes, the castle grounds are amazing.”

“Not as much as they used to be. I took a turn around the gardens. They’re manicured within an inch of their lives. That’s what Elspeth says anyhow. And while I’m on the topic, what shrub grows in a spiral?”

“Many people enjoy a very manicured garden.”

“Why? The beauty is in the wildness of how things grow.”

Alec threw himself into a settee, and Cat waited to watch the thing collapse under his less than graceful movements. “So what were you going to ask me?”

“Catrìona needs to return to her home in Louisiana. I would like to accompany her on her journey,” Braden said.

“Oh. I wish to come too. I was on the Internet today. It is a great invention, Braden. There are things like search engines, called Google, and you type in whatever you want to look at or learn; it brings up all these different pages. I Googled New Orleans, and this is a place I very badly want to see.”

Braden once again pinched the bridge of his nose. Cat realized he did this a great deal when he dealt with his cousin. It was rather endearing, she decided. “I think that would be a great idea. Don’t you, Braden? I could show you where I live.”

“Who will take care of the upgrades and make sure the men hired are doing their jobs correctly?”

“If you’ll trust me, I’d be happy to oversee the renovations.” Elspeth came in
to the room carrying a tray of cola cans. “Here you go, dear boy. I had someone fetch you more of this drink.” She handed the lot to Alec.

“Thank you, Elspeth.” He popped the top and took a long pull. Elspeth reached over and smacked him on the back of the head.

“Aren’t you going to offer to share?” Elspeth took the remaining cans away from him. “Would you two care for something to drink?”

“No, I’m fine.” Cat laughed. “You can let him have the rest.”

“Thank you, lass. I find this beverage intoxicatingly delicious. It’s not like a good ale or our
uisge-beatha
. Nothing compares to that, but still, I understand why this company is so very successful.”

Elspeth turned her attention away from Alec, who at this point was cracking open his second can. “Would you permit me the honor of taking care of the renovations so you may go on your trip?”

Cat held her breath. She so wanted Braden to join her in New Orleans but at the same time knew how selfish her desire was. He had a great deal to do here in Scotland, and this was his home. He’d just returned after eight centuries.

“That will be fine, Elspeth. I’ll go over the details with you later.” Braden hugged
Catrìona close and she smiled.

“You’ll have a great deal that needs to be done. I’ll contact the family solicitor and see about getting you and Alec your passports.”

“Thank you,” Braden said.

Cat stood and brushed her hands down her legs. “We’ll also have to bo
ok the flight for both of you.”

“You can use my computer if you’d like,
” Elspeth offered with a smile.

“That would be great. Hopefully I’ll be able to get them on the same flight I’m on, otherwise I’ll have to re-book, and I do need to get home.”

Alec stood with two crushed cans in his hands. “I hate to interrupt your plans but when are we going to be able to eat the evening meal? I’m fair starving.”

“You and your belly.” Braden shook his head. “We’ll eat in a bit.”

“Why don’t you come and watch how you book an airline?” Elspeth returned to Alec’s side and pulled him along.

Cat watched as the two quit the room, leaving her and Braden alone. Were they really going to come home to New Orleans with her? How long would they stay? Part of her wondered if leaving Braden behind would be easier now than later, after they spent more time together.

“Are you serious? You’re really going to come home with me?” Cat clapped a hand over her mouth. That wasn’t what she meant to say. But now that the words were said, she needed to hear the answer.

“Aye. I’ve come a verra long way, and I don’t plan on losing you now. If I must, I will follow you wherever you lead in order for us to stay together.”

Cat’s heart seized at his words. She’d never had a man willing to follow her anywhere, let alone halfway around the world. The feelings coursing through her left her dizzy with emotion.

Braden stepped up to her and cupped her face. “You’re over-thinking whatever is on your mind. All will be well,
mo chridh.”

Instead of feeling better, panic gripped her. How could it all be well? Eventually he would have to return to Scotland and eventually her heart would break. She didn’t fully understand what had taken place and how Braden and Alec came to be here in her world rather than wherever they came from. Would they go back without warning?

She needed answers. Things were moving so fast. Cat didn’t know what to do and decided she’d ask questions and hopefully everything would fall into place.

“Braden.” She nibbled on her lip. “Who are you, and where exactly did you come from?”

He held her stare before he lowered his mouth to hers. Braden kissed her gently before he pulled away and found a place to sit. “I’m a man first and foremost. I’m laird of my clan. That is the easy answer.”

Cat sat on a couch near the fireplace and tucked her legs up on the cushion.
“Now, give me the hard answer.”

“The answers you seek may upset you.” Braden cautioned.

“It doesn’t matter. I need to understand, Braden. I need to know that you won’t be taken from me before I’m ready.”

Well, that wasn’t what she’d planned to say at all. Why didn’t she just throw herself down at his feet and wail like a twit? Okay, that was a little over the top. She was diva of the melodrama. Yeah, that was her. “That didn’t come out right. I’m sorry.”

“You’ve nothing to apologize for, lass. I ken what you meant. But sadly, I don’t have an answer for you.”

Cat trembled from head to toe. Fear had somehow managed to hold her in its icy embrace. She’d never liked the unknown. Leave it to her to fall in love with a portrait, and have said man in portrait come to life only to tell her he didn’t know if he’d be abl
e to hang on for the long haul.

“You know what? Let’s not do this now. I’m hungry. Are you hungry? I bet Alec is driving Elspeth nuts.” Cat stood and moved toward the door. “We’ll talk about this later.”

Braden followed her. “I’ll let you hide from this conversation for now. Tonight we will talk.”

That’s what Cat was afraid of; well, that and exactly what he’d say.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Dinner was over sooner than Cat wanted it to be. She enjoyed spending time with both men but wasn’t surprised when Alec opted to play on the computer rather than socialize. This, of course, meant she was alone with Braden and she would never complain about that.

“Come with me, Catrìona.” Braden held out his hand.

She again found herself following where Braden led. Cat was surprised when he stopped and picked two down coats from a cupboard and helped her into one of them. “Where are we going?”

“Some place where we can talk and not have to worry about being interrupted.”

“Couldn’t we just go to your room?”

“Alec will no doubt make his way there like he has in the past. This is a serious conversation, and I don’t want him popping up.”

The truth of that statement couldn’t be ignored. “Okay, where are we going?”

“For a little walk. You’ll be fine.”

Braden twined his fingers with hers and offered a small wink. Cat felt her insides melt. “But it’s dark outside.”

Braden held up a flashlight. “I asked Elspeth for a lantern.”

“Actually, that’s called a flashlight.”

“Well, whatever you want to call it, it will provide us with the light we need to tra
vel safely to our destination.”

Together they made their way through the garden and down some wooden steps that cut into the side of the cliff. The slippery wood caused Cat to cling to the railing. Once they reached the bottom, Braden led them to a bench.

The sound of the waves crashed against the beach. Cat shivered from the cold wind off the surf until Braden pulled her close. “I used to come down here when I was a lad. There were no stairs, mind, and I’d have to scale the cliff.”

Cat didn’t want to think about how dangerous that was, so instead focused on the reason why they were down by the water on such a cool fall evening. “Okay, we’re safe from prying ears and intrusions. What did you want to talk about?”

Braden tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear and pulled her close against his chest. The even pounding of his heart reassured Cat he was real, and this wasn’t a dream. She snuggled into his warmth and waited.

“You asked me a few questions and I owe you answers. I thought I would start with my past and hopefully that will help answer your questions regarding the future,” Braden spoke softly.

“Okay.”

“You already know my name, but really that’s superficial.”

Cat refused to look up; rather she remained where she was listening to his breath and heart, waiting.

“How much of the journal did you read?”

“Only two entries. Why?”

Braden kissed her forehead. “Because I was not sure how far I needed to go, and how much I needed to tell you.”

“I never managed to read much between work, planning the trip here . . . I just forgot about it, what with everything that’s happened.”

“No matter. I will fill in the details.” He took a deep breath and continued. “I was born in the year of Our Lord 1235. Times were turbulent, and the strength of each clan was determined by the connections created through marriage.”

Cat already knew this and his comments brought to mind the dream she had regarding a meeting with a young Braden.

“I was betrothed to Catrìona MacDougall when she was a verra young lass.” He tipped her head back ever so gently and said, “You were beautiful.”

Cat pulled back and sputtered. “What do you mean?”

“You and I were meant to be together. We’re soul mates, and I’ve waited lifetimes to hold you in my arms.”

His words should have come as a surprise, but they didn’t. This was a man she’d dreamt about for years. Yet, she didn’t really know him. Now more than anything Cat wished she’d read the journal, and made a mental note to pull it out and read more of it.

“Although we met when you were only six, I traveled to your family’s keep and visited you for several years. Your clan was not very nice to you because of the English blood in your veins. I worried something would happen to you.”

Cat was not familiar with her family history. It seemed weird to hear of her past life from a person who had known her and shared experiences with her that she barely remembered.

“As time passed and you grew into a beautiful young woman, our relationship changed. I was now laird of my clan and had a difficult time traveling to see you. Since we were already set to marry, and I couldn’t go long without seeing you, Alec and I traveled with some of my men to bring you home with me.”

Cat sat up and in the dim light cast from the moon, she gazed at his handsome visage. “You sound almost besotted.”

“I admit I was. I loved you. From the start you spoke to my teenage heart. I was only thirteen, and yet you delighted me.”

Cat laughed softly. “I’ve never managed to hold a man’s attention like that before.”

“Aye, you have, lass. You’ve always held me spellbound. I couldn’t wait for you to seek your dreams, so we could be together.”

“Yeah, about that. How did you get into my dreams? The two journal entries I managed to read were eerily similar. Both women dreamed of you. Their descriptions were the same.”

Braden pulled her back against his body. She relished his heat and the comfort he offered.

“There was bad blood between our clans for years. The marriage alliance was hoped to put an end to the friction that plagued both families. Unfortunately, I was so focused on your family and getting you safely to my keep that I sought help from the wrong person. In doing so, I helped to set in motion the events that led to Alec and me being cursed to living in the fade until my soul mate released me.” He tipped her head back and kissed her softly. “That person was you. You are the reincarnated soul of my long lost love. I came to many in their dreams, but none had the power or the love in their heart to release us.”

“I don’t understand. How were you cursed?”

“I spoke with Morgana, a druid priestess, hoping she would give me protection in taking you from your home before we were to wed. I knew that this could cause problems, and I wanted our journey to be a safe one. What I didn’t ken at the time was that she fancied herself in love with me. I never considered her as a mate, and certainly never realized she had these feelings for me. When I approached her to protect us, her jealousy took control, and she cursed your existence and my ability to live happily with my heart’s desire.”

Cat didn’t like the direction this story was going. Any kind of curse was bad news. Was she still cursed? Oh Lord, that would explain a great deal in her life. But seriously, who needed to be cursed from birth? Still she kept her mouth shut and listened to the story Braden was intent on telling.

“On our journey back to Castle Ross, we were ambushed by banished clansmen from different clans that had come together under Morgana’s leadership. They killed you while I was held captive.”

Cat gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. No one likes to be told of their own death, even if it had
been centuries earlier. “Braden . . .”

“Shh. Lass, let me finish. Morgana allowed you to die within my arms, with my kiss upon your mouth. She thought she tormented me with the fact I could not protect the woman who held my heart. What she had not taken into consideration was she was giving me a gift. To hold y
ou and comfort you soothed me.”

He stopped his narrative and gently kissed her once again. Cat wasn’t aware that she was crying until Braden gently brushed the drops off her cheeks. His mouth continued to move against hers in the most tender of kisses. This was not a kiss meant to seduce; this embrace was almost apologetic. Cat didn’t want an apology. She firmly believed in fate and although it had taken them apart before, it was kind enough to bring them back together again.

She pulled back and cupped his face with her hands. “Don’t be sorry, Braden.” She kissed him hard on his supple mouth. Cat drew on his lower lip, suckling it gently before nipping it ever so lightly. With a hairsbreadth between them, she whispered, “I love how you taste. Spicy and woody, like whisky.” She didn’t wait for a reply before she took his mouth again.

They kissed for a few more moments. The longer their lips touched the more her body burned as if it were on fire. She ached, wanting to feel him everywhere. Their tongues tangled in an erotic dance. Kissi
ng Braden was like coming home.

He was first to break the kiss. His breathing heavy, he struggled to say, “I need to finish this tale. Then you can decide if you’d like me to accompany you to your home.”

“I don’t understand. There’s nothing you could say that will change my mind about wanting you with me.”

Before he continued he turned off the flashlight, allowing the darkness to mask his torment. Even after the passage of eight hundred years, the memory stung as if it were a fresh wound. In a voice husky with emotion to his own ears, he continued, “After your life drained from your body, I was consumed by an anger that burned from the inside out. I wanted to destroy that which had devastated my life, my future. But Morgana anticipated my actions. Before I could raise my sword to fight the men around me, she pricked me with a poisoned dagger. I fell where I stood and watched helplessly as my men were slaughtered. The poison was slow acting, paralyzing my limbs and leaving me powerless. Once all of my men, except Alec, were slain, Morgana cursed me and my cousin to the pain and agony of never knowing true love’s kiss until your soul returned to the mortal plain. She wanted me to suffer as she had. Her cruelty was legendary and, in my belief, her soul was black. Nothing short of my death would have appeased her.”

It was too much to imagine and a great deal to process. “Are you telling me that I am, or rather was, your savior?”

Braden cupped her face gently. “You, my lass, are and always will be my redemption and my future.”

The only word Cat could think of in that moment was, wow with a capital W. She was by turns honored yet at the same time conflicted. This put so much more pressure on an already tense situation. “What you’ve told me tonight is almost too fantastic to believe.” She offered a small smile. “But given what’s happened over the course of my life, and what has taken place in the last few days, it would be silly to say I don’t believe. It certainly has not changed my mind about you coming to Louisiana with me. I don’t blame you for what happened, if that was your fear. The past is just that, the past.”

Braden was overcome with relief. His tale had been amazing, and he knew enough to admit he had feared Catrìona’s rationality would balk at such a story. He stood and pulled her to his side. “‘Tis glad I am to hear you say this. You were brave then and now. I look forward to seeing the place you call home.”

Cat was confused. “I thought you already saw my time through my dreams.”

Braden smiled. “Aye, lass, I did. But I couldn’t leave the confines of your bedchamber.”

Well, that made sense. Cat resisted the urge to smack herself on the forehead. Duh. “I’d love to show you the magic of New Orleans.”

“Come, let’s get you to bed. We have a great deal to do before we leave.”

For the first time in a long time, Cat didn’t fear the things yet to come. Braden was going to return to the States. He’d confessed that they had a future together. What more could she want?