Highland Shifter (MacCoinnich Time Travel) (14 page)

He stood back as Helen pulled the older woman into her arms. “I’m doing the right thing, right?”

“Oh, dear, you
’ve the best tour guide with you. I’m jealous. Make sure you bring him back in a kilt.”

Helen chuckled. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, dear.”

The foliage surrounding Mrs. Dawson
’s backyard and the mile of distance of her nearest neighbor gave Simon the privacy he needed.

Helen
’s hand shook in his as he led her away from the house. Lizzy had spoken of the power of Druid blood and how it aided her return. Helen wouldn’t like what Simon was about to do. “I need your hand.”

Helen lifted her left hand and he removed a small knife he
’d retrieved from Mrs. Dawson’s kitchen.

“What
’s that for?”

“We only need a few drops.” He lifted the blade to her finger and she tugged away.

“I don’t like this.”

“You need to trust me.”

She sucked in her lower lip and thrust her hand to his again. He made a small cut in her finger and did the same to his. After tucking the knife in his pocket, he gathered both their hands and squeezed small drops of blood in a circle around them.

Once he completed the small circle, he willed fire to leap from his fingers and catch into a ring. Helen pushed closer to his frame, the heat of her skin met his. Her breath caught and her breasts pushed against the fabric of her shirt. With his non-bleeding hand, Simon pulled her softly into his embrace. “Trust me.”

Something flickered in her eyes and Simon placed her bleeding finger and his, to the pendant on her neck. Then he began to speak. “In this night and in this hour, we ask the Ancients for this power. Send us now across the sea, to be back with my family. If the Ancients will it so, send us now and let us go.”

A familiar rumble of the earth jolted beneath them and fear raced through Helen
’s body.

Simon did the only thing he could think of to distract her.

He leaned forward and melted his lips to hers.

Chapter Twelve

The world exploded around her. Unlike the last time Simon had kissed her, this time felt safe, rational, and more grounded than the falling earth. The palm of his hand flattened against hers as their bodies plunged into time. The soft dance of his lips parted hers until his tongue explored deeper. The rush of noise around them grew as it had before but all Helen could hear was the pounding of her own heart and the rushing of blood through her veins.

The long, firm length of Simon’s hardened body pressed so close she couldn’t move a finger without touching him somewhere. He was delicious, smooth, and infinitely more experienced at kissing and distraction than Helen ever thought she’d be.

She felt his thigh push between hers and her hips surged forward with a will of their own. A deep coil of desire produced a moan against Simon
’s lips.

The world quieted around them, and Helen
’s body felt as if it were wrapped in a warm, soft cloud. Simon’s hand lifted from her neck to her cheek. He broke away from her lips, and Helen slowly opened her eyes to find him staring. She moved to lift her arm but found it wedged between Simon and something. She tugged again and turned her head. Helen’s face met with a soft pillow.

They had landed in a bed, with Simon
’s knee wedged intimately between her legs.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice low and deep in his chest.

She glanced beyond his shoulder, ignoring their tangled limbs, and noticed the cold stone walls and high ceilings. The bed was nothing like she’d slept in before. Massive wood posts framed a mattress of some sort. Across the room was an empty, dark fireplace and sitting chair arranged in front of it.

“Where are we?”

He smiled and pulled in a deep full breath as if he was tasting fresh air for the first time in years. “Home,” he sighed.

“Scotland?”

“Aye.”

Another rumble sounded behind the wooden door and Simon
’s body stiffened.

The door crashed open and several people stormed the room all at once.

Helen would have bounded from the bed had Simon not been holding her. She only managed to untangle their limbs before a beautiful blonde woman dressed in an ornate rust colored gown ran toward the bed. “Simon.”

Simon stood up, drawing Helen with him. “I take it you missed me.”

Helen stepped away as the woman threw her arms around Simon. “You scared the crap out of me.”

“Did you think I wouldn
’t return, Mom?”

More family filled the room, each of them glanced Helen
’s way but swiftly returned their attention to Simon.

Helen took a moment to soak in the massive amount of people.
My God, he said his family was large, but this makes the Waltons look like ‘orphans’.
The men were massive, all over six feet tall and thick as steel. The women might not be as large, but their presence wasn’t a timid shadow behind the men. And beautiful, they were all stunning in their own way. Even the children who sneaked around the adults were pretty.

No wonder Simon was anxious to return. Who wouldn
’t love the support of a family this large?

“You must be Helen.” The oldest woman in the room acknowledged her first.

“How do you know my name?”

“Your pack…” The woman glanced at the woman who must be Lizzy.

“Backpack,” Lizzy said.

“Your backpack arrived without you.”

“Oh.”

“Helen,” Simon called from over several heads. He lifted a hand to her, on autopilot; she moved to his side and welcomed the comfort of his familiar presence. With a hand to the small of her back, Simon started the introductions. “As you may have guessed, this is my mother Elizabeth and my father Finlay.”

Helen accepted a smile from Lizzy and Fin stepped forward and took her hand in his. He kissed the back of it and winked at her when her face flushed.

“The Laird of this clan, Ian and his wife Lora. Grandparents of my heart.”

“’Tis good to see you home, lad.” Ian didn’t bother kissing her hand, he pulled her into a hug that compressed all the air from her lungs. When he released her, he left his hands on her arms and squeezed. “Many thanks for bringing him home, lass. Our house is yours.”

“Ah, thanks.”

“Welcome,” Lora said.

“Duncan and Tara, my aunt and uncle.”

Duncan kissed her hand.

“There isn
’t a test on the names, feel free to ask,” Tara suggested.

“I
’ll have to do that.”

“You might remember Todd, the missing cop?” Todd waved and skipped the hand kissing. His face was vaguely familiar. “And his wife Myra. Again, an aunt and an uncle.”

Myra was very pregnant as she greeted Helen from across the room. Helen waved with a short “Hi.”

“Amber.” Simon pointed out.

Amber waved.

“And Cian.” Cian was slightly larger than Simon, but the tight edge of his jaw had Helen swallowing hard.

“Don’t forget us,” one of the children said.

Small arms lifted to Simon. He quickly picked up the child and offered a tickle with a smile. “This is Aislin, Myra and Todd
’s youngest child. Over there is her big brother Jake. Selma, Kyle, and Tavish are my sister and brothers.” Selma was a beautiful teenage girl and her brothers not far behind in age. “Briac, Fiona, and Ian belong to Duncan and Tara.”

Tara spoke up again. “There really isn
’t a test. In fact, kids?” The children turned to Tara. “Be sure and tell Miss Adams your name when you speak with her to help her remember.”

A chorus of “Yes, Aunt Tara” and “Yes, Mom,” followed.

“Please call me Helen.”

“We have the easy part.
’Tis you who will stumble over names for weeks.” This came from one of the boys, his name already forgotten. “I’m Kyle,” he reminded her.

“Thanks, but I don
’t think I’ll be staying here for weeks.”

Kyle titled his head to the side and furrowed his brow. “Yes, you will.”

The convicted tone of the child would have been comical if it wasn’t for the fact that all the people surrounding her had one skill or another. Telekinesis, premonitions, reading people’s minds…heck, Simon’s father could cause an earthquake and his grandfather could charge lightning from the sky. So to hear a ten-year-old tell her she wasn’t going anywhere made her squirm. Did he know something she didn’t?

Simon must have sensed her unease. He moved closer and placed a hand on her waist again. “Helen and I have some unfinished business to take care of at her home.”

That caught the attention of the adults. The children appeared unaffected.

“What kind of business?” Fin, earthquake man, and Simon
’s step dad said. The names might not be too difficult to remember if Helen could match them with their Druid power.

Simon glanced at the kids and raised his brow.

Lizzy stepped forward. “My guess is we have a lot to discuss. Let’s get Helen dressed, and we’ll continue this over dinner.”

Dressed? Helen glanced down at her jeans and t-shirt then at all the women in the room. Lord, when was the last time she even wore a dress?

“How did you manage to travel, Simon? None of the stones were missing.”

“Helen
’s necklace.”

Simon glanced down at Helen
’s neck, and his smile slid from his face.

“What?”

“Don’t panic.”

Oh, God, nothing good ever came from those words. “What?”

“What necklace, Uncle Simon?”

Helen lowered her eyes to her chest.

It was gone. Her necklace, her ticket home, was gone.

* * * *

All the color in Helen’s face washed away in the space of one breath. She pushed passed him and jumped back onto his bed, tearing the coverings away in an attempt to find her time-traveling necklace.

“It
’s got to be here.”

Lizzy narrowed her gaze.

“She has a necklace that opens the portal of time,” Simon explained. “It’s how we got here.”

“It
’s not here,” Helen cried franticly.

Simon reached over and placed a hand on Helen
’s shoulder. “’Tis okay, lass, we’ll find it.”

Tara motioned the kids out of the room.

“How am I going to get home?”

“We have other stones to move you.”

“You do? Oh, yeah…you do.” Helen nodded now, her eyes still wide with uncertainty. The fact that Helen allowed his arm to stay around her waist as he helped her off the bed and onto her feet was a testament to how unbalanced she felt.

“What does it look like?” Lizzy walked around the bed and looked at the floor.

“The pendant is made of a plain rock, the chain and setting has Celtic knots wound together.”

Amber, who had moved around the bed with his Mom, stopped Liz from kneeling to search for the missing necklace.

“Was the stone this big?” Amber raised her hand and circled her forefinger with her thumb.

“Aye,” Simon told her.

“The necklace isn’t lost, it doesn’t exist yet.”

“Excuse me?” Helen asked.

“After Simon went to your time, five of the sacred stones multiplied leaving large and small stones beside them. I’ve only recently started creating pieces of jewelry to disguise them. ’Tis safe to conclude from your return that after the smaller stones have been generated both cannot be present in the same time. Hence, your necklace simply vanished once you returned.”

“But I came and went before and nothing happened.”

“The small stones weren’t born yet,” Lizzy said. “When Fin and I returned with one stone from the future many years ago, that stone disappeared.”

Helen shook her head. “I don
’t get it.”

“Not to worry, lass,” Ian said. “All you need do is assist Amber in creating the necklace, and you
’ll be able to return home with as much ease as you’ve traveled here today.”

“But we need to get back right away, don
’t we?” Helen glanced up at Simon.

“We
’ve all the time in the world. When we return we’ll do so within minutes of our leaving. We are talking time travel, love. As long as we don’t try to return to a time when we are already there, everything will work out.”

Helen barked a tiny laugh. “I wouldn
’t want to disappear while staring at myself from across the room.”

“Exactly. Now why don
’t you go with my mother and the others, and I’ll meet you back downstairs when you’re ready.”

Simon could see a slight hesitation before Helen nodded and allowed herself to be led from the room.