Love Beyond Dreams (A Scottish Time Travel Romance): Book 6 (Morna's Legacy Series) (2 page)

Not that I overly minded really. How could I complain when I’d been able to spend the last six months in a gorgeous castle painting in a storybook-like tower and my evenings cuddling the fluffiest puppy I’d ever seen?

“You’re right. I’m certain she has no intention of staying here. You’re old friends though. Maybe you can talk her down on the price and buy it like you said?”

“If it were only Tracy, I might convince her, but Mark has his money for a reason. He willna accept a penny less than what it’s worth. It’s a shame. Cagair needs someone who loves it to stay and care for it—to live in it.”

“Yes, it does.” I motioned my head toward the door. “Are you about to head out?”

“Aye, I just thought I’d come and tell ye goodbye. I’ll see ye on Monday. Will ye be all right here all by yerself?”

I stood with him in the foyer and glanced around at the beautiful stones and soft lights installed to modernize the place in a way that made it functional for future generations. I loved everything about this castle. I would be more than okay staying here by myself. I would love every minute of it.
 

“Absolutely. You two go and have a great time.”

CHAPTER 2

The Caves Near Cagair Castle

1649

Marion thought the waves should frighten him, should serve as a fierce reminder of how close he’d come to losing his life so many moons ago. They didn’t, for he couldn’t bring himself to be scared of something he didn’t remember. Instead, he found the water to be a balm to his sore skin and soul—a place where he felt most at home in a world that now seemed so unfamiliar. His arms moved with ease, his head lifting and falling as he breathed in the wet, salty air. He only allowed himself a few moments in the water each day, and he reveled in them. For there among the waves, he didn’t have to try to remember everything that he could not.

He didn’t remember his fall into the water or the slight but strong arms of Marion who pulled his seemingly lifeless body off the shore and into her cave. The days and weeks following were a haze of pain and messy dreams, but all of that seemed so far away now.
 

His bones were now healed, his skin scarred but no longer open, and his mind was as whole as he imagined it would ever be. He could remember nothing before Marion’s hands found him at the water’s edge, and the loss of himself remained a constant torment to his mind.

What if he had family or friends who cared for him, that thought him dead or missing? He hated the thought that his broken mind might keep those he loved but no longer knew in a state of endless grief.
 

 
He dressed quickly after his swim and made the short walk to where he fished each day. Despite the loss of his memories, his skills remained. He could catch fish in half the time it took Marion to do the same task. They planned to meet on the rocks so that he could start teaching her the proper way to fish. He wondered how she survived for so long on her own with the way she did it, bouncing and lashing down at the water like some sort of forest bear. He needed to begin working with her soon. It would take time to improve her skills, and he couldn’t stay here forever.

He smiled when he saw her. Her dark black hair, wild and tangled, blew in the wind around her face as she held up a hand to block the sun. From such a distance, Marion looked much younger than she did up close. He couldn’t help but wonder how old she really was. Her gentle mannerisms made her seem young, but the deep lines in her face aged her considerably.
 

Not that it mattered, he knew even less about her than she did of him, and that suited them both just fine. It made theirs an easy sort of friendship. He would forever be grateful to her for saving his life. He only hoped that she would understand his need to leave here.
 

He wasn’t sure she could see him with the sun blinding her eyes, but he knew when she spoke that she could at least hear him approaching.
 

“Craig, what took ye so long? Did ye swim to the other side of the ocean and back?”

There were times, brief and fleeting, when something would pull at some lost corner of a memory. Each time Marion called him Craig was one of those. While he didn’t know what his name was, he knew it wasn’t Craig. He had to remind himself to reply to the name each and every time.
 

“’Tis no my name, Marion. And it dinna take me any longer than usual. ’Tis only that ye are no usually about here waiting for me to finish.”

Marion nodded and stood. He knew she was ready to begin the lesson.
 

“True enough, but doona tell me no to call ye Craig. Until the day ye are able to tell me yer real name, ’tis what I shall call ye. For it means ‘rocks’ and ’twas the rocks from which ye fell.”
 

He’d spent every day since he was strong enough to walk looking up at the perilous rocks leading to Cagair Castle. He couldn’t imagine how anyone could survive such a fall, but Marion swore that was when she first saw him—tumbling from the rocks that lay far above them, crashing into the ocean before he washed ashore at her feet.
 

“Are ye ready for me to show ye how to fish so ye can catch enough to feed yerself without me?”

She looked squarely at him, crossed both arms, and sat back down on the rocks before motioning for him to do the same. “No. We willna be fishing this day. Come and sit next to me, Craig.”
 

“Ye dinna need to say that name right then, Marion. I know at times ye must say the name ye have given me to get my attention, but ye could have just ended after saying, ‘come and sit next to me.’ Ye dinna have to say ‘Craig.’”

She smiled and nudged him as he sat next to her. “Aye, I know it.”

He waited for her to finish laughing before speaking again. “Now, what do ye mean we willna be fishing this day? I’ve spent enough days with ye to know that ye willna be willing to go without eating.”

“Ye are right, I willna go without eating. I’ve already caught three fish all on my own, and I fed myself for many years before ye came along. Yer way might be better, but mine works just fine for me.”

“Mayhap so, but I’d still like to teach ye during the time I have left here.”

“And just how much time to do ye think that might be?”
 

He shrugged, hoping that his answer wouldn’t upset her. Guilt always filled him when he thought about leaving Marion, but he couldn’t stay with her. If his memories didn’t return, he had to start anew in whatever way he could. He didn’t wish for the sort of solitude Marion seemed to crave.

“Two moons, no more.”

Her snort took him aback.
 

“Two moons? Ye plan to stay that long? I’ve spent more time with ye than I have another person in years, and I doona care for it. Ye no longer need time or help to heal. ’Tis time that ye prepare to leave me here.”

It wasn’t the reaction he expected from her, but he couldn’t help but be relieved that Marion wouldn’t be sad to see him go. She was the only friend he had, the only person he knew at all. He didn’t want to cause her pain in any way but as he was learning more and more, loneliness seemed to suit the strange, cave-dwelling wildling.
 

“If ye think it best, I can leave come morning.”

“Aye, I do. ’Tis time for us to part ways, ye and I. Being near ye has stirred feelings that I had for others long ago. They are best left forgotten.”

It was the most sentimental statement he’d ever heard from her, and he wondered if perhaps he’d already stayed longer than he should have.
 

“Marion,” he glanced over at her. The sadness in her eyes took him aback. He reached for her hand before he thought better of it. She flinched away from him, but he continued with his question. “Why doona ye come with me? Leave this place and start a life anew for yerself? I doona know what happened in yer life to cause ye to seek such solitude, but ye doona have to remain in it. We could venture out together.”

She pushed herself up from the rocks, bent to gather the fish she’d caught on her own, and turned away from him before speaking.
 

“No. I’ve no desire for that. Ye will leave on yer own come morning. Climb to the top of the rocks tonight, and cross the bridge into the village so that ye might decide where ye wish to start out tomorrow. I never see anyone about the castle. Ye should be able to cross the castle grounds unnoticed.”

He already knew that. He’d spent many evenings making his way to the top of the island where the castle lay, taking long walks in the moonlight around its grounds. He’d not yet dared to cross the bridge leading to the village, but it seemed that tonight Marion was giving him no choice but to do just that.
 

It was time for his life to start all over again.
 

CHAPTER 3

Cagair Castle

Present Day

I enjoyed my weekend alone in the castle with Toby. I really had, but regardless of how much I reveled in being able to stay in my pajamas until noon and take multiple bubble baths a day, I still found myself quite ready for Aiden, Anne, and the rest of the construction crew to return when Monday morning arrived.
 

At first, when nobody showed up, I assumed their travel had been somehow delayed and Aiden didn’t want his men to start work without him. Despite my disappointment, I didn’t worry about them overmuch and went about my normal weekday routine.

I walked Toby, showered, dressed, ate some breakfast, and went to painting rather aimlessly at a blank piece of canvas. Before I knew it, the day slipped away, as it often did when I was painting. It wasn’t until Toby finally lost his patience and sunk his sharp, needle-like teeth into my foot in an effort to get me to stop and play that I glanced up to see that the sun had already started its descent.

Aiden still hadn’t arrived, and that realization made me worry. He wasn’t the sort of person to not call when plans changed.
 

Needing to alleviate my paranoia that something terrible had happened to him, I pulled Toby away from my foot and into my arms before taking out my phone to give him a call. When there was no answer, I left him a short message before setting Toby back on the ground so that I could quickly clean up my mess as I rationalized all of the possible reasons for his absence.
 

Perhaps they’d decided to extend their weekend getaway, or he’d lost his cell phone. There were a great many logical possibilities so I resolved myself to letting go of any worry before it was absolutely necessary.
 

Toby would help me with that, as he continued to make it very clear that he’d spent enough time waiting for me to finish my work. I had to give the little guy some credit. He dutifully slept or bounced around at my feet all day while I worked, but now, an hour away from sunset, he started to demand that we get outdoors for at least part of the day. I couldn’t blame him at all.
 

I looked down at him and smiled. Toby knew, after spending so many months with me, that this particular lift of the corner of my mouth signaled the end of my work and the start of him getting some real attention. He began running around the room like a mad man, spinning in circles around my feet and doing a pretty effective job at herding me out of the tower room.
 

The pup ran down the steps in front of me, stopping and pausing at each landing as he waited for me to catch up. The moment I reached him, he would take off once again. When we were finally down the stairs, I looked at him as I always did and pointed one finger at each end of the castle.
 

“Which is it today, Toby? The front or the back.”

The front, as Toby knew, meant a nice long walk around the front grounds of the castle; the back, a game of fetch. He barked and took off toward the front door.
 

“A walk it is then.”
 

I laughed and paused by the front door to slip on my shoes before reaching for the handle. When I pulled the door open, I looked down expecting Toby to run ahead of me at full speed. Instead, he walked slowly out the door while wagging his tail rapidly before he stopped and sniffed at a pair of tiny shoes standing just outside the doorway. I’d been so focused on Toby that I didn’t notice the boy until I saw his shoes.
 

“Well, hello. Did you knock? I am so sorry. I’ve been upstairs working so I didn’t hear you if you did. Can I help you with something?”

Only then, as I looked up from his shoes and into his face, did I notice that he carried a large suitcase in one hand.

“Hi there. Is it okay if I come in? This bag is awfully heavy. I packed a bunch of my dinosaurs to play with. I don’t get to play with them much at home ’cause people start asking questions and then I get kinda tongue-tied.”

Baffled, I leaned my head out of the doorway to see if any sort of parental figure appeared to be accompanying him. When I saw no one, I stepped aside and allowed him to enter. Cagair Castle wasn’t the sort of place someone just walked up to accidentally. He didn’t have the wrong address. If he was here, there was a reason for it, but as I watched him walk inside, I didn’t have the slightest idea what it could be.