Highlander's Beloved 02 - A Highlander's Passion Read online

  His chest puffed out and his jaw hardened. “I just dare anyone to utter a word against yer choices. No one challenges me fiancée.”

  She stepped into his arms and relaxed against the strength of him. He’d promised he’d cherish and protect her and, so far, he seemed to be honoring his pledge. She placed her lips to his ear. “Thank ye, man that I love.” His hug strengthened as he pulled her closer.

  By the time she moved out of his embrace, she’d made her decision. “I’ll agree to the date and the three fires outside. Floral wreaths fer the women’s heads would be a nice touch. I guess I can even handle everyone marching into the triangle created by the fires and singing. But, please, let’s keep the group small. Yer family, the staff here, me aunt Una, and the heads of the clan we dinna want to insult. Absolutely no more than forty people. I am, after all, still in mourning and I willna bring shame to me new family. I willna wear white. Colleen will be me flower girl.” She reached for Paisley’s hand. “Would ye do me the honor of being me matron of honor? I mean, will ye feel good enough, do ye think?”

  Paisley hugged her. “Nothing would please me more.” Creighton’s wife, whom everyone seemed to adore, glanced around the room. “A lovely, simple wedding with an ancient theme. I think it sounds exquisite. Don’t you all agree?”

  Creighton slipped a bottle of champagne from a bucket of ice and popped the cork. “Family that I love, we have just planned a wedding.” He held up a bottle of grape juice, icy water sliding down its sides. “Where is our wee sweet bairn? Me pregnant wife canna drink this whole bottle of white grape juice by herself. The child needs to be included in the family festivities.”

  Bryce thumbed a text into his mobile. “She’ll be here in a flash.” He smiled at Kenzie. “We’ll have to leave fer the movie in about two hours. Are ye up to all the excitement of an afternoon at the cinema with her?”

  In a matter of minutes, the front door slammed and hurried footsteps charged into the hallway. The ball of excitement, in the body of a five-year-old, skidded to a stop at the doorway. “How many days until I get me mum for real?”

  Creighton poured champagne into flutes Cook Edweena had carried in earlier. “Sixteen days, me wee sweet bairn.”

  Once everyone in the room had a glass of either champagne or grape juice, laird Creighton made the toasts, as was the custom. “ʼTis a proud day for me to toast the upcoming nuptials of me baby brother, someone I hold dear. Someone who helped save me life, as did me other brother. Aye, I’ve been blessed with a good, strong family. We Matheson men love being Scots, but we love as well that our women are from other countries. Let’s all toast Bryce, our groom.”

  Everyone sipped from their flutes, except for Colleen, who gulped her grape juice until her glass was empty. Creighton refilled it before he began his second toast.

  Holding his flute high, Creighton cast his gaze on Kenzie, and the heat of a blush warmed her cheeks. “I’m proud me brother finally admitted to his deep feelings fer Kenzie. We ken he’s had them for a long time. We also ken she’s had a lot of pain in her life and it ends today. Fer we Mathesons believe in spoiling our women. Och, not with trinkets, but with the power of our love and the strength of our protection. So, we toast the future Kenzie Denune Matheson.”

  Once more, everyone sipped at their bubbly while Colleen emptied her glass and waved it in front of her uncle for a refill. He rolled his eyes and filled it only half-full this time.

  “Every bride needs a beautiful attendant and Kenzie’s done my leannan the honor of asking her. So let’s toast me wife, the matron of honor.”

  This time when Colleen waved her empty flute in front of Creighton, he narrowed one eye and glared. “Little Colleen, if ye keep drinking like a drunk on Saturday night, ye’ll be in the lavvy taking a piss and missing the toast to ye.”

  She started jumping, her curls bouncing too. “A toast to me? Really?”

  He held the bottle of grape juice over her glass. “Aye. When toasts are offered like this, especially in the middle of the day, we take sips. We dinna drink like drunken numpties.”

  Her little arms wrapped around his leg. “I’m awful sorry, Uncle Creigh. Ye know I love ye.” She flashed him a heart-melting smile and his large hand ruffled her curls. Then she held her new necklace out for him to see, no doubt hoping to divert his attention from her bad manners just a little more. “Look, me new mum gave me one of her necklaces. It’s her birthstone…an ‘ima-pissed.’ ”

  While everyone else in the office laughed, Creighton scowled and checked the label on the juice bottle again. “Child, ye even sound bloody sauced.” He poured enough for one sip, then raised his flute again. “Everyone kens a wedding is more special when there’s a flower girl. Our wee sweet bairn will do the honors at this wedding and spread rose petals for her future mum to walk on as she steps toward her future husband.”

  ʼTwas the most comical sight Kenzie had ever seen, for as soon as Creighton mentioned “flower girl,”’ Colleen jumped a foot in the air, tossed her glass as she squealed, ran first to hug her da and then to embrace Kenzie…and then to the lavvy.

  Chapter 16

  While the child was out of the room, Kenzie spoke to the entire group. “One of me recollections of me father is that he smelled of sulfur. Do all of ye ken what it smells like?” She glanced at the brothers. “Do yer bears? Because to protect ourselves I think we all need to be able to identify the distinctive odor.”

  She glanced at Bryce and chewed on her bottom lip. “Ye have talked about how I’ll be part of this family. Loved. Safe. Protected. Surely ye ken I feel the same way about all of ye. I worry one of ye will be hurt because of me. That’s why I think we should have Colleen and all of the staff smell some sulfur too, because the monster, me biological father, can change forms and shapes.”

  Ronan set his empty flute on the tray. “Ye mean like a shape-shifter?”

  Effie shook her head. “Worse. He can change from one sex to another, from an adult to a child, from a person to liquid to gas. Kenzie is quite right: Being able to identify his odor is so important. And his eyes. Tell them about his eyes.”

  “His eyes are a silvery gray and, when he becomes angry, they turn almost white. I recall being afraid of his eyes as a child.” A tremor of decades-old fear shuddered through her.

  Creighton slipped his mobile from his pocket and dialed a number. “Murphy, ye got any sulfur in the barn or one of the sheds? Bring a bottle to me office, please.”

  Fiona laid aside her pad of wedding plans. “Years ago, when Duff talked about allowing Kenzie to retain those helpful memories of her da’s smell and his nearly silver or white eyes, he was conflicted about whether he should erase her memory or not. We talked about it fer several days before he agreed to do it. In his heart, I think he already considered ye one of ours. We dinna do arranged marriages anymore, but he had a strong feeling about ye and Bryce. He would often say how ye two belonged together.”

  Bryce stepped behind Kenzie and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Good ole da. He kent his stuff.”

  “Aye.” Fiona’s face warmed with a smile. “He was the best. The man had so much wisdom in his soul. ʼTwill never be another like him. I suppose that’s why I love me sons so, fer ye each convey special parts of yer da’s personality. Duff carried a great responsibility for what he’d done to ya, Kenzie. He took not only yer memory, but yer identity, yer national heritage…everything.” Her hands rose and fell.

  “He believed, in his heart, ye would one day marry Bryce. So, he did what he could to help ye ken who and what ye are. He made me promise to give ye a VCR tape he made of yer mother talking about all that happened. I’ve kept it in the back of the safe all these years. Because of the ancient Viking curse, he died a week after all this transpired. I only hope he was at peace with what he did as he stepped through the veil to the other side.” Fiona exhaled a shaky breath and pivoted to look out the window, seemingly lost in her memories.

  A knock sounded and Creighton w
ent to the door, where he took a dust-covered jar from a man in coveralls. “Thanks. I’ll bring it back to ye later.” The man nodded before turning away.

  Fiona swung a picture on hinges away from the wall beside Creighton’s desk and keyed in the combination of the hidden safe. “Bryce, I might need yer long arms and height to reach the tape. It’s in the back behind the stack of old ledgers.”

  Bryce reached in and extracted an old VCR tape and handed it to Kenzie. He pointed to the notation and whispered, “That’s Da’s precise printing. I’ve seen it off and on over the years, on old records and cards Mum keeps in the drawer of her nightstand. I ken she reads them often at night. She’s never gotten over losing him.”

  On the cassette box was printed “Fer Kenzie and Bryce, on the day of their engagement. Twenty-five minutes long.” A shiver scampered up Kenzie’s spine. Duff Matheson must have been able to see into the future. How could he ken the two of them would eventually become engaged? Sure he could wish it, but…

  Ronan was already removing an old VCR machine and remote from one of the cabinets in the office. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll have this hooked up to the telly in here so we can watch it.” He slid the television around so he could hook up the cables and connect the player to the set.

  Warm hands covered Kenzie’s shoulders, and a chestnut head of hair lowered into her peripheral vision. “Do ye want all of us in here with ye the first time ye watch it or do ye want to be alone?” Bryce’s considerate question jarred her out of her stupor—she hadna realized she was clasping the tape to her breasts.

  She leaned her back against his strong chest. “Will ye stay and watch it with me? We’ll decide then if we want to show it to everyone else…and when. We have Colleen’s movie today, too.”

  Bryce kissed her neck. “Whatever ye want, luv.” He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and looked at everyone else in the room. “Because it’s going to be verra emotional fer Kenzie to see her mum again and to hear all she has to say, we’d like to watch it alone the first time or two.”

  Effie took over like a protective pink tigress. “I think that’s very wise.” She nodded. “Your mother and I will take care of Colleen until it’s time for you to leave for the movies.” She opened the door to escort everyone out. “I also think it’s a good start to your marriage that Kenzie trusts you enough to want you with her. Hold her tightly, Bryce. She’s going to need you.”

  “We Scottish men always take care of our women.” One of his hands slid from her waist to her bottom. Kenzie kent how he worked. He was trying to lighten her mood before she faced seeing and hearing her dead mother again.

  Effie hurried over, opening her large purse as she approached. “Here, Sparrow.” She shoved a wad of tissues large enough to choke a horse into Kenzie’s hand. “You’ll need these.” She spun on her baffies to catch up with Fiona. “While we’re out shopping this afternoon, maybe we can find a Scottish man for me.” Effie waggled her eyebrows. “I know just the size I want.”

  Fiona looked at Effie’s footwear. “Are ye planning on shopping in those?”

  “Oh no, I brought along a pink pair of heels.” She patted her large handbag. “They’re in here. Men love a woman in heels, you know—they always catch their eye. I think I’ll change in the large sitting room.”

  “I dinna ken if those two women running the streets of Mathe Bay alone is a wise idea. Mum’s sensible, but our lady in pink could be a bad influence.” Bryce eased the cassette from Kenzie’s grasp and pushed it into the VCR player. Once he’d turned on the television, he picked up the remote and sat next to her on the sofa. He wrapped his arm around Kenzie’s shoulders and drew her to his side. “When you need a break or want me to replay a part, tell me, luv. We dinna have to watch it all now.”

  “Nay, I do. I’ll be fine. Start it.” She leaned into his side to absorb some of his strength and took a determined breath, digging deep fer some of her own. Perhaps with the combination of both his and hers, she could get through watching this.

  Her final memories of her mum were of an emaciated woman weakened by cancer, with sunken eyes and grayish skin. Kenzie had no clue how much seeing her mum’s youthful face would hurt. The screen flashed and she sat back against the couch, her heart filled with longing and love. A pain-filled gasp escaped and the fingers of Kenzie’s free hand stretched toward the picture. In the video, her mother’s dark hair was long and curly, and when the camera did a close-up of her face, her mother’s blue and brown eyes were prominent. “I forgot she had different-colored eyes too. Even though I had her with me fer eight years after me memory was erased. Why didna I remember that?”

  “ʼTis so easy to ignore what we see every day, luv. It becomes part of our natural world, like the green of the pines or a rock by the back door.” Bryce hit the pause button. “Before we go any farther, ye need to ken something I just found out today.” He flipped the remote over and over on his thigh. “Yer real name was Roza. When me da erased yer memory, he gave ye a Scottish name. Then, so I wouldna screw things up, he erased me memory of yer being called Roza.

  “Me mum told me before ye arrived, minutes after I told them about yer being Wiccan. She was verra calm about it, as if in the grand scheme of things, it was no big deal. It seems the two of us have been part of a conspiracy to keep ye hidden from yer da fer years. I dinna ken which name yer mum will use in this video, luv, and I want ye to be prepared.”

  “ ‘Roza.’ So, me real name was Roza. Ye know I wondered why Rune and I were given such different names. I mean it’s popular to do so now, but back then twins had names with some kind of similarity. Like ‘Roza’ and ‘Rune’—both names starting with the same letter.” She sighed and looked away. “How much dinna I ken about who I am? Play the tape so we learn…and can begin dealing with it all.”

  Bryce started the tape again.

  “Have you activated the taping?” Her mum’s English was heavy with a Polish accent.

  “Aye, Anatol, the camera is running and I’m recording. Ye look fine in the lens.”

  Bryce leaned forward. “That’s me da’s voice. God, I havna heard it in over twenty years.” He pressed the rewind button just enough so when he hit play, his da spoke again. Kenzie took Bryce’s hand to offer him some comfort. She hadna thought that seeing and hearing this might affect him too.

  Her mum looked in the camera, swiped away a tear, and took a deep breath. “Roza, by the time you see this, who knows what our world will be like. But you should be an adult, and I pray a happy one. With Aunt Una’s advice, I have made a very difficult decision regarding your future. To keep you safe so you have a future, I decided to beseech Laird Duff Matheson, who has special capabilities, to erase your memory. And as I tell you the history of our family, I hope you will understand my reasons for doing this. I’ve had to make many decisions”—she shook her head—“painful ones that will haunt me to my grave. This will be one of them.”

  “She sounds so sad.”

  Bryce pressed pause on the remote and rested his cheek on top of Kenzie’s head. “Aye, love. When ye stop and think of it, she gave up both of her children. She left Rune with Fauste and, by having Da erase yer memory and making ye speak Scottish, she lost the little girl she knew, even though she saw ye every day afterward.”

  “I never thought of it that way, but now that ye’ve mentioned it…” She shifted so her face was against his neck. “I dinna ken if I could get through this without ye.” His arms enveloped her and, fer a silent moment, they embraced.

  “I luv ye, me calico-eyed darling. I will luv ye the rest of me days and nights and, when I draw me last breath, it will be ye I’ll be thinking of…and loving.”

  “I feel the same way about ye, Bry. When ye sent me away, I turned coldhearted and brittle inside. Now that we’re back together, it’s like I’ve found meself again. Me. The person who can laugh and love and dream fer all the things I want. Now, play some more until I need ye to stop so me heart can catch up.”

&
nbsp; Her mother’s healthy face came on the screen again. “I first met your father in Opole, Poland, where my family had lived for centuries. I was walking home from a Wiccan class with my instructor, Ma’ame Rozita. That’s right, you were named in her honor. Such a wise and strong woman she was.

  “This tall, striking man bumped into me, knocking the research books I was to read for my next assignment out of my arms. Being the gentleman he was, he stooped to pick them up and apologized for his awkwardness. I was taken with Gerrund’s handsome appearance right away. He had unusual silvery eyes and his hair was pale blond. Although he was from Romania, he spoke passable Polish, and he asked me if I’d have coffee with him at one of the outside cafés. I felt safe in doing so, especially since my uncle owned the café I chose. And, over a cup of bitter coffee, we talked and laughed and fell in love.”

  Her mother shrugged. “What I didn’t know and couldn’t have known was that he had targeted me. He knew I was Wiccan, as was he, and that I was doing quite well in my training. In his head, he felt we would have exceptional children in the magic realm.” She laughed softly. “Of course, you were exceptional. You and Rune were both beautiful and adorable.” She wiped away the tears that fell. “I have so many wonderful memories of motherhood I keep tucked away here.” She pointed to her heart. “But I want you to know that, in the beginning, your father was a good and decent man. Headstrong, yes. Opinionated, oh yes. But he was a kind and loving person.

  “I also recall the day Gerrund met Warlock Morpheus. We were living in Gerrund’s hometown of Baia Mare in Romania at the time. You and Rune were a little over a year old.” She chuckled. “Such chubby toddlers, running everywhere, trying to keep ahead of the other.” Tears pooled in her eyes. “I loved you both so much.” She blotted her face with a tissue.

  “Back to the day we met Morpheus. We had gone to a Wiccan feast in a large wooded area. There was food galore, musicians performing with their violins and accordions and homemade instruments. Children played games and adults gossiped.