Chapter Eighteen
Ben pushed the little black stick that Kenzie called a remote and fought to remember how to turn the blaring black box on the wall off. It was just one of many of the annoyances Ben had to deal with now that he was in the twenty-first century.
No longer was there quiet, the sounds of the sea or the tweeting of birds in the trees or his clansmen busy with their chores or maids gossiping in the halls. Now there were cars that ran past a road up behind the estate. The town lights that shone bright in the night and stole the view of the stars.
The absence of his friends: Aedan and Abby, Gwen and Braxton whom he missed more than he thought possible. Living in this time brought with it the cold, hard truth that they were all gone now. Long buried in the Scottish soil and no longer around to visit, to drink with. To reminisce old stories and sing clan songs. All of that gone.
A maid walked past the room Kenzie termed the lounge and threw him an odd glance. He supposed he was an oddity. He didn’t know how most things worked. That the candles had been replaced with electricity, a magic he’d never understand.
That castles such as this one were restored, made comfortable and draft proof. Well, a lot less drafty than he was used to. That kitchen stoves were replaced with electric and gas ovens. That horses were ridden for pleasure not as a means for transportation and warfare.
Ben lay back in the chair, staring at the black box on the wall. Stupid, loud thing that it was. The only saving grace of this time were the running water and hot showers. Should he return to the seventeenth century, he would study this more and try and work out a way to have such luxuries in his home. That one invention was a marvel.
…
Kenzie walked into the room and despaired at the boredom that she could read on Ben’s face. “Get up. I want to take you somewhere.”
“I’m comfortable here,” he said, not moving.
She came over to him and pulled him to stand, glad that he didn’t fight her considering he looked less than pleased to be moved. “We’re going for a drive. I want to show you something.” Now that Ben was well enough for Kenzie to take him in a car it was time to pull out her trump card. The drive wouldn’t be too long, but for a man who loathed vehicles, it would be an interesting trip, to say the least.
“I know we haven’t spoken of it much since you came back to Druiminn from the hospital, but before I send you back, I wanted to show you something.” Something she hoped would convince him to stay.
They drove into a valley and before them lay a dense forest of trees. It was lush and beautifully green, and Kenzie wondered if he’d even recognize the place. The trees were larger; there were more of them; and there was a road leading to his old home, yet, it was also eerily familiar.
“I know this place.”
She smiled at him and continued on. Within minutes, they passed the small village that sat by the bay and Kenzie smiled when she saw Castle Ross looming on the cliff above it all, as grand and foreboding as it ever was.
“You brought me home?” His tone didn’t give much away. Kenzie put the car in park before the gates and turned to him. “Come, I want you to see what I know as Castle Ross.”
…
Ben could feel the ghosts of his clansmen, of the centuries that had passed since he’d been here. Since any laird had occupied Ross land, and a shiver stole down his back. To see his home in such disrepair, broken and burned, covered by plants and trees alike, left a gaping wound in his heart.
He should have been better prepared. Fought harder against Clan Grant. That he hadn’t, and he’d allowed his people to be killed, and chased away without any support, shamed him. Ben ground his teeth and walked into what used to be the great hall.
“’Tis odd to be here. The place is the same, and yet so different.”
Kenzie came and stood before him, taking his hands. “The moment I saw Castle Ross I decided I must know the man behind the name. Who was Black Ben and what happened to him? And while I know all that, and I love you beyond anything in this world, you’re not happy, and I want to change that.”
“How?” he asked, not liking the way his lass was speaking. A sense of impending dread hovered above his head.
“If you wish, I can send you back, and I will; you just have to say when, but I need you to know that in my time, my estate, too, is a working farm. I, too, have tenants to look after, and while the system has changed since the seventeenth century, there are still people relying on me here. The home that Gwen and Braxton lived in is now mine and is where people come to stay, to visit and learn about our family and its history. I’m what people call a business woman, someone who earns money and is her own boss, her own master, in a sense.”
His gut clenched, and he frowned. “Ye’re not going to return with me, are ye? Is that what you’re trying to tell me, lass?”
Kenzie nodded. “I’m so sorry, Ben, but I can’t go back. My life is here, and I’m going to be selfish and say I want your life to be here, too. I don’t want you to go back.”
’Twas an impossible choice. How was one supposed to choose between one’s home, land, and all the responsibilities that came with that, for the other side of their soul? Without doubt, he could not live without the woman before him, but could he live without his home? He wasna sure.
“I dinna want to leave ye either, lass, but ’tis an impossible choice you’ve given me. This is your time and mine is in the past. Alasdair is supposed to be the next Laird of Ross. By staying, I take his birthright away from him. All that I am, that we are, would be gone.”
“Clan Grant took Alasdair’s birth right away from him, and you don’t know what type of trouble you’ll be walking into, should I send you back to your time. The castle is in ruins, your people scattered. How will you stay? Rebuild? Is that even possible?”
Ben ran a hand through his hair, looking up at what once was a high, wooden ceiling and now showed nothing but crystal clear blue skies. There were funds for rebuilding, for their future, but the castle had been attacked prior to being set alight, and there was a good chance Clan Grant had stolen all that he had, taken anything of value for their own keeps.
“I dinna know, lass.”
“Before you decide, there is one last thing that I have to offer.” Kenzie’s hands were clenched before her, and she looked on the verge of tears.
“What is it?”
She stepped away from him and went to stand in the middle of the great hall. “If you stay, I can give you all this. I can help you rebuild your home in this time and have all that you want, but in my time. With me.”
He frowned. “How is that possible?”
“Before I traveled back to your century, I bought this estate. I always intended to restore it to its original state. Have it as an inn, of sorts, that people could come and stay in, make it reliant on itself again.”
“And now?” Ben waited for what Kenzie said next, hoping that it was what he wanted to hear.
“Now I want it for us. My ancestral home from Gwen and Braxton can be opened up to the public full time, but we’ll keep Castle Ross for ourselves. Work on it together and make it a home for you, me, and Alasdair. What do you think?”
Relief poured through him like wine and striding toward Kenzie he picked her up, clasping her tight against him. “To know that I’m home, living in the castle, in the place where I grew up, was part of—to be back here with you and my boy would be a perfect consolation prize. I will not deny that I shall miss my friends, my clansmen, but I’m willing to say goodbye to that life, if this is to be our home.”
“You’ll stay then?” Kenzie sounded shocked, and he chuckled, keeping her against him and not letting her go.
“Did ye think that I would leave ye with such an offer as this? One that I dinna think was even possible.”
“I did believe you’d leave, yes. As much as me showing you Castle Ross and what I wanted to do with it, it still isn’t your time, and I know better than anyone how hard it can be when living in a place and situation that is foreign to them. But I love this place as much as you, and I had to give it one last chance, to bribe you, in a sense, to maybe change your mind. I’m not sure I can live without you.”
“I know I canna live without you, and if I had gone back, I would’ve made ye come with me. I love ye, Kenzie, so much so that ’tis maddening.”
She grinned up at him and he lifted her chin and kissed her, lingering over her lips before meeting her gaze. “When can we move in?”
“The building work is to commence next month. There is a lot to do, cleaning out the debris, rebuilding the walls, and roof, and then, the internals. But that’s months away. It’s a big job, Ben, are you sure you wish to take it on? It may be less work for you if you did return to seventeenth century Scotland.”
“Aye,” he said, laughing and looking around the dilapidated great hall, seeing only what it could be once again. “I’m ready, lass. Let’s make Castle Ross our home.”
She nodded, coming to hug him again. “Sounds perfect, my liege.”
“That it does.”