THIRTY-ONE
Once Connor had accepted he could not travel back to his own time, the decision was simple. He was going to Scotland, and then he’d go to England and teach men to use swords. In time, he would forget her smile.
He was looking forward to flying in a machine. Such wonders in this time. Mayhap he would learn to fly his own plane. The motorcycle had been sold; ’twas too expensive to take with him. When he was settled, he’d buy another.
On the way to the airport, Connor stared out the window. At a stoplight, he looked across the street. The light changed and the cab pulled forward.
“Nay. Stop, man.”
The cabbie pulled over. Connor thrust money through the window and leapt out of the car, bags in hand. The store was having a party, and on the sign in the window he’d seen a house he recognized. Mellie’s women.
Pride surged through him. She’d found the courage to show her beautiful work to others. Connor went inside, handing his bags to a woman in black.
“See to these.”
“Of course, sir.” She stowed them behind a desk and he ignored the rest of the work, making his way to the center of the room, where three of her houses waited.
He strode through the place, looking for one house in particular. When he had not found it, he stopped a man in black.
“May I be of assistance?
“Aye. Where is the house with the garden?”
“Follow me, sir.”
The house was in the front. He’d been so focused on her that he’d walked right by it.
“I’ll take it.”
The man’s smile faltered. “Wouldn’t you like to look at the work?”
He shook his head. “Nay. I want the piece.”
“Do you wish to know the price?”
Connor frowned. “Do ye want to sell it to me or not?”
Another man joined them. “I’ll take care of this, Louis, thank you.” This was the man in charge. “Are you familiar with Miss Evers’ work?”
“Aye. She creates great beauty.”
The man handed him a glass of champagne. Connor liked how the bubbles tickled his nose.
“She is very talented. We hope to have her as a permanent artist.” The man held out a red dot. “Would you care to do the honors?”
At Connor’s bewildered look, the man smiled. “Green dots signify the work is available, and red is for when a piece sells. Yes, it’s very pretentious, but I find the gallery makes more money this way.”
Connor stuck the red dot over the green. “I wish to meet the artist.”
“Of course. She’s here tonight.”
He paid for the piece, and then the man led him to a far corner of the gallery.
“Melissa. You’ve sold another piece. The buyer would like to meet you.” He turned to Connor. “Mr.…?”
“Connor.”
She gasped. “I thought you went back to Scotland.”
The owner smiled. “I’ll leave you both to talk.”
“I needs beg yer pardon,” Connor said.
“I’m sorry,” she said at the same time.
Connor inclined his head. “You first.” She was so bonny in her dress with the color high in her cheeks. She was his home, not Scotland. Her.
“There are so many things I want to say. I was over Greg, and I just didn’t realize it. It took me watching Gone with the Wind for it to sink in. I liked the idea of him, but not the man, and then I knew. Greg was a copout. I didn’t feel much with him. Nothing like you. You made me feel everything, and it scared me. I’m sorry for how I acted. Can you ever forgive me?”
“I forgave ye long ago, Mellie.” He drained the rest of the glass.
“Do you think…we could start over?”
“Nay.” And he laughed when she frowned. “I want you as you are, with all that has happened. You are my home, if you’ll have me.”
“Yes.” She threw her arms around him, and the scent of roses filled the air. But Connor stepped back.
“First, I must tell you the truth.” He looked around. “I do not wish others to hear what I must tell you.”
“Then we’ll leave. The gallery is closing soon anyway. Give me a few minutes.”
Connor used his phone to send for a car. A person could do almost anything with the small device and gold.
The driver loaded his bags and the house into the back. Connor told the driver where he wished to go. When Mellie came out, he held the door for her.
The driver stopped at the park. Connor led the way to the mermaid fountain, where he sat and pulled her down next to him.
He would rather face a hundred men in battle than tell her the truth, but he could not make her his without telling her. If she did not believe him, he would take the next plane to Scotland and never look back.
Mellie took his hands in hers. “Whatever you have to say, tell me.”
“The day we met…when I woke that morn, ’twas in Scotland in the Year of Our Lord 1334.”
She was silent for too long.
“Mellie?”
“How?” She paced back and forth.
He leaned his elbows on his knees, watching her. “I am not certain. There was a battle and a storm.” He swallowed, remembering the terror he’d felt. “The ground swallowed me, and when I came to, ’twas in the museum.”
“You never lost your memory, did you?”
“Nay, I was afeared…you would send me back. And I will not go back. I would rather die.”
Mellie sat on the edge of the fountain. He got up and sat beside her.
“I am a horrible person. You tried to tell me, several times, and I let them take you away. Put you in a psychiatric hospital.” Horror filled her golden eyes. “So many things make sense. The way you acted like you’d never seen planes, cars, phones, or pizza.”
Mellie wanted the ground to open up and swallow her. What he’d been through at Mint Hill was all her fault. She could have prevented it. Instead she’d called him a thief and a crazy person. A thousand small details came to mind, and she knew deep in her heart he was telling her the truth.
“Nay. You are kind and good.”
She turned to him, tears in her eyes. “I’m so very sorry. Can you ever forgive me?”
He took her face in his hands and looked into her eyes, and she wanted to turn back time and prevent him from being sent away.
“You will not send me back?”
“Never. I believe you.”
When she said the words, he pressed his lips to hers. This time she was the one who touched her tongue to his lips. He opened his mouth, and she let her kiss tell him how sorry she was, how much she loved him.
When they broke apart, he was wearing that male look of satisfaction.
“I knew you would beg me to kiss you.”
She smacked his shoulder. “I did nothing of the sort, Connor McTavish.” Mellie clapped her hands together. “There’s so much I want to know.”
The opportunity to have a living, breathing man from the past was too good to pass up. She needed to find out everything he knew. What might be different from the history books?
“No wonder you’re so good with a blade.”
He threw back his head and laughed.
Mellie had one more thing she needed to know as she trailed her hand through the cold water. “What did you wish the last time we were here?”
Connor kissed her again. “To love you forever here or in my time. Did not matter to me where, as long as you were by my side.” He knelt at her feet.
“You are my life. Without you, life isn’t worth living. I would defy death to stay with you. My love for you is beyond the boundaries of time.”
She wiped the tears from her face, her throat tight. “I wished you would stay with me always.” Mellie dug in her purse and handed him three pennies. Then she took his hand. “Together.” They tossed the coins in.
“Come home.” She held out her hand.