Tempting the Highlander (Pine Creek Highlanders #4)

Chapter Twelve

C atherine placed the last breakfast plate in the dishwasher and picked up a cloth and started wiping the table just as the phone rang. She ran to it quickly, not wanting it to wake up Robbie, and caught it on the second ring.

“Hello,” she said into the receiver.

“Ah, hello. Is Robbie there?” came the obviously surprised voice on the other end of the line. “Nay, before ya get him, am I speaking to the brave woman who took on the task of babysitting five men?”

She frowned at the wall. “Yes, this is Catherine Daniels.”

“I’m Robbie’s father, Michael,” he said. “And I’ve been hearing some impressive tales about ya,” he continued, now with an obvious smile in his voice. “Are they true?”

“Ah…that depends,” Catherine whispered, tightening her grip on the phone. “What exactly have you heard?”

“Only that you’re wise enough to want a stout stick,” he said with a chuckle. “And that you’re beautiful as well.”

“You’ve been talking to Winter,” Catherine said, carrying the portable phone over to the table and sitting down.

“And Ian,” he added. “Have ya needed to use the stick yet?”

“Not yet. The boys have been perfect angels.”

“It wasn’t the boys I was referring to,” he said softly. “Is my son there, or has he left already?”

“He’s not here,” Catherine said, squaring her shoulders as she planned her fib. “And I’m not sure where he went or when he’ll be back. Can I give him a message for you?”

“Aye. Could ya tell him his mum is wishing to see him. It’s been over a week since he’s even talked with her.”

“Oh, sure, I’ll tell him. But he’s been awful busy. One of his tree harvesters broke down, and the priest up on the mountain—Father Daar, I think he said his name was—hasn’t been feeling well, so he’s been looking after him. And then he had to rescue me and my children and then tow my car, and I think there was something about a well pump that he had to replace.”

A soft chuckle came over the phone. “Ya not only housekeep, I see, but ya’re protective as well. That’s good, Miss Daniels. Those boys could use some mothering.”

Catherine wasn’t sure if he was lumping Robbie in with the boys or not. “Please, call me Catherine,” she told him.

“Aye, then, Catherine, if ya could just ask my son to squeeze us in between his many chores, I’d appreciate it.”

“I-I will,” she whispered, realizing she had sounded like a babbling idiot. What a great first impression.

“And Catherine?”

“Yes?”

“If I might make a suggestion, if my son hasn’t already? Be mindful when you’re running on the roads around here. Our truck drivers can get easily distracted, and I’d hate to see ya in the middle of an accident.”

“I always move to the edge when I hear one coming,” Catherine said, lifting her chin defensively, wondering if she had become the talk of the town.

“Aye,” he said softly. “But lass, ya might want to think about…well, maybe ya should wear long pants when ya run.”

Long pants? “But nobody runs in long pants,” she told him. “They’re too hot and restrictive.”

Then what he meant dawned on her. Catherine closed her eyes and let out a loud groan, only to gasp and quickly cover the mouthpiece. Great. Two strikes against her, and she hadn’t even met the man yet.

It sounded as if he also covered the mouthpiece of his phone, but she was still able to hear his sigh. “I’ve offended ya, lass, but that wasn’t my intention. I’m only wanting to make ya aware how dangerous running the roads can be.”

“I understand. And thank you. I’ll tell Robbie to call you when he gets home.”

Another sigh came over the phone. “Thank ya, Catherine. And we’ll be over one day soon, to properly welcome ya to Pine Creek. Until then, good-bye.”

“Good-bye,” she repeated, pressing the off button before closing her eyes and thumping herself on the head with the phone.

“Dumb, dumb, dumb,” she muttered. “Could I be any dumber?” She whipped around at the sound of laughter coming from the living-room doorway. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough to know that you can fib like a Trojan,” Robbie said with a lingering chuckle. He shook his head. “I come by my protectiveness honestly, Cat. My father might be blunt, but he means well. He’s sincerely worried for you.”

“I’m so embarrassed,” she muttered. She stood up and placed the phone in its cradle. “Doesn’t anybody in Pine Creek run?”

He walked over to the counter and poured himself a cup of coffee. “Nay. Jogging is more of an urban exercise. Life here involves enough physical labor that few people need to add running to their schedule. Don’t worry about it, Catherine,” he continued, easing himself into a chair at the table. “If you wish to run, then run. People will eventually get used to seeing you and…your legs.”

She spun around to the sink. “How are you feeling this morning?” she asked, diving her hands into the dishwater and vigorously scrubbing the frying pan.

He softly chuckled. “Much better. I was only wanting a good nap. Thank you for heading off my father this morning. I appreciate how difficult it is to fib.”

“Why have you been avoiding Libby?” she asked, still facing away until her blush calmed down.

“She’s a doctor.”

Catherine turned in surprise. “I’ve been sewing you up, risking your getting an infection, and your stepmother is a doctor? Why don’t you just go see her?”

“She’s a very intuitive doctor,” he said. “She’d know how I got hurt.”

Unlike good old dumb her, who didn’t know a darn thing. She turned back to the sink. “Is there a way you could get hold of some antibiotics, or do you keep any for your horses?” She looked back at him. “I know animal drugs and could figure out a safe dose for you.”

He shook his head. “I won’t get an infection. You sterilized the needle and thread yesterday, and my side and shoulder healed cleanly. In fact,” he said, standing up and pulling his shirttail out of his pants, “I was hoping I could get you to take out these stitches today.”

“But it’s only been a week.”

“Aye. But I’m healed. See?”

Sheer curiosity compelled her to dry her hands on her apron and lean over to lift his shirt. She tugged on the waist of his jeans to see the wound and frowned. Without even thinking, Catherine straightened and unbuttoned his shirt, pulled it to the side, and leaned up to examine the cut on his shoulder.

They were both completely healed! All that remained of the once deep wound was a thin red line with pink thread sticking out every quarter inch.

“You have an amazing constitution,” she whispered, lightly running her finger over the scar. She looked up, realized she was a hair’s breadth away from his face—and his mouth—and quickly stepped back.

Robbie finished taking off his shirt and started unbuckling his pants. Catherine let out a small squeak and headed toward the living room, his soft laughter propelling her into a run.

Honest to God, the man was driving her crazy. He couldn’t say what he had yesterday in the bathroom, standing there all huge and wet and naked, and expect her not to act like an idiot every time she got close to him. It was her darned libido. Not only had Robbie MacBain managed to stir it awake, but yesterday’s promise—or, rather, yesterday’s threat—had exposed her fear like a raw nerve constantly being poked. Well, she would just poke him back, she decided, taking the scissors out of her sewing kit. She marched into the kitchen, determined to ignore the fact that he smelled nice and warm and sexy and that he looked even sexier.

“I need to go to the logging yard today and would like you to drive me,” he said, sitting in his chair again, scratching the stitches on his shoulder.

“You can’t drive yourself?” she asked, leaning over and using the sharp point of her scissors to gently loosen one of the stitches—which would be easier if her hand would quit shaking.

“I could,” he said, twisting his head to see what she was doing to him. “But I’m still half asleep and prefer to—ow!”

She used her fingers to pull the snipped thread out of his flesh. “That did not hurt.”

“You poked me with the scissors.”

“Only because you moved. Quit talking.”

“Wouldn’t you like to see a tree harvester in action?” he asked, ignoring her edict. “Ow!”

She straightened and scowled at him. “You didn’t complain this much when I sewed you up yesterday,” she said, using the scissors to point at the small bandage on his right hand.

“I was numb with exhaustion yesterday,” he said, rubbing his shoulder.

Catherine moved his hand out of the way and went back to work. “Don’t watch,” she suggested. “It makes you anticipate the pain, and you tense up.”

“You know this from personal experience?” he asked softly, his breath wafting warmly over her hair.

“Yes,” she absently answered, quickly snipping three threads in a row, then leaning away when he growled.

She moved his hand out of the way again, snipped the last two stitches, quickly rubbed the sting away with her fingers, and started pulling them out. “There. All done,” she said as she straightened. “Now, stand up and lean against the table, and I’ll take out the ones on your hip.”

“I’ve a worry you’re enjoying this,” he muttered, standing up and leaning against the table.

Catherine sat in his chair, scooted it around to face him, pulled down the edge of his open jeans to see his scar, and…She stopped and looked up, realizing the provocative position she was in.

The door opened, and an old man, dressed in a long black robe and thin white collar, walked into the kitchen. “God’s teeth!” he shouted. “If ya’re needing privacy, then lock your door!”

Catherine flew out of her chair so quickly she would have fallen if Robbie hadn’t caught her by the shoulders and stood her on her feet.

The priest thumped his cane on the floor and glared first at Robbie’s naked chest and open pants, then at Catherine.

Robbie stepped between them, facing the priest, and slowly did up his jeans and fastened his belt. Catherine looked behind her, wondering if she was small enough to crawl in the oven.

“Most people knock before entering someone’s house,” Robbie said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I haven’t knocked in thirty years!”

“But you will from now on,” Robbie softly returned. “And you’ll apologize to my housekeeper for making assumptions.”

Catherine gasped and pinched Robbie’s back for speaking so rudely to a man of the cloth.

He didn’t even flinch but continued, “And you’ll start waiting for an invitation to visit rather than showing up unannounced.”

They were both going to fry in hell—she could already feel the flames on her face. Catherine used the point of her scissors this time to shut Robbie up.

He reached around, snatched away her scissors, gave her a good glare, and turned back to the priest. “I’m waiting for that apology.”

But Catherine wasn’t. She spun on her heel and high-tailed it into the living room, tugged open the front door, and rushed onto the porch that spanned the entire front of the house. She immediately scooted between two windows until her back was pressed against the clapboards and stood perfectly still, her hands on her burning cheeks and her heart thumping so hard it hurt.

Her parents were rolling over in their graves. They’d raised her to respect religion, especially anyone doing God’s work.

The front door opened, and Catherine eyed the stairs at the end of the porch, wondering if she could reach them before Robbie reached her. The priest stepped through the door, alone, and folded his hands over the top of his beautiful wood cane.

He had wild, long white hair that was a disturbing contrast to his perfectly trimmed beard, shoulders stooped by gravity and time, and age-bent fingers covering the head of a cane that was only slightly more crooked than he was. He looked positively ancient—except for his eyes, which were a sharp, crystal blue.

“I am sincerely contrite, Miss Daniels, for making such a terrible assumption,” he said gruffly. “Robbie explained that ya was tending his wound, and I apologize for thinking different.” He held out a gnarled hand to her. “I’m Father Daar. I live up on TarStone.”

Even though she wanted to run the other way, Catherine’s manners compelled her to step forward and shake his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Father,” she whispered. “Ah…would you like a cup of coffee and some shortbread?”

His eyes sparked with interest. “Shortbread, ya say?” he asked, using her captured hand to lead her inside. “I haven’t had shortbread in ages. Did ya flavor it with lemon?”

Catherine tried to get her hand back, but he was using it to lead her through the living room into the kitchen. “With just a few drops of lemon juice,” she told him, finally escaping when he sat at the table.

Robbie was nowhere in sight.

She found a clean mug, poured the priest his coffee, then got down on her knees and reached far into the back of a bottom cupboard. Father Daar’s laughter and Robbie’s snort drew her attention when she straightened.

“So that’s where you hide the dessert,” Robbie said from the bathroom doorway. He buttoned up his shirt, tucked it inside his belt, and walked over and set her scissors on the table. “I finished taking out the stitches,” he told her, lifting one brow. “And managed to do it without once poking myself.”

“Then you should probably remove the stitches in your hand when the time comes,” she suggested sweetly, getting two plates from the cupboard. She cut the shortbread, set it on the table in front of the men, gave them forks and napkins, refilled Robbie’s coffee, and headed to her bedroom.

But she stopped at the door when she heard Father Daar urgently whisper to Robbie, “Ya have to go back tonight. We’re running out of time.”

Go back? Tonight? And do what, get beat up again?

Catherine turned to them, crossed her fingers behind her back, and hoped she didn’t fry in hell for fibbing to a priest. “Oh, I forgot to tell you, Robbie. Your father and Libby are coming for supper tonight. I told them we eat at six.”

Robbie looked from her to the priest, then back at her, one eyebrow raised speculatively. He finally shook his head at Father Daar. “My family obligations come first.”

Father Daar eyed Catherine suspiciously. “Ya’re making commitments for yar boss without checking with him first?”

Crossing a second set of fingers, Catherine nodded. “It seemed important to his father, and I didn’t dare refuse.”

The priest looked back at Robbie but nodded toward her. “I warned ya a woman would only complicate yar life. They just love interfering in a man’s work.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Robbie drawled, leaning back in his chair and smiling at Catherine. “They come in handy sometimes. I think they add a certain…excitement.”

Catherine uncrossed her fingers and closed her hands into fists, smiling back at him. “I’m sorry I won’t be able to drive you to work this morning, but I have to run into town.”

That wiped the smirk off his face.

Catherine spun around, walked into her bedroom and softly closed the door, and leaned against it and closed her eyes with a sigh.

Excitement, huh?

Oh, she’d show the man some excitement, all right—and a good deal of leg!

“Your plan isn’t working, priest,” Robbie growled, knowing it wasn’t Daar putting the bite in his voice but Catherine.

She was intending to run all over the countryside again, dressed in short shorts and leaving a trail of ditched logging trucks in her wake. He was going to have to do something about that.

“Then come up with a better plan!” Daar snapped, glaring at him. “Just as long as ya make it happen soon. I still need to nurture that root into a sapling.”

Robbie took a calming breath and looked away from the bedroom door and tried to focus his attention on Daar. “How long has that oak been growing on MacKeage land? Would it have existed when the Highlanders lived there? Would they know about it?”

“Nay,” Daar said, shaking his head. “Cùram’s only been living there six years now.”

“But you’re saying it is there, that I just can’t see it?”

“Aye. He’s hidden it from ya.”

“And you still won’t come back with me to unmask his spell? What would happen if he discovered you there?”

Daar hunched over his plate of shortbread, curled his hands around his cup of coffee, and spoke down to it. “Twenty years ago, I might have stood a chance against him,” Daar whispered. He looked up at Robbie. “But only a chance. A hundred years ago, I might have beaten him.” He straightened his shoulders. “Hell, I did beat him, when I matched Judy MacKinnon to Duncan MacKeage.” The old drùidh narrowed his eyes. “But if ya take me back there now, Robbie, ya may as well run me through with yar sword,” he whispered. “Cùram would finish me.”

The door to Catherine’s bedroom opened, and she came striding out, dressed in shorts, a sweatshirt, and running shoes. A person could have heard a mouse sneeze as she silently walked across the kitchen, her chin held high and her fists clenched at her sides. She didn’t even look at them. She merely opened the porch door, stepped out, and softly closed it behind her.

Robbie slowly bent the fork in his hand until the tines touched the handle, and turned to Daar. “Just tell me how to find the tree. Give me something to work with.”

Daar shook his head. “I have nothing. As it is, ya’re going to have to use yar own powers to travel back and forth from now on. My staff has grown too weak,” he said, fingering the nearly smooth cherry cane lying on the table beside his plate.

“My own powers,” Robbie softly repeated.

“Aye. Ya can no longer deny them, MacBain. Ya’ve learned the full extent of your gift, and ignoring it won’t make it go away.”

“I don’t want that kind of power!”

“Do ya think I asked to be a drùidh? It’s not exactly something ya wish for. Providence decides our destinies. Yar own mother understood this, and it didn’t stop her from having you. It’s not a curse, boy,” Daar snapped, leaning forward. “It’s a gift. Yar mama not only gave ya life but the gift of yar calling. Embrace it. Use it! Explore the full extent of yar abilities, and thank God that ya have the means to protect those ya love.”

Robbie carefully set the destroyed fork by his plate and stared down at the tiny bandage covering the dagger cut on his right hand. Aye, he had seen his calling in the midst of the violent storm, and it had scared the holy hell out of him. He’d come face to face with his mother, as the beautiful mortal woman she’d once been, and she had shown him his destiny.

“It was Mary who revealed my powers to me,” he whispered, still staring down at his hand. “She showed me everything.”

“Aye,” Daar said softly. “And ya saw that guardians even have power over drùidhs, didn’t ya? Mary showed ya how she saved her sister’s life by using my own staff to protect Grace from the freezing waters of the high mountain pond.”

“Aye,” Robbie said, still not looking up.

“It’s what keeps everything balanced,” Daar continued. “For as powerful as drùidhs are, providence has given the world an army of knights to protect it as well.”

“Then what’s your role?” Robbie asked, looking up. “Why do drùidhs even exist?”

“To nurture the knowledge. To grow our trees and keep the continuum moving forward.”

“And blow things up in the process,” Robbie muttered, standing up and carrying his uneaten shortbread to the counter. “Four days from now, I’ll be on the summit at sunset, and I’ll have Ian MacKeage with me.”

“What! Nay! Ya cannot.”

“Aye, I can,” Robbie told him, glancing toward the porch, then back at the priest. “Ian has asked me to take him back, and I have agreed.”

“But the continuum. You’re going to upset the energy. He knows too much of the future.”

“He’ll not mess with the magic,” Robbie assured him. “He only wants to go home and be with his wife and children.”

Daar also stood, but he snatched up his uneaten shortbread and stuffed it in his pocket. “Then may God have mercy on us,” he whispered, walking to the door. “Because if that old goat manages to upset the continuum, we’re all doomed.”

“That didn’t seem to be a worry when you cast your spell to bring them here,” Robbie pointed out, walking onto the porch behind him.

Daar stopped at the bottom of the steps and looked back. “They would have woke up back in their original time, not minutes after they’d left,” he explained. “And probably finished trying to kill each other. It was already part of the original spell, that they wouldn’t remember this time.” He pointed his cane at Robbie. “But it only works if they go back by way of my first incantation,” he said. “You and Ian are going back ten years after that, to after Cùram arrived.”

“Ian will give me his word not to upset your energy,” Robbie promised. “He only wishes to die in the arms of his family.”

Daar stared at him in silence for several seconds, then finally nodded. “Aye. If Ian gives his word, that’s enough,” he softly agreed. “Then I’ll meet ya on the summit in four days,” he confirmed, turning toward the woods, reaching in his pocket and pulling out a piece of shortbread as he walked away.

Robbie looked up at TarStone and blew out his breath. Aye, only four days before Ian MacKeage walked out of their lives.

Catherine ran downhill toward town, setting an easy pace for the first mile to let her muscles warm up. She tried to concentrate on the rhythm of her feet hitting the ground, but thoughts of Robbie and Father Daar kept interfering. What in heck were they up to?

She did know the priest was part of whatever Robbie was doing up on the mountain, though she’d caught only enough of the conversation to realize that whatever it was, time was running out. Just as long as you make it happen soon, she’d heard Father Daar say in an angry whisper. But then he’d lowered his voice, and the conversation had been muted by the solid door of her bedroom—even pressing her ear to it hadn’t helped.

Make what happen?

And darn it, why did she even care! Just because Robbie MacBain appeared to be one of the good guys, and just because she was starting to trust him, wasn’t enough reason to get huffy over his refusal to confide in her.

She was his housekeeper. She cooked and cleaned for the man, and when he got beat up, she sewed him back together and fibbed to his father. Robbie was under no obligation to explain his nighttime adventures to his hired help, even if she could work up the nerve to ask him outright.

An air horn suddenly blasted behind her, and Catherine screamed and nearly fell into the ditch. She scrambled off the road and up the bank, turning to see a huge logging truck barreling down the hill. The driver kept his hand on the deafening horn and used his other hand to wave at her. He even shot her a wink before suddenly giving his attention back to the road when his front left tire hit the gravel of the opposite ditch. The ground under her feet actually shook as the man wrestled the overloaded truck back into his lane and disappeared around a curve, once again blasting his horn.

“You idiot!” she shouted after him, waving her fist through the dust billowing around her. “I hope you have six flat tires!”

Her only answer was the fading blast of his horn.

With a sigh to calm her racing heart, Catherine was about to jump the ditch when she spotted a silver pickup truck rounding the curve down the hill. It was traveling through the lingering dust at a much slower speed than the logging rig, and she could see only one occupant.

She spun around and ducked into the bushes, deciding she’d entertained enough idiots for one day. The pickup slowly made its way toward her, and Catherine squatted behind a tree, her eyes glued on the approaching truck as the silhouette of the driver sharpened.

He looked…familiar. Catherine scooted back and flattened herself to the ground, her heart beginning to pound in terror as the pickup neared.

No! It couldn’t be him. Ron couldn’t have found her!

She could finally see his features clearly through the dispersing dust—a man with thick brown hair, a darkly stubbled jaw, and tiny narrowed eyes fixed on the road ahead.

She went utterly still, oblivious to the mud seeping into her clothes, trying to convince herself that it was nothing more than her imagination running wild. It wasn’t Ron.

“You are not Ron,” she said in a strained whisper.

The driver was too old. And definitely too weather-tanned for someone who had been in prison for three years. And his hair was peppered with gray, and there was a small white dog sitting on his lap, its nose pressed against the window. It wasn’t Ron. She could see it wasn’t Ron.

Now all she had to do was convince her pounding heart.

Catherine lay in the muddy grass for a good ten minutes, getting her breathing under control and trying to fight the terror freezing her in place.

The sound of another light truck came from the direction of home, and Catherine inched forward until she saw the dark Suburban coming down the hill. She scrambled to her feet with a cry of relief and ran into the road.

Robbie braked to a stop beside her, his smile vanishing the moment he saw her muddy clothes. Catherine opened the door and scooted into the seat, folded her hands on her lap, and took a shuddering breath.

“What happened?” he asked, scanning the road through the windshield before looking back at her. “Did you fall? Were you run off the road?”

“I…ah, I tripped when a logging truck went by.”

Taking hold of her chin and turning her to face him, he moved his dark pewter gaze over her body, then brought it back to settle on hers. “You’re as pale as a ghost, and you’re still trembling. Are you hurt?”

“No. Just shaken up,” she said, pulling away from his grasp and letting out another shuddering breath. “Can you take me home before you go to the logging yard?”

He hesitated, apparently undecided if he believed her or not. “Cat,” he said with a growl. “You’ve got to run on the tote roads from now on.”

She forced a smile. “What about the bears that might eat Ian?”

“I’ll get you a bear bell, so they’ll hear you coming and be gone long before you see them.” He started to reach for her chin again but stopped when she stiffened and simply lock his gaze on her.

A deep, almost electric silence filled the truck. She could see he was in his guardian angel mode, trying to convince himself that she was okay.

She was far from okay, but she wasn’t about to tell him why. Her terror was her business, not his. It hadn’t been Ron; she knew that with the same certainty that told her Robbie was about to touch her again—with or without her consent.

And she couldn’t handle that right now, no matter how sincere his concern. It had been all she could do not to run screaming from the truck when he’d taken her by the chin, and if he so much as tried to brush the mud off her knee, she would likely have a panic attack that rivaled a volcanic eruption.

“Are you going back up the mountain tonight to get beat up again?” she asked, breaking his stare by turning to look out the windshield.

“You’re worried about me?”

She looked back at him. “One of these days, you’re not going to come back. You were almost dead when I found you. And where would that leave the boys and your family, that you’re so determined to look after?”

“I’ll always come back, Catherine.”

“Are you going up there tonight or not?”

“Nay. I checked my calendar after you left, and your little fib to Daar wasn’t a fib after all. Marcus Saints is coming for a visit this afternoon, and so is Judge Bailey, but she won’t be staying for supper. Only Marcus.”

“Who are Marcus Saints and Judge Bailey?”

“Saints is a social worker who keeps tabs on the boys. And Martha Bailey is all that’s standing between them and the detention center.”

Catherine slapped her chest to catch her gasp. “They’re coming to the house today?” she squeaked, her previous terror turning to horror. “Darn it, you have to warn me about stuff like that! Turn around. I have to get home!”

“Don’t worry,” he said with a chuckle, putting the truck in gear, checking for traffic, then making a three-point turn in the road. “They won’t arrive until after school.”

“But I need to start planning for supper now.”

“The way you cook?” he said as he headed back up the hill. “You could make stone soup, and Saints would be drooling all over himself. And the house is fine, Cat.” He snorted. “It’s a hell of a lot cleaner than the last time they visited. Marcus threatened to call the health department.”