AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Kris turned, half-expecting to find no one there. A ghost of a touch from a ghost.
But Liam was there, and she reached out to touch him, too, releasing a relieved little huff when her hand encountered solid, male flesh beneath the usual dark shirt.
His hair was tied back, revealing the fine bones of his face, and his eyes blazed bright blue. He took her hand, and her foolish heart stuttered.
“There ye are. I was afraid ye hadnae come.”
Kris felt like she was in junior high and the coolest guy in school had asked her to dance.
She needed to watch herself. What if she fell in love with Liam and then discovered—
What? That he wasn’t real?
Liam was right here. She was touching him. She could see him, and so could—
Kris faced the Camerons, concerned they’d be staring at her with pity as she mooned over empty space.
But they were staring at Liam, their expressions hard to read, especially as those expressions disappeared faster than a bunny down a hole as soon as Kris saw them. She could have sworn they were shocked, but why would that be?
“You know Liam?” Kris asked.
“Liam?” Effy repeated. Rob just snorted.
“Of course they know me,” Liam said. “Isnae that right, Effy?”
When Liam said her name, she started. “Right! I’ve known him all of me life.”
“Don’t ye mean ye’ve known me all my life?” Liam asked quietly.
“Yes. Of course. Since ye were a wee, sweet lad.”
“Rob would let me trail around after him while he worked,” Liam continued. “Learned at his knee just how to use a hammer.”
“Mmm,” Rob said, and lifted his nearly empty pint.
“Let me get ye another.” Liam snatched it from the man’s hand, sweeping Effy’s up, too. “Would ye like one, Kris?”
Kris nodded, unable to stop her gaze from flicking back and forth between Liam and the Camerons, searching in vain for a reason their conversation seemed so weird.
Liam left. Effy and Rob contemplated their empty hands.
“Liam grew up here?” Kris asked.
The Camerons glanced at each other, then back at their hands.
“Aye,” Effy agreed.
“In Drumnadrochit?” she clarified.
“Aye,” Rob said.
Kris looked over in time to see Johnnie lean across the bar so he could hear what Liam had to say. The man straightened, glancing in Kris’s direction, then nodded.
“Strange,” Kris murmured, and turned away.
Effy lifted her wide, startled gaze. “Why?”
Kris didn’t answer immediately, thinking back on whom she’d questioned about Liam and what they’d said. It had all been pretty much the same.
