Page 7 of Shaw

“Six foot four,” Julianne said, grinning. “Only I suck at basketball. Besides swimming like a big fish, I’m good for changing lightbulbs, reaching stuff on top shelves, and rescuing cats from trees. But if you need to solve long division problems? You want someone else.”

The laird’s wife appeared even more bewildered now. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

“You’re most welcome at Dun Ard, Mistress Scott,” Connal told her after exchanging a look with his captain.

Shaw knew his brother had not expected the female to be so friendly, or him to return to the island. Nyall appeared calmer now, and the lightning boon had disappeared from his eyes, but his gaze remained fixed on Shaw.

Good. Do your job and guard my clan.

“I found Lady Joana’s ring on the shore a few days after the skirmish with the shifters,” Shaw told the laird. “I then landed in the sea in the future. When Mistress Scott attempted save me from drowning, the ring brought her here with me.”

“Oh, you’re a lifeguard,” Valerie said, pressing a hand against her heart. “I couldn’t connect… I’m from upstate New York, where we only have lakes. There are two other women here from the states as well. I’m sorry you’ve come such a long way, but we’ll help you.”

Julianne nodded, but her expression grew uneasy. “Mrs. MacMar, I can appreciate that you all are busy doing, ah, whatever this castle on the island thing is, but I don’t need any help, other than maybe a boat to take me back to Marson Beach.”

“We’re not anywhere near the U.S. Caladh is an island off the northern coast of Scotland,” the laird’s wife said gently.

“Scotland. You mean, like the country? That Scotland?” Julianne looked at Shaw, and when he nodded she backstepped toward the nearest arch. “Okay, then. Gee. It’s been lit visiting you folks, but I need to find my way home. Take care.”

“You can’t go home, Ms. Scott,” Valerie said. “You’ve been brought back through time to the twelfth century.”

Julianne repeated Valerie’s last three words, only without any voice. She suddenly vanished, only to reappear on the far side of the hall, where she stumbled into a table, knocking it over, and stared back at them in horror, the color draining from her face.

“Shaw,” Connal barked.

He was already running for her when Julianne’s eyes rolled back in her head. He grabbed her before she hit the stone floor, and swung her up into his arms. She looked terribly young with her cheek pressed to his shoulder, her lovely face empty of that vivid liveliness that had captivated him. As she was now he wanted to protect her, and so he would.

“My lady?” She remained limp and unresponsive, but her breathing continued, slow and regular. “Captain, I’ll take her to the infirmary, if you’ll clear a path for me.”

Nyall hesitated, but only for a moment. “Make way for the chieftain.”

Julianne heard men talking as she came to, and had enough sense to keep her eyes closed. She had never once fainted in her life, but that was because she lived in an ordinary world. Had lived. Now she was jumping up cliffs and across big rooms in a castle on an island near Scotland, if those people weren’t lying through their teeth. She didn’t want to believe them; even she wasn’t stupid enough to buy such a story. So what had happened to her? Had Mitch finally driven her crazy? Had Shaw dosed her with LDS? Had Mitch? Could LDS do this much to someone’s brain?

LSD is the drug, Jules, Eva’s voice reminded from her memory. LDS is a religion.

Thanks, Bestie. She had no other answers, so she decided to play possum. Listening to what they said when they thought she was knocked out might tell her exactly how much trouble she was in.

“I’d say she’s starved, only Lady Valerie claims ’tis fashionable in the future, appearing malnourished.” That voice belonged to the healer, Duncan, and sounded worried. “Her heart’s finally slowed, but she needs food, drink and rest. Her leg, ’tis bruised, but no’ grievously. As for the vanishing, doubtless ’tis her boon. If ’tis, ’twill happen again, so you must teach her control.”

The vanishing meant that thing that had moved her in a heartbeat from one end of the hall to the other. She had done that?

No way.

After twenty-seven years of being tall, pretty but not too bright, Julianne wasn’t going to turn into a superhero. Why would a superhero have jump-across-the-room powers? That wouldn’t save the world from anything except maybe bullies in a classroom. No, this was more like one of those TV space shows, and how the crew went from the ship to a planet. She couldn’t remember the name of what did that, but it made a weird sound and turned them into blobs of sparkles.

That made her even more uneasy. I’m not going to jump to, like, Mars, am I?

A low mutter came from the other side of her, and then Shaw said, “I shall attend her in my chamber.”

“I dinnae reckon Nyall shall allow such,” the healer said. “Mayhap we should first summon the laird.”

“Look at my eyes, Duncan,” the chieftain demanded. “See you any cause for concern? No. I’m as I’ve ever been. I’m taking her.”

Two strong arms lifted her against a broad chest, and then Shaw was carrying her out of the room. Julianne remained limp, unsure of why she didn’t twist out of this man’s arms and run. She wasn’t on a Scottish island in the twelfth century, for sure. That seemed almost as likely as her and Shaw being spit out of that killer rip current for no reason. Then there were those voices she’d heard in her head. She hadn’t imagined them. Also, why were her breasts hot and tingling and wanting to heave against Shaw’s chest again? Couldn’t they get over this guy?

“Hey, Chief, wait up.”

That voice belonged to an American woman, but she wasn’t Valerie. One of the others, then, Julianne decided, and dared to crack one of her eyes open just a tiny bit. A curvy, dark-haired woman with fabulous blonde highlights walked alongside Shaw as if nothing were wrong with him carrying Julianne through a medieval castle. The woman wore a modern wet suit, too, which obviously couldn’t have come from the twelfth century—unless she had traveled back through time, too.