Page 22 of Highland Ghost

“Ian, I understand we will never see each other again, but ye make it sound as if ye’re sayin’ guidbye forever. That’s no’ goin’ to happen now, since we are no’ goin’ to marry. Ye dinna have to be the victim of that horrible curse.”

“If only that were true,” he said softly, looking so sad that it almost made her want to cry.

“Oh, look at the butterfly,” she said, looking up to see a beautiful orange butterfly floating above their heads. “I’m sure it’s a guid omen.”

He didn’t respond, or even look up. He just kept his eyes fastened on her.

“Well, shall we go for that walk now?” she asked him.

“Aye,” he said, tying the reins of the horse to a tree and taking her by the hand. “It’s slippery in spots, and I dinna want ye to fall.”

“Oh, of course,” she said, flashing him a smile, secretly glad that they were holding hands. It made her feel special. They walked along the river bank, and then he directed her through some trees into an opening that had soft grass and lots of sun. Birds chirped above them from the branches.

“Let’s sit down for a while,” he told her, still holding her hand and sitting down, bringing her with him.

“This is lovely,” she said, purposely leaning up against him, looking up at the clouds. He put his arm around her, his fingers gently stroking the top of her hand.

“I wish things had been different,” he told her.

“What do ye mean?” she asked.

“I wish I had been honest with ye from the start about the curse.”

“Ian, it wouldna have mattered. If I had kent about the curse, or if my laird had, the betrothal never would have happened in the first place.”

“I understand,” he said softly. “But . . . if there wasna a curse, then do ye think . . . do ye think we could have had a chance to make it work between us?”

She thought for a moment before she answered. “I suppose so,” she said. “I think if there hadna been a curse and if we had courted for a while before we married . . . then I’d say, yes. Yes, I think it could have worked.”

“Thank ye,” he said, sounding grateful and yet sad at the same time.

“Ian?” She looked back at him. “Is somethin’ wrong? Somethin’ besides us no longer bein’ betrothed?”

“Why do ye ask that?”

“Ye seem so sad. I dinna like to see ye this way.”

“I’m losin’ ye forever, when I never got the chance to even get to ken ye.”

“We’re doin’ that now,” she told him.

“It’s too late,” he answered.

“There ye go again,” she told him. “Ye sound as if yer life is over just because I said I didna want to marry ye. Ye can always marry someone else, Ian.”

“Nay, I will never marry now.” He kissed her once again and, this time in his kiss, she felt something that she hadn’t before. It was a kiss that lovers would give each other when a man was going to war and not sure if he’d return alive. It was a kiss that said goodbye . . . forever. “I think it’s time we get back,” he told her, helping her to her feet before she even had a chance to ask him about what she felt.

They walked back to the horse, but before he helped her atop it, he held her hands tightly and looked deeply into her eyes.

“What is it, Ian?” she asked him. “Tell me, please.”

“Caitlin, I’ve only just met ye, but I want to tell ye somethin’ before ye leave. I want to tell ye that I have never felt this way about anyone before, and I think . . . I think if things were different, that I could have easily fallen in love with ye. Actually, I think it is already happenin’.”

“Ian,” she said, not sure how to answer. “I feel somethin’ for ye, too. But I dinna think we can call it love. We barely ken each other.”

“Aye, ye’re right,” he said, helping her mount and then getting on the horse behind her. “I just wanted to tell ye how I felt since I will never have the chance again.”

“Never say never,” she told him as they rode back to the castle. “For all we ken, we might start courtin’ someday. And then after a while, mayhap we’d fall in love and get married and break the awful curse. But for now, I think we need to take it slowly. There will be plenty of time to figure this out.”

“Nay, lass. My time has run out,” he said so softly that, at first, she thought she’d only imagined that he’d said it. “Hold on tight,” he said, his arm clasping possessively around her. “I’m goin’ to take ye for the ride of yer life, and give ye somethin’ to remember me by.”

The ride back to the castle was fast and exhilarating, making her feel more alive than she’d ever felt in her life. She wasn’t frightened at all, being in Ian’s protective hold. She laughed and smiled, and was only sad when they returned. The ride, and being held in Ian’s arms, had come to an end.

His words echoed in her head, and the sadness she saw in his eyes lodged in her heart. Was Ian really falling in love with her so quickly? And could things have been different between them if the ghosts and the curse never existed? Part of her had hope that they could still get back together someday in the future. But the things that Ian had said today, and the way he’d kissed her goodbye, made her feel as if they would never be together or see each other again.