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Kendrick realized every eye in the room was focused on him, and he sighed dramatically. “Do you want to marry me, Alyssa?” he asked.

Heather swatted his shoulder. “I’ve talked to you enough about what life will be like in the future. Do it right.”

Kendrick let out a loud groan, but he lowered himself to one knee, and took Alyssa’s hand in his. “Alyssa, will you do me the great honor of marry me?”

Alyssa was frozen as she stared at the top of the head of the man who was kneeling before her.

It would mean she was married to Heather’s son, and Holli’s brother-in-law, which wouldn’t be a bad thing.

But…what if she wasn’t meant to marry him?

Maybe there was another man in the clan who would suit her better.

Holli looked at Alyssa. “By marrying Kendrick, you don’t need to worry about explaining how you magically appeared beside the loch earlier today. He’s a good man, Alyssa.”

Heather nodded. “The best of the best.”

“I thought I was the best of the best!” Bryson said, sounding wounded.

“The best son I have left. Is that better, Bryson?” Heather sighed dramatically.

Alyssa just sat there, frozen, completely unable to move. Everything was happening so fast. She wanted to be with her friends, but was this the way she wanted to do it?

“Why don’t ye walk with me?” Kendrick finally asked. “We’ll talk.”

“That sounds a lot more reasonable than marrying a man I met less than an hour ago and know nothing about.” Alyssa finally found her voice, and she stood up.

“Oh!” She looked at the three other women from her time.

She pulled out a root beer for Heather, Cheetos for Holli, and a phone and charger for Beth.

“I put lots of games on all of them and filled them with books. Do you have a solar charger?”

“Of course,” Beth said, reaching for the phone and hugging it to her.

Her husband looked at it, shaking his head. “I hope it doesn’t have the dreadful game where you pound candies.”

For a moment Alyssa wondered if she was causing marriage trouble by supplying the older woman with a phone. Then Beth said, “I’ll have something to do while you are out healing. It will be good.”

The old man just sighed. “If you say so, dear.”

Alyssa was surprised by how modern everyone spoke, but she realized it made sense with three women from her time having already come back to the same clan.

Kendrick offered Alyssa his arm, and the two of them went to the front door of the keep. “Did you grow up here?” she asked.

He nodded. “Bryson and I both lived in the keep until his marriage to Holli, and then I found a cottage in the village.”

Alyssa made a face. “Doesn’t your father have to die before Bryson takes his place?”

“Not in our family,” Kendrick said. “The youngest always inherits as soon as he marries. I know it’s odd, but this is the way our family has done it for generations. We emigrated here from England several generations ago.”

“You did? How is your family the one who rules the clan then?”

“This is a favorite story of mine.” As he spoke, Alyssa realized he was using a modern American accent, which in some ways made sense.

His mother and grandmother had been New Yorkers.

“When my family moved here many years ago, my great-great-grandfather had a special power. He could make plants grow with just his touch. When we arrived on the land you see, the clan had just lost its leader, and were experiencing a horrible drought. My grandfather was told that the man who was able to make the plants grow could take his place as laird of the clan.”

Alyssa smiled. She was certain the story had been exaggerated a million times, but she liked it. “So, he made the crops grow?”

“First, he went out to the field and spread water from the loch all around the plants. He even asked the men to spread the field wider and plant more. Then when everyone was asleep that night, he walked out, put his hand on the field, and told the plants to grow. By morning, the crop was ready to be harvested. He was moved into the keep with his wife, and they were the first Laird and Lady McClain.”

She pursed her lips thinking about the story. “And how did they come to the name McClain. The Mc for families is only in Ireland and Scotland from what I’ve read.”

“You are correct. Our family name was simply Lain back in England, and we took on the Mc part to be part of the Scottish clan. Now we are McClains.”

“Does it bother you that you don’t have a power?” she asked.

“Nay. With the power comes the responsibility of leading the clan and fathering seven sons. I would prefer to simply be Kendrick, part of the clan, but not one with much pressure.” Kendrick glanced at her to see her mind working.

His favorite part about the women from the future is they had all been taught to think like men. Conversations were never boring.

“That makes sense to me. I couldn’t marry the youngest brother, and not only because Holli already did. I wouldn’t want to be responsible for birthing seven sons.”

“I see we are of a like mind about this,” Kendrick said. “Are you willing to marry me?”

Alyssa took a deep breath. “I don’t know. I’ve only known you an hour or so.”

“But your friends have known me much longer. One of your friends is my mother. Do you really think she’d have raised a son who would be a bad husband?”

Alyssa smiled. “I know she wouldn’t. I do want to marry, but…how do I know you’re the right man?”

“Because anyone else you marry will ask many questions, you’ll be incapable of answering. I already understand your background and where you came from because my brother and father are married to close friends of yours. I’m the safe option.”

Alyssa stopped walking and looked at him, really seeing him for he first time.

He was a large, strong man, and he had a little dimple at the corner of his mouth that sent her heart fluttering.

His muscles seemed to have muscles, and she knew it wasn’t because he spent all his spare time in a gym lifting weights.

No, he was strong and muscular because work had made him that way.

If only she knew how his kisses felt, she’d be able to answer quickly.

“What do you do? I know you don’t lead the clan…

” She hoped he wasn’t just a wastrel, living out his life with his family name leading the way.

“I am in charge of training the McClain men. Bryson found he was too busy with a need to deal with animals who are predators. I believe it was my grandfather who started the trend of having another member of the family train the men. He needed to so he could deal with healing. Now it is something every generation does. The powers the laird gets are too good to be wasted by a man who is busy training his men.”

Alyssa nodded. It was good to know he worked hard to contribute to his clan. “Will you kiss me?” she asked. “If I know I like your kisses, then I can agree with marrying you. Otherwise, we’ll have to spend months getting to know one another, and that won’t be fun for either of us.”

He stepped toward her, cupping her face in his hands.

When his lips lowered onto hers, she didn’t know what she was expecting, but it wasn’t what happened.

Stars appeared before her closed eyes, and she wanted nothing more than to be close to him.

Never in her life had she enjoyed a man’s kisses, but this guy? Wow.

When he raised his head, he saw that her eyes were still closed, and they didn’t seem to be in any hurry to open. “I ask again. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?”

Alyssa nodded her head, a smile just barely touching her lips. “I’ll marry you.” When her eyes opened, he could see the excitement in them, and he realized he’d done a good job kissing her.

“By the time we get back to the keep, I’m certain my mother will have already called for a feast. We share a priest with the Campbell Clan, who are the people of my great-grandmother. She is still with us. Her son keeps her and all the family healthy.”

“Heather won’t call for the priest without an answer from us, will she?”

Kendrick chuckled. “She’s already done it. The ceremony will be soon after we arrive.”

Alyssa sighed. “I don’t even get to plan my own wedding?”

“Be thankful it is my mother and your friend Holli planning the wedding. It means you will have Irish Nachos for your wedding feast.”

Alyssa couldn’t stop a grin from covering her face. “I guess Heather figured out how to grow the needed plants.”

“She did. I must tell you as we walk. We will live in a plain cottage like the rest of the clan. It will have three rooms. Does that change your mind about marrying me?”

Alyssa shrugged. “I left a six-bedroom house to find my destiny. If I’d wanted it that badly, I’d still be living in it.”

“And so, you would.”

“All right let’s go back to the keep and see what they’ve done to get ready for our wedding,” she said. “I hope you’re wrong, and they’ll leave at least a bit of it for me, but I doubt it.”

His arm went around her shoulders as he opened the front door of the keep. They walked in to see people bustling every which way.

One of the cooks, stopped and looked Alyssa up and down. “Ye best get above stairs. Lady Heather and Lady McClain are waiting ta dress ye for the wedding.”

Alyssa looked at Kendrick once more. “I’ll show you to the master bedroom,” he said. “I’m certain that’s where Mother and Holli are waiting.” Kendrick hurried up the stairs with Alyssa trailing behind him.

When he reached the top, he turned left, and knocked on the door there. Heather stuck her head out. “There you are! Wedding’s in fifteen, so we need to get you into a McClain kilt.”

Alyssa sighed. “You were supposed to wait for me to make a decision.” Wasn’t it just like Heather and Holli to make the decision for her? She remembered now why she hadn’t missed them for a week or two after they’d left.

Holli shrugged. “No time to argue now.” There was a blue dress in the McClain colors lying across the bed. “Strip to your slip, and we’ll get this on you quick.”

Alyssa realized there was no point fighting the two of them.

She may as well go along, since she had done what they expected of her anyway.

She stripped off the dress that she realized wasn’t at all like what Heather and Holli wore, though she’d been sure she’d had her dress made for the correct time.

Perhaps they knew less about how the medieval Scots had dressed than she’d realized.

Once she was in the plaid of the clan, she went through the pockets of the dress she’d worn. “Where do I put these things?” she asked. “I don’t want anyone to stumble on them accidentally.”

“There’s a trunk under the bed,” Holli said. “All of the future stuff we bring goes there. You can take a phone back to your cottage of course, but you’ll have to keep it hidden yourself.”

“I can do that,” Alyssa said. “You know, after I’ve seen said cottage and figured it all out.”

“It won’t take long,” Heather said. “You and Kendrick are in the cabin beside mine, and we’ll be able to talk more.”

“It’s weird seeing you so much older. I can’t believe I’m marrying your son.”

Heather laughed. “It was even weirder with Holli. Now I’ve been through it once, it seems almost commonplace.”

Alyssa raised an eyebrow at Heather. “Is that so?”

“Not at all!” Heather said. All three women laughed for a moment.

“Tell me about the ceremony,” Alyssa said.

“It’ll be in English because I requested that of the priest,” Holli said. “You just answer where and when you’re supposed to, and then you go home with Kendrick after we throw a huge party.”

“I see.” Alyssa took a deep breath. “Am I doing the right thing?”

“We both wondered that as well,” Heather said. “Trust me. My son will treat you like a queen.”

Alyssa realized she’d followed her friend’s convoluted explanation. “Why did Kendrick have a cut on his shoulder?”

Heather nodded. “It’s the way he trains the men. I wish he wouldn’t be quite so hands on as he trains, but they all tell me it’s the only way to train an army.”

“Don’t you almost wish we’d brought rifles back with us to keep them safe?” Alyssa asked.

“More times than I care to admit to,” Heather said. “Oh, and when Dr. Lachele comes back to see you, you have to send someone for all of us right away.”

“She’s going to come back to see me?” Alyssa asked. “No one told me about that.”

“Well, it happens. It’s pretty cool too.”

Holli narrowed her eyes at her friend. “You know you were brought back just a generation before the Black Death ravaged Europe, right?”

Alyssa groaned. “I left one pandemic to come back to the worst in the history of the world. Sounds like me.”

“Pandemic?” Heather asked.

“I forgot you came back in 2019. Covid-19 was a pandemic starting around February of 2020. It started in China and quickly spread to the rest of the world. So many people have died from this thing. Everyone runs around in a mask.”

Holli sighed. “I left when it was first being reported on. I didn’t realize it got so bad.”

“So bad. They developed a vaccine, but half the world thinks the vaccine is made to put trackers into people’s bodies, so they refuse.

The other half gets the vaccine. So many fights, all because doctors are trying to save people.

” Alyssa sighed dramatically. “I wish everyone could just get along for a while.”

“Never going to happen,” Heather said. “We have the closest thing to peace this clan has ever seen, and we’re keeping it that way.”

“How?” Alyssa asked. “You think you can guarantee peace?”

“I seriously doubt it,” Heather said. “But when people start being killed off by the Black Death, I have a feeling we’ll be the most popular clan around. Having a healer seems to work that way.”

Alyssa shook her head. “There must be better ways to have peace among men. I’m ready to go all out hippy and start protesting all the wars.”

Holli giggled. “Imagine just how the Highlanders would react to a hippy. They would have no idea what to do.”

A knock on the door had them all jumping. “Yes?” Holli called.

“The priest is here. It’s time,” called the voice back.

Alyssa took a deep breath. “I guess I’m going to get married.”