Page 28

E mma awoke with a screaming headache. She carefully raised her hands and felt her head. No bumps, but just the light touch made her wince.

“Drink this,” Aidan said in her ear, wrapping her hands around something rough. “It’s white willow bark tea. It should help the pain.”

She sipped and made a face. “It’s too bitter.”

“Drink it,” he encouraged her, bringing it to her lips again. “It will help.”

She choked down the brew. Darkness surrounded them, but the moon was bright. A cold wind teased the leaves of the trees above her, and she shivered.

Aidan wrapped a piece of heavy wool around her shoulders and fastened it across her collarbone. She glanced down at the cloak, then up at him.

His eyes shone light green in the blue glow of the moon.

“How do you feel, other than your headache?” he asked, smoothing her hair.

“Dizzy,” she replied, closing her eyes again. “Weird.”

He made her follow his finger with her eyes and performed a few other tests before declaring she probably hadn’t suffered a concussion.

“I’ll keep an eye on you anyway,” he said.

She felt her head beginning to clear, although her brain was still foggy. “What happened? Did you drop me?” The last was an accusation, and she frowned before wincing again.

Her head really hurt.

“Nay.”

She sat up straighter. “ What happened to my clothes?”

He continued to gently rub the back of her neck. “I vow, I changed you swiftly and out of sight of the others.”

“Wait, what? Is this…oh my God. Why am I dressed in medieval clothing?”

The dress was dark—she thought it might be a deep blue. The silver braided rope, which circled her ribcage just under her breasts, shone in the moonlight, and the overlay was a sheet of silver gauze.

“Have I been unconscious all day?” she asked suddenly, noting the moon high in the sky above them.

“Nay. Only for a few minutes. We simply came into the night instead of the day.”

She paused. “That doesn’t make any sense, Aidan. Where are we?”

He paused. “More like when.”

Emma blinked. “I’m not following you at all.”

“We’re in Ireland, but the year is 1465.”

“You fell hard,” she declared promptly. “It’s messed with your brain. What happened in the cave back there? Was it a bomb?”

“Nay, Emmaline. It wasn’t a bomb. Reilly brought us back to my home.”

Though the man looked all right, Emma had serious doubts. His brain must’ve been rattled hard by the explosion. Emma gave him a concerned look. “Where is Reilly? ”

“I’ve found us horses. Can you ride?” Reilly asked, materializing from the trees and making Emma jump.

Horses? “Do pony rides at a county fair count?” she ventured.

“Not in this case. You’ll ride with me.” Aidan helped her to stand, then walked her over to the largest stallion she’d ever seen.

It eyed her warily.

This adventure was going from strange to downright weird. Why horses? What happened in the cave? And she wanted to get Aidan to a doctor as soon as possible.

But first, she figured they ought to get inside somewhere quickly. There was no telling if Ben knew where they were, and, as an entire day had passed, he might’ve caught up to them, wherever they were.

A few minutes. She snorted. Aidan was clearly trying to save her pride. She must’ve been out for hours. It definitely explained the headache.

“I can run,” she said quickly, taking a step back. She bumped into a hard chest. “Really. I have on my boots. It’s fine.”

The horse snorted its approval of her plan.

“Don’t let the beast know you’re afraid of him,” Aidan advised, placing his hands on her waist. He effortlessly tossed her up onto the horse’s back, and she almost fell off the other side. He hopped up behind her, righted her, then leaned down so his mouth was against her ear.

“Hold onto the horse’s mane or my arms, but don’t grab these reins. Aye?”

She nodded shakily and adjusted her heavy skirts. She glanced down at the ground and clenched her eyes shut. He kicked the horse, and they galloped off. She heard other hoofbeats, and she managed a small peek through her lids. Reilly rode on one side of them, Cian on the other.

Aidan gave the horse its head, and they flew between the trees in the forest, leaping over small streams and charging through brush. Emma’s teeth smacked together in her head, and, after an hour of death-gripping Aidan’s arm, she was fairly certain her legs would never work properly again.

Aidan didn’t talk, but he certainly kept her warm.

He turned her cloak around, and the wool buffeted the wind.

His warmth seeped through the dress she wore, spreading throughout most of her body.

The pants she wore under her dress kept her legs surprisingly warm as well; although she couldn’t claim comfort, she couldn’t say she was cold, either.

Her mind wandered during the seemingly endless ride.

How did Ben find me? Perhaps Aidan knew.

How else would he have known to follow her into the forest?

She decided to bring it up with her horse partner, who was currently bent over her, shielding her from the wind and urging the horse to go faster.

She really didn’t approve of such an action.

“Aidan,” she called.

“No need to yell,” he said softly in her ear, making her shiver in an entirely non-cold way. “I’m right here.”

“Right,” she replied, trying to talk around her clattering teeth. “Um, so…do you know how Ben found me?”

“Aye, with dirty money. But not to worry. He won’t find us here.”

“If he found us before, and we left absolutely no paper trail or anything, how are you so sure?”

“He can’t travel through time, Emma.”

He was so calm about it, so matter-of-fact. Emma swallowed past a lump in her throat. Poor man , she thought. He’s so confused. She’d heard never to let someone with a brain injury fall asleep, and even though he didn’t look sleepy, she kept talking just in case.

“Where are we going?”

“Home,” he said simply.

“Right. Of course. And home would be… ”

“On the coast.”

So forthcoming , she thought sardonically. As they whisked along, Emma felt an odd sense of detachment. She should’ve been freaking out. She was on a horse with a man who needed medical attention, and she had no idea how to steer the creature, much less where to go.

“Stop thinking so hard,” Aidan murmured, leaning in again. “You’re making our horse nervous.”

“I am not,” she retorted. With surprise, she added, “You’re handling him just fine. Where did you learn how to ride?”

“I believe I’ve already explained that I grew up here, Emma.”

“So, what? Is horseback riding a core requirement of elementary school in Ireland?”

“Never went to elementary school,” was the reply.

“Homeschooled, then. Whatever. Don’t be obtuse.”

“Obtuse? I believe there’s only one person on this horse who fulfills that description. And it’s not me, love.”

She shifted in the saddle and would have fallen, had Aidan’s arms not tightened when they did. He righted her and when her heartbeat returned to semi-normal, she softened her tone. “You weren’t born in the Middle Ages, Aidan. I don’t know where we are—”

“We came up near the coast,” Reilly called out. “We’ll be home before sunrise if we can keep the horses going through the night.”

She ignored him. “But,” she continued, “it’s not possible to travel through time. It just isn’t.”

“Yet here we are,” Aidan said blandly.

She sighed in frustration. “Do you need a doctor?”

“He saw one, once,” Cian called out from her other side. “It didn’t go well.”

“Bite your tongue,” Aidan replied. “It could’ve gone so much worse.”

“Really? How?” Cian asked. “The last time you went, you dove out the front door of the poor man’s office, straight into the car, and told me to drive like a ‘bat out of hell.’ I’m not sure what definition of worse you’re thinking of, but when that man chased the car almost to the freeway…

” He trailed off. “Well, I wasn’t happy about it. ”

“Well then, I suppose we ought to be glad James decided he could handle me as a patient, aye?”

Emma tried to smile, but found she couldn’t. “Let’s just get you to your house; then we’ll evaluate you and see if we can’t find someone to help.”

At some point, Emma fell asleep in Aidan’s arms, while still atop the horse. She woke with a start when the horse stopped, and Aidan slid down the side of the beast with her in his arms.

Her legs were horribly sore.

After Cian scouted a safe location, Aidan gave her limited privacy to take care of her personal needs, then conferred quietly with Reilly as the horses drank from a stream nearby.

Emma stood shakily, her legs screaming in protest, and carefully made her way to them, Cian alert and on guard behind her.

She patted her hair, which she suspected might never again resemble anything other than a rat’s nest, and wished for a brush.

Aidan, much to her dismay, looked effortlessly calm, cool, and collected. His hair was delightfully tousled, and he stood chatting as though he fought off crazy ex-fiancés and rode horses across forests and hills every day of his life.

There was no way they were in 1465.

Right?

The forest around her didn’t look medieval, but then again, she didn’t really expect a forest to differ much from year to year.

The men around her wore medieval clothing, had medieval weaponry, and rode horses, but…

that could be part of an elaborate reenactment scheme. Or perhaps a disguise from Ben.

She shook her head hard. She wouldn’t be sucked into their delusion.

“My lady?” Cian said from behind her.

Emma hadn’t realized she’d stopped walking, and she forced her feet to move again. She had never felt more confused in her life.

“We’ve about six more hours ahead of us,” Aidan said as she approached. “If you need to stop, I think this is as safe an area as we’re to come across. We’re almost to MacWilliam land, and last I knew Nick was friendly with the neighbors.”

Reilly held up a hand. “Things can change in eight years, MacWilliam. Don’t assume anything.”