Highland Defiance - By Sky Purington Page 0,14
mother’s skirts as she continued to pace. Her long, dark hair with wisps of gray shone in the odd lighting. She suddenly stopped pacing and wrung her hands. “There is something different about all of this. You need to tell me everything.”
No. She didn’t want to. Exhausted, she said, “I’m tired. I need sleep.”
Though she had many questions she didn’t want to ask them now. Time alone to process her thoughts would be great. How well did her mother actually know Adlin, the man she’d dreamt about for years? Outside of the obvious time-travel aspect, why was the topic so dire?
Sarah stopped in front of her, arms crossed over her chest. “You need to understand that this is not over. You will be going back.” She shook her head slowly and said, “If Adlin is involved, you will be going back.”
When Mildred saw her mother’s eyes water she patted the bed beside her. “Sit, Mama. Tell me about how you and Da met. It might help.”
It wasn’t that Sarah was weak, just too emotional sometimes. Perhaps it was half the reason Mildred felt the need to show herself as strong. But the truth of the matter was… how else should a woman behave when their father wasn’t around anymore but lost somewhere in time. Well, not exactly lost, her Da was somewhere in medieval Scotland and without doubt, with his MacLomain Clan.
“Oh, you’ve heard this story hundreds of times,” Sarah said, but her cheeks warmed.
“Well, in light of things, one more time couldn’t hurt.”
“I don’t suppose it could.”
So she retold the story with the unmistakable fondness of a woman in love. Her mother had traveled back to medieval Scotland when young. In her case, the MacLomain she met was away at battle when she arrived. And her arrival, naturally, had been accepted based on Adlin’s explanation that she was a member of one of their numerous clan septs. It’d all been quite romantic and as far as Mildred could tell, far simpler a story than the one in which she currently found herself.
What was Adlin up to?
Hours later she lie in her bed alone, staring up at the ceiling with that very question still lodged firmly in her mind. But another question kept niggling at her subconscious. Was the attraction between her and Adlin all in her imagination? It must have been.
After all, he couldn’t have pulled her back for him… could he have? A strange shiver of awareness rippled through her and she rolled on her side.
Would she really travel back again? The thought both petrified and thrilled her. Sighing in frustration, she rolled onto her other side and stared out the window. The day was a little too bright and cheery for her current mood, which frustrated her even more. Shouldn’t she be grateful she was safe at home?
Tap. Tap. Pebbles bounced off the window. Mildred frowned and looked outside. Jim and David waved. With a chuckle, she opened the window and yelled down. “You could have knocked on the front door.”
“What fun is there in that?” Jim yelled back.
“How are you feeling?” David asked.
Mildred shrugged but already felt better knowing her friends had come so soon. “I could use some fresh air.”
“Then come on. We’ll go for a walk.” This from Jim.
She grinned, nodded and shut the window. Without doubt, her mother would try to stop her but not if she didn’t know. Though she crept quietly down the stairs, Irene cut her off at the bottom.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“I need air,” she whispered. When hesitation crossed Irene’s face, Mildred said, “Please. You know I do better outdoors.”
Irene eyed her for several long moments before she reluctantly nodded, headed into the kitchen and said, “Now Mama, what can I do to help?”
Bless her sister; she was keeping their mother distracted. Super stealthy, she snuck down the hallway and exited through the backdoor. As expected, her friends were waiting. David looked concerned, Jim, exasperated. But she understood Jim’s expression. He always turned impatient when he couldn’t immediately fix something. Right now, in his estimation, she needed fixing.
“I’m fine,” Mildred declared and started walking toward the forest. “So you both can stop worrying.”
“I wasn’t worried in the least,” Jim declared walking on one side.
“Well, I was,” David said, falling in on the other side.
“Either way,” Mildred said. “I’m feeling much better. Thanks for coming by. I was getting bored.”
Jim grinned. “Of course you were.” He glanced over his shoulder at the house. “Who wants to be cooped