Quinn’s spine stretched in spite of the pain it caused.
“I’ll not allow her out of my sight,” he announced to anyone wanting to know.
Jillian’s horse appeared to his right.
“Well,” she said. “I’m certainly not leaving her here.” Then she turned in the saddle and gave Monty a look that demanded he say something. The look also suggested it be something that would please her.
The big man gave a nod and moved his horse up next to his wife’s.
“And I’ll not be leaving without Jillian, no matter how confusing it might be for our clansmen.” Monty tried not to smile, but failed. Then he laughed and pulled Jillian from her saddle and across his lap. “Was that heroic enough for you, love?”
Jillian rolled her eyes but appeared to be pleased with her new seating arrangement.
“I almost forgot!” she cried suddenly. “Two months ago, I got a package from Grandmother’s attorney.” She turned to Montgomery. “Remember?”
He only shrugged.
“He said he’d tried to find the woman it was meant for, but she’d disappeared. Since it was his last duty as executor, he was passing it on to me for safekeeping. He said if a Ms. Bell ever showed up asking about Grandmother, I was to give the package to her. He also said it was up to me whether or not I opened it, but that’s all he said. I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist taking a peek, so I put it in a safe deposit box in Edinburg. Too far away to tempt me, you know?”
She turned to Juliet.
“I never realized you had a different last name. I’d have remembered sooner. Maybe, whatever she wrote to you, will better explain why she took me. I still can’t believe she didn’t tell me about you, or our parents. I can’t believe I never remembered.” Jillian reached over the empty saddle of her own horse and squeezed Juliet’s hand. “We’ll go to Edinburg just as soon as we’re home.”
Home.
Quinn’s chest tightened and felt a bit hemmed in. He couldn’t help feeling like a greedy bastard, but he was tired of everyone trying to take his woman from him, if indeed she wished to be his.
He pulled back on the reins and his horse stopped, then began backing. “Give us a moment, if you please,” he said to the rest who had begun to slow their mounts.
He guided his horse off the road and close to a stand of birch trees, hoping the rustle of their silver leaves would somewhat mask their conversation and give them a sense of privacy. Monty raised a brow that warned the distance would have to do. It was irritating to have the man take on the role of Juliet’s protector when Quinn was completely capable of filling that role himself.
Juliet turned in the saddle, looked about at the trees, then up at him. “What now?”
Quinn smiled at the way she’d braced herself, like she was ready to defend them both at the drop of a hat. There was also a small flame of fear in her eyes, as if she worried he was about to shoo her from his saddle.
“Ah, my love. Tell me what you’re thinking. None of us seems to be able to give you up, but it is you who must decide where you will go and with whom, aye?”
Of course he had little choice. The Gordons believed he was dead and if word reached Laird Gordon that he’d been tricked, that the man he believed was Montgomery Ross yet lived, there would be all out war between the clans. Blood would be shed. Lives would be lost. And there was no need, thanks to a certain enchanted tomb that could take Quinn away.
But he wasn’t about to point it out to Juliet. She needed to decide if she wanted him with her after they reached the other side of time itself. He would not force her to change her life to accommodate him if he wasn’t truly the man she wanted.
“Tell me what you want, lass. And don’t think to spare me.”
She nodded, then hung her head. She fiddled with her fingers, but he doubted she was paying them much heed. When he forced her to lift her chin, her eyes were full of tears, and it frightened him.
“What is it, lass?”
Finally, she spoke.
“They all act like I’m so special. I’m not used to that. The Feds only treated me well because I have something they need. My parents always