into the fire? She couldn’t trust her emotions where Cody was concerned. Had she not learned this lesson before?
She sat for several minutes, trying to decide if she had the guts to stick with her plan and make peace with her past—especially given the fact that her past wasn’t what she had believed—or just cut and run. She stood up, turned to go back, and found herself face-to-face with a tall, white-haired man.
***
“It was nothing,” Cody said.
Lach snorted. “Didn’t look like nothing to me, both of you stark naked in the lake.”
“She fell.” Cody gave them the nonchalant look he’d practiced while dressing, but his face felt like dried cement.
“I guess the water dissolved her clothes,” Lach said.
Cody thumped Lach on the shoulder. “I was taking a swim and didn’t know she was there. Mind your own business. I don’t ask about every girl I see you with. That’d take the rest of my life.”
“They’re not Shay,” Lach said, crossing his arms over his chest. “You two looked pretty cozy.”
“He’s got you there,” Marcas agreed. “This isn’t just any girl. Shay’s family.”
Family. If only they knew, but they didn’t, and he wasn’t about to explain it now. “It was nothing,” he said again, though it felt like a whole lot more than nothing. “But just for the record, hands off, Romeo.” He gave Lach a hard glare.
“Hey.” Lach threw his hands up. “I wasn’t the one plastered all over her at the lake.”
***
A moment’s panic turned to recognition, though Shay hadn’t seen him in years. Old Elmer was tall, with the kind of face that looked ancient but never seemed to age. When Shay was a toddler, she thought Old Elmer was Santa Claus, and when she got older, she decided he was Merlin. He’d lived in these woods for as long as she could remember, though he was rarely seen. What was he doing here now?
“Elmer, you startled me.”
“Haven’t seen you around for years,” he said.
“I live in Scotland now. I just came for a visit.”
“Scotland.” His green eyes were steady, penetrating. “Your home’s here.”
Shay glanced in the direction Cody, Marcas, and Lachlan had gone. She wasn’t feeling good about either place at the moment.
“You ought not come in these woods alone. Bring one of them boys with you. There’s dangerous creatures out here.” He stared at the woods in front of her, as if he could see through the curtain of darkness. “There’s a storm coming. You best hurry home.”
She followed his gaze, and when she turned back, he was gone. Shivering, she wished she’d gone with the boys. Her ankle was throbbing. She limped along the path, occasionally reaching out to caress a clump of pine needles or the bark of a favorite tree. She loved the rugged landscape of Scotland, but she’d spent most of her life in these Virginia woods. The memories here were part of her soul. She heard a whisper. Old Elmer? Cody? Had he come back for her?
“Cody?” She stood still and listened, but there was only silence. It must have been a dead tree creaking. There it was again. “Cody, is that you?”
A tree limb snapped close by, and she jumped.
Shay peeked behind her and saw a shadow dart across the path. It stood upright. Human. “Lach, if that’s you, knock it off.” Another whisper sent her scampering behind an oak. She flattened her back against the rough bark.
But animals didn’t whisper.
She scurried from her hiding place at a fast hobble as leaves swirled angrily around her ankles and trees twisted in the wind. She heard another sound, like breathing. Or was it her? The moon had vanished, leaving the night black as she moved off the trail, taking a shortcut back to the house. She felt something closing in behind her, but was too frightened to turn. She ran faster, sweat beading her brow, drying in the wind that whipped at her like claws. A white owl swooped down, and a sharp pain shot through her arm as she dove to the ground. Screeching noises echoed around her in the darkness, like birds of prey fighting. Tearing at the dirt, she scrambled to her feet and ran. Branches clawed at her face and arms. A figure stepped onto the path in front of her, and she screamed as strong arms grabbed her.
Chapter 2
“Shay?”
She gripped Cody’s waist, trying to catch her breath. “You scared the daylights out of me. What are you doing here?”
“I came to make sure you got home before the storm hit. You okay?”
