“Or, you and Fáelán could move here.”
“After what he’s suffered? I couldn’t ask that of him. I wouldn’t. You know his history, and you know what he wants to do with the rest of his life. He has all this knowledge about Ireland’s past, and he wants to be the one to uncover those ancient sites for the rest of the world.”
“Yeah, I know.” She sucked in a much-needed breath. “I should get going. I have a few errands to run before I head back to Garretsville.”
“All right. Call me as soon as you decide what to do.”
“I will.”
Meredith ended the call and tossed her phone into her backpack. Gripping the steering wheel with both hands, she rested her forehead on her knuckles and closed her eyes. Her longing to help Daniel warred with the fear that something would go horribly wrong. Several moments passed with no clear winner before she snatched her phone from her pack again and called her twin. “Hey, Grayce,” Meredith rasped out the moment Grayce picked up.
“I was just calling you when my phone rang,” Grayce told her. “Even from Ireland I can feel your turmoil.”
“I’m … not happy, and it’s not all about my present dilemma. It’s … well, it’s everything.”
“I know.” Her twin’s sigh came through loud and clear. “I’ve known since the day Boann returned me to Regan and Fáelán’s house. You feel as if Regan and I have abandoned you.”
“Yes, and I’m not adjusting well at all.” Meredith let loose a mirthless laugh. “This is the first time I’ve said that out loud,” she squeaked as tears filled her eyes again.
“Listen, I know you want to start working toward your PhD. You could switch to medieval or world history and apply to Trinity College in Dublin.” Grayce’s voice held a note of enthusiasm. “Maybe you’d meet a nice Irishman who—”
“I’ve already met a nice Irishman, and he’s—”
“Dead.” Grayce snorted.
“Yep. Very. Has been for more than a century.” Meredith swallowed and wiped a tear from her cheek. “Anyway, if I did do my doctoral program in Ireland, I’d be abandoning Mom and Dad. How would they cope with having all three of us so far away?”
She and Grayce both went quiet for several seconds, no doubt hoping an easy solution might pop into their heads. That was what she hoped anyway, but nothing came to her.
“Tell me what to do, Grayce, because I’m torn. You know what Alpin has offered, and you know me. I don’t take risks. I never have. I left all the risk-taking up to you, living and learning vicariously through your experiences. What should I do?”
“I wish I could tell you, but I can’t. Remember when you first called us after arriving in Garretsville? I told you then I sensed things were not going to be easy.”
“I remember. Were you picking up on the choice I’d have to make?”
“I think so.” She went quiet for a few seconds, as if thinking. “If there were no risks involved, what would you do?”
“I’d go back in time and save Daniel’s life.” She’d also invite him to join her in the twenty-first century. Would he? Worries about his family were what kept him here, so probably not. He’d return to Ireland to fulfill the vow he’d made to his mother, and Meredith would return to her life in the present. Her chest ached with the certainty that things weren’t going to turn out the way she wished they would.
“Okay, you said that without the slightest hesitation. How about you listen to your heart, and maybe have a little faith.” Grayce suggested.
Meredith groaned and raked her fingers through her hair. “That’s the best you’ve got?”
“Sorry.”
“Well, shit.”
“That about sums it up.” Grayce snorted. “After all the visions and crap I’ve been through, I’ve developed a modicum of faith—in fate, the grand plan, or … whatever. I have to believe I’d sense something if you weren’t going to get through this intact, and I don’t.”
“I hope you’re right.” At any rate, she didn’t want to talk about it anymore. “On a happier note, how are you feeling? Do you still have morning sickness?”
“I experience nausea off and on throughout the day, but it’s not so bad that I actually throw up. The excitement more than makes up for the discomfort. Brían is having a tough time keeping our secret, and he’s gone overboard with being protective.”
Meredith grinned. “I can imagine. I can’t wait to meet the newest MacSloan.”
“I can’t either,” Grayce gushed. “I didn’t planned to marry or to have a family, and look where I am now.”
“Right, you fell into a hidden world, went through hell, and in the end everything turned out for you and Brían.” She hadn’t meant to sound so bitter, but the bitterness leaked out nonetheless.
“Maybe you’re on the verge of great change as well. Brían told me fate brought us together, and I believe him. Perhaps—”
“Boann came to your rescue, Grayce.” Meredith’s gut clenched at the thought of what would’ve happened if Boann hadn’t arrived on the scene when she had. “She can’t get involved in this.”
“I know.”
“I’d better get going.” Meredith swallowed a few times. “I have another call to make and errands to run.”
“Okay. Call me again whenever you need to talk. I love you,” Grayce said, her voice tremulous.
“I love you back.” Once she ended the call, Meredith brought up the contact information she’d entered into her phone for Jake Geller and the ranger station. She called his cell number.
“Ranger Jake here,” he answered.
“Hi, this is Meredith MacCarthy in Garretsville. I was wondering if I could have a package delivered to the ranger station.”
“Sure. Just have it addressed to you
