“Well, I am glad I was here to curb your impulsive homicide then,” she muttered wryly.
“I’m glad as well. Even when she told me I was not as angry as I should be. My reaction was most unusual, I think. I was angry, enraged even, but it faded quickly. Almost as if the past no longer mattered. The past does not matter, Emmy. Isn’t that strange?”
“And the future?”
“Aye, the future is all that matters. And I want a future with ye, Emmy. Ye’ve given me a peace I haven’t had in many years, allowed me to live for the moment and appreciate what I have. And to…what is it ye said? Not to sweat the small stuff?” He kissed her softly. “Ye’ve changed my life.”
“And you have changed mine.” Emmy wrapped her arms more firmly around him and kissed him lovingly. “It awes me, Connor, the feelings you rouse in me. I know I’ve said it before, but I never imagined that such a depth of feeling was possible. I love you. Such inadequate words, but I do.”
“As I love ye, my darling,” he whispered.
“Forgive her, Connor,” she said in all seriousness. “It’s your key being dropped right in your lap. Forgive her, the Heather that has haunted you all these years and let yourself face your future without all that baggage, happy and free. Think of it as a second chance to live your life. Isn’t that what Donell said? That everyone deserves a second chance. I don’t think that was all just about Dory. I think she needed to confess what she had done so she could and you could both move on with your lives. The truth can set you free, to borrow a much-abused cliché.”
“Ye think knowing the truth can change the way I look at life? That it will change the way I live my life from now on?”
“Doesn’t it?”
Connor met her gaze thoughtfully for several long moments. His life had changed…dramatically in fact, but it wasn’t just the truth that had done it. The truth alone would not have done it. Without weeks of Emmy’s influence before, that confession from Dory might have brought him to a homicidal end. It was Emmy who had brought them to this point. Emmy, whose love allowed him to move on and forgive before the confession had ever been delivered.
“I am happy and free, my love,” he replied eventually in serious measure. “Not because of that truth, but because ye came into my life and freed me.” He held her closely for a long while. “Well, then, let me up so I can go with my brother to Inverary to save his marriage.”
“That’s my man,” she murmured approval and kissed him gently on the cheek.
Chapter 43
The weather had finally cleared and the sun was shining for the first time in days. Forty-eight hours of labor and confessions had left Emmy tense and she was determined to get out and enjoy the beautiful day. Connor and Ian had said they would likely have to spend at least one night in Inverary and would probably not return until late in the day. Free to do as she wished, she dressed in the most comfortable clothes available – her own - thinking that over the rough terrain her boots were the most practical. It felt good to be back in her jeans. There was just something about their snug containment that set everything right. Her little blazer wasn’t much defense against the winds but it was warmer than any of the daily wear blouses she had and would work well under a large coat.
Stuffing her camera into her tote, she slung it across her chest. She hadn’t gotten one picture yet of this gorgeous land. Of course, at the moment, her digital camera was useless without a computer to load the pictures to and what if she never returned to her own time? What was the point? She shrugged mentally. It was something to do and she wanted to capture Duart just in case…
Emmy froze. What if she did go back? What would she do when they finally found Donell or, more accurately, he decided to grace them with his presence? Beg him to take her away? Beg him to let her stay? What if she didn’t have a choice? What if she did?
What if she did?
It tortured her that question. What would she do if she had a choice? Take Connor back with her, of course. Then she tried to picture him in her time. He would be lost. His purpose, his passion for his land and his people, gone. At least she knew what was coming! But, she also knew what she was missing. He would never make it in her time and she just wasn’t sure she wanted to be stuck in his. But without Connor, even her own time…would it be worth going back to?
Emmy mulled over these questions as she snuck out of the castle and courtyard and heading in long strides to the southwest. The pull of her muscles felt good. She definitely needed to get out more and keep in shape! She savored the feel as she walked rapidly down the rocky coastline. Stopping periodically, she took pictures of Duart, the sound and on farther to Lochdon taking pictures of the village and its people at work. She stopped in briefly to check on Cora McAllen and her baby before using the last of the local coins Connor had given her on a meat pie at the local tavern.
The rustic fare
