Page 103 of Highlander’s Captive

No matter what he said about not being able to be with her, she’d go. She’d make him see. She’d stick with him, and eventually he’d realize she’d never lie to him again. She’d be loyal to him.

Yes, she just needed to make him see that.

He needed time to trust her.

And she’d give him that time.

And if he still couldn’t trust or forgive her, at least she’d know she’d given it her best shot. She’d come back to her own time with no regrets.

“That’s good,” Dad said. “Maybe you two can reconcile then?”

“Yes, maybe we can,” she said.

She took her father’s hand in hers and squeezed it. How strange it was that it was her father, the man she’d blamed for her misfortunes her whole life, who had given her the greatest resources of all.

Forgiveness. Strength. And bravery.

Chapter 37

Inverlochy Castle, late February 2021

Amy looked at the empty courtyard, the ruined towers, the crumbled walls. There was no moat, no kitchen, no great hall. No stables where Craig and she had made love for the first time. The Comyn Tower looked like a stump again. It was quiet, just the wind rustling the bare branches of the trees.

The smells of a working castle were gone. As were the people she’d known. Craig. Owen. Hamish. Fergus. Elspeth.

She wondered if the rocks held memories of everything that had happened since then. The people who had lived here. Loved. Struggled. Died.

Amy adjusted her backpack. It was heavy with medicines, binoculars and other search and rescue tools, books on herbalism and how to do useful stuff like make paper. And she’d packed tampons. Many, many tampons.

Jenny had insisted Amy take as many as possible. Smart girl. What would Amy do without her? Amy’s heart ached at the memory of her sister and the knowledge that they’d never see each other again.

Jenny had had a hard time letting Amy go, and Amy still felt guilty leaving her sister to take care of their dad alone. She had put her house and all her possessions in Jenny’s name so that she could sell them if she wanted to. They’d cried for what felt like hours.

“I still have a hard time believing it,” Jenny had said through her tears.

“Just imagine I’m in a foreign country with no phones, no email, and no communication possible.”

Jenny sobbed. “It will be like you’ve died!”

“No, no! I’ll live a great life with the man who makes me very happy. Something I can never have here.”

Jenny sighed and hugged Amy. “You’re insane. But I love you all the same.”

They said their goodbyes, and Amy still saw doubt in Jenny’s eyes when she threw her sister one last glance from the airport security line.

Amy breathed heavily. Not because she’d walked, but because in a few minutes—if everything went right—she’d see the man she was supposed to be with.

“I told ye, ye hadna met the man yet,” a woman said next to her. Amy looked to her side.

Of course.

Amy smiled. “Hello, Sìneag.”

“Hello, dearie. I see ye decided to go back.”

“Yep. Decided.”

Sìneag turned, grasped Amy’s hand, and squeezed it. “I’m so glad ye did! Oh, ye and Craig are such a great match.”