“No, mother.” Myra’s eyes met the floor.

“Did Grainna find you?”

“We never saw Grainna.” Myra swallowed a long drink and prayed her family didn’t pry too much.

“So there was no threat from her?” Her mother’s eyes searched for answers almost more than her words.

“How did you know it was safe for your return?”

her father asked.

Myra avoided the question, asked her own. “Was she here?”

“Aye. But Tara found a way to send her back,”

Duncan explained.

“When?”

“Just a few days ago.”

“’Tis a good thing I’ve returned when I did then.”

She closed the chain of questions off and told them all again how good it was to be home.

Tara, who had refused to let her sister’s hand go asked, “How long will you stay, Lizzy?”

“A week. If that’s okay?” Lizzy glanced over to Ian. Perfect. Myra wanted to pat her on the back. Her father needed to make the decision. If left up to Fin, Lizzy would have been sent home already.

“The question is how to get you back?” Fin spoke up. Several heads lifted at his words.

“One of you can take us.” Liz met his disapproving stare with one of her own.

“It isn’t that easy, Lady Elizabeth.”

“It’s Liz,” she corrected.

Fin stood and walked to the fire. “Here you are Lady Elizabeth, widow and mother of Simon.”

Liz dropped her sister’s hand and took to her feet. “I’m not a widow.”

“We know that. But that will be the story you tell.” “Excuse me?”

Myra watched the exchange in silence, all the while glancing at Tara. Both women knew Lizzy enough to understand she was about to lose her composure.

“You heard me.” Fin turned away as if to say the topic was closed.

“Listen to me...” Liz raised her voice and reached out to make him face her.

He caught her hand. “You listen. In this time, you are nothing without the protection of this family.

And since you saw fit to force my sister to bring you here, you will abide by the boundaries we give you.

Your very presence will raise questions, most of which will bring a lie to your lips in order to keep who we are hidden from those who seek to destroy us. Furthermore, I will not allow Simon the ridicule which would come to him because of your thoughtlessness.”

Chest to chest, Lizzy and Finlay held their jaws firm. A slight twitch to Lizzy’s fingers displayed her anger.

“Lizzy, Fin speaks the truth. While you’re here, we have to keep where you are from a secret. For all our sakes,” Myra calmly stated, hoping to ease the tension in the room.

“Fine.” Lizzy’s eyes never left Fin’s.

Fin’s brow rose, silently saying, ‘I win.’

Chapter Twelve

The family had gone to bed. Only Fin and Myra remained. Staring into the fire, Myra felt lost in her thoughts, while Fin sat across from her, his attempts to read her mind and emotions obvious. She had learned to block Fin out of her mind when they were children. It frustrated him then, and she knew it frustrated him now.

“Why did you come back when you did?” he asked.

“I needed to.”

“Needed to? Why? Was there a threat?”

Her eyes skirted from the fire to him and back again. “Someone was watching us. I’m not sure how much of a threat they were. If the time here kept with the time in the future, then it couldn’t have been Grainna who watched.”

“If not Grainna, then who?”

“I do not know.”

“So it may not be safe for Elizabeth to return.”

Fin decided.

Myra shook her head. “I didn’t say that.”

“But you said us. Someone was watching us. If it wasn’t safe for both of you, then it isn’t safe for her alone.”

Myra closed her eyes knowing she couldn’t keep Fin from the truth for long. “Lizzy wasn’t the us.”

Fin stopped pacing, looked back at her. “Then who?”

She stood, straightened her skirt. “’Tis late, Fin, I’ve had a very long day.”

“Why won’t you talk to me?”

“I’m tired. Let us talk on this another day.”

Fin stopped her from leaving. “If you didn’t have a sign or premonition, and you weren’t sure Grainna wasn’t there, in fact you believed she was here, then why did you come back? If Grainna was here you would have walked directly into harm’s way.”

“Nay, Fin. I wouldn’t have.”

“What are you saying? She will kill the virgin she uses to break her curse, you know this.”

“Yes. I know.” Stop asking questions.

He crossed to her, shook her shoulders, demanding she look at him. “Why? Why would you risk your life to return when you did?”

“Dammit, Fin, Grainna has no use for me now.”

Her words came in a scalding rush. Tears sprung to her eyes.

Fin’s mouth snapped shut. He stepped back and asked through clenched teeth. “Who?”

“Does it matter? We both knew it was an option.

One I am sure everyone will be thinking I took before long.” She turned from him and looked away.

“I don’t want this to cloud our Christmas, Fin.

Please keep it between us. For now.”

“Are you with child?” He choked out.

“No.”

He let out a long breath. “Then no one needs to know what happened. We can go on as normal.”

“Normal?” She looked above her to the candles ablaze on the chandelier above her head. She waved her hand sending the wind above both their heads to put out the flames. “Nothing is normal. Nothing.”

The phone rang, waking him up. Todd hadn’t fallen asleep until the sun started to rise. “Yeah.” Todd answered the phone trying to lift his head out of the fog.

“Don’t tell me you’re sleeping. Man what is up with you lately?”

He picked up his clock, tossed it back onto his nightstand. “What do you want, Jake?”

“You are sleeping. I thought I was lazy.”

“Jake!”

“Okay, okay, listen I have the kids this afternoon and I was thinking...”

Jake’s thinking usually involved him. “Cut to the chase.”

“What are you doing for Christmas dinner?”

“Microwave and a beer. Why?”