Page 6 of Love Beyond Words
“Oh, Laurel.” He held me tightly and kissed the top of my head. “I’m a shit friend. Even if I did believe you were mad, I should’ve just supported you. I’ve done many things I know you thought were crazy, but you never let me know that. I’m so sorry.”
It shouldn’t have been the thing I noticed in his apology, but one thing stood out amongst all the rest.
“You just said that you did believe I was mad. As if you don’t anymore.”
He pulled away, but kept both hands on my arms as he held me away from him.
“About that…something very strange happened last week that may have changed my mind.”
I raised my brows and turned my head like a confused puppy dog.
“Oh, yeah? What’s that?”
“I received a letter last week. There was no address, but the country of origin was Scotland, and it was signed by someone named Morna.”
A chill swept over my entire body. I didn’t believe I’d ever been so surprised in my entire life.
“Morna was the name of the woman who wrote the book I found in Conall Castle.”
Marcus nodded.
“I know. The entire letter was just her giving me a thorough lashing for encouraging you to cancel your plans to return to Scotland. How could she possibly know that I’d done that? How could she even know who we are?”
I stared back at Marcus, saying nothing until he broke the silence.
“What are you thinking, Laurel?”
“I shut my mind to the possibility of any of this being real months ago. Now, I don’t know what to think. Why did she wait so long to reach out? If she has the ability to know so much about both of us, why not contact me when I was searching for her? And why would she send you a letter? Why not just reach out to me directly?”
Marcus shook his head. He looked as confused as I felt.
“I don’t know. But my own curiosity is now piqued enough that I know I won’t be able to get anything done until we both find out. I’ve booked us both on a flight that leaves tomorrow afternoon. If the inn really does exist, we’ll find it.”
Perhaps, my sister was right and signs really did come in threes.
I couldn’t see Marcus’ sudden arrival here any other way.
Chapter 4
“Well, this is a pleasant surprise.”
Dreary-eyed and still a bit wobbly from sleep, Kate entered the kitchen where Marcus and I sat at the table, a road map of Scotland spread across the top. It was just past nine in the morning. We’d spent the rest of the night catching up while he helped me pack.
Marcus stood the moment he saw Kate and moved to wrap his arms around her just as he’d done me the night before. He really did give the very best hugs.
“You look wonderful, Kate. I’m glad to see you getting on so well.”
She smiled, but the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. She always tried so hard to stay positive, but every once in a while she couldn’t hide her pain.
“Thank you, Marcus. I’m glad, too. It’s been a long few months, but I’m feeling a little more like my old self every day. When did you get here?”
He chuckled lightly and bared his teeth in embarrassment.
“About three a.m. actually. I’m afraid I gave Laurel quite the scare. I think I’ll run home and get my own bag ready. I’ll let Laurel tell you what’s going on.”
He bent to give her a quick kiss on the cheek before pointing to me.
“I’ll be back to pick you up at two. See you in a few hours.”
