Highlander's Charm (Highlander Heat #3)

A well of emotions swarmed up inside her, battering her heart and soul.

She clutched her spinning head, despair as deep as the ocean smothering her.

A wave crested and tumbled her in toward shore.

Zayn sprinted into the water, hooked an arm around her waist and helped her onto the beach. “I’ve been so worried. Where have you been?”

“There was an earthquake and—oh, dizzy.” Her knees buckled and she fell onto the sand.

“Are you okay? You’ve been missing for an hour.” Zayn dropped in beside her. “I lost sight of you after the dolphin ride. I didn’t mean to get so carried away, but I—” Frowning, his gaze moved over her body. “Where’s your wetsuit?”

“I’m wearing it.” She grasped her legs, only she encountered thin ivory linen underneath a man’s white shirt. “Well, I was wearing it.” How had she lost her wetsuit? Her head was so cloudy, and her thoughts scattered. “I don’t feel so good.”

He stared into her eyes then lifted one lid. “Your eyes are glittering, so bright. I’ve never seen the like before, though I’ve heard folk stories. Every now and then, a child is born under a falling star. Their silver eyes sparkle when the magic within their blood rises.”

“That sounds familiar. Nanna told me that tale as a child too.”

“Something must have happened out there.” Zayn lowered his hand. “You can’t go from wearing a wetsuit to this kind of clothing and not know about it.”

“The earthquake struck and I slid off the boulder. The waves tossed me around and then…” What had happened next? She tried to search for a memory, only nothing but a black void filled the space. “Um, there was definitely a dolphin. It came to my rescue just now. I can’t explain the clothing.”

“When I couldn’t find you, I called Dad on my cell phone. We should get you checked out. You may have hit your head. The confusion isn’t a good sign.”

“Yes, that might be for the best.” She pressed her charm against her chest, and relief poured through her.

“Zayn!”

A suited man in his forties raced down the grassy slope and onto the rocky beach, one finger holding his round-lensed spectacles on the bridge of his nose. Behind him, the sun dipped along the horizon.

“Dad, I found her.” Zayn hoisted to his feet, clasped her hand and pulled her up beside him. “Lila’s been in the water a long time. She’s feeling dizzy and confused.”

“Grab the bikes and load them onto the rack. I’ll help Lila.” He straightened his navy and white striped tie from where it had flipped over his shoulder. “Can you walk?”

“Yes.” She stumbled and he caught her. “But I won’t say no to a helping hand.”

“Let’s get you to the hospital.” Zayn’s father steered her toward his black SUV, opened the rear passenger door and settled her inside. He rummaged in the boot and returned with a red and blue swathe of tartan so similar in color to, well, so similar in color to someone else’s. Only whose? “Wrap yourself in this.”

She snuggled into its warmth while Zayn heaved the bikes onto the roof rack with a loud clunk. With her frozen fingers, she clenched her charm tight. “I’ll never let it go, Nanna. I promise,” she whispered to herself.

“In the car, Zayn.” Mr. MacKeane jumped behind the wheel and shut his door.

Zayn hopped into the front seat, tossed their bags through the gap into the rear beside her then secured his seatbelt. He peered around his chunky headrest toward her. “You okay?”

“I’m g-good.”

“Hit the gas, Dad. I’ve never seen anyone look so blue.”

The SUV rumbled to life and they bumped along the gravel track with the headlights guiding their way. Mingary disappeared into the dark as they wound around the hills. Once they reached the end of the private road, they turned onto the blacktop and continued through the rural countryside toward Kilchoan. Her heart ached with each mile they traveled away from Mingary, and as she squeezed her eyes shut, tears escaped and flowed down her cheeks. She was never this emotional. She really must have hit her head, because she’d never experienced this level of confusion before.

Out the window, the moon hung like a fiery orange ball, bathing its shimmery golden hue over the fields of green. Smoke curled from the chimney of a sprawling wooden-shingled home then vanished on the wind. Like time itself, there one moment and gone the next.

“You’re not talking much.” Zayn squeezed her leg.

“N-not much to say.” Her teeth chattered fiercely.

He knocked his father’s arm. “Hurry it up, Dad.”

“She’ll be in shock, Zayn. Keep an eye on her. I’m driving as fast as I can.”

They drove into the village and sped along a side road running parallel to the main street. Ahead, a single story hospital with a glass entrance wavered before her eyes.

Zayn’s father zipped into the first parking space. “Help Lila in while I let them know she’s coming.”