I didn’t answer him, instead looking at Eoghanan for further explanation.
“’Tis like I told ye, Grace. I was only sent here after I almost died. Me brother is married to a lass from this time; her name is Mitsy. Morna sent her back as well. When I was injured, she knew that Morna could save me and sent me forward to her.”
“Okay,” I couldn’t argue with him. No matter how ridiculous it sounded, no matter how unbelievable, I had seen Jeffrey vanish. There was no doubt in my mind about that. “So why were you in the airport? And the park? Before Jeffrey…you said that Cooper was right about seeing you. Have you been stalking us?”
“No.” It was Morna who answered, rising quickly to Eoghanan’s defense. “Of course he has no been stalking ye. ’Twas me that sent him to ye.”
She glanced over at Eoghanan, speaking to him for a moment. “Aye, ye heard me. I lied to ye. I do control where ye go on yer travels.”
Returning her attention to me, she continued. “The span of time between now and his home was too great with his wound. The spell rips ye apart a bit,”
I swallowed, thinking of Cooper, grateful for the first time that I couldn’t feel anything.
Eoghanan must have been able to follow my train of thought, for he interrupted Morna thumbing my hand comfortingly. “Do ye really think that is what ye needed to tell her just now? With her worried about wee Cooper?”
Morna nodded, dismissing him. “Aye, she needed to know so I could explain why ye dinna go straight home. Besides, she is no worried about anything at the moment.” I hated that she was right. “Back to what I was saying to ye, lass. I have been slowly building his strength in the travel, though it seems there is no more time for that. I know that ye are ready to see that yer boy is well. In just a moment, I will remove the spell from ye, and we will prepare Eoghanan right away.”
“Prepare him?” After Morna’s description, I could just imagine Eoghanan being ripped apart, only to have his fragile skin not come back together properly. “If he’s not ready, I can go by myself. I just want to make sure Cooper is okay. I don’t want,” I looked at Eoghanan. “I don’t want you getting hurt. I can go alone.”
He kissed my hand gently and reached up to brush a lock of hair out of my eyes. “Ye are mad if ye think I would let ye do that, lass. I’m going.”
Morna stood abruptly, nodding as she waved to Jerry so that he’d follow her out the door. “As I thought. Eoghanan, stay with the lass and help her once I lift the spell. When she’s composed herself, both of ye come and find me. We will do the spell tonight.”
I had one brief moment of confusion where I wondered why I would need help, then the spell lifted. Everything—my panic over my son being gone, my shock at watching Jeffrey disappear, my disbelief that apparently magic existed in the world, my worry over Eoghanan—it all hit me at once.
As Morna and Jerry left us, closing the door behind them, I collapsed into a fit of sobs.
Chapter 21
I didn’t cry long. I couldn’t allow myself to waste time that way when all I wanted to do was use Morna’s hocus pocus to get my son back. I didn’t want to cry at all, but as soon as she lifted the spell, I couldn’t help it; the sudden rush of so many emotions sent me into a sort of mini-hysteria, and I gasped and cried and screamed in quick succession.
I allowed myself five minutes of good, uncontrollable panic. Then I stood from the bed, swallowing all of it.
“Ok, I’m ready.”
“Grace,” Eoghanan twisted me so that I faced him. “I promise ye that he’s safe.”
“Don’t.” I wrenched from his grasp, knowing that if he tried to comfort me, I’d start crying again. He looked as if I’d slapped him. I made haste to apologize, walking toward him and standing up on the tip of my toes, kissing him gently.
It was the only intimate act between us since our first kiss and rather than the raw heat that had flooded my body last time, the touch of his kiss calmed me, comforted me in a way I’d never experienced before. I realized in that instant that it didn’t matter how little I knew about him, how short the time that we’d known one another—whatever this was between us—it was right.
“I’m sorry,” I said, wrapping my arms around him, allowing my head to lean against his chest. “It’s just, I’ll lose it again if we talk about it. I don’t understand any of this and it…it scares me.” I let go and took half a step away from him. “Everything scares me right now. Cooper. Jeffrey. Morna. This…” I touched my chest and then his and he grasped my hand, holding it in place against his chest.