Page 2 of Madly Deeply

But it wasn't just the living that was missing from the property. Without the powerful Wickham, Laird of the Muir witches, the place had literally lost its magic. It was like seeing Pinocchio sitting on a shelf, back to being an inanimate doll, the memory of his antics and adventures alive only in the hearts of the believers.

"I believe," she whispered. "I believe, Spreag, my love. I still believe in magic."

A wayward breeze brushed her from behind, shoulder to neck, and sent her head of curls wagging. She shivered but didn't stop. She wasn't there yet. Somewhere behind the bathhouse.

He'd often talked about his deathbed on Culloden, how the mention of his name or the call of his ghost number had wakened him. Why should it be any different here?

"Wake up, Spreag Tulloch. You've got company."

A man chuckled behind her and she whipped around to face him, fully expecting Shug Buchanan to be on her heels. For the past three nights, as she'd driven away from the ranch, the big Highlander had been standing on his stoop at the neighboring farm, offering a wave and letting her know he'd been watching.She'd thought maybe the fog would give her some privacy this time.

But it wasn't Shug. At least, not nearby.

Just how far can a voice carry on the mist?

She turned back and started walking again though every nerve in her body screamed at her to flee back to her car and never come back. She'd been so careful to put the thought of those monsters out of her mind, to keep from waking any of those spirits that might be hanging around. Besides Spreag, they were the only others to die that day. And she'd remembered their laugh. It was the thought of them that kept her from venturing out of her car until now.

She marched faster.

"Alexandra, lass. Just where are ye goin'?"

She froze at the sound of her husband's precious voice. It had to be him, not her imagination. Imaginations didn't echo, did they?

If she stayed perfectly still, she could keep on believing he was there.

"Lass, ye can hear me. I ken it. Will ye not face me?"

Alex closed her eyes, willed herself to breathe in and out, and turned.

Tulloch's beloved form slowly separated itself from the white cloud between them and stepped closer. He was dressed just as he had been, for Simon and Soni's wedding. Spotless, bloodless.

How many days and nights had she howled herself hoarse because she would never see his face again?

"There's my brave lass," he said, then stepped close. And though he panicked and reached for her, he couldn't catch her when the world went black.

CHAPTER TWO

Shug returned to the kitchen to fetch a drink of water for a too-alert child and checked out the window again. The fog lingered, but now the lights were gone, and he felt better believing Alexandra had gone back to her hotel. If she'd needed a cup of tea and a shoulder to lean on, she would have stopped by.

If she came again tomorrow night, he'd join her whether she willed it or not. He'd just have to keep the news of her child from slipping out between his lips.

A child's footsteps creaked on the boards overhead, a reminder of simpler concerns. Normal things, ordinary things that kept the sadness at bay...for the now.

Alexandra's eyes fluttered open.Spreag hovered over her. Behind his head, stars tried to pierce through a thin cloud.

His brows pinched together. "Ye fainted, love."

That's right. She'd fainted. For half of a second, she'd thought it had all been a dream and they were home again, in Arizona, making love on a blanket in the backyard. A blissful half-second where the love of her life hadn't died at the hands of eight-foot-tall monsters who'd crashed a Highland wedding. But the mean bite of humid cold brought her back to the present.

Spreag moved his arms around her, then retreated, powerless to comfort or warm her.

"I'm fine," she said, and sat up.

"Ye should go inside," he said softly. "Ye're shivering."

"I just found you. I'm not leaving." Her voice was barely a whisper, afraid speaking clearly might shatter whatever magic kept him here.

"The house has a fireplace."

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