Page 9 of Love Beyond Words
The stranger clucked his tongue disapprovingly at me.
“I know nothing of the legend, lass. I only know what I’ve heard all my life. My own grandfather wouldna step foot on the isle, and there are many in Scotland who feel just as he did. ’Tis mainly foolish tourists like yerself that do.”
“You do know that your insistence that this place is cursed has just increased my desire to go there tenfold?”
He shook his head.
“As I said lass…foolish tourists.”
* * *
Marcus was several rows in front of me, so by the time I deplaned, he was waiting for me just outside the gate. He looked rested and annoyingly fresh.
“Were you on an entirely different flight than I was? You look great.”
He winked and reached for my bag.
“Well, thanks. I’ll take it. Rough night, huh?”
“You could say that. I hope you’re willing to drive because I’m completely useless. I plan on being asleep five minutes after we pull away from the car rental.”
“That’s absolutely fine. It’s not as if you haven’t seen the landscape before. Do you need to stop in at the restroom before we head out?”
His question sounded much more like a suggestion, and by the look in his eye, I could tell that I was right.
“Do I have something on me?”
“No. I just thought…” He squirmed, as if he wasn’t quite sure how to say what he wanted to. “I just thought you might want to splash some water on your face, freshen up a little bit. If the inn is there, I assume we will stop before we find a place to stay for the night.”
“If it’s really an inn, I assume we’ll stay there.”
He nodded. “Precisely. I know you. I doubt you want to show up looking so tired.”
From most people, such a statement would’ve pissed me off, but I was close enough to Marcus to not take offense to him very politely telling me I looked like crap. I was tired. Of course, I looked that way.
“Okay. You’re right. I’ll be right back.”
I took my time in front of the mirror as I applied a bit of makeup and brushed my hair.
It was always a bit of a strange experience for me to see myself in makeup. In truth, if I was really honest with myself, it was equally strange for me to see myself in real clothes. As a writer, most of my days were spent makeup free, and yoga pants were my work uniform of choice.
Satisfied that I wouldn’t frighten anyone, I returned to Marcus and we made our way towards baggage claim.
It took less time than either of us expected for our bags to arrive on the conveyor belt, and as he lugged them along behind us and we made our way out of the airport towards the rental car area, I noticed an old man waving at me from the corner of my eye.
Unthinkingly, I waved back. It was then that I noticed the sign he was holding. Both of our names were written on the small piece of cardboard.
Slapping Marcus’ arm a little harder than necessary, I gripped at his arm in my confusion.
“He couldn’t possibly mean us, could he?”
I watched Marcus’ face as he squinted to make out the names.
“Of course not. No one knew we were coming. It’s just…it’s just a coincidence.” He didn’t sound all that convinced. “Let’s go.”
Just as we turned to walk away from him, the old man called out to us.
“Oy, ye two. Get yerselves over here before I freeze to death.”
