Page 105 of A Thistle Beyond Time
Edna gave them instructions on where the path to the bridge was located and Dylan assured her that they wouldn’t get lost. They set off down the road, looking back to wave a final goodbye to the Campbells.
* * *
“Cailin,” Cormac admonished. “Ye’ll eat everything Lena gave us and then we’ll have nothing for the return trip to Breaghacraig!”
“I’ll not eat it all,” Cailin said, rummaging through the saddlebags. “Lena gave us enough food to feed ten people. I imagine Edna told her we’d be needing extra.”
“Aye. Yer probably right, but just in case, mayhap ye should stop.”
The two were busy arguing about the food and didn’t notice a change in the atmosphere surrounding them. The wind had picked up and the fog was swirling nearby. Cormac stopped and listened. He could hear the popping sound and saw the colored lights appearing. “It’s here,” he shouted to Cailin, over the sounds of the whirlwind spinning in front of them. The horses stopped what they were doing and pricked their ears towards the fog and Cormac and Cailin stood perfectly still, waiting breathlessly.
* * *
Jenna, Dylan, and Chester arrived at the bridge just in time to see a whirlwind of fog spinning on the other side. “That’s for us,” Jenna said.
“Are you sure?” Dylan asked, concern in his voice.
“Yeah. The same thing that took me from San Francisco. Come on. Hold on to my hand and to Chester,” Jenna instructed.
Dylan did as he was told, but not wanting to take any chances, he lifted Chester into his arms, and Jenna looped her own arm through his. They walked forward cautiously. Chester was focused on the fog and started to wriggle in Dylan’s arms. “He sees something we don’t,” Dylan said. They walked into the fog and stood immobile, as it swirled around them.
* * *
Cormac couldnae believe his eyes as a very excited Chester came bounding towards him. Cailin took a defensive stance, but Cormac put a hand on his shoulder in warning.
“Chester,” Cormac exclaimed as the dog leaped into his arms and licked his face. “I wasn’t expecting to see you, my friend.” He put the dog down and Chester immediately went to Cailin, who had apparently never seen a dog quite as ferocious-looking as this one. The dog wagged his stubby little tail and Cailin visibly relaxed. A moment later, Jenna came out of the fog, looking even more beautiful than Cormac remembered her and by her side was, Dylan, whose face lit up when he saw Cormac.
“We did it! We’re here. We travelled through time, didn’t we?” Dylan asked excitedly.
Jenna was in Cormac’s arms in the blink of an eye. “Cormac, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to leave you. I realized as the fog was taking me that I was making the worst mistake of my entire life. It took me a while to find Edna, but Dylan, Chester and I flew to Scotland to get her to help me.”
Dylan hugged them both together. “I’m so happy to see you, Cormac. I hope you don’t mind that I tagged along.”
Cormac was so happy he couldn’t speak. Instead, he hugged the two of them even more tightly. The sound of Cailin clearing his throat got their attention. Cormac stepped back and grinned. “I’m sorry, brother. Let me introduce ye to Jenna’s cousin Dylan and I believe ye’ve met Chester.”
“Aye. This is an amazing creature. I’ve never seen a dog like this before and I’m pleased to meet ye, as well, Dylan.”
“Same here, dude,” Dylan said, sizing up Cailin. “Strong family resemblance,” he observed.
“Aye. We’ve been told we look enough alike to be twins,” Cailin agreed.
Jenna and Cormac were so wrapped up in one another that they hardly noticed anything going on around them.
“Cormac, we should get going,” Cailin said. We can make good progress if we leave now. We’ll make camp later,” he explained to Dylan, “but we’ve got plenty of food and we’ll make a fire to stay warm overnight.”
“Sounds great,” Dylan replied enthusiastically.
“Cormac, Dylan should ride the extra horse Ewan lent us and Jenna can ride with ye. Chester,” he said to the dog, “ye’ll have to walk, I’m sorry to say.”
“He’ll be fine,” Dylan said. “He likes to go for long walks.”
Cormac could see that his brother was forming a friendly bond with Dylan already. He was happy about that, because when he married Jenna, which he planned to do as soon as he possibly could, Dylan would be part of the family.
“Shall we then?” Cormac asked.
“You ken, this reminds me of a similar ride I took back to Breaghacraig with Ashley,” Cailin smiled.
“I’d love to hear that story,” Dylan said, mounting the spare horse.
