Page 33 of A Thistle Beyond Time
Cormac could see the indecision on Jenna’s face. He truly wanted her to come to him because she wanted to, and not because he’d pushed her, but one thing he was sure of was that the next time they kissed, he was going to be the one to start it. He reached out to hold her hand and she let him lead her as they continued their walk down the beach. Progress. She had been allowing him to hold her and touch her all day. He didn’t want to frighten her back into her shell, so he’d settle for the small successes he was having and not go any further while they were here at the beach.
The waves lapped at their shins and ankles and a few times, a larger wave crashed against them, sending Jenna laughing into his arms. The sounds of the waves, the feel of the sea breeze and the smell of the salty air would all be burned into his memory forever. This was a good day. He was glad he was here with her, but he wanted so much more. More time with Jenna, more Jenna herself and the hope of a life together at Breaghacraig. He wanted her to become part of his large extended family, his clan. He didn’t dwell on how he could make that happen, for now he merely wanted to enjoy this moment, the light shining in her eyes as she gazed into his, the feel of her hand holding tightly to his own and the way she seemed to be allowing him to take care of her for this little while.
They had walked for what seemed to be many hours and yet, not enough. In fact, it had been under an hour. They stopped occasionally to watch a pod of dolphins playing just offshore. Seals, sea otters and pelicans also made appearances to the evident delight of Jenna, who was practically jumping up and down at the sight of them. It did Cormac’s heart good to see Jenna so happy. He had doubted it was possible the first day he met her, and yet here she was, holding his hand, smiling, laughing, and seemingly very happy to be with him. He wasn’t sure what had brought about this change in her, but he would accept it and be grateful. The sun was dipping lower in the sky, and its light played softly across the surface of the water. Chester had been loping along beside them, barking and biting at the waves.
“We should probably head back,” Jenna sighed.
“Aye. We’ve walked a long way.”
“I wish we could stay here forever. It’s so peaceful and beautiful,” she replied.
“Then we should stay,” Cormac replied matter-of-factly.
“Unfortunately, we can’t. Dylan is probably wondering where we are by now. Come on, let’s go,” Jenna said as she reluctantly headed back the other way. Cormac followed along with Chester, who was completely soaked by the waves. “Chester, look at you,” Jenna observed. “You’re going to need a bath when we get home.”
Cormac chuckled as he watched Chester continue to enjoy himself in the water. This really had been the perfect day. He wondered what the evening would hold in store for him. He was hopeful it would turn out to be as lovely as the day had been.
* * *
Jenna was walking backwards, gazing up at Cormac. He gave her one of his bone-melting smiles, showing a row of nearly perfect teeth. He was perfection as far as she could see and Jenna drank in the sight of him. She turned around and proceeded to run through the waves breaking on the shore, hoping that Cormac would join her. She peeked back to see him in hot pursuit. She didn’t get far before he picked her up in his arms and began to carry her back towards their blanket.
She threw her arms around his neck and enjoyed the moment; something she didn’t allow herself to do very often. She set skeptical, untrusting Jenna aside and went with her gut, which told her Cormac was not going to hurt her and it was okay to let herself enjoy her time with him. So what if he wasn’t going to be here very long? Maybe they could keep in touch via e-mail after he left. She could even take a trip to Scotland to see him and while she was there, maybe she could find Ashley. If only she could remember, what she did with the name of that inn Ashley had mentioned. She made a mental note to search for it, when she had a chance. All too soon they reached the blanket. Cormac didn’t seem to want to put her down and stood holding her as her cousin Dylan ran up from the water with his surfboard.
“Hey, you two, I was wondering where you were.”
Jenna wriggled out of Cormac’s arms. “Time to head home?”
“I hate to leave, but the sun will be setting before long and we should get back, I’ve got a hot date tonight,” Dylan boasted.
“They’re all hot, Dylan.” Jenna rolled her eyes. “Let’s get packed up.”
They gathered the blanket, towels, cooler and chairs and headed back up to the truck.
“Jenna, would you mind driving? I’m beat,” Dylan asked.
“Sure, give me the keys.” Jenna took the keys from Dylan’s hand and unlocked the doors. They stowed most everything in the bed of the truck and Dylan once again got his surfboard in place for the long drive home.
“I’d like to try driving,” Cormac stated, eyeing the driver’s seat with interest.
“Have you got a driver’s license?” Jenna questioned, already knowing the answer.
“A driver’s license?” As she’d suspected, Cormac looked completely baffled.
“I’ll take that as ano,” Jenna laughed. “You can’t drive unless you have a license.”
“And how do I get one?” he asked.
“It’s a long process, especially if you have no driving experience at all. Do you drive back in Scotland?”
“Och, nae,” he answered, as if she should have known the answer. “Me horse gets me where I need to go.”
“Maybe if you were staying longer I could teach you, but you’re going to be leaving soon, so we wouldn’t have enough time.” She secretly hoped that he wanted to learn badly enough that he’d give up his plan to leave. She poked him in the ribs. “Get in.”
Dylan had already settled in the back seat with Chester and appeared as if he would be asleep before they hit the freeway.
Cormac watched everything Jenna did as she settled into the driver’s seat and prepared for the return trip home.He probably thinks I can’t drive, she thought. “Don’t worry, Cormac, I’m a really good driver. Probably better than Dylan. You’ll see.”
She started the truck and headed for home. Sideways glances at Cormac confirmed that he was uncomfortable with her behind the wheel, so she did her best to reassure him with a smile.
