“Then wear your second favorite,” Rory said, exasperated. “I swear you’re worse than Jewel sometimes.”
Jewel was Kenneth’s daughter. She’d been born with unlimited power, and she used it as any toddler would—to force everyone into playing tea party and princess fashion show with her. Like all the men in his family, Rory knew he’d been blessed with a handsome face. However, he wasn’t sure any person could look good impersonating a cake topper in giant petticoats and chafing taffeta.
“Don’t make me regret saving ya,” Raibeart warned. “That Jewel is a blessing.”
Rory kneeled beside the woman and slipped his arms under her. She moaned as he lifted her from the ground. “Which way back to the manor?”
Raibeart had a horrible sense of direction, so Rory fully intended to walk the opposite way.
“We can’t take her to the manor.” Raibeart shuffled his feet back and forth, thrusting the knife into the air at an imaginary foe. “Your ma and Margareta won’t like ya bringing trouble into the house. They just refinished the floors after someone let the gremians in.”
“That was ya who let the gremians in,” Rory said.
“Aye, and they weren’t happy about it,” Raibeart maintained.
“We can’t leave her here.” Rory shifted her in his arms. “Do ya see a purse anywhere? Maybe she has a wallet with her address. With luck, she’ll think tonight was a weird dream.”
Raibeart dipped to look underneath her body as he searched the area. He picked up a rolled black cloth and dug inside. “Got an apron.”
“What’s in it?”
“Pen. Notepad with an order for six hamburgers. Wad of cash. Mostly ones.” Raibeart put everything back into the apron and rolled it up. “No ID. No phone.” He deposited the apron onto the woman’s stomach. “I could go for six hamburgers. Ya hungry? You’re buying.”
“We can’t leave her out here. I’ll take her to the motel. Maura will let me use one of the rooms.” Rory’s sister and brother had recently purchased the local motel. Ironically, the last owner had named Hotel in the misguided hope that it would trick people into thinking it was classier than it was. Whenever the MacGregors moved to a new town, they intended to buy up as many local businesses and properties as possible. Control over a city made it easier to keep their magick a secret. Also, it boosted local economies and gave the family members something to ease the boredom of eternity.
“Right,” Raibeart drawled sarcastically. “I have to put on a kilt to hide my glory but waking up in a motel with a strange man won’t scare her.”
“I’m not going to stay in the room with her,” Rory denied. “I am a gentleman.”
“Since when?” his uncle snorted.
“She’ll be safe at the motel. When she wakes up, I’ll have a civil conversation with her and find out why she’s upset with me.”
Raibeart nodded and went to pick up the enchanted rope, winding it around his arm. “This should hold her while we get answers.”
“We’re not tying her up.” Rory peered into the trees. He gestured the best he could and said, “Reveal yourself.”
Tiny blue lights rose from the ground, small pinpoints marking where living creatures were around them.
The largest light source danced over Raibeart, who laughed. “Oo tickles.”
The simple spell revealed what was probably a deer in the forest and several smaller woodland animals. Seeing the light coming from low on the ground, Rory nodded his head in its direction. “She was chasing a puppy when she came across me. Would ya mind rescuing the poor thing so we can find it’s home?”
Raibeart’s expression turned serious at his mission. “Aye. Leave it to me.”
Rory carried the woman down the path the way she’d come hoping it would lead them to town. He looked at her calm face. She appeared to be resting. “Let’s figure out where we are and get ya to safety.”
Chapter Four
The last thing Jennifer expected to see when she opened her eyes was a fat cherub statue smiling down at her in front of red-and-gold striped wallpaper. Her arms felt heavy like she’d been given a sedative. For a moment, she stared at the chubby cheeks and obnoxiously cute smile, waiting for the dream to end.
Any second now…
Any second…
What the…?
Jennifer screamed as full reality came over her, and she flailed into action. Her limbs tangled in the bedding, and she kicked and punched at them until they let her go. In her wild flight, she slid off the side of the bed. She crawled toward a motel room door, next to a window with drawn curtains.
“Oh, crap.”
A woman’s surprised voice behind her propelled Jennifer into further action. She pushed up from the floor and lurched for escape. In her panic, she yanked the doorknob so hard that the door smacked her in the knee. Pain radiated up her leg, buckling it beneath her. She grabbed the doorframe to keep from tripping.
“Wait, please.”
It was then she registered the woman had a Scottish accent.
Where the hell was she?
Jennifer blinked as the bright light of morning streamed over her face. Cars filled a motel parking lot. She kept hold of the doorframe for support as she turned to see who was behind her.
A woman stood, arms lifted to the side, fingers spread to show she meant no harm. Her short red hair looked wet, and droplets trailed down her temples as if she’d run the facet over her head. Tiny drops darkened the material of her green t-shirt. “My name is Maura MacGregor. You’re safe. You’re in a room in my motel. We couldn’t find any ID on ya, so we weren’t sure where ya lived.”
“I…” Jennifer looked from the red-and-gold room to the parking lot. “Is this…?”
“What?”
“A pay-by-the-hour type of motel?” Jennifer asked. “Are you a…?”
“A madam?” Maura laughed, dropping her arms. She looked around the room. “I told Bruce his romantic-honeymoon room theme was a bad idea. It looks more boom-chicka-boom than congratulations-on-your-new-marriage. But if ya think this is bad, ya should have seen the horror-movie theme he had planned. I told him no one would want to stay somewhere with a creepy-ass clown hanging over the bed.”
Jennifer automatically looked up at the ceiling. Cherubs hung off the light fixture. One of them pointed a golden arrow at her. She doubted anyone would ask to sleep under those creepy things willingly, either.
“What am I doing here? How did I get here?” Jennifer stayed in the doorframe, half in the room, half out.
“Do ya remember anything from last night?” Maura asked.
“I was walking home, and I found…” She frowned. Had she been attacked? There was a dark spot in her memory. “I was following something.”
“Your puppy? We found the little guy hiding in the trees. A couple of the maids have been keeping him company, playing with him so ya could rest.”
“I don’t have a puppy,” Jennifer said, yet she had the vague impression of trying to stop a little ball of fur from getting lost in the forest. She remembered thinking she would take him to the shelter where, hopefully, they would have someone who could take care of him. “I can’t afford a pet.”