Heather's Highlander: Book Club: Heartsgate (Heartsgate Highlanders 1) Read online

  “Oh, good. I don’t want to mess up history, but I don’t know that I want to go without my favorite foods either.”

  “What else did you bring?” Beth asked, snagging one more nacho.

  “Cocoa beans.”

  “You didn’t! I think you’re my favorite person in all the world!” Beth spread her arms wide with excitement.

  “I did. How was I going to eat chocolate without them? I still need to figure out how to turn the beans into chocolate, and how to get Grandfather Braden to grow them for me…”

  “He loves showing off his power. He feels like he’s been sitting on a shelf for a whole lot of years, so being useful makes him very happy. You’re going to have all the cocoa beans you need.” Beth smiled. “These nachos are really good.”

  Heather slid the plate toward her mother-in-law. It was a bigger plate than she could finish anyway. “I’ve been working on perfecting them since I moved to Heartsgate from Queens. There was a little Irish Tavern there that made them for me, and I miss them so much. My mom worked there when I was a little girl.” She remembered going in and sitting on a barstool, and her mother would bring her a plate of the nachos to munch on while she was there. The memories washed over her as she shared the nachos with her mother-in-law.

  “You look sad when you mention your mother.”

  “She died of breast cancer when I was sixteen.” Heather sighed. “She helped me make the costume I came here in.”

  Beth covered Heather’s hand with her own. “I know you miss her, but I promise, there are at least four women who will do their best to take her place here.”

  “I know there are. Thank you for caring about me when you’ve known me such a short time.”

  “Well, you’re my daughter now. And these nachos will keep you in my good graces forever.” Beth took another cheese covered potato chip from the plate.

  “Keep you in nachos to keep me in your good graces. I understand now.”

  “At least you know I tell you the truth…”

  Chapter Six

  By the time supper was ready, Heather had spent most of the day in the kitchens helping slice potatoes. It made her really miss having a Tupperware Mandolin at her disposal. That thing could slice potatoes as thin as she wanted them to be sliced in nothing flat.

  When it was time for supper to be served, she smiled as her in-laws walked in with Derek trailing behind them. “I invited Gilly and Kennan as well. I hope you don’t mind,” Beth said.

  “Of course not. I made half again as much as I thought we’d need.”

  “I am excited to try these Irish nachos of yours,” Derek said. “Mother said she had some with you for the noon meal and they were excellent.”

  “I said they were to die for.” Beth shrugged. “Sometimes my boys won’t quote my modern slang.”

  Heather shrugged. “They’re silly then.”

  Each plate of nachos was brought out separately instead of letting them serve their own, which was more normal in their family. But the couples sat down together, and Derek’s great grandparents joined them as well. As they ate, Braden smiled. “I like these potatoes. I will grow as many as you need.”

  “This is the worst way to eat them,” Heather said with a smile. “It’s not healthy to deep fry anything, but they’re so delicious.” She suddenly wished she had her air fryer as well. So many modern gadgets made life easier and healthier. But they walked so much in this time it made up for the fried fat. She hoped.

  “They are delicious,” Braden said with a smile. “What other ways are there to eat them?”

  “There are so many!” Heather said. “You can bake them, where you just wash them and stick them in the oven.”

  “You can peel them, add butter and milk and mash them,” Beth said.

  “I like them au gratin, where you add butter, milk, cheese and a little flour and bake them.”

  Beth nodded. “And there’s always French fries. With a little bit of taco meat on top and some cheese melted.” She licked her lips.

  Gavin smiled at Beth. “I think you missed these potatoes as much as you would have missed your tacos.”

  “Potatoes and chocolate too. Thank heavens Heather thought to bring cocoa beans, and we’ll have chocolate soon too.”

  Heather grinned. “It’s not easy to eat like it’s the twenty-first century in the middle of medieval Scotland, but I’m going to do my best.”

  Everyone enjoyed the meal, and Gilly told them how much she was looking forward to trying the new food in different ways. “I think we’ll have fun showing you different ways to eat them,” Heather said with a smile.

  Beth nodded. “I’ll even help teach the women in the kitchens how to do them in different ways. Oh, Heather, when we start growing the cocoa beans, we need to have brownies. You have no idea how much I’ve missed brownies.”

  “I can imagine,” Heather said, shaking her head. “Didn’t you have warning before you came back?”

  Beth shook her head. “Nope. I was the first person Dr. Lachele tried to grant a wish for. It worked, but we didn’t know it would, or I’d have prepared myself first.”

  After supper, the four couples sat in the parlor talking until late into the night. Heather felt like she got to know each of them a little bit better. “And only the seventh son has powers?” she asked.

  “That’s how it’s worked so far,” Braden said with a smile. “My grandmother had the power to control the weather, and she came from a woman who was the youngest of triplets, all of whom had great powers.”

  “She controlled the weather? That’s so fun! I think that’s the power I’d want.” Heather had thought a lot about which power she would want to have since coming in time.

  Beth shook her head. “I’d want to be able to fly as fast as Superman.”

  “Oh, that’d be good too! Or swim like Aquaman. Under water. Or couldn’t Wonder Woman float on the air currents?” Heather asked. “I guess there are more powers that sound good than I realized there were. Running across the water like Flash would be good too, because we could get more foods that were found in the New World.” She’d never realized quite how obsessed with food she was until some of it was no longer available to her.

  The others just listened as the two of them talked about Superheroes for a short while. “I think we’re boring everyone,” Beth said, looking around her. “You don’t have any idea what it’s like to finally be able to talk to someone who understands me so well. We didn’t know each other back in New York, but we lived in the same culture, so we understand so many things that the other says.”

  Gilly shook her head, smiling. “No, we’re not bored. We’re happy you finally have someone you can talk to the way you can talk to Heather. I think she’s going to be as good for you as she is for Derek.”

  “In very different ways, of course,” Heather said, winking at her mother-in-law who laughed.

  Beth laughed. “I’m just really glad you’re here. I hope you know that.”

  Derek reached out and took Heather’s hand. “Not as happy as I am.”

  “So, about that massage…” Beth said.

  Heather laughed. “Derek had someone come and talk to me today about what I needed while I was slicing potatoes. I can’t believe how long it takes to slice them without a mandolin. I don’t think I’ve ever done it the real way before!”

  “So, is he making the table?” Beth asked. “I’m not worried about the potatoes now that my belly is full. Now we need to talk massage!”

  “He is. He said it should be ready by tomorrow afternoon. It won’t have the face hole, but I’ve always hated that thing anyway.”

  “Me too,” Beth said, shaking her head. “So, tomorrow afternoon you can set up shop in one of the boys’ rooms upstairs and use it for massages until the babies start coming.”

  “Will I have a little time before they come?” Heather asked. The idea of having seven sons so quickly was a little overwhelming to her.

  “Not usually,” Gil
lian said. “I had my first within ten months of marriage.”

  “I did too,” Beth said. She looked at her husband. “Gavin?”

  Gavin moved to Heather, holding his hand over her. “May I?”

  At Heather’s nod, he touched his hand to her abdomen. “Not yet.”

  Heather breathed a sigh of relief. “I want a little time with Derek before I start having babies.” She looked forward to having children. Well, except for the whole labor without good drugs thing. But she needed time with her husband first. She felt like they’d barely scratched the surface of getting to know one another.

  Derek smiled. “I’d like that too lass.”

  After everyone else had gone, Heather went to the room she’d slept in her first night there, thinking about how things could be rearranged for her purposes. When Derek followed her, she said, “I’m going to turn this into my massage room. I know your mother needs a massage, and I would bet your grandmothers would all like them as well.”

  “And this table that’s being built really will help with the massages?” He looked skeptical, but she could tell he was listening to her as the expert on the subject.

  “It will help me,” she said. “I could massage someone as they sat in a chair or laid on a bed, but it would be more painful for me. It’s better for my comfort if they are on a massage table, which will be built to my height specifications.”

  “I think that will be good then. I look forward to my first massage on it.”

  “You should.” She grinned at him. “You’re going to like getting a real one.”

  He pulled her to him, burying his face in her hair. “I know I will. I’m glad you were sent back to me.”

  “You seem like something is off tonight.”

  “Off?” he asked, shaking his head. “What does that mean?”

  “You seem like something is wrong.”

  “It was a hard day,” he said. “There was some fighting among the men today, and they made me feel all the anger they felt. It was mentally draining. And then having everyone here for so long this evening was difficult, as it always is. My mother is so excited about you being here, and those emotions pour through me. It’s hard.”

  “I can see that. Is there no way for you to block your powers for a short while?’ she asked.

  “Nay. There never has been. When I was a boy, I rarely left me mother’s side, because to be away from her, meant all the emotions poured into me. It was easier for me to stay inside with her. It made people think I was odd though.”

  She wrapped her arms around him, holding him close. “I hope it’s not difficult for you when our children start coming. I can imagine having all those emotions, on top of the ones you already feel, is going to be very hard.”

  He shrugged. “Tis my lot in life. And it helps at times.” He didn’t tell her that he’d felt a mix of overwhelming anger and sorrow again that day. He didn’t know who it was coming from, but there was one of the men who did not like it that he’d married. If he could figure out which one, it would be easier for him, because then he could confront the man.

  “I hope it gets easier.” She walked from the small room, carrying her candle with her. “Let’s go to bed, shall we?”

  “I’m always willing to do that. It makes me happy.”

  She smiled. “Me too.”

  The next day, Derek started trying to pinpoint the person from whom the strange emotions were coming. He worked with the men in smaller groups, but he had difficulty figuring out who it could be. These were all men he’d known his entire life, and it made no sense that one of them would not like it that he’d married.

  When he went home for the noon meal with his wife, he asked her to take their lunch and walk with him instead. “I canna breathe with all the emotions coming at me today. I need to be away, if only for the time it takes to eat.”

  “Then let’s get away.” Heather would never argue that he wanted time alone with her. How could she when she enjoyed it just as much as he did?

  He took her to the spot in the woods where his grandparents had fallen in love. “This place brings me peace,” he said softly. “Knowing what transpired here all those years ago makes me feel like I should be here.”

  “Any place that brings you peace is where you should be,” she told him. “I can’t imagine feeling barraged by emotions all the time.”

  “Tis hard for me,” he told her. “I have no idea how it would be without it happening, but I do know that feeling anger or sorrow or happiness and being forced to feel what others feel is very difficult.” He shrugged. “Like I feel your pity now. Dinna pity me, Heather. Tis how I am, and there will be a reason I am meant to be this way.”

  “You’ve never been called on to use your power before?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “I have always had the power to do as needed, but I have never had to do it. All the men who have gone before me have used their powers for something important. I have not yet.”

  “That’s strange.” She shrugged. “I’m sure there’s a reason for your power.”

  “I am just as certain.” He led her to the small falling-down structure where his grandparents had fallen in love. “The Irish nachos were wonderful. I will eat them every night if you wish.”

  She laughed. “They’re too much work for every night, but I’ll have the kitchens make them often.” She was excited to introduce potatoes into the medieval diet.

  By the end of the next day, Derek was concerned. The anger and sorrow were starting to completely overwhelm him. He didn’t know if he should look for the person who felt that way or hide himself completely away. He decided the best thing to do was to talk to his uncle James, the man who was in charge of training the clan.

  He followed the other man home from work so they could talk. “There is a man who is feeling hatred and sorrow on the training field.”

  James frowned at him. “Hatred and sorrow? Tis strange…”

  “It really is. I dinna know what it could be, but I know tis not good. I canna figure out who it could be or even why.”

  “I have no idea. I havena seen anyone show signs of anger toward you,” James said. “Do you want me to try to figure out who it could be?”

  Derek sighed. “I dinna know if it is important enough to take you from your tasks, but the feelings are overwhelming to me. Tis hard for me to stay on the training field.”

  “I can understand that. Mayhap I should ask around and see if we can determine who it is and why.”

  “I am afraid that if you ask, people will hide it.” Derek shook his head. “Only family, James.”

  “In a clan, we are all family,” James reminded him. “But I ken. I will see what I can do and have all your brothers and cousins searching.”

  “How much longer are you willing to keep training the men?” Derek asked. “I dinna think I can do it with me power being what it is.”

  “I will do it and start training one of your brothers to take me place.”

  “Thank you, Uncle.” Derek felt odd knowing he was now in charge of the man he’d always looked up to. “You are valued by this entire clan.”

  James smiled. “I thank you for that.”

  Derek turned and headed back to the keep and his wife, but he felt the anger of another following him. When he turned to look, there was no one there, and as much as he wanted there to be an answer, he had to satisfy himself that there was not one yet.

  When he walked into the keep, his mother was coming down the stairs, rubbing her neck. “Your wife has the most amazing hands I’ve ever felt on my body.”

  Derek smiled. “Does that mean she has her massage table?”

  “It does. I bet she has time to work on you before supper too.”

  “I’ll go and see. Thank ye for being such a good friend to me Heather.”

  “I know what it’s like to be away from all you’ve ever known and not even have indoor plumbing.” Beth embraced Derek. “She’s a good woman.”

  “Aye, she i
s.” As his mother left, he went up the stairs to his old bedroom. “I think I need a massage as well, Heather.”

  Heather laughed. “I was just setting up the table for you. I thought you’d be in soon.”

  She explained to him that it would be best if he stripped, and she talked to him about what the massage would be like while he undressed. “I will do the same as I’ve done to your shoulders, but all over your body.”

  “All over me body?” he asked. “Even…”

  “No, not there! I’m not that kind of massage therapist!”

  As soon as he was undressed and face down on the table, Heather put her hands on him, and she could feel the tension in him. She was used to not talking to a massage client unless they spoke to her first, but she knew it would be better if she could get him to talk while he was relaxed. He seemed to be hiding something from her, and she needed to know what it was.

  “Did you have a good day?” she asked.

  “It was fair.” Derek wasn’t about to tell her about his worries. He was certain there was someone wanting to hurt him or her or both of them at that point, and he didn’t want to frighten her with that knowledge.

  Heather frowned. “Is your uncle going to continue to train the men?”

  “Aye, he is. He plans to teach one of my brothers to train the men when he is finished. The job will never fall to me, which is good.”

  “It sounds like it is to me.” Heather dug her elbow into a particularly bad place on his back. “You are very tense tonight. Did something happen?” Asking him flat out might be the only way to get a real answer from him.

  “Nay. Nothing out of the ordinary. I trained with me men.”

  “I see.” Heather sighed. “I had the cooks make mashed potatoes for supper tonight. I think you’ll like them.”

  “It sounds like you plan to have these potatoes of yours often.”

  “Will you mind?” Heather knew that not everyone enjoyed potatoes the way she did. It was good for her that she’d always been naturally slender.