Free Heart of the Druid Laird by Barbara Longley Page B

sends me into major panic mode.”
    “A powerful love like ours transcends time. We were meant to grow old together, to share our sorrows and joys and our defeats and triumphs. I love you as much now as I did sixteen hundred years ago. You were taken from me. Now you are returned. Nothing will keep us apart. Nothing.”
    “Oh, Thomas.” Zoe’s body melted against his, and her arms encircled his waist. “What if you’re wrong? What if you have no choice?”
     
    Sidney loved Sundays. She was always in a rush when she worked out during the week. On Sundays she could take her time. With the shop closed for the day she allowed herself to stop worrying about money and her fledgling business. Maybe she’d even indulge in a sauna and whirlpool.
    She stood on the treadmill and dialed through her playlists until she came to Ben Harper’s Both Sides of the Gun. Her mind strayed to Dermot. Despite her best efforts not to think about him, he’d been in her thoughts every waking minute.
    What would it be like to be involved with him? She loved the way he opened doors for her. He’d encouraged her to open up about her fears and really listened when she did. When he’d put his arm around her shoulders, all she wanted to do was snuggle into his protective warmth.
    How had he taken her absence at the store yesterday? Neither David nor Zoe had much to say about it. Had he gotten the message? Would he give up and leave her alone?
    Did she want him to give up? That’s crazy talking. Of course she did. A man like him would be great, but Dermot came with too much weirdness attached.
    Something inside her wrenched at the thought of never seeing him again. What was it about the man that caused her to feel things she shouldn’t? It made no sense. She knew nothing about him or his character. Forcing herself to stop thinking about him, she put the earbuds in and pushed Play.
    “Is that one of those wee music contraptions?” a deep voice with a heavy Scottish brogue inquired behind her.
    “You.” Her whole body jerked, and her pulse flew off the charts. Had thinking about Dermot conjured him? “What are you doing here?”
    “Same as you.” He shrugged. “Working out.”
    She looked him over and rolled her eyes. “In jeans and a sport coat? Right. You couldn’t possibly be a member.”
    “I am.” Dermot dangled his temporary membership card in front of her face.
    “You followed me here.”
    “Perhaps. Let me see your wee toy.” He took the iPod.
    She snatched it back. “Didn’t your mother ever teach you any manners?”
    He took the iPod from her hands again. “My mother never taught me anything. She died the day I was born.”
    Sidney’s stomach clenched—compassion warred with her determination not to get sucked in. “I’m sorry to hear it.” She took the earbuds out and let them dangle from her confiscated iPod. She started the treadmill and tried to ignore him. Dermot was a large man. It wasn’t easy to do.
    “I never knew her. How can one regret the loss of someone they never knew?”
    “I’m sorry for your lack, then. Really.”
    “My wife was the only one who ever tried to teach me manners.”
    Don’t ask. Do not encourage him. She couldn’t help herself. “Was?”
    “Aye. She was murdered on my twenty-fourth birthday.”
    “Oh.” Her heart hurt. He’d managed to get to her with another outrageous story about his dismal life. Given away at birth, never had a mother, and now this. Was any of it true? Maybe she’d arrange to have a little time with Thomas to find out. Wait. Why would Thomas be any more honest than his boss?
    “You needn’t vex yourself. Her death was avenged a long time ago.”
    Avenged? Goose bumps rose on her skin at his words. She didn’t want to know what kind of vengeance he meant. “How long ago did this happen?”
    “More years than I care to count.” Dermot studied her iPod. “She was pregnant with our first child and almost to term when it happened.”
    Sidney tried to