Free Wild Highland Rose (Time Travel Trilogy, Book 2) by Dee Davis

flashed through his mind, as if underscoring the thought.  He had a life, and it wasn ' t here.   He couldn ' t let these people and their problems get to him.  Not Grania, not Allen, and certainly not Marjory.  He had nothing to offer any of them.  And even if he did, he wasn ' t certain he ' d offer it.
    A cold thought, surely, but a man had to protect himself.  People weren ' t to be trusted.
    He frowned, wondering where the hell that thought had come from.  Not exactly a Pollyanna moment.  He laughed at himself, surprised at how bitter he sounded, and for the first time it occurred to him that maybe he hadn ' t been all that happy in his old life.
    As quickly as the thought came, he pushed it away. Good or bad, he needed his own identity.  Any thoughts to the contrary were the result of listening to Grania  with her endless predictions and enigmatic ways.
    If he believed in such things, he ' d have to agree with Marjory ' s assessment that Grania was touched in some way.  Or maybe they were all enchanted.  A Grimm ' s fairy tale run amok.
    Definitely not his style.
    With a sigh, he opened his eyes, surprised to find Marjory Macpherson perched precariously on a rickety looking wooden ladder in front of a shed just across the way.  She was obviously content to ign ore him, and just at the moment the fact suited him just fine.
    He couldn ' t help admiring the soft curve of her backside.  It was something just this side of mouth watering, and he was happy to note that his borrowed body responded like any red-blooded male to the sight of a beautiful woman.
    Even a deceitful one.
    Marjory barked something at a man standing below her at the foot of the ladder, and, with a fatalistic shrug, the guy passed her what looked to be a handful of straw.  As she reached for it, the ladder shook ominously, but held, and Marjory began to weave the straw into a hole in the shed ' s roof.
    An accident waiting to happen, if ever there was one.  But far be it from Cameron to try and share the information with Marjory.  The woman was prickly at best, and since the moment in his room when they ' d practically electrified the tower, she hadn ' t so much as acknowledged his presence.  Besides, if Allen was right, she was more than cantankerous.  She was an enemy. Possibly a deadly one.
    He blew out a breath, and dismissed all ideas of intervening.  The building wasn't high and he didn't think a fall would result in serious injury as long as someone was there to catch her.  She ' d be just fine without him.  And he ' d be better off without getting involved.  Entanglements only resulted in pain.
    And he ' d had enough of that for a lifetime.
    Again he frowned, wondering what it was he was remembering — or not remembering.  Frustration crested then died as he slowly forced a breath.  He had to remain calm.  Hold onto his wits.
    "I see you're up and about."  Fingal Macgillivray towered over him, eyes narrowed and assessing.
    Cameron struggled to remember what Grania had said about the man.  A captain, she ' d called him.  Marjory ' s right-hand man.  Which meant he wasn ' t a friend of Ewen ' s.  "More or less."  Cameron looked up at the Scotsman, holding his gaze, striving for a nonchalance he didn ' t feel.
    To his surprise, the man sat down next to him, his expression still guarded.  " Ye really dinna know me? "
    " Only what Grania has told me. "
    The man shifted uncomfortably.  " Ach, the old woman is more daft than no ' .  I dinna trust her ways or her wisdom. "
    Cameron shrugged, not willing to comment, any chance for a peaceful moment alone evaporating before it could begin.
    " I honestly thought you were dead. "   The man ' s tone was neither apologetic nor gloating, neutrality sitting well with him.  Fingal might be a warrior, but it seemed he had a diplomatic side as well.  " I wouldna have left you there had I thought you were alive. "
    " Really? "   Cameron studied the man opposite him.  " I sort