Part 21 (1/2)

Quinn figured that was as close to an apology as he'd get from her, not that he needed one. ”Are we ready, then?” He gripped Lizzie's hand, eager to show her his life, and hoping she'd love it.

She nodded, her eyes s.h.i.+ning. ”So ready,” she said. ”Let's go.”

The end.

Epilogue.

Mellie stirred the banana bread batter, absently listening to Piper and Evie's wedding chatter. Less than a week had gone by since Catie and the others went back to their own time, and planning was now the top priority.

”Don't you have cla.s.s today?” Piper asked.

Trying not to be annoyed by her employer's well-meaning mothering, she lied and shook her head. She knew she was being sinfully irresponsible in skipping, especially since she was so close to being finished with her nursing courses. The thought of actually being done, being a nurse at last, made her drag her feet. It seemed so final, and now she wasn't sure. The only thing she knew to do was practice avoidance.

Filled with guilt at both lying and skipping school, she turned away from her friends' kind faces and whipped the batter until it bubbled. It would be the worst banana bread she ever baked, which made her feel even worse. It seemed she was falling short at everything these days.

She set the bowl aside to chop pecans, hoping wielding a knife would ease her frustrations. Her old friend Shane waved at her listlessly as he made his way past the kitchen window toward the barn. His shoulders slumped and his head was bowed. Ever since Catie had left, without so much as a goodbye to him, he'd been dispirited and confused, moping around, a sh.e.l.l of his former, lively self. She grumbled, finding it hard to believe she could actually feel sorry for someone more than herself at the moment, but she did.

”Shane's looking like a zombie,” she said. ”I'm going to try and cheer him up so he doesn't spook the horses.”

”That's sweet of you, Mel,” Evie said. ”He must have really liked Catie to be so down.”

Inexplicably, even that annoyed her. ”Gah, consider it my good deed of the day,” she said, wrapping a scone in a napkin and stomping out of the kitchen.

It didn't help that she felt a trifle responsible for his current sadness. If she hadn't meddled in their love triangle, and pretended to be all starry eyed over Oliver, Catie might have stayed. However, she still felt she had done the right thing, even though she also missed Catie.

Oliver was a catch, plain and simple. She'd enjoyed every minute of their midnight ride, and knew he would make Catie happy. She even felt a tiny, minute pang that his attention wasn't real. If she was honest with herself, she had to admit she might have tried harder than necessary in her flirting, been a bit too convincing. She pushed down her uncharacteristic jealousy.

”Oi, Shane, I brought you this scone,” she said, more gruffly than she meant, but she knew if she sounded pitying, he'd tell her to b.u.g.g.e.r off.

”Thanks, Mel.”

His surprise at her kindness made her ashamed and she sat next to him on a hay bale as he broke it into pieces to eat. The fact that he didn't cram it into his mouth, and his look of ecstasy when he took the first bite was gratifying.

”This is b.l.o.o.d.y amazing. My mum's scones are like crumbly bricks.”

She shrugged off his praise and eyed him expectantly. ”Are you all right, then?” she finally asked.

His face reddened and he hastily swallowed before answering. ”Ah, just feel a bit stupid is all. I thought she liked me.”

”She did like you,” Mel said, wanting to suck the words back in as soon as she saw his face light up with hope. ”But she has her own life.”

”Well, aye, but to have her phone completely shut off? I dinna understand why I canna call her or email, or something. Is she never going to visit her brother again? We could at least be friends.” He waved his hand in frustration.

”I think you're better off forgetting her,” Mel said.

”Hey, can I have a front row seat when ye accept your 'worst advice in the world' award?” he asked, leaning back against the barn wall, a broken look on his face.

She snorted, glad he wasn't going to press for answers to any of his questions. ”Ye'll be fine,” she said, awkwardly patting his arm. ”Hopefully we both will.”

”Aye, let's hope,” he said dismally. ”Are ye feeling low as well?”

She shrugged, not completely sure what was wrong with her. She didn't have any more pearls of wisdom or comfort for him, but he still looked so pathetic, she continued to sit beside him. They shared a companionable silence for several moments, while he finished his scone.

”Ye went out with my brother once, aye?” Shane asked, shaking out the crumbs and neatly folding the cloth napkin.

Mellie rolled her eyes. ”You know the population of the village as well as anyone. There's about six guys I could date. So, yeah, I went out with your brother once.”

”How come ye never went out with me?” he asked, nudging her leg with his knee.

She stared at him coldly. ”You're too young for me, for one,” she said. ”And you never asked.” Ugh, why had she added that last bit? She scowled at him, wanting to smack him for his beguiling charm.

”I'm a year younger. Catie told me her chaperone was four or five years older than her brother and they ended up together, so that shouldna matter.”

”It doesn't matter for them, because Quinn is a man, regardless of his age. Whereas you are ...”

”Aw, Mel, why do ye dislike me so much now? It wasna always that way. Remember in school?”

She did remember him being an annoyance. A fun annoyance though, and he'd taken up for her that one time when Derek McClane and his football cronies tried to ha.s.sle her. She shook her head.

”Why do you even care?” she asked, remembering the reason she was out here in the first place. She'd done her good deed for the day.

”Is it because of Bridget?” he persisted, kicking at a clump of hay. ”Because my heart was broken as badly as hers was when we broke up. I just didna go around the village crying about it like she did.”

”Aye, well, you got over it. You'll get over Catie as well.” She stood.

”Please, at least tell me how to reach her,” he pleaded, and her heart softened a little at his dewy green eyes.

He truly looked desperate. With a long sigh, she sat back down and stared at him, trying to decide what to do.

”What is it?” he asked. ”Why can't I have her phone number?”

”Where she's gone, there are no phones,” Mel said, then winced at how ominous it came out. ”Listen, if I tell you, you have to promise, really promise, not to tell anyone, whether you believe me or not.”

”Holy c.r.a.p, is she from another planet?” He grinned, not taking her seriously.

”Christ, Shane. You have to stop watching so many Korean dramas.”

”Ah, ye know that will never happen.”

She sighed. ”That is just one reason why I shouldn't tell you where Catie is.” He'd never make it in the eighteenth century. It was wrong, and she was crazy to think he'd believe her, so she once again got up to go.

He clamped his hand around her wrist, the smile sliding from his face. ”What, then? Mel, is she in trouble? Did they s.h.i.+p her off to some cult?”