ONE
The silence surrounding Jenna was as all encompassing as the thick blanket of fog which had just settled in around her. A shiver travelled up her spine as she noticed she was suddenly and completely alone where moments before the Marina Green had been filled with people walking their dogs, running and otherwise enjoying the morning. Movement caught her eye and as she watched, the fog began to swirl and move towards her, like it was a living, breathing being.
“Chester, come,” she called. Her cousin Dylan’s massive Rottweiler trotted her way. “Time to go, boy.”
As she finished leashing the dog, the wind picked up and Chester began barking and leaping towards the approaching fog. They were in the middle of some kind of whirlwind. Jenna brushed her wayward locks out of her eyes as Chester barked happily, his little stub of a tail wagging his entire hind end. Why was he greeting the fog that continued swirling their way?
Curiosity held Jenna in place. The fog alive with movement, sparked and popped with mini lightning strikes of color. She knew she should get out of there, but her feet were frozen to the spot. Moments passed in slow motion as the fog began to dissipate, leaving in its place a very tall, kilted man with long, dark hair and mesmerizing blue eyes that were trained on Jenna. He smiled and walked her way.
“Ye must be Jenna. I’ve come for ye lass.”
Jenna forced herself to speak. “Do I know you?” Her voice quaivered only the tiniest bit. She wracked her brain trying to remember if she’d met this guy before. Jenna imagined if she had, she’d remember him. He wasn’t someone she’d easily forget.
“Nay. We’ve not met.”
That voice and that accent were affecting her ability to move. She really needed to get away from him before she turned into a puddle of mush at his feet.
“Then how do you know me? Where did you come from,” she asked as she quickly surveyed the surrounding area.
“I dinna know ye, lass. Edna sent me.”
He said the last as though she should know who Edna was.
“I don’t know anyone named Edna. You must have me confused with someone else.” She began backing away. He followed.
“Nay. Ye dinna know Edna, but she knows ye. She said ye’d be the first lass I’d set eyes on when I arrived.”
Jenna was trying her best not to freak out.
“So, this ‘tis San Francisco.” He looked around and his eyes lit on the Golden Gate Bridge. “Tis an amazing sight.”
The fog was completely gone and people were visible once again. Jenna breathed a sigh of relief.
“And who is this,” he asked as he bent to pet Chester, who was doing a pathetic job of protecting her.
“His name’s Chester. He’s not usually very friendly with strangers.” She couldn’t believe it. The dog was all over this guy. One thing was certain, to this point Chester had always been an excellent judge of character. If someone was not to be trusted he reacted with growls and raised hackles. It was a shame that today was the day he decided to lower his standards.
“Look, Mr …” Jenna started.
“My apologies, lass, I forgot to introduce meself. Me name’s Cormac MacBayne.”
“Well, it’s been nice chatting with you Mr. MacBayne, but I’ve got to get going.”
“I’ll come with ye then.”
“No. No, you won’t.” Jenna cursed the fact that she left her cell phone at home.
“Aye. I must. I’m here for ye, Jenna.”
“What exactly does that mean,” she snapped.
“Edna sent me to bring ye back with me. Yer to be me wife.”
“Okay, I don’t know what drugs you’re on, or which one’s you should be on, but you need to leave me alone.” She assessed her situation and decided she needed to get back home as quickly as possible. There were plenty of people out and about now, so if he tried anything, she’d scream. This guy was obviously a nut job, but oddly, she didn’t feel threatened by him. Too bad he was delusional, because otherwise he was a fine specimen of man.
She quickly turned around and started walking away. He hurried to catch up with her. Jenna surveyed the area for the quickest way to lose this guy. It didn’t look hopeful.
“Don’t you have somewhere you need to be?”
“Nay, lass, I’m here …”
“I know, I know, you’re here for me,” she growled.
“I’ve nowhere else to go,” he admitted in a somber voice.
“So you’re homeless. Is that it?”
“Nay. My home is far from here.”
“Do you have any money?” Jenna asked, her initial wariness turning down a notch.
“Nay, I dinnae.” he responded, with a curious look on his face.
“Okay. Since you insist on following me, if you leave me alone and don’t try anything, when we get to my place, I’ll give you some money and I’ll have my cousin, Dylan drive you to the homeless shelter. There are people there who can help you.” Why was she leading him right to her front door? She kept telling herself that Chester wouldn’t let any harm come to her and Jenna simply didn’t get a bad vibe from him.
He continued to look as if he couldn’t understand why she thought he needed help. “That won’t be necessary, lass. If ye come with me, we’ll tell Edna we’re ready and she’ll bring us back to my home.”
“I can’t argue with you about this. You obviously have issues that need to be dealt with and I don’t have the time or the patience to do it. So, please, don’t say another word about me going anywhere with you. As a matter of fact, don’t say anything else at all.”
“As ye wish, lass.”
Jenna kept her eye on him as she walked. She had been accosted by strangers in the past. San Francisco was a big city and there were many roaming the streets who needed help. None of them had ever followed her home though. Some would ask for money and some only wanted someone to listen to them for a moment. Cormac MacBayne didn’t utter a single word, but she noted his head on a swivel, turning from side to side. He looked at the cars and buses with immense curiosity. Everything seemed fascinating to him.
Jenna was relieved when she finally reached her house, a neat little Victorian with lots of gingerbread trim, in a row of similar multicolored houses. It may not have been the wisest decision to lead him straight to her front door, but something told her she had nothing to fear from this strange man.
“You wait here. I’ll send Dylan out to help you.”
“Jenna, lass, I …”
“No. Don’t say another word. Zip it.” She motioned to her lips like she were zipping them shut.
Cormac wrinkled his brow and looked confused at that, but he did not speak.
“Come on, Chester.” She had to pull the dog away. He must be wearing bacon cologne, she thought, as she climbed the stairs to her front door. She took one more look at gorgeous, but crazy and then unlocked the door and went in.
***
“Dylan,” Jenna called as she closed the front door. “Dylan, get up. I need you. We’ve got a problem and he’s waiting for your downstairs.”
“Morning to you, too, cuz.” Dylan stretched and rubbed his eyes as he emerged from his room, wearing nothing buy a pair of jeans. “Coffee.” He pointed as he made his way to the kitchen and poured himself a cup.
“So, what’s up? Jonathan back?”
“No. Some crazy guy followed me home from the Green. Oddly, he knows my name. Some lady named Edna sent him, or so he says. I’m supposed to go with him and be his wife.”
“Well, you better get packed then. You probably shouldn’t make him wait too long. He might leave without you.” Dylan chuckled at his own joke.
“Very funny. You’re just a riot first thing in the morning, aren’t you?”
“I do believe I am.” s “Between that and this face and bod, it’s a wonder I don’t have women beating down the door to be with me.”
“I don’t want your head to swell, but they do.”
“Oh, yeah, you’re right.”
“Come on, Dylan. Get serious. We need to do something about this guy. And when I say we, I really mean you.”
“Should I bring my baseball bat,” he teased.
“No. He seems pretty harmless,” Jenna related. She found her purse and pulled out her wallet. “Here’s some money for him. I thought you could drop him off at a homeless shelter.”
“Okay. I’ll take care of it.” He looked out the front window. “That him,” he asked.
“Yes.”
“He’s a big dude. I wonder if he played football.”
“I wouldn’t know. I didn’t ask him,” she replied sarcastically.
“I’ll bet he did. Probably got hit on the head one time too many. Concussions, you know.”
“Dylan, not everyone plays football.”
“I do.”
“I know, but he’s Scottish.”
“Oh, yeah, he’s wearing a kilt. That should have been my first clue.”
Jenna was pushing him towards the door now.
“Go, go, go.”
“Okay, I’m go, go, going.”
Jenna slammed the door shut behind him and went back to the window. She took her phone with her just in case she needed to call the SFPD.
***
Cormac leaned against the light post and waited as he was instructed by Jenna. He hoped Edna hadn’t led him astray. This woman was quite bonnie to be sure, but she had a sharp tongue, which was in great contrast to her angelic face, golden locks and liquid brown eyes. She was petite. Her head only reached the top of his chest and though she was slight of build, she was quite shapely.
His eyes were drawn up to the windows above his head. He could see movement there and knew he was being watched. Moments later the door slammed behind a tall, light haired man, who looked down the stairs at him.
“Hi. My name’s Dylan. I’m Jenna’s cousin. She asked me to come down here and help you.”
“Good day to ye, Dylan. I be Cormac MacBayne. Edna sent me to find me wife. She told me Jenna was the one, but Jenna doesnae believe it.”
“I see.” Dylan was baffled, but he wanted to get to the bottom of this for his cousin’s sake. Taking him to a shelter wasn’t going to answer the questions he had.
“Cormac, are you hungry by any chance?”
“Aye. I am.”
“Me, too. Let’s go get some breakfast and you can tell me all about Edna and this wife thing.”
As they headed off down the street, Cormac took one last look up at the window and caught Jenna spying on them.
***
“Where is he going with him? I told him to drive him to the homeless shelter and instead they’ve headed off down the street like two old friends.”
It occurred to Jenna in that moment that Dylan might be pulling a prank on her. It certainly seemed like something he would do. That must be it, because nothing else made sense.
This Cormac was very handsome. He dressed oddly, but it was kind of sexy. Who didn’t love a man in a kilt? The t-shirt, leather jacket and boots were icing on the cake as far as she was concerned. She wondered where Dylan had found him. Did he know him from college? She like the Scottish accent and wondered why she’d never been to Scotland. If the men there looked anything like Cormac MacBayne, she was going to have to put it on her bucket list.
Her best friend, Ashley, had gone off to Scotland that spring and she’d ended up getting married and staying there. God, I miss you, Ashley, Jenna thought. I can’t even call you. Who lives someplace where there’s no phone service anyway? If Ashley were here, they’d be busy cooking up ways to get back at Dylan. A good practical joke always deserved a response.
Her walk with Chester was supposed to help her relax and instead it had added a whole new list of things for Jenna to mull over in her head. Sometimes it was too hard to turn off all that mindless chatter. The thoughts that made her feel like everything that had happened in her life recently had been her own fault. The thoughts that told her she’d made the biggest mistake of her life when she married Jonathan and that if she’d been paying attention she would have known better than to trust him. Jenna looked down at her now fisted hands and grimaced at her own inability to let things go. She made a conscious effort to relax her hands and took a deep breath, expelling it and all of the obsessive thoughts floating through her brain.
“Come on, Chester. Let’s go get something to eat. I’m not going to solve all my problems right now.”
TWO
Cormac and Dylan made themselves comfortable in a corner booth of Joe’s Diner, a local watering hole.
“Let’s order some food first and then we’ll talk,” Dylan suggested.
“Aye.” Cormac looked uncomfortable as he examined everything from the booth, to the glasses, to the floor and ceiling.
“Here.” Dylan handed him a menu and instead of reading it, he just held it in his hand.
“No diners where you’re from?”
“Diners?”
“That’s what this place is. It’s a diner.”
“Nay. I’ve not been to a diner.” Cormac carefully pronounced the word.
“Okay. Well, that’s the menu in your hand. You order your food from it.”
Cormac took a deep breath and continued to look around.
Dylan wasn’t sure what was going on. “I’ll order for both of us. I’m pretty hungry and I’d guess you are, too.”
“Hey, Dylan, long time no see.” A pretty young waitress stood at their booth ready to take their orders.
“Oh, hey, Sophia. How’s it going?”
“Okay, I guess. You never called me,” she said, staring daggers at him.
“Oh, yeah, I’m sorry. I just got really busy helping Jenna out, you know.”
“Right.” She didn’t believe him. He could tell. “Who’s your friend,” she asked not hiding her interest.
“This is Cormac.”
Cormac stood and gave her a slight bow. He took her hand, brought it to his lips and said, “Tis an honor to meet ye, lass.”
Sophia’s legs went all wobbly and she looked a little flustered as Cormac steadied her so she wouldn’t fall. She fanned herself with the order pad and started to walk away.
“Aren’t you going to take our order, Sophia,” Dylan asked.
“Oops. Sorry. What can I get you, Cormac?” She smiled and batted her lashes at him, ignoring Dylan.
Dylan ordered enough food to feed a family of six and as they waited he decided there was no time like the present to find out what Cormac was all about, but before he could ask his first question, Cormac had one of his own.
“What have ye done to that poor lass that has angered her so?”
“You picked up on that, huh? I made the mistake of going on a date with her. She’s really pretty, you know, but we didn’t have any chemistry. So I never called her for a second date. I guess she expected I would.”
“Chemistry. What is chemistry?”
“Really?”
Cormac continued staring at him, waiting for a reply.
“Chemistry is like when you have this immediate connection with someone. You just hit it off right away.”
“I’m sorry, Dylan. I’m not verra good with yer twenty-first century American language. Ashley speaks it all the time and I’ve come to understand most of what she says, but there is always something new to learn.”
“Did you say twenty-first century American language?”
“Aye. I did.” Cormac looked like he was weighing his options as to what to say before he continued. “Edna told me to be careful what I say and not to look puzzled by all the strange sights I would see. She thought it might frighten Jenna, but I believe I already have.”
“Yeah, she was a bit freaked out when she got home. But explain to me … where are you from?” Dylan got the feeling something was not quite right here, hopefully he’d figure it out soon.
“I be from Scotland. Edna sent me. She’s a witch, ye ken.”
“You mean a witch who casts spells?”
“Aye.”
“So, Edna sent you to get Jenna and bring her back to Scotland?”
“Aye. She told me Jenna would be me wife, but I’m nae so sure. She isna sweet like me brother’s wife.”
“Who’s your brother’s wife?”
“Cailin is newly wed to Ashley. She is a twenty-first century American lass, like Jenna. She lived here in San Francisco before she met me brother.”
“Ashley Moore?”
“Aye. That’s her. Do ye know her?”
“Aye. I mean, yes. She is Jenna’s best friend. She went to Scotland on a vacation and called to tell Jenna she was getting married. We haven’t heard from her since.”
“Tis not likely that ye will.”
“Cormac, you need to tell me everything. I can’t help you if I don’t know the whole story.”
Just then, Sophia returned with two huge plates of food and a steaming pot of coffee, which she placed on the table in front of them.
“Here you go.” She focused all of her attention on Cormac, leaning over him and pressing her ample bosom into his arm as she poured him some coffee. “You let me know if you need anything else. Anything at all.” She winked at him and gave her hips a little extra sway as she walked away.
“Are all of the women in San Francisco like Sophia? I’ve seen many beautiful lasses in the short time I’ve been here. Mayhap I can find someone else to bring back with me. Someone more like Ashley.”
“Believe me, Sophia is nothing like Ashley.”
Dylan began to eat, but Cormac looked a bit confused by the utensils and the food. This is really odd, Dylan thought. He seems like he’s never seen a fork before.
“Hey, dude, you alright?”
“Dude? Who is dude?”
“You. It’s twenty-first century American.” Dylan showed Cormac how to use the fork and with a smile he dug right in. He tasted the coffee and made a face.
“You should put cream and sugar in it. It can be kind of bitter otherwise.”
“Cailin told me of this coffee. He had some when he visited yer time.”
That caught Dylan’s attention and he put his fork down and focused on Cormac.
“What do you mean, my time?”
“Edna will be angry with me, but I must tell someone. Ye must promise to say naught to Jenna about Ashley. Tis important she come with me because she wants to and not because of Ashley.”
“I won’t say anything about Ashley. I promise. Now tell me what you meant by, my time.”
“You see, Dylan, I be from the year 1514 in Scotland. Edna sent me from that time to bring Jenna back to Breaghacraig with me.”
Dylan’s mouth was hanging open at this revelation. Being a huge fan of sci-fi, he was more than willing to believe Cormac. He was open minded on most topics and believed that just because he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, it didn’t mean that something didn’t exist.
“Whoa, dude! That’s amazing. How did she do it?”
“I dinnae know. I stood at the bridge as she told me to do and when the fog came, it whirled around me for a while and then left. I opened my eyes and I was here and I saw Jenna, just as Edna said I would.”
“What about your clothes. You’re wearing a kilt, but you have a t-shirt and a really cool leather jacket on. I don’t think they have those things in the sixteenth century.”
“Yer right. She told me that the lasses here would find me irresistible in these clothes.”
“I think she was right. Every woman we passed on the street did a double take when they saw you. I might have to copy your look.”
“It did not impress Jenna. She couldnae wait to get away from me.”
“Don’t give up on her yet. I’ll see what I can do to help you. You gotta understand, she just got out of a bad marriage and she’s mad at the world right now.”
“Jenna was married?”
“She was. She married this guy named Jonathan. None of us, her family or friends, liked him. We thought she was making a huge mistake, but she didn’t want to hear it. It turned out he was just interested in her for the family money. Once she found out, she dumped his ass and got her marriage annulled. She felt really betrayed and she is still getting over it.”
“She is lovely to look at, but she has a viper’s tongue,” Cormac observed.
“Sarcasm is her weapon of choice, bro. She’s really a great girl. She’s kind of hard on the outside and this whole Jonathan thing hasn’t helped with that, but she’s a sweetheart once you get to know her. You’ll see.”
“I trust ye, Dylan. Will ye be unhappy to have yer cousin leave yer time?”
“Nah. I’d be happy for her … if she really wanted to go. I’d want to go to. Do you think that would be possible?”
“I dinnae know. We’d have to ask Edna.”
“How do you communicate with Edna? Do you use mental telepathy? Or does she materialize right in front of you?”
“I’m sorry, Dylan, I dinna ken mental telepathy. If ye want to know how I talk to Edna, it’s in me head. I dinna think I can explain it any other way.”
Dylan was finishing up the last of his food and he was grinning from ear to ear.
“We’re going to have to find a way to get Jenna to let you stay at the house. Leave it up to me. She’ll be pissed at first, but she’ll come around. You’ll see.”
Sophia brought the check. “Can I get you guys anything else?” Again, she was totally focused on Cormac, who was having a hard time with the slang.
“We’re good to go, Sophia.” He handed her some cash. “I think that covers it.”
“Do you want change?”
“Nope. You keep it.”
“Hope to see you again, Cormac. I work most mornings. Just ask them to sit you at my table.”
“Thank ye, lass. I’ll be sure to do that.”
As they left, Sophia followed them to the door. Dylan watched with interest as she blew Cormac a kiss and then nearly fell over when he returned it with a devilish smile.