The Highlander's Bargain Read Online Free Page A

intensity that stole her breath. “You were there in the very spot at the very moment I came through. ’Twas meant to be. Our meeting like this canna be simply by chance.”
    “Sure it can.” Her heart continued to pound away in her chest, and now spots danced before her eyes. Great. Was she going to faint? Don’t you dare. Breathe! She sucked in a huge breath and glared at him. “Move, or I’m going to start screaming. You don’t want that, do you? Security will haul your butt away so fast you won’t know what hit you.”
    He rolled off, sat up and scrubbed his hands over his face. “My apologies. ’Twas you who put yourself in place to break my fall. Traveling through time is no’ an easy task. For certes, I feared I would be torn asunder. I’m no’ yet myself. I need a few moments.” He searched her face again, his eyes lingering on her mouth and coming back to her eyes. “Will you stay and hear my plea?”
    His perusal brought a fresh rush of heat to her face. “Your plea ? Now that you don’t have me pinned to the ground I might,” she huffed. “This ought to be good.” Her headache forgotten, she scooted a short distance away and sat facing him. Once again she scanned the area for someone she could call out to if she needed help. A couple of men dressed in hose and tunics with swords hanging from their waists were walking toward a trailer nearby. She recognized them.
    One was a part of her reenactment group, though she didn’t know him well. They’d come running if she shouted. Good, because this whole situation filled her with a mixed bag of anxiety and curiosity. The curiosity proved more powerful. She couldn’t walk away without first hearing what the good-looking guy with the heavy Scottish brogue had to say.
    Besides, she had been standing exactly where he came through, and maybe meeting him wasn’t accidental. As far-fetched as his claim of time travel seemed, could he be telling the truth? Now that she was past the shock, she focused all of her energy to get a read on him.
    She’d always had the ability to pick up on things about people, mostly physical impressions, and her gifts served her well in the health-care industry. She knew what her patients needed without them having to tell her, even the babies still in the womb. Nothing felt “off” about the man beside her. She didn’t sense any darkness within him, only a lively intellect and robust health. He wasn’t attempting to conceal anything from her. That fact came through loud and clear.
    The alleged time traveler leaped to his feet and offered her a hand. She ignored the proffered help and rose on her own. “It’s 2010, by the way.”
    “Perfect. ’Tis exactly the year True left her time for ours.” He rubbed his hands together. “And am I in New York? Is this the Sterling Renaissance Festival? Is it August?”
    “Nope. Not even close. You’re in Shakopee, Minnesota, and it’s almost October.” Something flickered across his face—a shot of confusion followed by a fear chaser?
    “Shock-o-pee?” His brow creased. “Minnesota, you say?” His hand came up to swipe at the lower half of his face. “’Tis Lady True’s realm.”
    Lady True? “Not where your ticket was supposed to take you, eh?”
    “Ticket?” His mouth turned down.
    “OK, you said you came here through time, and if I hadn’t seen what I just saw with my own eyes . . .” She threw her braid back over her shoulder before reaching for her veil and headpiece. She put them back on and wondered how much time she had left before her break ended. “I’ll bite. When are you from?”
    “The year of our Lord 1426.”
    Shock arced along her nerve endings. So not possible. Was it? She took in the draped, not pleated, rustic wool he wore, the leather sporran fastened to his belt next to a sheathed dagger, and the broadsword hanging down his back. He stood about five foot nine or ten, and not an inch of him was wasted. Ripped. The man might not be overly