A Laird to Hold by Angeline Fortin (free children's ebooks online .TXT) 📕

having anticipated their lack of options if Hugh’s assumption that they were also time travelers proved to be true.

Scarlett had made use of some of Claire’s clothes as well since the clothes Emmy retrieved from the bed and breakfast she’d stayed at so long ago no longer fit her after five years and two children. The friendly woman had thoughtfully packed some comfortable maternity wear to accommodate Scarlett’s post-partum body.

Maternity clothes Claire had on hand because she was expecting a baby after the new year.

My great-grandchild, Scarlett thought. Not sure how she felt about that yet. Many, many greats. Sure. But still her descendant. And her newborn daughter’s as well.

At least now she knew why Donell was so gung ho about saving her baby’s life. Hugh would never have been born otherwise. Never been alive to come to this time. Scarlett only wished she knew why that particular series of events was so important to the old wizard.

Now feeding her newborn with Hermione cuddled close to her side fast asleep, Scarlett looked around the congested room. Emmy and Claire chatted like old friends already. About food, if she was interpreting the snippets of conversation correctly. Claire about her cravings and Emmy expressing envy at her options. Scarlett hadn’t had a chance for more than a brief exchange with the newcomer other than when Claire and Emmy had both admired Scarlett’s Stella McCartney Falabella purse they’d brought back from Dunskirk.

She couldn’t blame them. It was a fabulous bag.

Connor and Rhys were watching the news channel on the television. She hadn’t quite determined if they were watching for information or not, because they talked through it all. Beyond the social wreckage they’d experienced beyond the hospital doors, this time had fascinated them both.

Connor, still reeling from the boorishness of the drivers he’d encountered, was content to soak up the more technological features of this new world. He’d already picked up a copy of Car & Driver from the gift shop near the lobby.

Rhys was more engrossed with societal aspects of the new millennia. Having been deferred to because of his noble station his whole life, the lack of submissiveness and boundaries regarding personal space both confounded and delighted him.

Scarlett had laughed aloud at the astonishment on his face when one of the nurses had hugged him in thanks for carrying a heavy piece of equipment for her. She suspected the nurse had done it just to get a chance to touch his heavily muscled body. They hadn’t yet deduced his sexual preferences, but then, he’d gotten adept at hiding them in his own time.

There might have been a lot more touching of male bodies if some of the female—and even a bit of the male—staff had their way. Even Scarlett had never seen such a collection of braw muscle in one place before. The delectable sight was enough to make any healthy libido quiver and take note. Rhys was simply the most approachable of the group.

Laird’s battle-worn demeanor checked their advances, leaving only a visual option available to them.

However, he wasn’t looking aloof at the moment. He and Hugh spoke quietly near the window. Getting to know one another. Though she knew the two hundred years of lineage between them should have significantly impacted the genetic line, Scarlett swore she could see the resemblance between them. Even more so now that her husband was dressed in a pair of jeans and tailored dress shirt that hugged his shoulders.

The men were about the same size and build, though Laird was slightly thicker through the chest and arms. Hugh’s eyes were bright blue instead of gray, his hair a few shades darker, but they had the same strong bone structure in the cheekbones, nose, and jawline, reinforcing their relationship. More like brothers given the similarity of their current ages instead of their true connection.

Laird seemed more enthralled by his progeny than he had about any aspect of this time thus far, whether it be technology or society related. She supposed she couldn’t blame him. One never expected to come face-to-face with such a distant descendant after all. However something held her back from succumbing to the same awe. When Emmy had told Scarlett about meeting her own grandson and gaining a snapshot into her future, Scarlett had experienced a dash of whimsical envy at the idea.

But she didn’t now. If she had Spidey senses, they’d be tingling. Something wasn’t right here. Not that she doubted Hugh’s story or distrusted him, but a sense of foreboding told Scarlett that meeting him was the worst possible thing that could happen to them.

She wished she knew why.

A new report flashed up on the TV screen, scattering her wayward thoughts.

“Speculation has run rampant about the new men in Scarlett Thomas’s life. From the dark, brooding Scotsman who came to her defense outside the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary yesterday to the delicious ginger who has acted as a sort of bodyguard and was spotted…”

“Och, silence that infernal thing machine,” Laird grunted. “I cannae bear their accursed nattering.”

“Hear, hear,” Hugh seconded.

“Nay, leave it on,” Rhys exclaimed with a chuckle. “I’ve ne’er been described as delicious before. I’m interested in hearing more aboot myself.”

“Who says they were talking about you?” Claire laughed, flicking her long red hair over her shoulder. “Could’ve been me.”

“Yer wife is a saucy wench, sir,” Rhys told Hugh with some approval in his tone.

“Well, I can verify she’s verra delicious,” Hugh murmured, casting a loving, rather passionate glance at his wife.

At least there was that for her descendant, Scarlett thought with a sigh. A love that on the surface seemed every bit as powerful as her own.

The news program caught her attention once more. “Reports are also coming in verifying that Scarlett Thomas has given birth to a baby girl who is in critical but stable condition at this time.”