Read Highland Shifter (MacCoinnich Time Travel) for Free Online

oldest son, stepped forward, a strange pack dangled from his hand.
    “Grandpa asked me to rush this inside,” Briac said.
    Lizzy gasped, and Tara walked to her son.
    “What is it?” Amber didn ’t recognize the material or design.
    “It ’s a backpack.”
    Amber still had no idea of what her sister-in-law spoke.
    “Where did it come from?”
    Selma stepped away from the other children and placed her hand into her mother ’s palm. “Simon’s horse arrived without him.”
    * * * *
    Simon wrapped his arms around the lass and braced for the fall.
    A scream ripped from Helen ’s lips the moment gravity crushed them to the earth’s surface.
    They landed on something soft. The air around his body no longer felt cool or permeated with the smells of the forest. Simon jerked his head up, but kept the lass firmly within his hold. Protecting her from whomever may have followed them in the vortex.
    Looking from side to side, he recognized the inside of a home similar to the one he’d spent the first decade of his life.
    Under the trembling girl was a sofa. To the side of the couch was an end table and lamp. A mechanical noise filled the room and a high-pitched beep repeated every few seconds. Other than the noises of the apartment, there were none.
    Simon sighed with relief and closed his eyes. No bloodthirsty warrior had tumbled with them through time. But this was not how he thought his day would end when he awoke this morning. Ah, but the woman under him was wonderfully soft in all the right places,
    “Get. Off. Me.”
    Simon had no desire to move. But move he must. And explain.
    Helen ’s small fist pounded against his chest, her legs started to kick out from under him.
    “Calm down, lass. I ’m moving.”
    As soon as his weight lifted from hers, like a frightened rabbit, she scurried several feet away.
    Simon stood to his six-foot-two height and glanced around the room.
    “You ’re naked!”
    A necessary evil when shifting from animal to man. Much like an animal wearing only its fur, Simon felt no shame in his nudity.
    The woman in the room had other thoughts.
    Simon watched a blush rush to her cheeks. The glow brought much-needed color to her face. Her eyes left a fiery path, as she looked her fill. When her eyes settled south of his stomach, his body responded.
    Helen gasped and turned away.
    Simon chuckled. A small throw blanket sat on the couch. He wrapped his hips into the material before saying, “I ’m decent now.”
    Helen glanced over her shoulder briefly before turning back toward him. It was then he noticed the blood flowing down her leg beneath the makeshift bandage. Renewed concern for her wellbeing filled him.
    “You’re bleeding.”
    She glanced at her leg and laughed. “It wasn ’t a dream.”
    “I ’m afraid not.”
    Simon stepped toward her and she pulled away. His dirk rose before her.
    He lifted his hands. “Do you really believe I’ll hurt you, lass?”
    “I-I don ’t know what—”
    “Come now. We need to clean that before an infection seeps in.” Besides, giving the girl a task would put her mind to work and keep her from falling apart.
    She nodded, and started walking toward another room. Simon caught her arm when her body tilted after applying weight on her swelling leg.
    Inside the small bathroom, she turned on a light. The action brought a smile to his face. Electricity was a beautiful thing. He remembered it now.
    Helen sat on the side of the tub, and lifted her leg to remove her shoes.
    “I ’m going crazy, aren’t I?” She asked the question but never stopped her task.
    “You ’re not crazy.”
    Simon helped her remove her sock and twisted the knob at the faucet. Water flowed through the pipes. Only when the water started to warm did he ease her leg to the tub. With a gentle hand, he untied the bloody rag and tossed it to the side.
    “I was in Scotland this morning.”
    “As was I.” Simon found a washcloth and pressed it under the water. Helen stared at the