Highland Pull (Highland Destiny 2) by Laura Harner, L.E. Harner Page A

have work to do. Alysone is still missing, in case you forgot.
    He winced. “Nay, lass, I didna forget.” He paused for a moment looking down at himself. “Are you sure I have to wear this?” He pointed to his own white cotton shirt and pants and made a face.
    Randi laughed at his woeful expression. “Buck up, Doc, this way you won’t stand out, everyone’ll be dressed in white.” She felt him relax at her tone, and struggled for stern. “Not so fast. You are not forgiven, and you’re still a person of interest in Alysone’s disappearance.”
    She quickly turned her back, not wanting to see how he took that news. “Let’s go.” She led the way through the courtyard to the garage under her apartment and wheeled out a motorcycle. She tossed a helmet at Gabhran, and tucked her hair into her own helmet. She straddled the bike, looked over her shoulder, and said, “Get on.”
    He climbed on behind her, touched her lightly, as if unsure of where to put his hands. Randi was glad he couldn’t see the grin on her face. She took off fast, so he was forced to grab her around the waist to keep from falling off, and she roared into the night.
    She wasn’t sure if Marie would be at one of the lesser ceremonies early in the evening, but she would definitely be at the fishing shack later, so they had time to grab a burger on the way. While they ate, Randi told Gabhran stories of St. John’s Eve and Marie.
    “I doona understand how you know Marie,” he said.
    “Oh we’re second cousins, twice removed and over easy, or something like that.” She laughed easily. “It’s a big family, and we get confused about how we’re all related, so we all just say we’re cousins. It’s easier that way.”
    Back on the bike, they headed to the bayou. Randi parked next to the lean-to and grabbed a pirogue, a shallow, to drag down to the water.
    “Get in, I’ll drive.” She laughed.
    The moon was rising as they glided through the water, the bayou was alive with the sounds of the early evening. She confidently navigated the dark waterway, enjoying the expression of pleasure on Gav’s face as he looked at the watery cypress forest.
    “ Cooeee,” she called out as they approached a dilapidated looking shack surrounded by a large deck and raised from the water on stilts. Another small boat was tied near a ladder that extended from the water to the deck.
    Marie stepped through the doorway, and answered Randi’s call.
    “Hey, cuz, what’re you doing out here tonight, did you come for St. John’s? No one is here yet, but they will be soon. You want to set on the porch awhile?”
    Marie stepped back inside, while Randi tied off the boat and they climbed the ladder. They pulled lawn chairs from the storage closet and set them around the deck. Randi heard Marie whispering and a deep rumble in return. She raised an eyebrow at Gabhran.
    “Looks as though your cousin has company.”
    “She’ll have a lot of company as soon as the other ceremonies are over. The final event of the night always takes place here. We probably won’t be invited to stay.”
    Marie stepped out, carrying candles and corn meal. “So, you found my cousin, Druid.”
    “Aye, she is my neighbor. Come to think of it, you already knew she was my neighbor, since it was your grandda who took me to that house to begin with.”
    Smiling serenely, Marie continued to set things around the deck, then walked over to Gabhran and took his face in her hands. She said nothing for so long that Gabhran began to look uncomfortable. With a deep sigh, she pulled him down to whisper in his ear, before kissing his cheek and turning to Randi.
    “You can believe his story, my sweet. Now, Druid, go to the boat, I must speak with my cousin alone.”
    Gabhran looked a question to Randi, who nodded, so down the ladder he went, to wait in the boat.
    When Randi joined him several minutes later, she was quiet, her feelings tightly under control. She could sense that it made Gabhran