Ghosts of Culloden Moor 15 - Gerard by L.L. Muir

Author:L.L. Muir [Muir, L.L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-01-14T08:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Gerard held tight to Assa’s hand as they hurried out into the yard and back to the house where someone was pushing his way through the door. They followed him inside.

The older fellow pushed his slicker off his head and shouted above the sound of the storm. “The dike’s failed! We’ve got a flood headed this way. And if it gets deep enough, the nets will be ruined!”

Ian slammed a hat on his head and reached for his coat. “We’ve got to move them to higher ground. Someone needs to hurry up the ben and slow the water! It’s probably too late, but it may keep us from losing them all.”

Gerard gave Assa’s hand a squeeze and released her. “I’ll take the horse. It will be fastest.”

Ian gave him a sharp look, then nodded. “Take Jamie with you. He won’t weigh the horse down.”

Gerard paused at the door long enough to throw the lass a wink. “I’ll be back.”

She put on a brave smile and nodded.

As he waited for Jamie to mount behind him, he realized he might be about to perform the deed he’d been sent for. And he worried he might be taken away as soon as he finished. But he’d promised Assa he’d return—not unlike the promise he’d made nearly two hundred and seventy years before.

Please, God, let me keep my promise.

~

The horse Gerard had borrowed from the Muirs was a powerful beast. With two full grown men on its back, it climbed as if it felt no weight at all. The trail was steep enough at one point they had to get off and climb separately. An ATV wouldn’t have been much help.

Sometimes, old ways were the best ways.

The path leveled out again and Gerard mounted. Then he reached down to help the drenched cousin. His hand moved through the lads arm without catching as if… as if he were reverting back to spirit form.

Jamie didn’t seem to notice. He simply grabbed the back of the saddle and heaved himself up with little effort. And with their pressing errand ahead, Gerard decided it best to worry after the task was finished. After all, he only needed to be substantial enough to fix a dike. But it hurt his heart to think he might never again feel the press of Assa’s lips.

They reached a large plateau where a small lake of water lay waiting to pour itself down the mountainside. A well-built dam held it back for the most part. Thick, foot-square railroad ties made an immovable wall, shored up by concrete pillars. But at the near edge, two boards had come loose and dangled in a heavy rush of water, releasing ten times as much as the rest of the dam allowed.

“If we hurry, we can catch them before they wash away!” Gerard pointed and Jamie agreed. They dismounted and Gerard’s attention caught on a coil of rope he hadn’t noticed before, as if God Himself had reached down and handed him the tools with which he could accomplish his task.

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