“Eat, then, old man,” Morgan said, darting a look at Sadie and then back at the priest. “I haven’t the time right now. I’ve got to go find our sniper before he finds us again.”

Sadie was standing before she finished gasping. “You will not! The man has a gun, and all you’ve got is that… that sword,” she said emphatically, waving a hand at the inadequate weapon sticking up past his head. “You’re staying right here.”

Morgan took hold of her shoulders and pinned her with his eyes. “As beautiful and warm as this place is, we cannot hide here forever,gràineag. We have to leave eventually, and we cannot do that until I’m sure we’ll be safe.”

He pulled her against him gently and cupped the back of her head into his shoulder. “I’

ll be careful, wife. He won’t even see me coming.”

“It—it’s not Dwayne and Harry,” she muttered into his shoulder, trying to wiggle back to look at him. But he wouldn’t loosen his hand. “Don’t hurt them. It’s someone else.”

“I know, Mercedes. I will not hurt them.” He finally leaned back to look at her, now holding her hair in his fist, his grip emphasizing his words. “In return, you must promise to stay here with Daar. You’ll be safe with thedrùidh.”

He was holding her so tightly she couldn’t even nod. His entire body was filled with tension.

“I’ll protect Father Daar,” she told him instead.

Father Daar snorted at her response.

The right corner of Morgan’s mouth curved in amusement. He kissed her soundly on the lips, then stepped back.

“Wait.” Sadie turned to the priest as she untied the leather cord she was still wearing.

“Father Daar. Give Morgan another cherrywood knot to take with him,” she said, handing the leather to the priest.

Father Daar clasped his cane to his chest protectively, fingering the empty leather cord now in his hand. “I can’t,” he said, darting a look from her to Morgan. He lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “I’ve only one decent-sized burl left that would have enough power to do any good,” he explained. “And if I take it off, my staff will be useless.”

“Then give him your whole cane,” Sadie insisted, reaching for it.

“Nay!” Daar yelped, quickly tucking the cane behind his back. “He’s liable to set this entire valley on fire. The magic’s too powerful for mere mortals.”

“Well, he needs something.”

“I have you, wife,” Morgan said, turning her to face him. “Nothing can stop me from coming back to you, Mercedes.”

“You’ll have your clan’s help,” Daar interjected. “Callum and Charlotte stopped by my cabin yesterday on their way to Gu Bràth. Callum said he’d return with Greylen and Ian.” He waved in the direction of the valley. “They’re probably already out there, hunting for whoever broke into Mercedes’ cabin.”

Morgan gave Sadie a reassuring smile. “See? You have nothing to worry about.”

“Does your brother or Callum or this Ian fellow have guns?”

“Aye. We all do.”

“Then where’s yours?”

“Home in my gun cabinet. I’ll be okay,gràineag. Now, make our priest some supper,” he said, kissing her quickly on her still protesting mouth. “And try not to kill the man with your cooking,” he said as a parting shot, turning and loping into the darkness at the end of the pool. He disappeared before Sadie could tell him at least to take Faol.

She turned back to Father Daar.

“Did you know that burned trout is an acquired taste?” she asked the man of the cloth who was still eyeing her suspiciously, still guarding his cane behind his back.

“I do know what that word is now, that you asked me about the other day,” the old priest said instead, his clear blue eyes suddenly sparkling with mischief.

“Gray-agch?” Sadie whispered, stepping closer. “What? What does it mean?”

The old man rubbed his beard with the end of his cane and sent her a satisfied smirk.

“Well, girl.Gràineag is Gaelic for ‘hedgehog.’”

Chapter Twenty-one

Morgan stepped through the towering treesthat protected the pool and out into the cold night, letting his eyes adjust from the bright glow of the grotto to the darkness of the forest. Faol whined beside him and stood up, his tail wagging and his eyes glowing green with their own inner light. The wolf was licking his lips, finishing off the trout Morgan had given him earlier.

“You be ready, my friend,” he told the wolf in Gaelic. “I give Mercedes only an hour before she comes sneaking out here. Guard her, and keep her from wandering off the side of this mountain and getting herself killed.”

He hunched down and ruffled the wolf’s fur. “It seems we’ve gotten ourselves agràineag, wolf, who has more heart than common sense sometimes. Nothing else can explain her acceptance of us.”

Morgan smiled into the night as he thought about the afternoon he’d just spent with Mercedes. She’d been so playful and passionate when they’d made love. And so open with her now perfect body. Not an ounce of shyness did she possess, now that she felt beautiful. He would give his sword arm to have possessed her that way before she’d been healed. He’d never have that chance now, thanks to the magic. He would never be able to prove to Mercedes that love did not come with conditions.

Morgan stood up and let his gaze scan the quiet forest. “I’m going to find Greylen and the others,” he told Faol. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a fistful of gold nuggets he’d taken from the pool. “I won’t go after Mercedes’ sniper. Grey and Callum and Ian can do that. I’ll set out bait and wait for them to push our prey into my trap.”

He gave Faol one final pat and a warning. “Be alert,” he told the wolf. “And keep our woman away from the river.”

And then Morgan walked into the night, towards the dark force that roamed his valley.

Though Sadie didn’t know it,her husband’s prediction was off by a good two hours.

Sadie paced to the edge of the pool and stared down at the shimmering water which continued to glow with magical intensity. It appeared to be daylight within the confines of the granite cliffs, but when she looked skyward, the mist rose into blackness. It was the deep of night outside her own little heaven, and Sadie couldn’t stop thinking about her shooter and the danger Morgan was walking into.

Sadie wished she had bought a handgun. But even if she had, it most likely would be back at the old logging camp, with the rest of her stuff.

And that was another thing that was bothering her. The logging camp and her backpack.

Jean Lavoie’s diary was there as well, with the section pertaining to this cliff, and its approximate location, circled in red ink. If whoever shot her stumbled onto it, he would know where to look for the gold.

And he would find this mystical gorge.

Sadie skirted the edge of the pool, walking beneath the waterfall and scooping up a handful of gold. She turned and looked out over her small piece of heaven.

If this place were discovered, it surely would be destroyed.

In order to keep this magic a secret, she would have to build the wilderness park farther down in the valley and find another way to access it instead of through MacKeage land.

But she would have to worry about solving that problem later. Instead, Sadie set her mind to the bigger problem at hand now. She had to go to the logging camp and retrieve that diary before it was found.

Sadie tucked the handful of gold into her pocket and walked over to the slumbering old priest. She eyed the cane in his hand. She needed some sort of weapon that could protect her if she ran into trouble. It was only two miles to the logging camp and back. With luck, she’d be gone less than an hour. She’d have Father Daar’s cane safely tucked back beside him before he woke up, and she’d be sitting here like a dutiful wife long before Morgan returned.

Being as careful as she could, Sadie slowly slipped the cane from the sleeping priest’s hand. She quickly straightened, clasped the warm wood to her chest, and turned and set off at a jog through the magically giant trees.