Shades of Doon by Carey Corp

knew from the moment I laid eyes on you in Chicago that I never wished to be parted again. I couldna bear it.”
    Exactly how I had felt. Whenever he left my sight I’d been plagued with irrational fear that I was dreaming and would wake up at any moment to find myself alone in my studio apartment. If Duncan was my home, I was his heart. Without the other, we would cease to function. That was the point of the Calling, I supposed. A gift from the Protector, revealing the person who was not only our other half but the one who would challenge us in the best ways possible to grow into the people we were destined to be.
    Not consciously thinking about my words, I blurted out, “What do you think about Vee and Jamie getting handfasted?”
    Geez! I sounded like a desperate girlfriend in Bye Bye Birdie . Did you hear about Hugo and Kim? They got pinned, the lucky ducks. I sure wish it would happen to me.
    “Aye,” Duncan said evenly so that his tone betrayed nothing. “I think it suits them.”
    “Not that I’m jealous — ’cause I’m not.” I immediately started backpedaling so Duncan wouldn’t think that I was fishing for a commitment. “I’m just making conversation, since it’s a fairly recent development.” Shut up, Kenna.
    Duncan brought his horse to a stop. The front gates of Castle MacCrae loomed just ahead. Carefully dismounting, he stood looking up at me, his soul bared in the depths of his chocolate-brown eyes. Taking my free hand, he placed it flush over his heart. “Mackenna, I am committed to ye in every way a lad can be committed to a lass. Ye need never doubt that.”
    “I don’t.”
    He blinked up at me, love radiating from his eyes. “What is it, then?”
    I shrugged. “I guess I’m just afraid. There are so many things that could separate us. What if I get sucked back to the modern world? Or something happens to you?”
    “Shhh.” His hands circled my waist, and he helped me to dismount. As soon as I was on solid ground, he gently captured my chin and tipped my face up toward his. “I dinna believe we’ve come all this way just to be at the end of our story. I trust that we’ve many wonderful chapters ahead.”
    This time when his lips met mine, the kiss was soft, as if I was fragile — no, not fragile, precious . He slowly pulled back, his fingers cupping my jaw as he pressed his forehead against mine, and his eyelids fluttered shut. I closed my eyes as well, hoping we could prolong the moment forever. Which lasted all of about five seconds before Mabel butted me in the side and nudged us apart with her freakishly hard head.
    Like a jealous house pet, the mare positioned her bodybetween us. As my boyfriend took her reins, she gleefully flicked my cheek with her whip-like tail.
    Snicker all you like, Horseface. This is only round one.
    If it came to a livestock showdown, I was fairly certain Elsie and the whole bovine community would have my back. We’d go all West Side Story on Mabel before she had a hope of rallying her equine posse.
    Horses and cows as Sharks and Jets made me remember this great gender-bending production of the Bernstein musical I’d seen at the Windy City Players. The star-crossed lovers, Antonia and Mario, instead of Tony and Maria, were meh , but the girl who’d played Riffy had blown me away.
    Duncan firmly forced Mabel to the outside so that he could walk between his two girls. “What are ye thinkin’ about?”
    “Chicago. I wish circumstances had been different. I would’ve loved to show you around.”
    “Do ye wish you were back in the modern world?” His words were light, but there was a wariness in his eyes.
    “No,” I replied without hesitation. “But there are things from my old life that I would’ve loved to share with you.”
    Duncan wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer. “Ye still can. Tell me about them — and I will cherish every detail.”
    I had no doubt that he would . . . but no amount of words would be the same as