Gunns & Roses(63)

18

The room remained quiet in reverence to the memories their visitors were sharing.

“You should have seen Tor when he was playing his music,” said Fin. “He had all the girls swooning … but he could never take his eyes off of Ans.”

Ansley spread her hands out in front of her on the table, pushing the empty containers away. “Tor and I grew up together. Fin was a bit older and busy with kids his own age, so Tor and I hung out all the time.” The wisp of a smile floated across her face and lips. “He played, and I danced—for hours on end. He could be the most charming boy. When we got older, I fell in love with him. All the girls around envied me, but they didn’t see all of Tor.”

“Tor had a wild streak,” Fin told the group solemnly. “He was funny and kind, but he also loved the thrill of challenging limits. If there was a locked gate, he would climb it. A speed limit? He would break it. A cliff? He would dive off it. I tried to keep an eye on him, at first. But then I went away to college and couldn’t be there. By the time I graduated, I knew there was no way I could rein him in anymore.” He frowned down at the table, his hands clinched.

“We dated for two years,” Ansley continued. “At first I was convinced Tor was my soul mate, and we were bonded by the love of music and each other. But in the second year, his recklessness just exploded, and he became erratic. It got to where I never knew what to expect when he picked me up for a date. He didn’t play his pipes as much, and at the end, he only played it for family events and the Highland Games.” Her voice dropped to a whisper once again. “After the ’85 Games, I told him I couldn’t take living in fear for him anymore and broke off the relationship.” She shook her head. “Of course, I didn’t stop worrying about him, and I still loved him. I thought maybe it would wake him up and help him see how he needed to change things.”

“The problem was, Tor didn’t want to change,” Fin picked up the story. “He threw off what little restraint he had when he was with Ansley and went looking for barriers he could break. Finally, he embraced extreme sports. Instead of diving off cliffs into the ocean, he was diving out of airplanes with skis on and plummeting down mountainsides.” He breathed in a long, slow breath—and then released it. “Deep down, I don’t think anyone was surprised when the call came about Tor’s accident. And I think it’s partly why my mother has had such a hard time recovering from it. She saw it was coming, but she was powerless to do anything about it.”

After sitting motionless for a couple of minutes as the weightiness of past events washed over them all, Annie reached for her bag. Taking the sporran from it, she handed it to Ansley. “My grandfather wrote in the his journal, ‘The sealskin goes to the one who bears the falcon and the rose.’ Following his direction, I’m happy for you to have it.”

The woman ran her hand along the sleek fur. “Thank you. Perhaps my family is ready to have it back in our care. I can’t thank your grandfather, but I can sincerely thank all of you for your help and care …” she said, managing a weak smile toward Fin, “no matter how some of us treated you.”

Fin reached across the table to grasp her hand, squeezing it gently. “You Gunns have always been a good balance to us—uh—more dramatic Roses.”

Alice’s head jerked up at his comment. “That’s right! You must be related to McKenna Rose.”

“Guilty as charged,” Finn confessed, “although I had little say in the matter. She’s my sister.”

“She certainly did inherit a flair for the dramatic,” Ian said diplomatically.

Alice leaned forward, looked Fin in the eyes. “I’ve been trying to figure out if McKenna was trying to spur us on in our search or scare the tarnation out of us. Do you know?”

“McKenna was being her typical enigmatic self,” he answered. “She told me she thought the truth needed to come out. After all, you had definitely found the sporran and ferrules, and there was nothing we could do about that, short of theft.”

Annie’s friends turned to look at her. “Been there, done that,” muttered Alice. “Thank you for not trying it. It’s beginning to be a bit cliché.”

Ansley gasped. “Have you been robbed before, Annie?”

“There have been attempts,” Annie admitted. “Let’s just say I’m thankful we have a dedicated police force here.” She grinned. “I’m also thankful I didn’t have to call on them this time. They could use a vacation like the rest of us.”