Chapter 6:  A Fresh Start

The false dawn filtered through the early morning fog as Tessa slept soundly, her arm wrapped around Chico's neck as the fowl landed on the crumbling adobe wall.  In her mind she could hear the crowing of a rooster. "Go 'way..." She curled into the blanket that covered her. "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" Her hand slithered under the hay until she found a horseshoe. She wrapped her fingers around the object. "Keep it up and you will be breakfast." "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" "Get outta here!"  She sat up and threw the horseshoe in the direction the sound had been coming from. The shoe hit the top of the wall and dislodged a chunk of the adobe. The bird flew off as Tessa collapsed back into the straw and pulled up the blanket. She sat back up. Blanket? I didn't have a blanket last night... She smiled. That was sweet of him.  Tessa rolled over and tried to go back to sleep, but the rooster had done its job all too well.  Sighing, she sat up, tossing the blanket aside.  Might as well get up now.  Duncan will probably be coming to wake me soon anyway.  How that man can wake up this damn early is beyond me.  She stood up, stretched, brushed the hay off her clothes, and went inside to see what MacLeod was up to.  Much to her surprise, the Scot was still fast asleep.  She laughed to herself at the sight. Well, he did say he was going inside. Inside meant that another lean-to had been built between two crumbling adobe walls. It wasn't much but it was a cover.  Part of her was tempted to wake him, let him see how it felt to be dragged out of bed at the crack of dawn.  But, after thinking it over for a moment, Tessa decided to just let him sleep and take advantage of whatever time she'd have without Duncan hovering over her like some kind of mother hen.  Quietly, she slipped back out to where the horses were.  Chico was sleeping peacefully, as was MacLeod's stallion.  The bay mare, however, was wide awake and looking rather antsy.  Guess I'm not the only one who can't sleep.

"Rooster woke you up too, didn't it?"  Tessa went over and started gently rubbing the mare's nose in an effort to calm her some.  "You want to run girl?"  The horse whickered softly in response.  "I'll take that as a yes."  Smiling, Tessa picked up the horse's tack and, in minutes, had her saddled and ready to go.  As she prepared to mount, Tessa remembered what Duncan had said about carrying a sword and instinctively reached for the Queen's rapier.  Looking at the sword, she was once again reminded that the Queen was no more.  Pushing the grim thoughts aside, she put the rapier back and attached her father's to the saddle instead.  That settled, Tessa climbed up into the saddle and left the stable, keeping the horse at a walk until they reached the beach so as not to wake MacLeod.  The second the hooves made contact with the golden sand, Tessa gave the horse its head.  Now let's see what you can really do.  As soon as her hold on the reins relaxed, the mare was off like a shot, kicking up sea and sand every time her feet touched the ground.  Tessa smiled to herself as they raced along the surf.  She could say one thing for Duncan?he sure knew his horses.  This one was very nearly a match for her Chico, in speed and stamina as well as looks.  As they neared the end of the beach, Tessa took control of the reins again and slowed the mare to an easy trot before stopping her altogether.  She dismounted and ground-tied the horse so it wouldn't wander off.  The sun was starting to peek out over the horizon, bathing the ocean in its golden glow.  On a whim, Tessa pulled off her boots, rolled up the legs of her trousers, and waded a short distance into the water.  From there, she was able to get a much better look at what was to be her new home--at least, until Duncan finally decided she was ready for...whatever this "game" was supposed to be.  The remains of the old mission sat perched atop a high cliff, and the cliff itself concealed the tiny cove she was now standing in.  Concealed it so well, in fact, that one would never find it unless they bothered to follow the trail that wound down from the top and fed right onto the beach.  She certainly hadn't seen it when she and MacLeod had first approached.

Looking around, Tessa was overcome with an odd sense of déjà vu, which was impossible because she'd never been to this place before.  Then it dawned on her--she may never have seen this cove before, but there was a similar one not too far from her--the Alvarado hacienda.  She'd stumbled across it one day while playing with Ramon, and it had become her own private sanctuary.  Tessa had almost forgotten about it, not having been there in years.  Not since...

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Santa Elena--1804

Tessa sat on "her" tiny stretch of beach, staring out at the ocean.  Her favorite toy, Sancho, was clutched tightly in her arms, his fur wet with her tears.  "It's just not fair!  Why is Papa sending me away, Sancho?  Doesn't he like me anymore?"

"Of course I do, angelita."  She turned her head to see her father standing just behind her.  He immediately sat down in the sand and gently pulled her into his lap, using his thumb to brush away the tears that still clung to her eyes.  "What on earth made you think that I didn't?"

"You said you were sending me to live with Tia Damona in Spain.  I can't live with her!"

"Why not?"

Tessa moved her head closer to his ear, dropping her voice to a low whisper.  "She's a witch!"

"Where would you get an idea like that?" he asked, laughing a little.  Tessa was offended.  How dare he not take her seriously!

"Well, Carlos told me she's real mean, wears black all the time, and chants to herself in a strange language.  What else could she be?"

"I think you're letting all those Don Quixote stories go to your head, querida.  See, Tia Damona wears black all the time because she's still sad over losing her husband.  And the 'strange language' is just her prayers."

"What about her meanness?"

"I can't really answer that one.  But, I'm sure she'll love you just as much as I do."

"If you love me so much, why do I hafta leave?"

"Because, Tessa, I want you to be a real lady, like your Mama was."

"Can't I be a lady here with you, Papa?"

"I wish you could, my angel, but you need to have a proper education.  And the only place you can get that is Spain."

"Then can't you come with me?"

"I will, but only long enough to make sure that you are safe and settled with your cousins.  Then I'll have to return to manage the hacienda.  But I promise to visit as often as I can."

Tessa tore herself from her father's arms and stalked over to the shoreline, letting the water wash over her bare feet as she stared at the horizon.  Spain was so far away, it might as well be another planet.  And so different from California too--at least, that's what she'd heard.  So filled with people that you couldn't walk ten feet without tripping over one.  Papa had taken her to Monterrey once, and she hadn't liked it very much.  Far too crowded and noisy.  Give her the wide open spaces of Santa Elena any day.

"Is something wrong, querida?" her father asked, shaking her from her thoughts.

"I'm scared, Papa.  I don't wanna leave California.  It's my home."

"You can have roots AND wings, angelita."

She turned back to look at him.  "What do you mean?"

"Come here," he said, opening his arms.  Tessa went over and crawled back into his lap.  "California is your home, Tessa.  It always will be.  But there's a great, wide world out there, waiting for you to explore.  It's full of possibilities...of things you may never even have imagined.  But you'll never know what they are if you spend your whole life here.  I know Spain seems scary to you right now, but I would at least like you to give it a try.  See all the things it has to offer you."

"Okay...as long as you promise me, I'll get to come back home when I'm done."

"I promise, Tessa.  You will return to California.  Someday..."

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"TESSA!"  The shout, combined with her sudden headache, was enough to bring Tessa back to the present.  She looked in the direction it had come from and saw MacLeod riding towards her on the white stallion.  And he definitely wasn't happy.  "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he asked, sliding off the stallion's back and grabbing her by the collar.

"You were still asleep, so I thought I'd go for a little ride.  Last I checked, that wasn't exactly a capital offense."  She twisted out of his grasp, retreating a little further into the water.

"I thought I'd made it abundantly clear that you were not to leave holy ground unless I was with you."

"Actually, you never said anything of the sort."

"Well I'm saying it now.  What if some immortal had come here looking for your head?"

"Nothing happened."

"But what if it had?"

"Then I would've hopped on my horse and rode right back up that hill.  I'm not an idiot."

Duncan opened his mouth to respond, but quickly shut it again.  Tessa knew she'd won that round, and it was plain to see that the Scot had reached the same conclusion.  Then, out of nowhere, he leapt to where she was standing, latched onto the back of her collar, dragged her over to the cliff wall, and sat her down on a rock.

"You sit right there, and don't move until I come back."

"What am I, five?"  Duncan just glared.  "Okay, fine.  So where are you going?"

"Fishing."  With that, he grabbed a few items off of his horse and stormed all the way to the other end of the beach.  She watched Duncan walk away until she could no longer see or sense him.  Then, resting her chin in her hand, she proceeded to stare out at the ocean as she awaited his return.  Is this ever humiliating.  I haven't been punished like this since the time Marta caught me dueling with the Christmas turkey.  Although, I think the turkey taught me more of a lesson that time than she did.  I was limping for a week thanks to that stupid beak of his.  And that was almost seven years ago.  Who the hell does Duncan think he is, anyway?  My father?  Like hell he is.  I oughta march right over there and...  Her senses went off, and she looked over to see MacLeod returning from his fishing trip.

"That was fast."

"I think these fish wanted to be caught," he said, holding up a couple of good-sized halibut.  "Practically jumped onto shore."  Normally, the thought of suicidal fish might have struck Tessa as funny.  But she was too upset about being treated like a child to laugh.  After a moment, he dropped his gaze.  "Look, I'm sorry I yelled at you like that.  I know I overreacted a bit.  It's just...having a new immortal to train makes me-

"Overprotective?  Paranoid?  Irrational?"

"Something like that.  Tessa, I'm just worried about your safety.  That's all."

"I'm not a child, Duncan."

"I know, and I apologize if I treated you like one."

"Does that mean--"

"No.  The rule still stands.  However, I think you'll be alright down here by yourself.  Just let me know where you're going first."

"Fair enough.  So, are you going to cook those, or do we have to eat them raw?"

"There's a stack of firewood over by the south wall of the mission building.  Why don't you run up there and grab a few pieces so we can get a fire started."

"Me?  Why do I have to--"

"Because I'm your teacher and I said so.  That's why."

"But--"

"No buts, Tessa.  Now go.  The faster you get the wood, the faster we eat."

"Si senor, right away," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.  Tessa bowed mockingly to him before starting back up the hill.  First he treats me like a child, and now he's bossing me around like a servant.  Just who in the hell does Duncan MacLeod think he is?  She stopped and looked back at him, still standing there with the fish in one hand and that same irritating know-it-all look on his face.  The look shifted into a glare, and he emphatically pointed in the direction she should've been moving.  Tessa took the hint right away and continued on to the mission building.

Stupid, arrogant, bossy highlander.

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