'Love Beyond Time (Morna's Legacy Series #2)' by Bethany Claire

Blurb:

It began nearly four hundred years ago. The Conall clan and all their people were murdered in a surprise attack, their beloved castle and all evidence of who destroyed them burned to the ground with their bodies. In the centuries following, archaeologists searched through the ruins looking for any evidence of what or who had caused the untimely demise of such a powerful Scottish clan. All efforts were fruitless, until a spell put in place by an ancient Conall ancestor finally began to work its magic...

Texas kindergarten teacher, Brielle Montgomery, finds comfort in the mundane routines of her life, but when her archaeologist mother asks her to accompany her on a dig in Scotland, she decides to step out of her comfort zone. Once in Scotland, they discover a secret spell room below the castle ruins, and Bri finds herself transported back in time and suddenly married to the castle's ill-fated Laird. Now, she must work to change the fate of his people, all while trying to find a way to return to her home and century. But with each passing day, Bri finds herself falling more deeply in love with her new husband. If she can find a spell to bring her home, will she use it? And if she stays, will it ultimately mean her own death as well?

Read an excerpt:

Vision slowly made its way back to me as I waited for the blurry images to clear. I reached to grip the edge of the table and struggled to pull myself to my feet. I moved my hands to grip the sides of my head, only briefly registering that my fingers didn't come away from the table's surface covered in dust. I could hear the blood pounding in my head, and I couldn't catch my breath. A voice from behind me started to penetrate my foggy brain. 

On unsteady feet I spun toward the doorway, struggling to make out the form standing in front of me. I knew it had to be my mother, but it didn't look like her. This was a short, plump woman, while my mother was tall and slim. 

I closed my eyes briefly and opened them once more, hoping it would help me clear my sight. It did nothing to increase my vision, but I could now make out the woman's
words. 

Why is Mom talking like that? I don't understand what she's saying. Am I injured? My head certainly feels like it. Did part of the ceiling collapse? What's happening? 

Thoughts coursed through my mind as I listened to the woman's ramblings. 

"Oh God! Oh dear, sweet Mother O' God! The old laird was right. What is old Mary going to do now? And with the lass just hours away from her wedding! Lassies picked a grand time to be messing with magic, they did!"  

That's definitely not Mom. Am I in the hospital or something? Wait! Wedding? What the hell is going on? 

I struggled to process my surroundings as I felt the woman's hands grip my shoulders and shake them. 

"Lass! Are ye all right? Old Mary needs ye to speak." 

"Please, stop shaking me! It's killing my head!" I gasped and reached to grab my head once more, realizing I could finally see the woman clearly. The pain that had nearly ripped me in half only moments ago had slowly eased into a migraine. 

"Oh dear heavens, lass! Where'd ye learn to speak in such a manner? Ye must be from far away, dearie. Old Mary's never heard any such speech in her life." 

I felt the shaking stop and looked into the gray eyes that were studying me fiercely.
"Oh, by the Saints, lass! I never believed his stories, but ye do look remarkably similar; except Lady Blaire would never dress in such inappropriate attire. Why, ye look like the worse kind of tavern wench! I can see the shape of yer legs, lass! Not to mention . . ." 

My head was throbbing too incessantly to concentrate. I scanned the room, while silently willing the woman to stop speaking. 

I knew I wasn't in a hospital. The space looked old and somehow familiar. Slowly, I turned my head back to the table I was leaning against now and saw the portrait of
myself.   

Memories of what I'd been ddoing only moments before came rushing back, and panic burst forth as I shot out of the woman's reach.  

"Where's my mother? What happened? What? What is that?" 

My voice and fingers were shaking as I pointed to the portrait and stared back at the old woman.  

"Oh, ye poor thing. Ye look quite frightened to death." 

I watched as the woman moved toward me once more and pulled me toward a stool in the corner of the room. 

The woman was right. I was scared. Attempting to stifle my panic, I followed her urging and collapsed onto the smooth, wooden seat. 

"Are ye all right now, Lass? Allow me to explain to ye, Dearie." 

I simply nodded as numbness replaced the sense of panic, and turned to watch the woman as she spoke. 

"I'll no be sure about the where and when ye came from, dearie, but I can tell by yer manner of speech and dress, it is nowhere I've ever seen or heard about. Not that old
Mary's been or seen very many places." 

I watched as the woman paused and chuckled slightly. Then, seeing my confusion, she stopped laughing and pulled her face into a look of seriousness once again. 

"But I can tell ye that today is the third day of November in the year sixteen hundred and forty-five. And it is yer wedding day."

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Author bio:

Bethany's love of storytelling has been a life-long passion. Even in her toddler years, she would sit down with anybody that would listen as she theatrically told them fairytales as if she was sharing life-saving information.

As she grew, she began creating stories of her own, but convinced it would serve her best to follow a "conventional" career path, she tucked them away and went off to college.

Fast forward four years and about six major changes later, she realized the stories simply were not going to stay tucked away. Six months away from graduating with a degree in Elementary Education, and growing more miserable with every day that brought her closer to a career she truly didn't want, she finally realized writing was the only career that was going to make her happy.

So, one day in the middle of a summer education course, she got up in the middle of class and walked to the Registrar's office and withdrew from the university on the spot. Since then, she has devoted herself to writing full-time and is following her dreams.

She lives in the Texas Panhandle with her two loyal and perfect dogs, Charlie and Flag.