Chapter 6

The ring that Alasdair McGregor had given him wasn't Donnie's only legacy from the trip back in time to 1603. As he had connected to his 'gifts' in order to heal Alasdair and the Gregorach, Donnie had sensed the presence of yet another 'power'.

His recollection of the visit from Epona was coloured by the extreme sexual satisfaction she had given him. Donnie believed that it had been the sheer power of his orgasm that had made him black-out that wonderful night, but now he suspected that Epona had done something else.

"I seem to have acquired another 'gift and I don't remember feeling Epona giving it to me. The only thing that makes sense is that she must have passed me the gift at exactly the point she made me cum. If I'm honest with myself, the world outside my bedroom could have come to a halt at that moment and I wouldn't have noticed," he thought.

Donnie was well versed by now in being able to link with his 'gifts', but even so he approached this new sensation cautiously. He tried to dredge up everything he could remember of his conversation with Epona, but much of it was dimmed owing to the fact that he had been a little distracted at the time.

He linked first with his original gift, the one that he drew strength and confidence from – he thought of this as Tailtui's gift. Once he felt that reassuring connection he tentatively 'reached out' to the as yet unexplored sensation. From the very first 'touch' the word that Donnie would use to describe the new gift was masculine. It was difficult to describe in everyday words, but the connection just sent wave after wave of maleness.

"Is there even such a word as 'maleness'?" he asked himself. "How else would I describe this? It's weird. It just feels like the essence of 'being a man' or something. It's not – caveman or macho per se – it's a feeling of assuredness, of being in control or something. I don't know ... a feeling of being self-aware and comfortable in my own skin. No, even that doesn't really sum it up. It's more 'I'm a man and I'll take care of you'."

Eventually Donnie gave up trying to put the feeling into words, it was just too difficult. All he knew was that it was a good feeling, one that he was perfectly at home with.

"Now what else did Epona tell me?"

Donnie could dimly recall that the goddess had told him that he would be more confident around girls and that he was not to abuse his new power.

"Well, seeing as I have no idea what this new 'power' is, I don't see how I could abuse it," he laughed inwardly. "Didn't she say something like I would 'know when it was the right time to use it'? Ah well, let's hope she was right."

The next big event in Donnie's life took place in the week following his trip back in time. He had signed-up so that he could check his exam results online. He had done so for two reasons:

1. Getting the results online meant he would get them earlier; and

2. If he just relied on them coming by post, he would be a nervous wreck opening the envelope with his parents looking over his shoulder.

This way he would be able to privately check how he had done by going online and then handle the whole envelope thing with his parents without the nerves. The website of the Scottish Qualification Authority (SQA) was easy to navigate and he used the password he had been given to access his awards. When the screen blinked and then displayed his results, Donnie's jaw dropped and he rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"Goddess! Straight '1s'. Every single subject a 1! Eight beautiful 1s, it doesn't get any better than that. Shit, mom and dad are going to go nuts. Hell, I'm going to go nuts!"

Jumping up from his computer, Donnie danced a jig round his bedroom. Rory eyed his antics for a second and then decided his young master was being silly and he simply rested his head on his paws once more and closed his eyes.

The envelope containing his results arrived two days later and Donnie's guess as to his parents reaction was if anything an underestimate. His father didn't say very much – but then he always was a man of few words – but he beamed with pride and patted Donnie manfully on the back. His mother was not so reserved. When Mairi saw the certificate she screamed with delight and hugged her son tightly.

"That's fantastic, Donnie. I know you worked really hard so it's well deserved. We're very proud of you, both of us," she managed to get out before she started crying tears of happiness.

Caught up in his mother's reaction, Donnie hadn't spotted his father leaving the room. He was surprised therefore when he turned to say something to him and found that Douglas had vanished.

"Where did dad go?" he asked, turning back to his mother.

Mairi managed to dry her eyes and if anything, her smile got even bigger. Donnie suspected that his parents were up to something. He caught some movement out of the corner of his eye and his dad re-entered the room holding what looked like an envelope.

"What? What is it?" Donnie asked.

"We were planning on giving you something whether you passed all of your exams or not," his father started. "Just like your mom says, we know how hard you worked for these results so we wanted to reward you in some way. There's still three weeks before school goes back and we thought you might like this."

Douglas held out the envelope.

When Donnie took it, he realised that it wasn't an envelope at all, rather it was a thin cardboard folder. He flicked it open and saw that it contained documents and tickets for a holiday in the United States. His eyes darted from his father to his mother and back again.

"You shouldn't have," he stammered.

"Nonsense! It's thoroughly deserved," his mother replied firmly.

"But what about the farm? Who's going to help get the harvest in?" Donnie asked.

"How long have you lived on this farm?" his father countered. "Kieran can help and in any event, the readings you took on the grain the other day suggest we won't be harvesting until after you get back. You go and enjoy yourself for a few weeks."

Donnie shook his head and then looked down at the folder once more.

"Mom, dad, I don't want to appear ungrateful, but I really don't want to accept this. America would be great, but there's too much to do here at home and anyway, I couldn't leave Rory for two weeks."

The reaction from his parents was mixed. Donnie could see that his mother looked almost relieved that he was so determined not to make the trip. His father on the other hand looked annoyed that he was turning down their gift. For a moment Donnie thought that his father was going to insist that he go on the holiday but then a smile appeared on Douglas' face.

"How about I get a refund and use the money to buy you a second-hand car? Would that be better?" Douglas asked.

Donnie's face immediately pulled into a smile to match his father's. While he had been driving around the farm (and even illegally through the village of Kilmahog) for years, he wouldn't actually be old enough to get his driver's license for another few weeks. Being out in the sticks meant that he seldom saw any of his friends other than at school or perhaps at the rugby club when the team trained or played. Having a car of his own would certainly open up a whole new world of social possibilities.

"Would that be okay?" Donnie asked, suddenly fearful that his father might change his mind. "You wouldn't think I was being a spoiled brat for not accepting the holiday?"

Douglas laughed.

"No, you're probably right. There is going to be a lot to do on the farm and Kieran seems more interested in Eileen MacFarlane than he is in the harvest. Maybe it's time that you got out a wee bit more as well and a car would certainly make that easier. You'll need to apply for a provisional license and to sit a driving test mind. Plus, the way fuel prices are going, you might not thank me for the car when it takes up all of your allowance."

Returning to school for his fifth year of Secondary school, Donnie still found it somewhat strange that he had a lighter class-load than he had had the year before. He was down to study for four 'Highers':

• Maths;

• English;

• Chemistry; and

• Biology.

On top of that he was skipping 'Higher' and going straight to 'Advanced Higher' for Physics and Business. To round things off he had elected to sit another standard grade, one that he hadn't taken the year before – politics. His view was that he was only taking seven subjects over the year while he had managed eight the year before.

What seemed even more strange was that he had had to fight hard with the school to be allowed to do even these, as his teachers felt that four 'Highers' was going to be tough enough. Eventually Donnie had been called to the headmaster's office where Mr Ogilvie had tried to talk him out of doing seven subjects.

"You have to understand, Donnie. Highers call for much more effort than standard grades. Each subject will require you to do far more self-directed personal study to augment what you get in class. The Advanced Highers are more like the kind of level you will get in the first year of University. I think you are biting off more than you can chew."

Donnie already knew about the amount of work he would have to do on his own and wasn't fazed by it. He was also aware that the Advanced Highers would actually get him some credit at the University he wanted to go to. That would help him get through his degree a little quicker. Eventually, with the support of his parents, Donnie won the day.

The possibility of having a car to get to and from school was an added bonus, as it would save him the best part of one and a half hours waiting for and travelling on public transport every day. That would be extra time that he could use for his studies.

On the first morning back at school, Donnie looked around his registration class (homeroom in the US) and for a moment felt sad that so many of his friends had finished school at the end of the previous year.

Farming was a big part of life in the area and many of the boys in particular left school as soon as possible to work on the farms full-time. A good number of Donnie's friends were in that category. Now, the faces in his class were of course familiar, as they had all been at the school together for four years already, but he didn't know many of them very well.

"Oh well, I suppose I could look at this as a positive thing. Maybe I'll get the chance to make some new friends this year," he thought to himself.

There was little time however, over the next few weeks to make new friends. Things were hectic, as Donnie adjusted to his new timetable. There was also the tricky job of picking out and buying a car. That had culminated in his father taking him into Perth where they had haggled over, but finally bought, a four year old Volkswagen Polo. Donnie had already managed to fit in a couple of driving lessons in the new car with a private instructor. His father had insisted on this - to make sure that Donnie hadn't picked up any bad habits as he had learned to drive on the farm.

Donnie laughed as he remembered the look on the instructor's face when he demonstrated how well he could drive. The man had taken a look at the now sixteen year old and assumed that he was a novice. That quickly changed, even after the instructor had Donnie drive into Perth itself to see whether he could handle the car in heavy traffic.

"I think you should think about booking yourself in for a driving test," the instructor told him after their first lesson together. "There's not much I can teach you to be honest."

Donnie laughed.

"I've already done that, the test is next week."

The driving test took place in Perth and Donnie used his little Volkswagen, having already grown comfortable driving it.

"Now remember, listen carefully to the examiner's instructions. If you're not clear about anything, ask him to explain," his father advised when they were sitting in the test station carpark.

Donnie nodded to show that he understood. He was surprised that he didn't feel nervous about the test, but didn't realise that his subconscious had made light connections with two of his gifts – the one that gave strength/confidence and the gift from Epona that gave him the feeling of being in control.

"Are you ready? Nervous?" his father asked.

"No, I'm fine actually. I know I'm good enough to pass this. I just have to make sure I don't make any stupid mistakes," Donnie replied.

Douglas got out of the car and walked back to a café that he had spotted. He would have a cup of coffee and a bacon roll while he waited for his son to undergo his ordeal at the hands of the DSA (Driving Standards Agency). When he returned to the test centre, he could tell by the broad smile on Donnie's face that his son had passed. Douglas walked up to the window and waited for Donnie to lower the glass.

"Well done, son. You're completely legal now and I guess you'll be wanting me to do this."

Douglas straightened and then walked to the front of the Polo. He stooped and pulled the red 'L' sign from the bumper and then made his way to the rear of the car and repeated the process for the sign affixed there. When he climbed into the passenger seat, Douglas couldn't resist one tease at Donnie's expense.

"It's good that your mother and I now have our own chauffeur. That's bound to come in handy. Now, home James!"

Being able to use the car did indeed mean that Donnie had more time for himself. He was able to settle into a routine that allowed him to help on the farm, complete all of his schoolwork and still have some time to think about socialising.

Socialising was almost a foreign concept to Donnie, but he was coming to terms with it far easier than he perhaps had any right to expect. He had noticed that the girls at school seemed much more interested in him than they ever had been before, but was at a loss to understand that.

He had always been tall for his age and his work on the farm, combined with his training for and playing rugby, meant that he was solidly built. His blues eyes and soft sandy brown hair, on top of his athletic build, ought to have put him in the 'good catch' category as far as boyfriends went. That was undermined though by the fact that he had always been painfully shy around girls. His shyness, allied to the fact that he lived out in the sticks, ensured that none of the girls had actually spent any time with Donnie. They therefore had no idea what his personality was like and personality was very important to teenage girls when it came to boyfriends.

Now girls seemed to go out of their way to engage him in conversation – some even flirted with him and he couldn't put his finger on why things had changed. What Donnie didn't realise was that Epona's gift had changed him in subtle ways. He was more self-assured and there was an aura of confidence about him. In any group situation at school – whether carrying out schoolwork or simply talking in the lunchroom – Donnie now naturally assumed a leadership role. Epona's gift had really brought him out of his shell, but he hadn't quite grasped that yet.