When Raine Garvey’s world shatters after her husband’s sudden death—and the shocking secrets he left behind—she flees to a quiet college town in New Hampshire, determined to rebuild her life. There, she meets Ron Mitchell, a young professor with An Da Shealladh, the rare Scottish gift of foresight. Drawn to the enigmatic man who insists their fates are intertwined, Raine is both captivated and wary, unsure if she can trust him—or herself.
Haunted by betrayal and still reeling from heartbreak, Raine struggles to open her heart again. But as Ron gently helps her heal, revelations about her husband’s past emerge—truths so staggering they threaten to unravel everything Raine thought she knew about love, loss, and herself. Overwhelmed, she retreats to New York—not just to face her past, but to escape the chance at happiness she’s too afraid to believe in.
As mystical forces begin to weave their threads, Raine must confront the ultimate question: is her future truly hers to shape, or has destiny already written her story?
Bound by Destiny is a magical journey of healing, forgiveness, and the discovery that the paths we fear most often lead to the happiness we least expect.
When Raine Garvey’s world shatters after her husband’s sudden death—and the shocking secrets he left behind—she flees to a quiet college town in New Hampshire, determined to rebuild her life. There, she meets Ron Mitchell, a young professor with An Da Shealladh, the rare Scottish gift of foresight. Drawn to the enigmatic man who insists their fates are intertwined, Raine is both captivated and wary, unsure if she can trust him—or herself.
Haunted by betrayal and still reeling from heartbreak, Raine struggles to open her heart again. But as Ron gently helps her heal, revelations about her husband’s past emerge—truths so staggering they threaten to unravel everything Raine thought she knew about love, loss, and herself. Overwhelmed, she retreats to New York—not just to face her past, but to escape the chance at happiness she’s too afraid to believe in.
As mystical forces begin to weave their threads, Raine must confront the ultimate question: is her future truly hers to shape, or has destiny already written her story?
Bound by Destiny is a magical journey of healing, forgiveness, and the discovery that the paths we fear most often lead to the happiness we least expect.
RAOGHNAILT
JUNE 1970
LEVITTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA
The Scottish Highlands have a way of revealing the truth, and those with An Dà Shealladh—the gift of two sights—were revered and feared equally. This gift had been passed down to Raoghnailt through generations of her Scottish lineage. Tonight, it called to her once more, slipping into her dreams, weaving seamlessly into the fabric of her slumber.
She stood in a modest bedroom, a silent observer. A frail woman lay in a rented hospital bed at home, barely able to move, her teenage son tenderly feeding her. But each bite was a monumental effort; chewing was a battle against fatigue, every swallow an agonizing ordeal.
“One more bite, Ma. Please?” The boy’s voice cracked, eyes filled with desperation.
The woman shook her head weakly. “I’m so tired, honey… I miss your father. He’s waiting for me.”
“Shhh…,” he whispered. “You promised we wouldn’t give up.”
Raoghnailt’s heart ached for him. She was a mother now, too—her daughter, Rainey, just a few months old—and the thought of leaving her behind was unbearable. This lad was too young to carry such a burden. His shoulders sagged under the weight of it all—his mother’s illness, the empty house, the loss of his father. He was barely holding on.
Raoghnailt saw his eyes glisten with unshed tears as he set the tray aside and adjusted her blankets and pillows with the quiet efficiency of someone who had done it countless times. He lowered the bed's headrest, unaware of the tiny spark that flickered from the electrical socket behind it.
“I’ll be in my room studying, Ma. I’ve got finals tomorrow. Here’s the bell where you can reach it.”
He bent to kiss her goodnight and whispered, “I love you, Ma.”
But the woman was already slumbering.
Raoghnailt moved closer, feeling the weight of death settle over the room. She gently touched the woman’s forehead, whispering a Gaelic blessing to ease her pain. The woman wouldn’t make it through the night. Her son—he should be by her side when she drew her last breath.
As she turned to leave, something—a flash of light— caught the corner of her eye. Embers had dropped onto the carpet and ignited into low flames within seconds.
Raoghnailt cried out. She ran through the house, searching for the boy, calling out for him.
Where are ye, lad? Yer Mama is in trouble. Hurry!
Her voice echoed, hollow and powerless. She was only an observer. No one could hear her. Raoghnailt tried one more time to use her voice.
“FIRE!”
She shrieked and jolted awake in her husband’s arms, flailing in panic. Tono cupped her face gently.
“Rae, look at me,” he whispered. “You’re safe.”
She blinked, still shaking. This vision was different—too real, too vivid.
“No, my love. There is no fire. There, there…” Tono comforted, holding his wife tightly while caressing her hair. “We are all fine, Rae. Everything is just fine.”
“Rainey. Where’s Rainey?”
“She’s in her room sleeping, sweetheart. Shhh… hush now, or you’ll wake her.”
Raoghnailt clung fiercely to her husband, wanting to believe it wasn’t real. But she knew.
“Twas a vision, Tono,” she sobbed. “I dinna ken the mother and her lad in the dream. She burnt tae death, duine-cèile. An’ the lad saw t’all. Something will happen to Rainey.”
“Shhh…” He comforted her shaking body, coaxing his wife to go back to sleep. “Nothing will happen, love. I’m right here. We can talk about your dream in the morning, alright?”
Having had a late night at their restaurant, Raoghnailt persuaded Tono to go back to sleep. She then quietly rose and tiptoed to her baby’s room.
Chubby four-month-old Rainey was sound asleep in her crib, her pouty mouth parted, breathing quietly. Raoghnailt reached down to pick her up, cradling her warm, cuddly body. Then, she settled into the nearby rocking chair to croon a lullaby in Gaelic.
Raoghnailt thought of her prophetic dream, its vividness and haunting scene. She had never been sent a vision of someone she didn’t know or recognize, nor a place she had never been, and never about suffering or tragedy happening in the present.
She was aware her An Da Shealladh revealed not only the future but also the present. As she glanced at the small electric clock on her baby’s dressing table, its second arm sweeping past midnight, she knew the tragedy was still unfolding. And with each ticking second, she felt herself pulled back into the vision, the scene growing clearer—the young man she’d seen in her dream, rescued from the flames. Third-degree burns covered his arms, chest, and parts of his face, where the skin had turned a sickly, waxy gray in places. He let out a howl that pierced the air, not from the pain of his injuries but from seeing his mother’s form lying on a gurney covered beneath a white sheet from head to toe, emerging from the charred remains of their home.
From the edges of her vision, she glimpsed a young reporter furiously scribbling every detail as the chaos unfolded. His pen raced to capture it all. Every tortured detail, from the acrid smoke burning his throat to the boy’s agonizing wail that split the night. This was his moment, his first major story, the one that would launch his career and carve his name into the pages of the big city newspapers. But no triumph could erase the memory of this night, the night when a son’s tortured eyes watched his mother ascend in flames.
A cold shiver crept up Raoghnailt’s spine, shaking herself back to the present. She pulled her baby tighter to her chest as if shielding her from an unseen menace. The boy. The reporter. Two strangers she had never known now seemed tethered to her child's fate, their paths winding toward her daughter’s future in ways she could barely begin to understand.
Raine had thought she was chasing her destiny when she married Peter the same week she met him despite her parents’ insistence that she was throwing her life away by tying herself to the billionaire. She hasn’t spoken to her parents ever since they disowned her and threw her out of their home nearly a decade ago. When her husband dies suddenly, she realizes what her mother had been trying to warn her about–she had foreseen her daughter’s sorrow. Her Scottish mother has the gift of An Dà Shealladh–the second sight. Taking a sabbatical from work, she flees to New Hampshire, where she meets Ron–a Scot who also has the gift. Still reeling from her husband’s death, especially as startling revelations emerge that cut to her core, she is scared to open her heart to new love. Can one person be fated to two very different men in one lifetime?
A blend of magical realism, recent historical fiction, and second-chance romance, Bound by Destiny is an incredible journey through first love, harrowing loss, and healing. Scottish folklore and a touch of mystery add layers of depth to an already fascinating story. The multi-faceted side characters gradually reveal to the reader that Raine has been sheltered from many devastating truths. Spanning from 1970 to 2001, with the majority of the story told between 1998 and 2000, the frequent shifts in point of view and timeline are so masterfully organized that the transitions are seamless. The pacing, character development, historical research, and action are so well executed that I was impressed to learn that Bound by Destiny is R. MB. Pearson’s debut novel.
According to the Acknowledgements at the end of the book, there will be a sequel. I will be seeking out a copy of that book as soon as I can find it! While there is a little on-page sexual content, it is mild enough that this book could be enjoyed by most readers. If soulmates, secrets, second chances, and second sight appeal to you, do not miss this story.