28. Chapter 28 - Kaitlyn

Beaty took the bigger kids off in the afternoon to go shopping while Jack and Noah were napping and returned with a new chicken. Archie carried it nestled in his arms.

Zach protested, "We have a coop with chickens right outside!"

Beaty said, "Aye, but this is a house chickie. I wanted her especially tae ride on Mookie's back."

I laughed. "To ride on Mookie's back?"

"Aye, I had a dream of a beautiful bird and it was sittin' on Mookie's back and Mookie said tae me?—"

Zach said, "In your dream? He doesn't talk to you all the time?"

Beaty put her hands on her hips, "Mookie talks tae me all the time and he spoke tae me in the dream, Zachary! He said, ‘Now I feel complete.'"

Zach started laughing. "Well as long as Mookie is happy."

Beaty pulled the chick from Archie's arms and put him on Mookie's back. Mookie looked adorably at Beaty and then tried to turn to see the bird and then back at Beaty. She said, "See?"

Though Mookie's expression was more like: What now, with this thing on my back?

The chickie lowered itself to sitting, comfortably. Beaty, Zoe, and Isla all folded their hands under their chins and said, "Aw!"

I said, "I guess this is a thing now, Magnus is just going to love it."

Beaty said, "I think we ought tae call her Saddle." Most of the kids applauded and cheered, frightening the bird, but they crowded around, patted it and petted Mookie until the bird calmed, sitting down on Mookie's back again — except Archie. He had an expression on his face as if he were trying to be excited but something was weighing on him. The expression looked a lot like the one Magnus wore when things were going wrong.

Archie stood in the outskirts as Beaty said, "I told ye, Mookie is finally complete with his Saddle."

Then he ended up standing right beside my seat on the tall kitchen chair.

I put my arm around him and asked the group, "What are you kids going to do with the rest of your day?"

Isla said, "Watch Saddle sit on Mookie."

I teased, "Sounds like you're ‘complete' now too."

Zach muttered while he put a pan of sausages in the oven for our dinner. "Complete nut jobs."

Archie put his head on my shoulder.

I whispered, "How are you doing?"

"Okay... it's nothing."

I kissed his temple. "You sure?"

He nodded against my shoulder. "Just thinking about something."

"If you need to talk, I'm here."

He nodded again, and stood there for a long time, as all the other kids excitedly hung around with Mookie and Saddle, he clung to me.

I felt his forehead. No fever.

He said, "I'm not hot."

I said, "Just worried?"

He said, "Aye," sounding much like his Da.

Finally Ben turned on the Playstation and called into the kitchen, "Archie, come play!"

He said, "In a minute!" He looked at me. "Where do you think Da is right now?"

"He's in Riaghalbane, likely having dinner with your grandmother."

He nodded. "That's probably okay, he's got a guard there."

"Yes, he definitely does."

He called back to Ben, "Coming, Bug Man!" And ran off.

I asked Zach, "Why is Archie calling Ben ‘Bug Man', or do I want to know?"

He laughed, "Apparently Ben accidentally ate a bug when we were going down the river."

I said, "A big bug?"

"Big enough we're watching to see if he gets super powers." Zach stood in front of the pantry door. "What goes with sausage?"

I laughed. "Aren't you supposed to plan the meals?"

Hayley said, "I just eat what you serve."

Fraoch was outside, checking on security, taking his job seriously. Sophie was sleeping with the baby. James was with us all in the kitchen while Zach cooked, when Hayley asked, "So what do y'all think about Lochie? Fraoch said he thinks they got married last night. Because of some thumb oath."

I pouted. "I'm worried she's going to break his heart."

Emma said, "I was thinking we go down there tonight after dinner and just ‘check in'."

Zach scoffed. "Check in? Are you going to interfere in his relationship? He's a grown-assed man!"

Emma said, "Yes, and I know I mother him, but come on, Zachary, he understands almost nothing about the contemporary world and even less about women. He's like a freaking caveman sometimes. I just want to get a feel for what she's thinking about him. I want to check in, but not in the bad way."

James said, "Look, you're overthinking this. He's a dude. He gets how to do this. It's not rocket science. Whether you're in the sixteenth century or now, you meet a girl and you try to sleep with her as soon as possible while the elders around you try to get you to marry her first. It's a dance as old as time. He's not stupid. I don't think you should interfere, what if you scare her off?"

Emma said, "If she likes him there's no way I scare her off. If she doesn't then shouldn't we know? We could advise him!"

I said, "I agree with Emma, we ought to go check in, see what she's thinking. We're not doing it in the bad way, in the good way. We can go tonight after dinner. Beaty, will you stay with the kids?"

Beaty said, "Aye, we ought not leave Saddle when she's new tae the house."

Zach said, "I'm not going. I'll stay here, that way when you screw it all up I can deny having any part of it."

Hayley said, "We don't need you anyway. This is a girl's mission."

James said, "Uh oh, the Campbell Women about to get all up in her business."

I joked, "It's what we do."

Hayley, Emma, and I walked into the Palace Saloon and across the room I saw her, she was wearing a t-shirt with the bar logo on it, and another long khaki cargo skirt, with pull strings up the side, showing off her low boots. Her hair did look like Meg Ryan's in... really in all her movies.

I said, as we made our way to the table, "She's so freaking cute."

Emma said, "Yeah, no wonder he's smitten."

Hayley said, "She wears those long cargo skirts to work, he probably sees it as modest and traditional, instead of what we see — pockets."

Emma and I laughed.

We sat at a table with a different waitress, and ordered a beer, a glass of wine, and Hayley got a nonalcoholic mixed drink. Then as Ash walked by I caught her eye and waved.

Her brow drew down but then she said, "Oh, right, you're Lochie's um... family?"

I shook her hand and said, in a way that I hoped would sound cheery and not weird, "I'm his sister-in-law!"

"Right, cool, did you already place an order?"

Our drinks were delivered right then.

She laughed. "Looks like it." Then she asked, "Did Lochie, um... did he get off on his trip okay?"

I nodded.

Emma said, "They left before lunch, we just wanted to come by and say hello."

She grinned, flashing us her dazzling smile, then her eyes scanned the room. "Uh oh, um... table calling. I'll come back by in a bit." She rushed away.

Emma screwed up her face. "I can't tell, do you think she likes him?"

Hayley said, "I have no idea. She's just busy. What are you going to ask her when she gets back?"

Emma said, "Would it be weird if I asked, ‘What are your intentions with our brother, Lochie, because if you break his heart I'm going to have to break you'?"

I said, "I doubt we need to threaten her. Maybe we can be more on the down low, right? No fighting, no breaking anyone."

Emma and Hayley jokingly scoffed.

Hayley said, "You're a fine one to pretend to be a pacifist. How many weapons you have strapped to you right now?"

"Two, but just because I've been repeatedly told I must. I don't intend to need either of them. No fighting, we're just here to find out what her intentions are. I'd also like to know if he told her about time travel..."

Hayley groaned. "I'm sure he told her everything. He does not strike me as the kind of guy who can keep secrets when he's sexing someone up. I think he was doing it and saying, ‘oh, oh, oh, yes, yes, did I tell you I time travel?'"

I said, "Well Magnus gave him explicit instructions — he's not to talk about it. That's part of the reason why he was so destroyed the other night, because he didn't know what he could say... Damn it, I hope it's all okay?—"

Emma said, "Wheesht, she's coming back."