by Zoe Tasia
“Well, now. That isna a message I ever expected to get from the lad.”
“Sorry, I—” Before I could explain, not that I had any idea how I was going to, the girls came in followed by Kay. I rested my hand on his muscled bicep. “I’m making dinner. You’re welcome to stay if you want.”
And just like that, Jess went from cheerful and smiling to pouting and frowning. “Is it okay if I read in my room until dinner?” she asked.
Not wanting to subject anyone to her mood, I nodded. Kay helped me with dinner while Tate cheerfully regaled Greg with our trip to the cave, leaving nothing out. As she spoke, Greg’s brow furrowed. We jumped when lightning flashed and thunder abruptly roared with no warning. The sky seemed to open, and rain poured down. We went to the windows to look.
“Okay, is the weather always like this? Because in Aberdeen we haven’t had downpours like this. This is more like the weather we saw in Houston.”
“No, ’tis not typical,” Greg said thoughtfully.
Someone knocked at the door—though more heavy-handed than Greg.
“Who would be out in this weather?” I received blank stares as an answer.
Shrugging, I opened the door. Conall and his nephew, Lundy, stood shivering on the porch.
Conall cleared his throat. “I wanted to apologize for not being in the store the other day and for the attack.”
The storm roared so loudly, I could barely hear him.
“It wasn’t your fault.” A strong gust sprayed a freezing mist of water in my face. Thunder rumbled and a bolt of lightning slashed a tree on the edge of the property. We watched it burn red for a second before the rain doused it. “Goodness, come in.”
After they entered the cottage, I pushed the door shut.
Conall shook his head. “It was. We need to be more diligent about the door being shut and locked. I’ve been after my nephew to remember.”
A look of surprise flashed across Lundy’s face, then he grudgingly nodded. He shot dagger eyes at his uncle that I recognized from having been on the receiving end of them from Jess.
Lundy and Conall’s clothes, dark with water, dripped on the entry rug.
I hadn’t heard a car. “Did you walk here?”
“We didn’t expect the weather to be bad, and...well, I thought the lad could use the exercise.”
Lundy sent laser eyes this time. I was surprised Conall didn’t turn into a pile of ashes.
I couldn’t send them back out into that maelstrom. “Let me grab some towels so you can at least get dried off. Hopefully, the weather will let up.” This evening, I’d originally planned to pick Kay’s brains about the going-ons. I hadn’t expected to host an impromptu dinner party. The food was ready and there was plenty, so...
“Would you two like to stay for dinner?”
With a sullen expression on his face, Conall eyed Greg. “That’s quite generous of you. If you’re sure it is okay?” Conall asked
I nodded.
“We accept,” Conall said, triumphantly gloating at Greg, who ignored him.
This seemed to bother Conall even more. The timer dinged. The casserole was ready, but I took a detour to get Jess and pick up some towels. They’d have to stay in wet clothes, but at least they wouldn’t be dripping.
I tapped on the girls’ door once then entered. Tate was trying to teach the kitten to fetch, while Jess studied the spell book. “Jess, we have extra guests. Could you set three more plates?”
Jessie marked the place in her book and deposited it on the bed. “Three?”
“Yes, three.”
When I returned, I passed out towels I got from the linen closet and the two men removed their shoes and dried off as best they could. I turned back to the kitchen. After donning oven mitts, I opened the oven, removed the dish, and placed it on a trivet. I turned just in time to see Jessie’s reaction to discovering Lundy. Pretty priceless. She, of course, glared at me like it was my fault.
“They came to apologize and were caught in the downpour, Jess.”
“Great,” she muttered as she slid three more plates from the shelf.
Greg addressed Conall. “I dinna ken if you should be out so far from home at this time. I heard about the...mishap at your store.”
“We have it under control, and if we didn’t, it would be your fault and your responsibility to answer for it. Wouldn’t it, Keeper?”
“Are you talking about the wolves?” I didn’t see how Greg could possibly be blamed for that.
Dinner was delayed when I realized I’d need to add a leaf to the table. Both Greg and Conall tried to help which made it take even longer then it would have if I’d just done it alone. In the end, I had them both fetch the other chairs and Kay helped me.
Then it came time to be seated. I sat at my usual place at the head of the table and was immediately flanked by Conall and Greg who glared at each other from across the table. Kay sat at the opposite end, mainly, I think, to avoid the musical chairs game that Jess and Lundy were participating in. Conall’s nephew jockeyed to sit by Jess, who moved three times before grudgingly snagging a place between Greg and Tate. She wasn’t pleased with sitting by him, but her other two choices were beside Conall and no doubt become sandwiched between him and his nephew or next to Kay which would put her between Kay and Lundy. Apparently staying away from the nephew at all costs was more crucial than avoiding Greg.
“Why are you sitting on this side?” Tate asked Jess.
“I just am, hush,” Jess grumbled.
Lundy settled for sitting across from Jess. I bowed my head. We weren’t a particularly religious family, but I was raised Catholic and remembered Greg apparently was too. So, I made the sign of the cross with him. The girls, used to seeing me do it, folded their hands and bowed their heads too. I said a quick, heart-felt prayer of thanks.
“Amen,” Tate whispered.
Lundy picked up his fork then grunted in pain and dropped it when, I suspect, his uncle kicked him under the table. I had originally planned on putting the casserole in the middle of the table and letting everyone serve themselves, but now the table was too big to do that and the dish too hot to easily hand around. So instead, I placed it in front of me.
“If everyone could hand me your plates, I can serve. We can pass around the other dishes.” Conall held up his plate.
“Jess, Tate—could you two get everyone a glass of water?”
The girls worked together with Jess putting ice and water in cups and Tate bringing them to the guests.
I took Conall’s plate and served him.
He shook out his napkin and put it on his lap. “It looks delicious.”
“Thank you,” I said. “It’s a Mexican casserole that my mother used to make. It has some ingredients not usually found here.” Before we came to the island, I bought some American ingredients that I thought I might have trouble getting. I congratulated myself for having the foresight after seeing the limited choices at the grocery here. The dish was supposed to last the three of us at least a couple of meals. Looking on the bright side, at least I had enough to feed my unexpected guests. I served everyone and then myself. “Oh, I almost forgot.” I pushed away from the table and stood. “I have a couple of bottles of red wine, if anyone wants some. I’m having a glass.” The wine glasses were washed and sitting out on the counter.
“I’d love a glass,” Kay said and stood to help me.
“I’ll have one too,” Conall said.
I looked at Greg and he nodded at me.
“Me too,” Lundy said.
Conall frowned at him.
“I suppose that it’s okay, I guess it’s legal here,” I commented.
“Does that mean I can have some too?” Jess asked. The last time she had tasted wine she hated it, but I decided not to mention it.
“I suppose so.” I measured out a small portion for Jess because I doubted she would even finish it and the same amount for the nephew, because I didn’t want her complaining that he received more. Teens. T
hen I passed the salad, refried beans, salsa, and chips around. Since Greg was left-handed and Jessie was right-handed, they kept bumping elbows.
With some urging from Conall, Lundy tried to engage Jess in conversation. “You really danced well at the ceilidh for someone who didn’t know the steps until then. Did you take lessons like, uh, ballet?”
“No.” Jessie crunched on a chip.
Though clearly flustered, Lundy soldiered on. “What do you like to do?”
Keeping her eyes on her plate and shrugging, she answered, “Ride.”
“Oh, like horses?”
“No, like camels.” Jessie’s sarcasm reared its ugly head. Unfortunately, Lundy took her seriously.
“Camels? I’ve never rode a camel before.”
I caught Jessie’s eye and frowned. She abandoned the eye roll she had started and sighed. “I was kidding. Yes, I ride horses.”
Lundy frowned. “I don’t ride anymore. I used to.”
“Why not,” Tate asked.
“The horses, they get nervous around me now.”
“Why, did you accidentally hurt one?”
“Probably his cologne,” Jess muttered just loud enough to be audible.
Lundy blushed. Greg bit his lip in an attempt not to smile. I’m glad someone is getting a kick out of it.
When Greg and Jessie’s elbows bumped yet again, Jess lost a forkful of food. She scooted her chair farther from Greg and jarred Tate’s.
“Hey!” Tate protested.
With a sigh, Jess moved her chair back then turned toward Greg and opened her mouth. I hoped to apologize and not to complain. Her elbow connected hard with Greg’s as he reached for his glass. The goblet tipped over. The merlot sloshed across the table onto Conall and his nephew. Lundy, in his rush to stand, knocked his knees under the table and jostled his own glass. More wine splashed on his pants. I rushed for the towels as Greg and, to my delight, Jess, apologized.
“I’m so sorry. This will probably stain,” I said as Conall and Lundy blotted themselves, and I hurried to keep the wine from running off the table and onto anyone else.
“It’s okay,” Conall said. “It isn’t your fault.” He glared at Greg.
“Let me get everyone some more wine.” Kay stood and fetched the wine bottle. Once the table was cleaned as best it could be, we finished our meal. Everyone seemed to enjoy the food despite the mishap. Only two servings of casserole remained in the pan. Kay left the wine bottle on the table, and Conall poured the last of it in his own glass.
“I’ll open another,” he said.
Thankfully, I bought more than one.
THE RAIN WAS STILL coming down hard when I finished clearing the dirty plates. “I have coffee, tea, and whisky,” I announced as I moved the casserole to the counter to cool.
“Whisky sounds grand,” Conall said a little too loudly.
He’d drunk the lion’s share of the wine and was flushed. Lundy, noting that Jess barely finished her half glass, didn’t have any more. The rest of us stuck with just one glass. I would have loved to have more, but between Jess and Lundy and Conall and Greg, I wanted to have my wits about me.
However, I was going to have some of the whisky and, as soon as I poured a glass for those who wanted it, the bottle was going back up to keep Conall’s intake down to one. I kept glancing out the window, hoping that the weather would clear up, but if anything, it looked worse. The kitten meowed. Tate had accidentally shut it up in her room. She went to get it. All the adults said yes to whisky. I put out a box of cookies.
“Sorry, they’re store-bought,” I said as I passed around the assortment. “If I had known I would have so many guests, I could have made a trifle or something.”
“We should apologize. You didna expect so many guests,” Greg said.
Tate returned holding the kitten. When it caught sight of Conall, it hissed and clawed. Tate cried out and dropped the kitten that then ran under the couch.
“Tate, are you okay?” Dots of blood beaded on her forearm.
“I dropped the kitty!” As she held her arm, she rushed to the couch and knelt to look underneath.
“The kitten’s fine, I’m sure, but let me check while your mother looks at your arm.”
I smiled at Kay gratefully. Tate’s arm wasn’t bad, but I put antibiotic and a bandage on it. Kay coaxed the kitten out, and it seemed to be no worse for wear.
When Kay approached them, Conall and Lundy pushed away from the table. “Keep it away from us,” Conall said. “We’re allergic to cats. I didn’t know you had one.”
Shrugging, I said, “We didn’t when we arrived. Kay’s cat had kittens, and we decided to adopt one.”
“Dogs are much better pets,” Lundy said.
“They are not!” Tate burst out, loyal to her kitten.
Lundy snorted. “You can train a dog. You can’t train a cat to do anything.”
“I bet we can train our cat,” Jess added.
“No, won’t work. They just aren’t smart enough.”
Honestly, no wonder the boy isn’t getting dates. Why would you talk down something the girl you like is fond of?
“Cats are actually quite bright,” Kay said.
The kitten hopped from Kay’s arms to Greg’s lap.
Conall scowled. “Seems like we’re outnumbered.”
“Pretty wee thing,” Greg said as he ran a thumb over its head. The kitten purred.
Wishing to smooth things over, I took the cat from Greg and backed away from the table. “Why don’t we move her food and water into the girls’ room so she won’t bother Conall and Lundy?”
Jess picked up the water dish and Tate took the food dish.
On her way out, Jess snagged some cookies and smiled. “I’ll stay in the room with the kitty so she won’t be afraid.”
“Me too,” Tate called out.
As I followed the girls to their room, I made sure I had a secure hold on the kitten.
In hopes of removing stray cat hair, I ran my hands down the front of my shirt as I returned. “Sorry about that. I had no idea you were allergic, or I would have made sure to keep her away.”
I did notice that neither of them seemed to be sneezing or acting like the encounter had bothered them. I had friends who were allergic and sneezed as soon as they walked into a house with a cat. They didn’t need to touch it or be near it.
Conall and his nephew hadn’t reacted adversely upon arriving.
We sat at the table to finish our whisky and cookies. The evening was a disaster, and I didn’t see how it could get much worse. I decided to pursue the topic I began with Kay. Maybe I would get some answers from the men too. “We went to the cave for a tour today,” I began. “We saw something unusual.”
Greg tilted his head as he regarded me. “Oh?”
“Yes. There was a...well, it couldn’t be called a woman, because it wasn’t human, but it was female.” I described the goblin.
“I will have to go visit the caverns,” Greg said.
Conall’s eyes narrowed. “What do you plan on doing?” he asked.
Greg toyed with his napkin. “Well, I am interested in such occurrences.”
“What will you do if you see her?” I asked. The conversation’s direction was making Greg uncomfortable, and I had no idea why, but I was going to try to find out. “Anytime something weird happens, you seem to be involved or know about it. You weren’t at all surprised when I described the woman. Why is that?”
“Well, of course we know the story. Everyone on the island does,” Conall explained.
“Yes, but the story doesn’t describe the woman. It just mentions that she’s a goblin. Jess brought books from the library. I haven’t looked at them all, but I did see some pictures of supposed goblins. They looked nothing like the creature we saw.”
Greg folded his napkin and placed it on the table. “I havena seen her, but I ken others who have and described her. She causes no harm. The stories are just to keep nosy people away.”
“
My understanding was that nobody has actually seen her in decades. How is it you spoke to someone who described what she looked like?”
“The family, the Oggs, they ken, but they prefer to keep it to themselves.”
“You aren’t family and you know.” As soon as I realized I was pointing at Greg, I drew back and put my hands behind my back. Lundy was as twitchy as a rabbit’s nose, and Conall didn’t bother to hide his glee at Greg’s discomfort, so I turned to him. “And you, what is it with these wolves? I know you two know something about them. Kay and Greg do too. Are they an endangered species you’re trying to protect?” I tried to think of some reason for the secrecy, but just couldn’t come up with anything. “Kay says they kill pets. For a lot of people, at least in the States, that alone would be reason enough for destroying them or at least relocating them, but you people—” I stood and paced around.
My guests stared at me as if I was about to roll my eyes up in my head and puke pea soup.
Greg reached out and took my hand when I passed him. “Please, please, sit.”
“Tell me what’s going on!” I demanded.
“I’ll tell you what I’m able,” Greg said.
Conall gasped and stood.
Lundy cried out, “You can’t tell her!”
“Sit down,” Kay said.
The two bristled at her.
“We hold to the white way. We’ve earned trust, respect, and protection.” Conall loomed over Greg who remained sitting, I think, to try and diffuse the situation.
Greg shook his head. “The wolves shouldna have been in the store.”
“That’s your fault, not ours.”
“It isn’t Greg’s fault,” Kay said. “It is the way of it, that’s all. Perhaps you two should stay close to home.”
“Are we now prisoners? Besides, it hit so fast today, we had not the time,” Conall protested.
“Ahem—I’m still here and apparently the only one who has absolutely no idea what you all are talking about. It’s like you’re speaking a different language in front of the only person who can’t understand. It’s rude.”
Greg nodded. “Rebecca’s right.”
“She brought it up,” Lundy said with a begrudging edge to his voice.