Morna’s Magic & Mistletoe

by Bethany Claire

  I found twenty-first century clothing so much more difficult to assemble. In my own time, I owned only four dresses save for the two I reserved for only the most special of occasions. There was nothing to think about when getting dressed—no decisions to make and no make-up to fuss with. With the assortment of items Adelle packed for me, I was left confused each and every morning as I tried to piece together items of clothing that would look nice together.

  Since it was freezing outside and snowing on and off almost every day, I chose a pair of tight jeans, boots that went over them almost up to my knee, and a thick wine-colored sweater. After throwing on a hat, a scarf, some gloves, and my coat, I was ready to go.

  I was determined not to apologize for making him wait on me. It was known across all time periods and countries that women take longer.

  “So, what do ye have planned for the day?”

  Seeing that I was already bundled up for outside, Malcolm reached for his own coat and scarf, donning them as he spoke to me.

  “Lots. I’ll drive us closer to the city center. Then I thought we could get a ticket for the double-decker buses. I’m sure being Scottish, you’ll find them very touristy, but they really aren’t a bad way to get from place to place, and it helps you get a layout of the whole city.”

  I was only familiar with the word bus because of the bus Malcolm and Rosie had been on at Conall Castle. I hadn’t the slightest idea what a double-decker bus could be.

  “I will find nothing too touristy, Mac, I assure ye. I’ve never been on a double-decker bus.”

  Surprise framed his features. It was an expression he wore often around me, and try as I might to not give away how out of sorts I was in this time, it was impossible to always say just the right thing.

  “Well, good. Then you won’t mind it. Here’s a summary of the itinerary I have planned for us. If there’s anything you don’t want to do, just tell me, and we’ll find something else.”

  When I nodded, he looked down at his list and began to read.

  “First, after taking the whole bus loop, I thought we could grab breakfast at Emilia’s favorite café. She used to work there as a teenager. They have the best coffee in Edinburgh.”

  I smiled as I glanced over to see Emilia nodding enthusiastically.

  “Sounds perfect.”

  “Next, I thought we would go over to the German Christmas Market. They have some of the prettiest trinkets and toys you’ve ever seen, and there’s a big ferris wheel that will give us a spectacular view of the city.”

  Again, I had no idea what a ferris wheel was, but I said nothing.

  “Afterwards, I thought we could go to The Dome for lunch in the tea room and to see their unbelievable decorations.”

  He paused and looked up at me and I knew he was wanting some sort of confirmation that all his plans were okay with me.

  “I canna wait, Malcolm.”

  He let out a big breath of relief and grinned with pride as he looked back down at the list. The gesture made him look two decades younger—slightly nervous and even a little shy.

  “Okay, after lunch, I thought we could explore the Scottish Market for a bit and then go on a tour of Edinburgh Castle.”

  “Oh, aye, let’s. I would love to see the castle.” Edinburgh Castle was the one thing he’d mentioned that I knew. I’d been there once as a child. It was where I’d first been introduced to William. It would be fascinating to see how much had changed.

  “Then we most certainly shall. And lastly, I have us booked for an early dinner reservation at The Witchery. It’s an Edinburgh tradition, and I know you’ll enjoy it. Is there anything you want to change?”

  I wished to do everything he mentioned, but I hated the idea of him repeating activities he’d already experienced many times for my sake.

  “No, though I do have a question for ye. Have ye done all of these things before?”

  He nodded and stuffed the list into his pocket before buttoning up his coat.

  “Yes, but I enjoy doing them every year, so don’t worry about that.”

  “There must be something ye wish to do in Edinburgh that ye havena done before. Whatever ’tis, let’s do it after dinner.”

  “I know exactly what he needs to do.” Emilia’s voice interrupted as she made her way over to me. “Malcolm desperately needs an education in real Scotch. I’ve taught Kraig everything I know, but I’ve never had the opportunity to do the same with Malcolm. I know just the place the two of ye can go. They stay open late, and they offer tours that give ye more to taste than the wee sips most distilleries do. He’d love it.”

  I didn’t even look up at Malcolm as I answered her.

  “Aye, ’tis perfect. Every foreigner needs a proper introduction to Scottish whisky. Can ye arrange it for us?”

  She gave me a quick nod and turned to address her brother-in-law.

  “Malcolm, I’ll text ye the address and time I’ve booked ye for in a while. Now, get out of here and have a grand time. I’m sure the two of ye will be out late. We will see ye tomorrow morning.”

  *

  With his head already starting to ache and his feet far less steady than he liked, Malcolm had only two questions.

  First—why couldn’t they have gone on a basic whisky tasting tour—one where they only got to taste the smallest sip of each whisky? Such a tour would’ve sufficed just fine. Second—how the hell was Kenna still standing? She’d drunk just as much as he had and showed no signs of intoxication. She was one of the daintiest women he’d ever seen. Short of stature, slender, all of her features were petite. How then, was she drinking him under the table?

  Thankfully, as their host reached for their glasses to pour yet another dram of whisky, Kenna reached out a hand to stop him. Malcolm simply couldn’t drink another drop.

  “Thank ye, sir, but I believe my companion here has had all he can manage.” She leaned over the counter playfully and whispered below her breath as she giggled. “He’s American.”

  Perhaps, she was more affected by the tasting than he originally thought. Still, she was holding her liquor far better than he was.

  “Kenna.” He spoke slowly and with intention. He’d be damned before he slurred his words in front of her. He was a grown man and one that didn’t drink often. He’d not have himself looking like a lush. “We can’t drive back. The car is safe where I parked it this morning. Do you want to step outside and hail us a taxi while I pay for the bottle we are bringing back to Emilia and Kraig?”

  Confusion and something resembling panic crossed Kenna’s rosy cheeks, but before he could inquire into her concern, their tour host stepped in.

  “No need. We’ve cars waiting out front. ’Tis customary on this specific tour. Rarely do we have a guest that is fit to drive afterwards.”

  Had this been Emilia’s intention? Malcolm couldn’t help but think that it must’ve been.

  Kenna held tightly onto his arm as she stood from the barstool and waited for him.

  “Shall we go then? Ye doona look so good, Malcolm.”

  He didn’t feel so good.

  “Yes, I think we should.”

  Just as their guide had promised, a car awaited them outside the distillery. With Kenna snuggled warmly into him on the ride back to his brother’s house, he found it difficult to stay awake. Just as the car pulled up to the front of the house, Kenna leaned up to kiss his cheek.

  “I had the best time tonight, Mac. Truly, I dinna ever want today to end.”

  Paying the driver, he stepped outside and took Kenna’s hand. Emilia had left the outside light on for them. Walking up to the front door, he paused and leaned in to kiss her. She melted against him instantly. It was all he could do to remain of sound mind. He wanted to be with her more than he’d wanted anything in his life—but not tonight, not when both of them were exhausted from their day in the city and more than a little tipsy.

  “I’m not sure I’ve ever had more fun with anyone, Kenna. Now…” Pulling away while he still had the
wits to do so, he turned to insert the key into the lock. “I must bid you goodnight the moment we step inside. Otherwise, I’ll ask you to come to bed with me.”

  He expected her to reprimand him. Instead, as they stepped inside, she took his hand and led him over to the couch where his bed was all set up.

  “I doona mean to offend ye, Mac, but even if I did join ye here this evening, I believe ye would be asleep before ye could undress me.”

  Perhaps she was right. His lids did feel very heavy. Gently, she guided him down to the couch, pushing his shoulders back until he was lying down. She moved to pull off his shoes. He didn’t want to fall asleep until she was gone. He wanted to see her every moment he could.

  “Kenna, what surprised you most about today?”

  Setting his shoes next to the couch, she moved to sit next to him, gently brushing the hair from his face as she leaned in to gently kiss him goodnight. After a quick peck on his lips, she stood and answered him as she made her way upstairs.

  “Besides learning that ye canna hold yer whisky, ye mean? I think perhaps ’twas Edinburgh Castle. It truly hasna changed all that much in the last three hundred some odd years.”

  By the time her words made their way through his whisky-doused brain and he realized the oddity of them, she was gone.

  He fell asleep dreaming of the castle and what Kenna could’ve possibly meant by such a strange statement.

  Chapter 14

  Several nights of sleep deprivation and a day filled with a flurry of activity seemed to have caught up with Malcolm when I woke the next morning. I slept pretty late myself and took my time getting ready before wandering downstairs. When I finally did make my way downstairs, Malcolm still slept soundly on the couch, despite the noise from Kraig, Emilia, and little Robbie in the kitchen.

  It made me feel better to see him sleeping. The foolish mistake I’d made came to me in the middle of the night, causing me to sit up in bed in such a panic that it had taken well over an hour for me to calm myself and go back to sleep. My last words to Malcolm before going to bed—while clearly a result of too much whisky—could’ve been disastrous had he not been so altered by drink himself. The fact that he still slept gave me some hope that he wouldn’t remember my words when he did wake.

  “Good morning, Kenna. Ye look better than I expected ye to. I doona believe I’ll be able to say the same for Mac when he wakes.”

  I gratefully took the cup of tea Emilia extended in my direction and moved to sit by Robbie who was strapped into the most ingenious invention—a seat and a table in one that kept him upright and able to sit at the kitchen table with everyone else without being held.

  “I believe ye are right. The poor man doesna drink often, ’twas plain to see.” I paused as I reached out to take little Robbie’s hand, smiling as his chubby fingers wrapped around mine. “Why, Robbie looks fine and happy this morning in his…his…” I stalled on purpose, hoping that Emilia would simply believe that I’d forgotten the word and would answer my question that way. She didn’t disappoint me.

  “His highchair.”

  “Aye, highchair. The word slipped my mind for a moment.”

  She laughed and set a plate of breakfast down in front of me.

  “whisky will do that to ye. Did the two of ye have a good time yesterday?”

  I waited until she and Kraig were both seated with their food before I began to eat.

  “Aye, there wasna a single activity that I dinna love. He couldna have planned a better day out.”

  “I’m so glad the two of ye had a good time. I canna remember the last time Kraig and I had a day out just the two of us. I wouldna trade Robbie for the world, but he has changed my life in every way. Sometimes, I canna remember the woman that I was before him.”

  Emilia sighed in a dreamy way that caused me to really study her for the first time. While fatigue couldn’t fade the young woman’s beauty, the sleep deprivation that comes to any parent of a small child had left its mark. Small bags hung under her eyes. I doubted she’d taken any time for herself in months.

  I had an idea, although I knew I couldn’t manage it by myself.

  “Emilia, do ye have a phone I could borrow and perhaps a computer I could use? I’d like to check on some things and call my grandson.”

  I only knew what a computer was from seeing it at Morna’s and only knew how to operate a phone because of the detailed instructions Cooper had given me before I left, including the number to Morna’s so I could reach him.

  Emilia stood without hesitation, and I momentarily regretted interrupting her meal.

  “O’course. I’m sure the lad will be glad to hear from ye. Follow me into Kraig’s office. ’Tis just off the kitchen. There is a phone in there, and ye can use the computer for whatever ye like. Ye can even bring yer breakfast with ye if ye wish. Kraig eats in there all the time.”

  Lifting my plate with one hand and holding my tea with the other, I followed her, the surprise taking form in my mind as we went.

  *

  “For the love of God, Emilia, please tell me you have some aspirin.”

  Squinting, Malcolm trudged into the kitchen. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept so late or felt so rotten.

  “Look there.”

  His gaze traveled to the place on the table where his sister-in-law pointed.

  “I’ve already set some aspirin next to yer breakfast. Along with some coffee and a secret mixture that will taste awful but will have ye feeling just like yerself by lunch.”

  Malcolm sat at the table, popped the painkillers, and looked squeamishly at the glass of gray liquid sitting next to his coffee.

  “What’s in it?”

  “Dinna ye hear what I said? ’Tis a secret. Just drink it. I promise, ye will be glad ye did.”

  Pinching his nose to keep from smelling the vile concoction, he chugged it in two swift gulps. As soon as it was down, he reached for his coffee and drank. He didn’t care if it was hot enough to burn him, he needed the taste of the previous liquid out of his mouth immediately.

  “That was the worst thing I’ve ever tasted. Where’s Kenna? Did you make her drink that?”

  Emilia laughed and leaned against the kitchen island.

  “Kenna dinna need it. And she’s in Kraig’s office. She said she wished to call her grandson and needed to take care of a few things on the computer.”

  Hoping that Kenna would still be on the phone and that perhaps he would be able to say hello to Rosie, Malcolm scarfed down his food and stood to head to the office.

  He knocked lightly, but when there was no answer he stepped quietly inside, standing back while Kenna spoke.

  “What is the name of the place that Jane always says she misses, Cooper?”

  There was a short pause, and then Kenna answered the boy, excitement in her voice.

  “Aye, a spa. And how do I find and plan a spa?”

  Another short pause as Malcolm watched on in amazement. Could she really not know about all of the things Cooper was explaining to her?

  “What is a ‘google’? Can I call this google? Oh…I must type it on the computer.”

  He continued to watch with amusement as Kenna typed one finger at a time on the keyboard.

  “Cooper, if I arrange this, should I just give Emilia the cash to pay for it?”

  Malcolm could barely hear the boy’s voice, but it was just mumbling from so far away.

  “Oh, I see. I need one of those credit cards. I doona have one.”

  He couldn’t keep quiet any longer. She was clearly struggling, and he could see by the way she held one hand up to the side of her face that overwhelm was setting in. With the mention of a credit card, he saw his opening.

  “I have one. What is it that you’re trying to do, Kenna?”

  Turning toward him, Kenna smiled. The relief on her face was evident.

  “Ah, Cooper, never mind, lad. Mac is awake now. I believe I can get him to help me.”

  Now that he stood right
next to her, he could hear the boy clearly.

  “Oh, good. I was about to have to hand the phone to Morna. You were getting into stuff I don’t know anything about.”

  Kenna laughed and held the phone away from her so he could hear better.

  “Aye, well ye needn’t bother Morna now. Are ye having a good time, Cooper? How is Rosie doing?”

  “Oh, I’m having the best time, though I still haven’t been able to get Rosie to warm to me. Not to worry though, she’ll crack eventually. And Rosie’s having a good time, too, I think. She and Morna have been spending so much time in the kitchen baking up all sorts of yummy goodies. I think by the time you and Malcolm get back, Jerry might be as fat as Santa Claus.”

  Malcolm always loved the way Kenna laughed, but when laughing in response to her grandson, there was a special joy in her voice that caused his heart to skip just a little. He knew the kind of love she felt when speaking to him. The love of a grandparent for a grandchild surpassed anything he’d felt in his life.

  “I’m so glad, Cooper. Is Rosie around? I’m sure Mac would like to speak to her.”

  “Actually…” Cooper’s voice sounded regretful. “She and Morna went into town to get some more baking stuff. There’s no telling what they will make next.”

  Malcolm lowered his head and spoke into the phone to calm Cooper’s worries.

  “It’s okay, Cooper, I’m sure Rosie is enjoying having some space away from me for a bit. I’ll see her tomorrow when we return.”

  “Sounds good. I miss both of you guys. Good luck planning your surprise.”

  Malcolm waited to speak again until Kenna said her goodbyes and hung up the phone.

  “So…what is it you are trying to do? Why would you need to give Emilia cash?”

  Malcolm listened to Kenna intently. As she laid out her plan to give Kraig and Emilia a day and evening away, he knew that what he’d been trying to silence inside of himself for the better part of two days was true. He was in love with Kenna McMillan. He might not know her well, but he knew enough. She was kind, funny, and thoughtful. She loved her grandson deeply and said whatever was on her mind. He knew what he’d told her before, but it was no longer true. He was fairly certain that it hadn’t been true then. He wouldn’t be able to let her go tomorrow. He wasn’t sure that he would ever be able to.