Then Magnus, after eating a second sandwich, moaned happily, leaned his head back on the headrest, and closed his eyes. He repeated, “I have been living it.”
“Us too,” I said, “Hayley and Quentin and I went to the way past. We thought you were going to be there at the beginning of the vessels. So we went.”
Magnus looked at me and squinted his eyes. “Och, twas a risk.”
“Your mother agreed with me, we thought that was where you were going to be.”
“You were speakin’ tae Lady Mairead on it?”
“Yes, she helped a little this time. Well, at least she didn’t try to kill me. With Roderick fighting for your throne I guess she felt like we should all work together...”
“Roderick was still tryin’ tae take my kingdom?”
I took a deep breath. “I think you might have to consider your kingdom lost. Hammond is trying to hold it together, I think, but it’s not looking good. Roderick has the safe house. He probably has the castle too, it’s...” I shook my head.
He groaned. “And Archie, where is he?”
“We don’t know. I had him in the safe house, with Bella. Lady Mairead was going to take them to Balloch and ask Lizbeth to watch over them but then they were just gone. Someone removed him from the house. I don’t know who.”
“Archie is out there in it? Dost Hammond ken he is missing?”
I nodded. “Yeah, he knows they’re missing.”
Magnus scowled. “Archie is gone, the kingdom is falling, tis a mess. I will kill Reyes for takin’ my attention away from it. Then I will kill Roderick for raising an army against me.”
Hayley turned all the way around in her seat and joked, “Mags, you’re giving me chills. You’re all Fast and Furious sounding like you’re about to get in your race car and speed off through the desert after them.”
“Och, I canna drive, but I can ride a horse verra fast.” He stuffed some French fries in his mouth, chewed them, and chased them down with some Coke.
I said, “I’m so sorry I didn’t keep everyone safe. I know I promised, but I — I thought you were going to be in the past. I thought I could find you there. In hindsight I should have been watching over Archie.”
“Nae. Daena worry on it, Kaitlyn. Ye canna always be responsible for everyone against men that are tryin’ tae kill us. Ye had Archie safe and ye were goin’ tae send him tae Lizbeth, ye arna at fault for him being removed from the house.”
“Thank you for seeing it that way, but still, I’m sorry he’s not here.”
I took a sip of Coke and watched the trees slide by on the side of the highway. “The good news though is that when we were in the way, way past, Quentin shot Reyes, and now he has an injured shoulder.”
Magnus looked at me dumbfounded.
“An injured shoulder?”
“Lady Mairead called him weak, like he is not as powerful.”
“Och, which one?”
“The left. Did I do good?”
“Ye did verra good.”
“How did you get away?”
“Now there is a story. Dost ye ken of the fort in Saint Augustine?”
“Yes?”
“I was taken there, and I was put intae a prison. Twas a verra small, dank dungeon. Reyes told me he was goin’ tae force me tae the past tae get the vessels.”
“See, I was right! Why didn’t you have to go? We were there waiting for you.”
Hayley said, “You should have seen me, Magnus, I was kicking some highlander ass.”
“M’ancestors?”
“Sure, but like your great-great-great grandpa so you don’t care and frankly he was a dick to those people, who weren’t aliens, not at all, they were humans and we need to talk about that someday and figure out how they got the vessels.”
Magnus looked confused.
I said, “Just ignore what she’s saying. We need to not go there ever again. It’s too easy to screw something up and I’m glad we didn’t. We shot Reyes, hurt his shoulder. He’s different, but everything else is the same. You’re here, we’re here.”
“Aye, and we are goin’ home. I dinna think twould happen.”
“So tell us about it.”
“I was in the prison. The fortress was held by the Spanish but then verra soon after I arrived the English, led by General Oglethorpe, tried tae seize it. There were ships in the harbor, cannons and guns firin’. In the ensuing battle I must have been forgotten. There wasna a guard stationed outside the hole they put me intae so I pushed the stones away from the door and escaped.”
“You escaped?”
“Aye, the year was 1740. Twas June. I made it tae the postern door and out tae the harbor. Guns were firing from the ships and so I had tae jump intae the water with cannon shot crashing all around me.”
My eyes were wide. “You could have died!”
Zach’s eyes kept looking in the rearview at us. “Did you swim north or south?”
“I swam north, and am glad I did because the Spanish had all of the south. The English would eventually be beaten back.”
He clasped my hand. “When I pulled myself from the water I was verra bedraggled and close tae starved. I needed a drink desperately. I hid myself in a clump of trees believin’ I would die on that shore alone, but then within the trees was another man seeking cover from the battle. His name was Fraoch. He ended up saving my life.”
Hayley tried to say it. “Frouick?”
Magnus chuckled. “Tis close, but ye have tae say it from your gut, such as this — Fraoch.”
Hayley tried it two more times before I said, “Hayley you’re missing the point. I get that it’s a fun name to say but I would like to hear more about this man that saved Magnus’s life please.”
“Sure of course.” She took a big noisy sip of Coke and batted her eyes pretending to be quiet and listening.
“Fraoch shared his water and food with me—”
“So he did save your life.”
“Aye, he was a good friend, and here he is still feedin’ me. This is his family’s recipe.” He put a small handful of French fries in his mouth.
“What do you mean—?”
“This food, he was a clan Donald.” Magnus grinned.
“ClaDonald! But your family feuds with the MacDonalds.”
“Aye, twas verra tense in the beginnin’. We were nae sure if we were goin’ tae kill each other as we slept, but we soon came tae an understandin’ on it.”
He smiled. “I promised nae tae kill him as a thank ye for savin’ my life, he had proven he wasna goin’ tae kill me as he had already shared his last food with me. After that we became verra good friends. I told him I often ate food that was cooked by a MacDonald in a tavern in the New World and he thought twas quite a marvel that I did.”
“Jesus Christ I wish I had a video of that conversation. A freaking highlander born in the 1600s explaining to a highlander born in the 1700s about how fast food in the 21st century works.”
Zach and Hayley laughed along with me.
Magnus laughed too. “Twas nae easy tae explain it, when I daena understand the half of it.”
“That’s what’s so funny, my love. We should take a tour of the restaurant kitchen sometime and blow your mind. So tell me more.”
“Fraoch led me tae a riverbank — did ye ken, that there are… what do ye call them, the monsters that swim in the ponds, we saw them when we went tae the place with the rides?”
My mind tried to wrap around what he was talking about, then I said, “Disney World, the…? Oh, we saw alligators in that lake!”
“Och, they are terrifyin’. I had tae sleep near one on the banks of the river.”
Zach said, “Fuck, that’s an eighteenth century one too. They’re probably extra ornery.”
“There was a monstrous beast in the river with me too, twas different though, nae scaled. Twas smooth. I was forgettin’ tae breathe and afraid and unable tae keep goin’, ready tae die, and it swam tae me and bumped me up tae the surface. Th
at beast wasna frightening.”
My eyes went wide. “I bet that was a manatee. Magnus, that’s good luck. I think you had a moment with a manatee.”
He tightened his hold on my hand.
I added, “I’ll show you a picture of them. They’re very gentle. The others, the gators, not so much. So you were on the banks of a river in St Augustine, was it near the fort?”
“Aye, fairly close.”
“It was the St Johns, I would think…”
“Fraoch warned me against returnin’ tae the fort tae kill Reyes for a vessel.”
“So you didn’t go back to kill Reyes?” I asked. “I mean, we are driving into Florida as if he was still a threat, but I hadn’t really gotten the whole story yet.”
“He is still a threat. I couldna go back. The fort was under siege and I was sure that he wasna there any longer but I have a plan and twill be easy now he is injured.”
Zach said, “So how the fuck did you get from St Augustine to Scotland?”
“Oh,” I said, “good point, how did you get from St Augustine to Scotland in 1740?”
“First Fraoch and I stole a skiff and paddled it up river tae the port. Then Fraoch lent me a fare tae get on a ship. We traveled up the coast tae a port named Savannah, the same place we just went tae. Then we found a ship that would give us passage in exchange for labor. That ship, the Deptford, went up the coast tae Charleston, have ye heard of it?” He looked down at my face, I had tucked my head onto his shoulder, my forearm along his, our hands wrapped together on the armrest.
“I’ve heard of Charleston.”
“Aye. We loaded the ship with supplies and then set across the sea for London, twas…” he shook his head. “Twas a verra verra long trip.”
I looked up at his face. “How long?”
He tilted up my chin with a strong hand and kissed my lips. “It took two verra long months, mo reul-iuil.” He smoothed my hair back from my face. “Then two weeks more in a carriage that was bound from London tae Edinburgh, twas about the size of…” He looked around the inside of the Lincoln Navigator. “The entire carriage would be about the size of this seat. Twas verra uncomfortable.”
Zach said, “Go back for a moment, how long to cross the ocean?”
“Two months, Chef Zach and do ye ken what we had tae eat? Twas a salted meat, a mystery of the kind, that ye had tae yank apart with yer teeth and then a bread that ye couldna get yer teeth tae settle intae.”
“That’s why you’re so thin?” I asked.
Magnus nodded down at me and his eyes were so very sad. I nestled against his shoulder, wrapping my arm around his, and we sat quietly.
Until finally, as if he had been thinking on it more, he spoke. “Then I had tae ride tae Balloch. It took another few days. But once I arrived I went tae carve my message intae the rocks. And twas just an hour later that the vessel was there.”
“It’s like magic.” I yawned big and wide. I was so tired.
He pressed his jaw to my head, then kissed my hair and pressed against me again. “Aye, tis like magic, though sometimes twas verra slow.”
I took a deep breath so happy to have him again, here beside me.
He said, “Good night, mo reul-iuil.”
“How do you know I’m going to sleep?”
“I can hear it in yer breaths.”
“I’m really tired…”
Hayley snuggled down in her seat. “You cool to drive Zachary?”
“Yep.”
And soon enough it was just a quiet ride, a sleeping family, heading home.
Forty-four - Kaitlyn
Emma with Ben on her hip met us in front of the hospital and after tearful hugs and grateful happiness led us through to the intensive care unit.
We sadly were not dressed well enough, or clean enough, and so we couldn’t go into a room to see Beaty, we would have to come back, but we watched through a window. She had a mask over her face, frail and small looking in the hospital bed. Quentin sat bedside clutching her hand.
He came to meet us when he heard we were there. His eyes full of fear and emotion. Magnus’s eyes full of fear and emotion. They hugged and then Quentin filled us in. “She has pneumonia. We don’t know what’s up yet. It doesn’t—” He broke down and so we all kind of held onto him in a circle for a while, not speaking, just holding his shoulders and then finally after like ten minutes, I asked, “Do you want to go for a walk around, get some air?”
“Nah, I need to get back in there.”
Emma said, “We’re all leaving, but I’m ten minutes away if you need anything.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
He left us to go back to Beaty alone.
In the parking lot we were trying to decide which house to go back to, the octagonal house that we still had a contract on until the end of the month, or our last home, the one we loved, on the north end, the one with Magnus’s stable underneath, the big ass kitchen. It would be dusty and closed up and not ready for us and might possibly be on Reyes’s radar, but the octagonal house was definitely on Reyes’s radar: he had gone there for dinner one night.
Hayley wondered if we needed a new house altogether, but then Magnus said, “I want tae go tae our home, Kaitlyn. I daena care if it is dusty or — I have traveled a long time tae get here and I want tae go home.”
I looked him in the eyes and said, “We’re decided then. We go home.”
Hayley drove. I sat in the passenger seat. Magnus sat in the back. From the backseat he asked, “Dost ye think we should take Beaty back tae her time? Perhaps takin’ her from home is what caused her tae be sick? Would she get better in her own air?”
I turned around and shook my head sadly, “No, we’ve got better medical care now by far. We have antibiotics and surgical teams and — no, if she was sick like this in the 18th century she wouldn’t make it, there’d be no way. They just aren’t equipped to care for patients in your time. A lot of people wouldn’t make it. No, this is best, it’s just… I really regret taking her to the 16th century. I didn’t know she was going to get sick, but I shouldn’t have risked her life like that. I wonder if Quentin will forgive me.”
Hayley said, “Quentin would never blame you, Katie, but I’m worried if something happens to her that he’ll blame himself. He was such a wreck when his mama died, remember?”
“I do, yeah, I really hope he doesn’t go through that again.”
“Me too.”
I reached back and held hands with Magnus for the drive.
We pulled up at the house and Zach pulled up right behind us. Emma got out and unstrapped Ben from the back seat.
Zach said, “We were going to stop at the grocery store but then I remembered delivery. If it’s not necessary to have groceries delivered right now when would it be necessary? We ordered some stuff it should be here in an hour.”
“Perfect.” I said and looked up at the house. “Last time I was here I was screeching at Braden in the driveway. That seems like a long time ago. Now suddenly I’m wondering if there’s going to be any issues with that video?”
Zach said, “Most people have probably forgotten it by now because you haven’t responded or reacted. I’m sure they’ve lost interest under the deluge of all the other crazy stuff that’s going on. Have you heard what’s going on with politics lately?”
“No,” I groaned. “Please don’t tell me, I want to eat and drink and just wait for news of Beaty.”
Zach pulled the garage door up and let us into the house.
Forty-five - Magnus
I was finally home. I couldna believe how long it had taken, how much of my spirit and health, and I was verra tired. I hadna been able tae explain it tae Kaitlyn, nae well enough, how I wasna fully myself yet, and there was still so much tae do.
We all took tae openin’ windows and lookin’ through our closets. And then Kaitlyn said, “Do you want to take a shower with me?” She unbelted her jacket and dropped it tae the side and then pulled her shirt off over her head.
/> “I do verra much.”
“When was your last shower, Mister Fancy Pants?”
I unbuckled my breeches and dropped them tae the ground and stepped from them. I joked, “I am nae fancy pants, I am Mister Naked Man.”
She giggled. “Your shirt is pretty ruffled for a naked man, it goes from your thighs to your jaw.”
I pulled my shirt off over m’head and from my arms.
“Jesus Magnus, your chest, I haven’t seen it in a while and—” she came tae press against me and kissed my chest and then pulled her pants down to the floor and kicked them away. She was naked and I was verra glad tae see the length of her skin.
She took me by the hand, led me intae the bathroom, and bent over tae turn on the shower. I took that moment tae stand behind her and press tae her. She turned in my hands, a warm smile spread across her face. Then she brought her arms around my neck, and ran her lips down my neck. She pulled me in under the water.
I couldna help but moan.
Her voice breathy against my ear, “Does that feel good?”
“Aye, mo reul-iuil. It has been a verra long time without any comfort.”
She ran her lips down my chest and I was feeling verra interested in bein’ inside of her. She put some soap in her hand and I leaned forward dutifully. She massaged the soap through my hair, around and around, with much care and attention. I was so incredibly spent.
With a groan, I dropped down to my knees. I wrapped m’arms around her legs and pressed my forehead to her stomach. Rivulets of water ran down my face. Her hand faltered. “Are you okay, my love?”
“Aye, now.”
She held the back of my head pulling me closer in. I held tighter around her hips. “Would ye wash m’hair some more, mo real-iuil?”
She stood firmly and bore my weight as I clung tae her. She poured soap intae her hands and slowly rubbed it intae my hair, in and down; pulling it along the strands. She massaged the sweet-smelling soap intae my scalp in a circular pattern and then down the back of my neck and firmly across my shoulders. I pressed my cheek tae her stomach, my lips, and moaned from the feel of it.
Under the Same Sky (Kaitlyn and the Highlander Book 7) Page 15