by Jennae Vale
“Did you find out what all the trouble was about at the pub this afternoon?” Curiosity was killing her, but she’d been unable to get even the smallest bit of info from anyone.
“No. I didn’t ask. I thought that might be something for us to talk about while we eat.”
“I don’t know. It seemed pretty tense. I thought it was going to turn into a fight right then and there.”
“They’re cousins, right?”
“We are,” Conall said, entering the dining room.
“Ye look lovely tonight.” Gavin went to Amy and lifted her hand to his lips.
Completely flustered, she found herself unable to speak and felt a sudden rush of heat consuming her.
“Please, have a seat. I’ll get the food.” Avery motioned to the table.
“Do ye need help, lass?” Conall asked.
“Thank you. Yes. That would be nice.”
Avery and Conall headed to the kitchen, leaving Amy alone with Gavin, who still held her hand.
“We should sit down.” Amy gently tugged her hand from his grasp. She chose a chair and patted the seat next to her. It was very unlike her, but she was feeling nervous.
Avery and Conall returned with platters of salmon, roasted vegetables and a large bowl of rice pilaf.
Amy knew this was Avery’s go-to meal when she wanted to impress someone. It was always delicious. “You’re going to love this,” she said to both Conall and Gavin.
“Consider it our thank you for saving us from freezing to death.” Avery opened one of the bottles of wine and poured some in each glass.
“’Tis a feast for a king.” Gavin helped himself to the salmon and rice.
“No veggies?” Amy asked.
Gavin wrinkled his nose, but took a spoonful.
“I get the impression you don’t like them. Avery makes them a special way. I think you’ll change your mind once you taste them.”
“I’m curious about how you got here.” Avery cut a small piece of salmon and transferred it to her plate.
“Through the cave,” Conall said, not offering anything else.
“How did you find it?” Avery asked.
“We happened upon it quite by accident and since it was getting late and we needed a place to camp, we ventured inside.” Conall took a roll from the basket Avery offered him.
“We were able to ride our horses through the opening. ’Tis a verra big cave,” Gavin added.
“We wished to see how far in the cave went. The height of the ceiling allowed us to continue riding until we found another opening that led us to the hillside where we found ye.” More salmon was piled onto his plate, along with rice and vegetables.
“Were you staying in there?” Avery asked.
Conall lifted his fork, but held it mid-way while he answered Avery’s question. “Aye. We were in no hurry to go back out into the cold and snowy weather.”
“Now you don’t have to,” Amy said, smiling brightly at Gavin.
“We must. We’ve a job to do,” Conall answered before Gavin could even open his mouth.
“Wouldn’t you rather stay here?” Amy directed her question to Gavin, who glanced at his brother before answering.
Gavin turned to Amy, seeming to ignore his brother’s stern scowl. “’Twould be nice.”
“We can no’. We will return to receive our pay. ’Twill be enough to buy back our land and home.” Conall’s tone was insistent.
“You lost your home?” Avery sounded as if she couldn’t believe it and to Amy’s mind, she had that look on her face she got every time she saw a lost dog or cat.
“It was taken from us by the English. They promised us that if we located these men, we would be able to get it back.”
“You must have quite an attachment to it,” Avery said.
“’Tis our home.” Conall’s answer was short and to the point.
“What happened at the pub this afternoon?” Amy blurted out the question both of them had been wanting an answer to.
“’Twas nothing. A family squabble.” Conall was very good at the answer that wasn’t an answer.
“But they’re your cousins and you haven’t seen them in a while.” Amy turned to Gavin, hoping he’d have an answer for her.
“’Tis no’ yer worry. ’Twill be settled before we leave.” Again, Conall spoke before Gavin had a chance.
“How long do you think you’ll be here? Will you be here for the wedding?” Amy’s rapid-fire questions barely gave time for an answer. “You should stay for the wedding and for Christmas.” As much as Amy had been enjoying all the wedding activities over the past year, she was getting tired of always attending with Avery as her date. She had to find a way to get them to stay at least through Christmas and if she had her way, longer.
“When is the wedding to be?” Gavin asked, before Conall could speak.
“Soon. Next weekend.” Avery dabbed her lips with her napkin before setting it on her plate.
“We intend to be gone by then.” Conall raised a forkful of salmon to his mouth.
“Surely we could stay a wee bit longer, brother.”
Conall looked up from his food with an expression that Amy imagined only an older brother could pull off. “We’ll be leaving.”
The rest of the meal was eaten and the conversation turned to a lighter note of discussing the weather and the town. Avery had adeptly changed the subject and Amy couldn’t blame her. There was no use trying to get Conall to change his mind. It seemed to be set in stone, which had Amy feeling sad for Avery. Conall was perfect for her. It was a shame he was so stubborn.
“Why don’t you all go for an after-dinner walk while I clean up?” Avery began stacking dishes at the end of the table.
“I’ll help ye.” Conall took the plates from her and headed to the kitchen.
“I guess it’s just you two then.” Avery’s eyes twinkled or something. Maybe Amy was just reading into things as she usually did.
“We’ll see you in a few.” Amy guided Gavin out of the dining room.
“Take your time. We’ll have dessert when you get back,” Avery called after them.
“Mmm…sounds good.”
Gavin grabbed his jacket from the coat rack in the lobby and Amy did the same. “Shall we?”
She laced her arm through his. A feeling of contentment overcame her. There was no denying how right this felt as his hand covered hers. From the way he was looking at her, Amy couldn’t help but think he was feeling the same way.
“You didn’t have to stay. I could have handled this on my own.” Avery stacked the dishes in the sink.
“I want to help. Ye cooked us a delicious meal. ’Tis the least I can do.” Conall stood close by her side. One of them was emitting a lot of heat and at this point Avery wasn’t sure if it was one or both of them.
“Thanks. My husband used to do the dishes every night when he was alive.”
“How long have ye been on yer own?” Conall asked, handing her two wine glasses.
“Sometimes it feels like forever and other times it seems like it was only yesterday.” She brushed a lock of hair from her face with the back of her hand. “What about you? Are you married?”
“Nay.”
“Do you have someone special to go home to?” It was like pulling teeth getting information out of him. She wondered why.
“Nay.”
“You’re not much of a talker, are you?” This was obvious, but Avery thought that maybe bringing it to his attention would help.
“Nay.”
They both laughed at this.
Avery rinsed the dishes and Conall placed them in the dishwasher. They worked side-by-side until everything had been cleared from the counters. Avery bent down to put the soap in the dishwasher and when she came back up, she found Conall was standing so close she almost bumped into him. Unfortunately, he was examining the dishwasher and not her. She closed it up and set it to wash.
“I’m going to put on a pot of coffee.” She reached up into
the cabinet to get cups, sugar and the coffee before opening the refrigerator to get the cream. She peeked at Conall and this time it was her he was watching. “It’s so nice to have you here at the inn. I hope you enjoy your stay.” Did she really just say that? She was definitely out of practice with the banter.
“Ye should be proud. ’Tis a beautiful place. Gavin and I are grateful to ye for allowing us to stay.” His words seemed sincere.
“I was surprised at Ross. It’s not like him to behave the way he did earlier at the pub.” She meant it. In all the time she’d known him, Ross had never uttered an unkind word to anyone.
He shrugged his shoulders. “’Tis his home. He had the right to tell us to leave if he does no’ believe we are welcome.”
“But why? I just don’t get it.” Avery was completely puzzled by all of it.
“’Tis just a wee bit of trouble between us and our cousins. ’Tis all.”
“And you obviously don’t want to talk about it.” Frustration was creeping into her voice and she did her best to hide it. “How weird is it that you ended up here and so did they? That’s quite the coincidence.”
Conall didn’t say anything.
“You must love your home very much. I can’t imagine most people would give up the chance to stay in this time.” She sure wouldn’t.
“’Tis all we have left. Or ’twill be once we get it back.” He accepted the dish towel Avery offered and dried his hands before folding it and placing it on the counter.
“You know, Bear felt the same way when he first got here. He wanted to go back to his own time, but he fell in love with Kirsten and the rest is history.”
“’Tis a shame,” he muttered under his breath.
Although she was sure he hadn’t thought she could hear him, she did. “Why would you say that?”
He seemed surprised by her question. “’Tis no’ what I meant to say. Ye ken yer words are at times a mystery to me.”
Avery gave that some thought. She didn’t know what she’d said that he didn’t understand, but she knew it was completely possible. It had taken some time for the other Highlanders of Delight to get the hang of the language.
She gathered the coffee and dessert on a tray. “Let’s bring this into the sitting room.” She went to reach for it at the exact same time as Conall. Their hands touched, startling Avery, who then proceeded to bump her head with his. “I’m sorry. I’m such a klutz.”
“There, ye see. ’Tis one of those words I doona ken.” He smiled, softening the features of his face with a warmth that seemed out of place and yet fitting. “Allow me.” He picked up the tray and Avery led the way to the sitting room.
“You can put it down here on the coffee table.”
“Ye have a special table just for coffee?”
Avery couldn’t help but laugh. It was a perfectly understandable question. “Originally, they were designed so people had a place for their hot tea, a tea table. When coffee became popular, it became a coffee table. So, you’re right, but we also use them for other items, too.”
He seemed to be thinking about what she was telling him.
“Does that make sense?”
“We’re back.” Amy’s voice floated in from the lobby.
“We’re in here.”
Amy and Gavin appeared in the doorway of the sitting room.
“How was your walk?” Avery asked.
“Cold, but nice.” Amy unwrapped the scarf around her neck and took off her gloves.
“Hang up your coats and come have some hot coffee.”
“How about a fire?” Amy asked.
“I can do that,” Conall offered.
“No need.” Avery used her remote control to start the gas fireplace.
Both men jumped when the flames became visible. “What magic is this?” Gavin asked, getting down on his haunches in front of the fire.
“It’s a gas fireplace. No magic involved.” Avery shared a knowing look with Amy. They now had their very own Highlanders to school in the ways of this time.
“Can ye believe it, Conall?” Gavin’s eyes lit up as he spoke.
“There are many things here beyond our understanding,” Conall assured him.
“All meant to make our lives easier,” Amy said.
Gavin popped back up and sat beside Amy on the settee. Avery noticed that since their walk they were now in much closer contact. Gavin’s thigh rested against Amy’s and she placed her hand on his knee. She’d find out the details of the walk later, but for now she busied herself pouring the coffee and offering each of them her famous Tiramisu before sitting in a chair next to the settee and on the opposite side from Conall.
“This is nice,” Amy said, rubbing Gavin’s thigh. “But I’m going to have to be getting home. My dog will be wondering where I am.”
Avery could see her reluctance to disconnect herself from Gavin.
“Would you walk me to my car?” Amy asked.
“I didn’t even know you got it back,” Avery said.
“Yeah. Walt dropped it off just before I got here.”
“Nothing serious, I hope.”
Amy comically rolled her eyes. “He explained it to me, but I don’t really care as long as it runs.” She removed her hand from Gavin’s leg and stood. “Gavin…”
Gavin rose and they grabbed their jackets once again.
“Those two seem to have made a connection.” Avery peeped out the window and saw Amy leaning back against her car with her arms around Gavin’s waist as they kissed.
“Gavin’s a lover,” Conall said.
“What do you mean?” She had her friend to watch out for and if Gavin was taking advantage of her she wanted to know.
“He falls in love easily.” Conall joined her at the window.
“Does he have a wife or someone special back home?” She didn’t want Amy getting hurt if there was.
“There’s no time for that right now. There will no’ be until we have our home back.”
He was completely focused on that and since she couldn’t seem to get any other information out of him, she decided it was best to just leave it for now. “I’m going to head off to bed. Good night, Conall.”
“I’ll walk ye to yer room.”
“Alright.” She was going to tell him he didn’t have to, but she liked that he wanted to. At her door, she turned to him and was surprised when he took her hand.
“Good night, lass.” He lifted her hand to his lips, sending a tingle up her arm. Then he turned and was gone.
Chapter 7
Today was the day, Avery told herself. She was getting the Christmas decorations up both inside and outside of the inn, but first she was going to pay a visit to Rose’s Bakery. It was still early, but she hoped to be back with breakfast treats before Conall was up.
A brisk breeze ruffled her hair as she trudged through the snow that had fallen overnight. She added shoveling to her to-do list for the day.
The bakery, unlike the inn, was completely decorated right down to the adorable painted windows. Woodland creatures were gathered around a snowman they’d built, complete with pipe, scarf and top hat.
“Rose, your window is the cutest!” Avery hurried inside to the soothing coziness of the bakery. She removed her gloves and rubbed her hands together to take the chill off.
“Looks like you need warmer gloves,” Rose observed.
“I think you’re right. These are pretty, but not really functional.” She glanced down at the red leather gloves she held in her hands and made a mental note to visit the ski shop later that day.
“What can I get you?” Rose pulled out a box, which she set on the counter behind her. “I’ve got some warm gingerbread muffins you might like.”
“Mmm…that sounds wonderful. Give me two of those and two of your lemon scones. Let’s see, what else do I want?” She scanned the bakery case for something she thought Conall would like. “How about two ham and cheese croissants and two sausage, egg and cheese croissants. What do you hav
e that’s chocolate?”
“What don’t I have?” Rose laughed. “How about chocolate muffins?”
“Okay. That works.”
“It’ll take me a minute. I’ve got to go in back for the croissants.”
“No worries. I’m not in a hurry.”
“Avery! Good morning!” Walt entered the bakery from the stairway that led to their apartment above.
“Hi, Walt. How are you this morning?” Avery was fond of Walt. He was an all-around handyman. He not only fixed cars and trucks, but he was also pretty darn good with plumbing issues. He’d helped her out of a jam on more than one occasion.
“I’m feeling great this morning! How’s everything at the inn? I hear you’ve got some visitors staying with you.”
“I do.”
“I also heard there was some trouble between them and the Fletchers and that Ross decided they couldn’t stay at the ranch after that.”
“True. I don’t know anything about what the issue was, though. I guess no one wants to say.”
“Well, you be careful. It’s kind of you to take them in, but we don’t really know much about them.”
“I will. Don’t worry about me.” She was so happy to have friends who cared enough to worry about her, but she was tired of being alone and taking care of things all by herself. It wasn’t that she couldn’t do it, it was just that she wanted someone by her side for all the little things as well as the big ones.
“If you need me, you know where I am. I’ll come over at any time of the day or night.”
“Thanks, Walt. You’re a good man.”
“The best.” Rose appeared with her box of goodies all tied up and ready to go.
Walt kissed Rose on the forehead before heading out. “I’ll see you later, my love.”
“You’ve got a good one there.” Avery watched as Walt walked past the bakery window and got into his truck.
“You don’t have to tell me.” Rose seemed to be admiring her husband as he got in the truck and then drove out of sight. “He’s right, though. I don’t know what set those boys off, but it had to be something serious for Ross to kick them out.”
“I’m trying not to get involved. Amy and I had dinner with them last night and they were perfect gentlemen. Whatever it is, I’m sure it will come to light soon.” She took the box from Rose’s hands.