Son and Throne (Kaitlyn and the Highlander Book 11)

by Diana Knightley

  “Yes, so what I’m saying is I’m sorry and will you forgive me?”

  Emma nodded.

  “Can we hug it out?”

  “Yeah.” We hugged and then Zach threw his arms around us. And then Quentin and Beaty came and hugged us also and we all stood in the kitchen hugging. Then we all let go and I said, “I need a stiff drink. Wait, scratch that, I need two stiff drinks and more coming.”

  Emma sighed.

  Quentin said, “You know, Hayley, I’m not really comfortable with that. Have you been to a meeting in forever?”

  “No.”

  He shrugged. “Well, you know what I think.”

  “Yeah, I do.” I exhaled. “And you’re right. I really want a Coke. Lots of ice. Please.” And because they were forgiving, and kind, it was given to me inside a frosty glass.

  Sixty-four - Hayley

  Quentin walked me out onto the sand dunes right behind the house for my jump back to Fraoch. “I’ll be back in a week,” I said. “they’ll be here by then, for sure. I’m just going to check in with Fraoch for a few days.”

  “That’s why you’re going to come and go from here, on the property. So I can keep track of you, meet you when you arrive. This way if I see a storm on the south end I will know it’s Magnus or Katie— or someone nefarious.”

  “But probably not nefarious, Magnus killed everyone who wanted him dead.”

  “This week.” He asked, “You got your coffee, the other stuff?”

  “Yep. All right here.” I patted my duffel bag full of pounds of coffee, two jars of dirty chai, two jars of a spicy virgin Bloody Mary mix that Zach concocted for me to drink instead of whisky, a few chocolate bars, vitamin chewies, and a pound of sugar, a few other fun things that I totally deserved since I was worried about Katie. Comfort foods were a requirement.

  Also beside my feet were two boxed mattresses. One was for Lizbeth and Liam. One for me and Fraoch. I had a box of long burning fire-logs and boxes of matches. And lastly a gold watch I bought on Amazon for Fraoch.

  “Okay, I’m coming back at Thanksgiving, the more I think bout it, that’s what’s going on. They’re waiting for the holiday to come back, to surprise us.”

  “Yeah that makes sense, I guess.”

  “Okay, see you then!”

  I twisted the ends of the vessel, while Quentin backed away and I jumped home to Fraoch.

  James met me, as agreed upon, because Fraoch was still mending and I knew I would have luggage. James loaded it on a trailer behind one of the ATVs, while I tried to get up on my feet while feeling terrible. This many jumps in a matter of days was not fun.

  “Magnus and Katie there?”

  “Nope. How was the hunt?”

  “Alright, yeah, it was fine. Those Campbell men, I tell you, Hayley, they are something else... that was...” He tossed my bag onto the trailer. “I’m missing real food. Did you go to the Turtle?”

  “Nah, just hung out at the house, and turned around and came home.”

  “It got pretty freaky here once you guys left, and lonely. It dawned on me that anything could happen and I’d be all alone during it.”

  “You lasted like what a couple of weeks? Quentin was here for months by himself, I was here with no vessel to get home.”

  “Quentin found a girl too, maybe I just need to get laid.”

  I moaned. “That sounds like a terrible idea for you, getting laid might mean getting married.”

  “Not if you find a widow. At least that’s what Sean tells me.”

  “I’m not sure you’re supposed to be taking life advice from Sean. I think Magnus specifically said, ‘Daena listen tae Sean.’”

  James laughed. “Yeah, now that you mention it, that’s probably not the best idea.” We drove from the woods toward the castle.

  James and I lugged the mattress up to Lizbeth’s rooms “What be this?”

  “The mattress I was telling you about.”

  “Tis nae the correct shape, Madame Hayley.”

  “True, but just wait.” We pulled the blankets off her bed and the lumpy, painfully thin mattress. Then we placed the box on her bed and used a dirk to cut the cardboard and the plastic wrap away and watched the mattress flip open. It slowly puffed up, bit by bit by bit. I applauded it was so cool.

  Lizbeth timidly reached out and pushed on the surface. “Tis a cloud!”

  “Lay on it.”

  “Master James must leave first.”

  James grinned at her modesty, but turned and left the room. I sprawled across the mattress and then Lizbeth joined me. “Och!”

  I said, “Exactly! This is going to fix your husband’s back right up.”

  “Twill, he will be verra comfortable, thank ye.” She asked, “What of Young Magnus and Kaitlyn, hae ye word from them?”

  “No, they’re still not back.”

  “Our mother winna stand for it. She will find him, return him, or at least ken of his whereabouts. We will ken before long.”

  “I’m glad you’re hopeful. I really really miss Katie and your mom didn’t sound like she wanted to be helpful.”

  She sat quietly for a moment. “She can sound like that some days, but I truly believe she wants Magnus tae be the king. She winna let go of that idea. I spoke tae her of it afore she left. She daena ken how tae return them, but she was sure tae try.”

  “Sounds like your conversation went much better than mine.”

  “Aye, I am her daughter. She confides in me and can show her weaknesses if she needs tae. She kens I winna harm her.”

  “You might be the only person in the world who she lets her guard down around.”

  “It could be. She trusts me. I intend tae keep it that way, unless...”

  “Unless what?”

  “Unless she hurts Young Magnus, I winna suffer it.”

  “I like your badass side.”

  “Thank ye, Madame Hayley, I like yours as well.”

  “Now we need to make your bed. First, sheets.” I had a package of high thread-count sheets in my bag and we made the bed. Then I gave her some chocolate and went to meet Fraoch.

  “Hey babe.”

  He grinned. “I am nae a babe, I am a grown man on m’own two feet.”

  “Och aye! And I am liking the sight very much. I have presents, a new mattress for our bed, and something for Mr Grown-ass man on his own two feet.” I unboxed a watch. “This is for you to tell time.” I slid it over his wrist. “The important thing is did ye bring more coffee?”

  “I did, so much coffee.”

  “Good, so when the watch wakes me up I will hae coffee tae drink while I read it.”

  “Perfect.”

  “And there wasna a sign of Magnus and Kaitlyn?”

  “No, I’m going to be here for a few more days. You’ll get better and better and then I’ll go back and check on them. Thanksgiving is a holiday there, a big feast. I figure they’ll come back in time for that.”

  “Tis a great deal of travelin’ ye’ll be doin’.”

  I shrugged. “True. But I can handle it. I just don’t think I can relax until I know they’re home, and honestly, they could come home anytime. Any day now. They’ll probably be there right now, there’s no reason for them not to be.”

  Sixty-five - Hayley

  Thanksgiving Day

  I woke up with Quentin looking down on me. It was raining, hard. James and I were drenched, sodden, lying in the wet sand of the dunes that sloped to the back of the house.

  “Are they back?”

  “Nope. But Zach’s got Thanksgiving dinner coming right up.”

  James said, “Perfect timing.”

  Quentin asked, “How long you been there now, James?”

  “A whole extra two weeks after your sorry ass left.”

  “Ooooh, terrible, you must be starving. Thanks for bringing the ATVs home, that was on my to-do list. Leaving them there risks the Campbells trying to take over the world. They probably wouldn’t be able to, but I don’t want to read about it o
n Wikipedia. Was it getting cold?”

  James said, “Starting to.”

  “You going back?” He put out a hand and hefted James to his feet.

  James said, “I don’t know, I think maybe I’ll wait for spring. Sean was telling me about getting the grain stores ready for the people and horses and I was thinking, you know? I got something I need to get done in Florida, probably. I used Hayley as an excuse and left.”

  I said, “You can use me as an excuse any old day, and don’t feel bad. If any of them could reverse the situation they would in a minute.”

  “Except Fraoch.”

  I got to my feet and brushed sand off my skirts. “Yeah he’s a special breed of stubborn.”

  I got in the house, took a long shower, put on some of my regular clothes, and came out to the chaos of Thanksgiving dinner being prepared. Zach was too frantic trying to make it perfect. Isla was crying. Archie and Ben were running like little mad men.

  Beaty passed Isla to Emma for a round of rocking and I slumped into a stool at the kitchen island as a glass of Coke was placed in front of me. “Feels like Groundhog Day. Living this over and over — where are they?”

  Zach said, “I don’t fucking know.” He spun around and set the timer, grabbed hot mitts and pulled a casserole dish of potatoes from the oven.

  I watched Beaty and Emma trade off Isla while the atmosphere was chaotic and loud and tragic. “Does that baby ever stop crying?”

  Quentin sat down. “Not really.”

  Zach said, “Massive case of colic. Or despair. But probably colic. She’ll be over it soon, she’s what, eight weeks old?”

  Quentin said, “Yeah, so young, but me on the other hand, I feel fifty.”

  I asked, “No Lady Mairead? No idea when they’ll be back?”

  “Nope we’re just trying to run things to keep it all rolling.”

  We all watched Zach cook and finally Isla calmed a little. Emma pantomimed, shhhhhhhhhh! While she swung her gently back and forth and then in like thirty seconds Isla was deep asleep.

  I said, “Seriously? Now she’s just asleep? Now that’s a drama queen.”

  Nobody said anything. I added, “Poor baby, where’s your mom?”

  Zach said, “When are you going back to Scotland?”

  “Probably, tomorrow. I need to see mom first.”

  “How about you, James?”

  “Nah, you know, now that Magnus isn’t there, or about to be there, it kind of seems like ‘who are all these people?’ He’s the common factor right?” He shrugged. “You feel like that Hayley?”

  I chugged some soda. “You know, kinda? Like he’s the reason for all of us to the there... I get what you mean. Even Fraoch is there because Magnus gathered him, yeah, I get it. And hey, you can always go back later. I’ll be there to protect you.”

  He scoffed. “Yeah, yeah.”

  Beaty’s pig snuffled around my barstool and looked up so cutely I had to lift him to my lap, though he was now getting too big to be a lap-sitter. Rubbing him under his chin he made sweet little grunting noises. “Who’s a good boy, are you a good boy?” I added, “I was thinking Katie’s birthday is next week, she might come back then? Don't answer, I’ll come back then to check.”

  Emma blew hair from her forehead. "She might get here tonight though, there’s still time.”

  Zach said, “I would set them a place, try and work some universe magic, but it might freak Archie out. He’s pretty freaked out. He sleeps in Beaty’s room with the pig and cries a lot.”

  I watched Archie playing. “She’ll do everything in her power to get back here soon.”

  Emma nodded, “I went and spoke to her parents yesterday.”

  “What did you say?”

  “I told them that Katie and Magnus were time travelers. That they were missing.”

  “They believed you?”

  “I had all our paperwork, some artifacts, and one of the vessels. I laid it all out and told them. They asked a lot of questions but seemed to believe me. They said it explained a lot.”

  “I mean, I suppose, but only if you’re crazy. Like aliens might explain pyramids, but that doesn’t make it true.”

  “Hayley are you arguing against time travel? You’re literally time traveling.”

  “No, I’m just surprised they believed it.”

  “I think it was a relief more than anything. They were worried about what ‘might be happening’ through the years. The money aspect seemed suspicious, but also there was no indication of it being illegal. They were glad to be in on the secret, but also seemed relieved that whatever the secret was it meant they could keep the money they made through the years. I planned to offer them some of the art collection to keep them busy and out of trouble, but they’re super into going on cruises now. They have four planned, they aren’t going to be a problem.”

  Quentin said, “I’m glad they were reasonable. It’s good to have them in on it, because there isn’t really a way to explain Magnus and Katie being gone this time.”

  “Yeah, and...” She swung Isla to the right and then back to the left. “It got pretty dark though, they asked if they would need to take custody of the children.”

  “Fuck.”

  “Yeah, I told them no, that Katie and Magnus would be back any day now, and that I would be responsible for the kids. They seemed convinced, but I hated having that conversation.”

  I said, “Well that’s because it was a stupid thing for them to say, ridiculous. No one needs to talk about custody because they’re coming home, any day now. So they didn’t come to Thanksgiving, they’ll be here by Christmas, they’re not going to not come home.” I huffed. “And I don’t want to talk about it anymore, they’re coming home.”

  Sixty-six - Hayley

  Fraoch met me in the woods. I had one bag and a cooler. The cooler contained turkey leftovers, mayo and bread for turkey sandwiches for me and Fraoch. More coffee. More mocktails in jars. More chai. If I was going to go back and forth wrecking my body with time jumps and stress, I was going to build up my drink supply.

  I shook my head in reply to his unasked question.

  Then I said, “It feels like it’s all my fault.”

  I returned to Florida week after week. I checked in at work. I ate meals with the gang. We watched tv. We barely talked, there was too much to say.

  Mom was off in the RV with her boyfriend, and when I talked to her on the phone she sounded drunk. Dad was at his apartment, his new wife keeping him busy. I felt so lonely. And when I looked at Katie’s babies I felt even more lonely. Like they deserved her. Their grief was what mattered. We needed to be strong for them. And we were supposed to be grown-ups.

  But my best friend was gone and I missed her so much and I didn’t have anyone to talk to about it.

  Except Fraoch. First chance I returned home.

  As I talked it over, curled up on his chest, the more I thought about it — Christmas. They would come back at Christmas and what a holiday that would be. I explained it all to Fraoch. “The holiday is a mega-holiday, so many presents. It’s really Kaitlyn’s favorite time of year, so yeah, she won’t miss it. Not at all. That’s what I’ll do, go to the day before Christmas, and that way I’ll be there when she arrives.”

  His voice rumbled above my head. “When would ye leave again? Ye are only just returned...”

  I raised my head and rested my chin on his chest. “I know, I’m sorry. I just can’t relax without knowing. When I close my eyes all I can see is Isla crying for her mom and it’s tearing me apart. Archie screams and cries whenever anyone leaves, clings to them like they’re abandoning him. If Emma goes to the store he screams and cries the whole time. She can’t go. It’s too tragic.”

  “Och.”

  “I know. The only person he doesn’t care when they go is me, because I try not to talk to him at all. It’s just too hard. I can’t talk to him without crying and you know what? I blame his mother, and that makes me a terrible awful guilty person, because she’
s dead. She died. Then Katie disappeared! This little sweet boy, who Katie loves desperately, is all alone. His fucking mother is to blame. I hate her so much, even though she is dead, and I should be able to put that hate away, but I can’t.”

  “Och, ye need tae pray.”

  “Ugh. I knew you would say something like that. What I’m telling you, Fraoch, is that I’m sad because terrible things have happened to Katie. I don’t know why I have to go to church over it. It’s not going to help, I—”

  “Twill help ye calm down. Twill help ye gain control of yer mind, ye are feelin’ it too verra much, and ye are in need of askin’ forgiveness.”

  I flounced onto my back and stared up at the ceiling. “Forgiveness of whom? How is any of this my fault? I just wanted to help and... You know what? It’s fine, she’s going to be back at Christmas. I’m sure of it.”

  “I dinna mean tae upset ye. I am tryin’ tae help.”

  “I know. I get that. It’s just an impossible situation. Unprecedented. I’m just going to jump back and forth for a while. It’s going to be hard, and painful...”

  “How can I help ye?”

  “Warm coffee, when I get home, a warm bed, and you. You just be here. That’s all I need.”

  Sixty-seven - Hayley

  Christmas Eve I shopped on Centre Street, I spent hours doing it, going from store to store, buying so many presents for Isla and Archie and Ben. I called Emma every three minutes to ask if they needed this or that and frankly she was a little exasperated by me asking so often while she was trying to get her own shopping done. At one point she snapped, “Hayley, just buy Christmas crackers, if they’re a choking hazard we’ll hide them, but I can’t make any more decisions, I’m nauseated and standing in line for stocking stuffers, and—”

  “I can do that for you, I—.”

  “I’m already doing it, but just... I’m sorry. I’m irritated. I just... this is my first time with a break in days and my break is to go shopping, which sucks. Just, I won’t judge you, get whatever...”