Son and Throne (Kaitlyn and the Highlander Book 11)

by Diana Knightley

  Fraoch leaned back in his chair, quiet.

  “My apologies for speaking so out of m’own place, but I hae a mind that needs tae speak when I see a need.”

  “I ken.” He nodded and looked away.

  Lizbeth sighed. “I am greatly sorry tae hae spoken so forcefully. I am verra worried on Young Magnus and the bairn and m’own fault in the matter in not being able tae intervene with our mother, or take in the children. There is nothing I can offer them tae make their lives better. Forgive me Master Fraoch, Madame Hayley.”

  I said, “We do. I understand, I’m at a loss for what to do, too. I think that’s why I’m jumping back and forth, I feel torn, and guilty and so sad for those kids.” I glanced at Fraoch, his face clouded over.

  Seventy - Hayley

  That night he was quiet and thoughtful and slept fitfully. And at the butt crack of dawn he went for his turn at guard duty. Then he barely said a word while getting ready to take me to the clearing. It felt like we had done this a million times already. I didn’t need to pack anything, there was nothing I needed to take home from here.

  We had grown used to the deal. But usually he got his horse, Thor, from the stables.

  Today he didn’t, he decided to walk with me even if it meant walking back on his own feet like a chump.

  It was frigid. We were shivering. Our breath puffed in bursts of ice. We got to the clearing and I turned to him and spread his shirt across the chest of my hot sexy husband. “Don’t worry about what Lizbeth said, okay? I love you, and I totally understand why you don’t want to travel. I knew all the reasons when I married you and none of them have changed. I know it’s hard having me come and go, but it won’t be for much longer. Soon they’ll be home or they... yeah, soon we’ll know. Then I’ll stop and we can get back to ordinary—”

  “If I came with ye would there be a church?”

  “What...? I mean... yeah, there are churches. What do you mean, Fraoch?”

  “I mean, there has been a great deal of ye saying, ‘I ken ye, I understand ye, I love ye...’ Am I tae be that man? M’wife has tae understand me?”

  “I hope so. I mean, I hope I understand you. What do you mean?”

  “I mean, ye are doin’ this because ye think I am too weak tae do it.”

  “I don’t... that’s — not it at all.”

  “I am nae weak. I am nae. I just think tae travel this way is nae as God intended it.”

  “I get that and I understand—”

  “See? Ye are sayin’ it again, ye ‘understand’ me. I am nae tae be understood, I am tae be obeyed.”

  “Well that took a fucking turn. Are we fighting? I don’t think I have the bandwidth for fighting when I’m about to jump for the billionth time.”

  “We arna fightin’.”

  “Good.”

  “Because ye are goin’ tae stop understandin’ me.”

  I joked, “I am not sure you mean what you think you’re meaning.”

  “I understand m’meaning verra clear. I am goin’ with ye tae Florida, and I am nae afraid tae. I am nae, and daena say it anymore. Ye daena understand me, stop sayin’ ye do. I winna allow it.”

  “Okay, wait, you’re coming to Florida?”

  “I am, and ye arna tae make fun of me, or tae laugh at me. Tis nae humorous.”

  “You’re right, this isn’t funny at all. Do you really want to?”

  “Daena try tae get tae the understandin’ of it, Hayley. Tis because I am yer husband, am I nae yer husband?”

  “You are.”

  “My word is the rule. If I say I am goin’ tae Florida, ye should be m’wife and tell me ye are glad of it, and then we will go.”

  “I’m glad of it.”

  He looked off into space for a moment.

  “How dost we do it?”

  “I’ll twist the vessel and you’ll hold on.”

  “If there are things that I see... what will happen tae me?”

  “You might get nervous. You might be scared, but I won’t laugh, and no one will laugh, because we’ve all seen things that we didn’t know—”

  He scowled. “Dost I need tae protect ye? Will there be a danger when we arrive?”

  “No, when we arrive Quentin will meet us. He respects you and he’ll be glad to see you. Zach will make us food. We’ll be at Magnus’s house, our house. He let’s us all...”

  “He told me I was welcome but twas afore he kent I was his brother.”

  “Well, he’s not normally someone who holds a grudge, so — do you need to tell Sean you’re leaving?”

  “I told him this mornin’.”

  “So you’ve been planning this?”

  “I hae been. I am nae weak, Hayley. Ye canna think it of me, I am your lord and master.”

  “Yes, definitely. I mean, you’re my best friend too, and we established that you aren’t to go around bossing me like a lord and master, but yeah, you’re my husband and I love you. And I rarely understand you, because you are so strong and I’m...”

  A slow smile spread in his beard. “Tis a much better way tae say it.”

  “You have been here protecting the Campbells and now you’re coming with me to Magnus’s house to make sure his family is okay. And because you are worried about me, like a good strong husband.”

  He fully smiled. “Thank ye, m’bhean ghlan.”

  “You’re welcome. So are we going to do this, it’s cold as balls out here.”

  “How should I hold ontae ye?”

  “Put your arms around me.” I turned so my back was to his front. “Clasp your arms so you’ve got me tight.” He did. “It’s going to hurt.”

  “I daena mind pain, I am strong enough.”

  “I know, I love you Fraoch, thank you, hold on.” And I twisted the vessel’s ends and the storm grew around us, wind and fury and lightning and thunder. Fraoch tightened his hold, and I wrapped my arms around his head and felt the familiar grasp, and pull, and wrench, and the screaming that went on and on.

  Seventy-one - Hayley

  I forced myself to wake up. I opened my eyes and managed to raise my head. Fraoch was lying in a crumpled heap a foot away. Quentin was crouched beside me. He mouthed, “He came?”

  I nodded. I asked, “No Katie or Mags?”

  ”Nope, still, not this week.”

  “Any day though, right? I am thinking it’s going to be any day now.” I whispered, “Can you go tell everyone that Fraoch’s here and no laughing. It’s not funny. No making a big deal, okay?”

  “Yeah, yeah sure.”

  He jogged up the dunes to the house and I raised myself to sitting and pulled Fraoch’s head into my lap. He moaned.

  I whispered, “Just relax and let it wane, keep your eyes closed, just relax.” While I waited for him to wake up I picked sand spurs from his kilt, and thought about how crazy that was.

  His voice from my skirts. “Tis verra hot and humid.”

  “You, sir, made it to Florida.”

  He groaned. “I was tryin’ not tae go there again. Look at what ye hae done tae me. Ye hae been doin’ this all those times?”

  “Yes, my love, I can’t wait to show you everything.”

  He opened his eyes and winced. “Tis bright. And loud.”

  “Cicadas are humming, remember those?”

  “Aye, but tis louder and—” He tried to open his eyes again. “Verra bright.”

  “If you get up I’ll lead you to the house.”

  “Okay.”

  He struggled up to his feet with more moans and groans. When he opened his eyes they watered. He clamped them shut again.

  “You can keep your eyes closed. Did you see the house?”

  “Nae I canna see anythin’ but screamin’ white.”

  “Okay.” I held tight to his arm and led him into the house.

  I sat Fraoch down in the dining room saying, “This is a table and chair. Put your head down, I’ll turn off the lights.”

  Everyone stood around shocked. It was a strange sigh
t — Fraoch looked like a fucking time traveler. He looked darker than I remembered, dustier, musty almost, like there was coal dust on him, like an absence of light. I remembered Magnus looking like that, but didn’t remember ever looking like that myself — it couldn’t be explained by dirt. It was more like his aura. He was big, the same, but his clothes looked so handmade, everything about him seemed handmade, almost like he was crafted and now as I ran around the room telling everyone to shush and back off and turning down the lights and closing the shades, I realized how we all looked machine-made. From Beaty’s hair, now neon-green like her favorite musician, Billie Eilish, to Emma’s perfectly white teeth. Emma was indeed smiling and mouthing, “He came!”

  I beamed. I hadn’t needed him to come, hadn’t dreamed of it, was actually used to the idea he was never ever going to come. I didn’t hold it against him, but now he was here and it was the most loving romantic thing anyone had ever done for me.

  I was loved.

  So so so very much.

  I pulled a pair of sunglasses from a kitchen drawer and Zach poured a frosty mug of cold beer and a shot of whisky for Fraoch. I pulled up a chair beside him and whispered, “Turn your head.” I slid the sunglasses onto his nose.

  “Now open your eyes but look directly at me. See me?”

  “Aye, ye are nae so bright.”

  “Good. Don’t look at anything else yet, concentrate on me.”

  Zach slid the beer in front of him and dropped the shot of whisky into the glass, clearly pleased with the idea. “Keep your eyes closed, here’s a Boilermaker. Drink up.”

  He slammed down the whole thing faster than seemed possible. “Okay, my love, look around.”

  He opened his eyes and looked around. “Och.”

  “So here you see a wide open room, and everyone is here that you already know, right? And that loud banging is Archie and Ben, and there’s the baby.”

  Emma said, “You remember Isla. She’s getting to be a big girl.”

  I covered Fraoch’s ears and called into the living room, “Ben! Archie! Uncle Fraoch is here!”

  They bustled in yelling, “Haywee!” And climbed into my lap looking suspiciously at the big lump of a man beside me wearing sunglasses in the house, looking all dark and mysterious.

  Beaty raised her camera, aimed, and took a bunch of photos. Fraoch cringed. “Och, tis loud.”

  Beaty said, “The button? I had forgotten how loud it all was, but you’ll get used tae the sounds, Master Fraoch.” She thrust the camera in front of him and scrolled through the photos she had just taken.

  “Och.”

  “You look tired. But here...” She led Archie and Ben off my lap, and gestured for me to lean against Fraoch. “You will want tae remember this important occasion with a photo on Insta.”

  He put his arm around me and we both smiled. She said, “Perfect.”

  Zach said, “I’m going to make a huge dinner in Fraoch’s honor.”

  I asked Fraoch, “Do you want to go get in some comfortable clothes?”

  Quentin handed him a cold beer. “Take this with you. After a jump a cold beer in the shower really helps.”

  I led Fraoch down the hall to my room. When we got to the door, I said, “So now you’ve seen a house.”

  “I dinna hae my eyes open.”

  I laughed. “Okay, good, we’ll do a tour later, after a warm shower and...” I pushed open the door. “This is my — I mean, our room.” I hadn’t cleaned up. I rushed around, picking underwear and bras off the floor and tossing them into a hamper. In my bathroom makeup littered the counter, jewelry was in disarray, lotions with no tops, empty tubes, razors and tweezers. I swept it into my skirt and dumped half into a drawer, and the other half I dumped into a bin in the cabinet under the sink.

  I returned to the bedroom where he stood looking around at the room dumbfounded. “Okay, where do we begin?”

  He drank from his beer.

  “Do you need to use the bathroom? I’ll introduce you to the garderobe.” I waved him in. “This is the chamberpot — you relieve yourself here. Then...”

  He was still wearing the sunglasses, looking around at the brightly lit bathroom with the gigantic wall of mirrors, wincing. “Hold here.” I rushed into the bedroom for a scented candle and brought it to the bathroom, lit it, and turned out the light. The ambient light from the window was closer to twilight level. “Is that better?”

  “Och aye.”

  The candle light flickered calmingly. I said, “Were you able to understand what I said about using the toilet?”

  He nodded, but I could tell it was bullshit, so I reexplained without actually reexplaining. “So once you stand here and pee or sit here and shit, you’ll use some paper to wipe your bum. Then throw it away. This is to flush the water.” I pushed the handle down, flushing nothing. “Make sense?”

  “Aye,” he raised his kilt and started whizzing.

  “Awesome.” I opened a drawer, pulled out a new toothbrush and ripped open the packaging. “Here’s the toothpaste, you know this right?”

  “Aye, every day.”

  I turned on the shower and got it the right temperature, beginning a list in my head: take Fraoch to the dentist.

  He squirted toothpaste on his brush. Then, brushing his teeth with minty lather all over his mouth, he met me by the shower stall. “What is this then?”

  “It’s the shower. Take off your clothes, climb in.”

  I untied my boots and pulled them off with the socks. I dropped my skirt to the ground and then pulled my shift off over my arms and dropped it onto a gross pile that needed immediate washing.

  I was naked. “It’s hard to tell if you’re enjoying the sight with the sunglasses on.”

  He joked as his kilt dropped to the ground. “M’eyes are closed.”

  “Well open them, because I’m naked and that’s a thing you like.”

  I pulled his shirt off and drew him into the shower and under the water and hugged him. What do you think?”

  He looked down on me, his sunglasses covered in water droplets. “I think I am glad tae be here with ye.”

  Good.” I squirted some shampoo in my palm. “Lean forward, eyes closed.” I spread the shampoo through his hair and rubbed it around and around and then rinsed him with the shower wand, a river of mud slid down his body.

  “At the risk of sounding like a nagging wife, while you’re here, you’ll want there to not be a muddy river coming from your hair. You’ll want to take a shower every day.”

  “Each day?” He arched back so I could rinse the front.

  “Yes, and the hardest part, you’ll need to wash your hands all the time — after going to the bathroom, before you eat.” I poured some more shampoo into my palm and lathered him up again. “You’ll want to be more clean that you think you should be.”

  “Och.” He sort of scowled but his heart wasn’t in it because I was giving him one of those washing-shampoo-scalp-massages that it would be impossible not to love.

  “You won’t mind, because the trade off is the food is amazing, Fraoch. None of that hand-washing will bother you because the trade off is and endless supply of coffee. Whenever you want it. And wait until you see what else.” I poured gel in my palm and washed his shoulders and down his neck and across his chest and was rather enjoying the feel of his hard forms under my palms. His skin, his hair, his — “okay wait, I’m so hot for you right now.” I paid some extra attention to washing down his stomach and then — “Hello, Big Mac, you’re at full attention.”

  “Aye, ye smell like a flower garden.”

  I wrapped around him and his hands lifted me by my arse and my legs wrapped around his hips. He moaned and squeezed my arse. “I love yer curves.”

  “You do?”

  “I do.” He squeezed again. “Ye hae a weight and a roundness that I like.”

  My back pressed against the tile wall with warm sudsy rivers dripping down our bodies. “Instead of being worried about that, I will totally take
that as a compliment since you meant it as one.”

  “Aye, I do, ye are substantial and important, I mean it tae mean I love ye,” and he was inside me and on me so nicely so perfectly so purposefully. I clutched his skin, the rounded form of his muscles and girth, which I also loved about him, and held on tight and took him with steam floating around us — lavender scents. My lips kissing his cheek, wet drips and slide and breath and grunts and moans of happiness.

  And then I slid down his body, my feet deposited on the ground. I said, “Boy howdy, Highlander, welcome to Florida.”

  “I like it verra much better the second time.”

  Seventy-two - Hayley

  Beaty had brought clothes for Fraoch that I assumed belonged to Magnus, sweatpants and a shirt. Freshly laundered so he smelled like an angel. I helped him dress, a little over-controlling, because it was so fun getting him into comfortable clothes. “How’s Big Mac? He comfortable?”

  He pulled at his pants and joked, “Aye, he has a nice bed for restin’.”

  I did all that with my clothes off, something that I had rarely done since our honeymoon because the castle was at best drafty, at worst, fucking cold.

  Now I was naked naked.

  Fraoch sat on the bed and watched as I got dressed. I put on my baby pink lace bra and my teeniest thong to match. His eyes went wide.

  I stood in front of the closet and flipped through my shirts and picked one covered in blue flowers. It fit well, the length of it was short, it showed my stomach if I raised my arms. I buttoned it up. I pulled on a pair of chinos that I loved with it. They were high waisted and—

  “What are ye wearin’?”

  “My favorite outfit. It’s—”

  “Where is the rest of it?” He leaned forward for my hips, pulled me close, and put his mouth on my stomach.