Needed By The Highlander - Rebecca Preston Page 0,107

a good time for him to learn that there are Seelie Fae to balance out the Unseelie. Aye, that sounds like a good trip, Helen.”

“Meet us at the stables after lunch, then,” she said brightly. “And good luck getting the little man to sleep.”

“Until tomorrow,” he said softly, smiling at her.

She settled into bed, grinning to herself in the dark. He liked her — she liked him — and they were going on a ride tomorrow.

How could life back home in West Virginia ever compare to this?

Chapter 42

The next day was overcast — a sad change from the two days in a row of sunshine they’d been enjoying so thoroughly. Grateful that she’d spent a good part of them outside at least, Helen set about getting ready, choosing the least cumbersome outfit she now owned — a pair of riding pants and a tunic, a gift from the notoriously anti-dress Anna. It felt good to have full range of movement in her legs, she had to admit — but it was a little harder to hide the iron knife about her person. She headed up to breakfast, lingering for only a moment in the living area to ascertain that Niall had already left — presumably with Eamon in tow, the tantrum forgotten. That was a worry, she thought with a frown, the intensity of that tantrum. Was he getting worse? Were his moods getting more severe? Was there anything they could do about it? Probably not, she thought with a sigh. At least, not until they’d dealt with the Kelpies.

And dealing with the Kelpies would be easier once they’d talked to Maggie — she had every confidence in that being the case. With Kay’s veterinary expertise added to the mix, they’d be certain to come up with a plan for how to deal with the Kelpies. She was in good spirits as she ate breakfast and headed into the kitchen afterwards to meet with Blair. Sure enough, the woman had been true to her word. She had a little basket sitting ready to be picked up — inside, a covered platter of what looked like enough shortbread to feed a small army. Helen’s eyes widened.

“A feast!”

Blair chuckled, an unusual sound. “You clearly don’t know Maggie well,” she said gently with a twinkle in her eye. “She’ll eat three quarters of that quick as blinking. I thought enough to share might be a good idea.”

“Thanks, Blair,” Helen said firmly, resisting the urge to hug the woman. “I’m sure she’ll love it.”

“And thank you for your help around here,” Blair said, inclining her head in an oddly formal gesture. Was the woman suggesting that they no longer owed each other favors? Maybe there was more to the Fae rumor than she thought, Helen reflected as she headed out of the kitchen.

She stowed the shortbread safely in her room, then spent the mid-morning watching the fishermen on the docks. They were in good spirits — there was a lot more companionable laughter and banter than there had been just a few days ago, and she smiled, realizing that the discovery of the Kelpie’s corpse really had helped everybody to feel better about the threat that was facing them. From what she could pick up from idle chatter, there had been a big bonfire in the village the night of the Kelpie’s delivery. It had served two functions — both to get rid of the Kelpie’s body safely, and also to bring the people of the village together to celebrate the creature’s death. That Father Caleb knew what he was doing, she thought with a smile, reflecting on the way the man had adroitly maneuvered that little event into occurring.

By lunch time, she was itching to get to Maggie’s cottage. She, Eamon and Niall headed up to the dining hall together, the basket of shortbread tucked safely under her arm (and peered at with great curiosity by Eamon, who had the nose of a bloodhound when it came to treats.) He knew they were going on a trip that afternoon, and that he’d meet some new friends — he was clearly looking forward to it, distracted and wiggly throughout lunch. She knew how he felt — she was itching to make some concrete plans about how to get rid of the Kelpies once and for all. It felt like they were the last obstacle between her and Niall being able to really get to grips with what their relationship meant. They exchanged occasional glances,