The Wellspring (Kaitlyn and the Highlander #12) - Diana Knightley Page 0,110

up intae my eyes. “I am not entirely sure, but… I’ve been thinking about you and me and the kids and I think we should move to the eighteenth century.”

I searched her face. “How is this a thing ye would say? I canna believe it.”

She laughed, “What?”

“Tis unexpected, ye are a woman from the New World. Ye hae yer buttons tae push, beep beep, tae give ye things. Ye arna making sense.”

“I’ve been thinking about it.” She nestled against m’chest. “I think that’s where we should live, where we will be the happiest and the safest.”

“Tis nae modern, tis nae… convenient.”

“I know, but we can truly hide. We can be together. I’m not worried about convenience — we can bring what we need, or what we want. Think of it Magnus, horses in your stable, with diapers and toilet paper plus a few extra weapons — we can do it.”

“I will let ye be the one tae tell Archibald he canna hae his PlayStation.”

“Tell him he can ride a horse every day and he’ll be happy. As Barb would say, it doesn’t have to be forever.”

“Aye,” I kissed her forehead. “It only has tae be for a time.”

Zach called in, “Magnus, want a meal brought in, or can you come out to eat?”

“Och, for food I will emerge from the tent tae bask in friendly conversation.”

Sixty-three - Kaitlyn

We sat around the campfire and ate a big meal. Then Fraoch left to sleep in one of the four tents that were now up, because he had been on guard duty for days on end. Magnus went to lie down and rest, and after a few moments Isla joined him to nap, too. Archie and Ben ran off and Beaty and Emma watched over them while Hayley and Quentin and I worked on digging a hole deep enough for a dead body. The messenger had now gone through like eight centuries and it was time to put him into this earth.

We were hiding the work so the kids wouldn’t see.

James stood guard.

We had one shovel and traded it off, until the hole was deep enough and we put the strange man to rest, Hayley said a few words about how we were grateful that he brought us the message, and we buried him.

The tents were up, the fire roaring. As night came on we sat around the fire talking and laughing and enjoying ourselves. Kids perched in our laps, firelight sparkling in their big eyes. Then as they grew sleepy, fire warmth ruddied their cheeks and they fell asleep — Archie on Magnus’s lap, Ben on Zach’s, Isla on mine, Zoe on Emma. Hayley snuggled against Fraoch. Beaty leaned against Quentin. She said, “I miss Mookie.”

Quentin said, “Me too, sweet Beaty, me too.”

James said, “Where's my warm person to hug on?”

“I hae a warm space for ye here.” Fraoch raised an arm.

James said, “That’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me, Fraochie.”

Fraoch joked, “I am always sweet.”

Hayley kissed him.

Emma said, “This is really nice, I’ve never been camping before, it’s almost better than hotels.”

“Really, you’ve never been?” asked Hayley. “I love camping so much.”

Magnus said, “I am glad ye like camping, twill get verra cold this night, the snow is coming.”

Emma said, “Wait… what? I might have changed my mind.”

I laughed at Magnus. “Everyone is going to witness this thing you do!”

Magnus laughed, “What dost I do?”

“When you are out in the woods, you casually state big weather things, as if they aren’t a big deal. Like,” I lowered my voice. “‘Och, guess what? Tis going tae snow four inches tomorrow.’”

“Och, twill be much more than four inches.”

Everyone laughed.

A few hours later the cold descended on us and it was freezing, wind blowing, frigid. I called out to Zach in the tent next to us, “Zach, are you warm enough?”

“Yeah, we’re good.” He called out to Hayley, “Hayley, you and Fraoch good?”

“Yep, we might be too hot.”

I asked, “How about you, Quentin?”

“Well, James is snoring, so it’s a little hard to sleep, but he is quite warm.”

Beaty giggled and said, “We are good, thank ye for askin’, Queen Kaitlyn.”

I was crammed between Magnus’s warm side and Isla’s sweaty little body. Archie was beside her, with a leg sticking out of the bedding. I tried to adjust the covers to get his foot under the blankets but finally gave up and fell back to sleep.

A cheer went up from all the tents when Zach unzipped his door to go out to make