Page 121 of Only a Breath Away

Magnus groaned.

She asked, “He didn’t call you and tell you? That’s weird.”

I said, “He doesn’t have a phone.”

Her eyes blinked.

James said, “He looks hilarious too, wearing colorful sweats, what’s he doing going to a bar sunburnt to a crisp? He looks like a bouquet of flowers.”

Magnus said, “Does he have any money?”

Quentin said, “Nope, none.”

I glanced at Tracy and covered, “I doubt he had his wallet with him, doubt he had any ID. This is just great.”

Quentin said, “See Hayley, how we worry?”

“Yeah, I get it, this is not cool.”

“Where’s the bar?”

Tracy looked at her phone. “It’s here.” She held the phone out for Magnus, but Quentin took it and looked at the map.

“All right who wants to go on a rescue mission to a bar for Lochinvar?”

Magnus and Fraoch chuckled.

Fraoch said, “Och, m’head hurts from the last rescue mission tae a bar, but I ought tae go ahead and start drinkin’ again.”

Magnus, Fraoch, Hayley, and I got in the Jeep. “We barely fit, we literally need a bigger vehicle, you guys are huge.”

Tracy drove her car, with Quentin and James and Zach. Sophie stayed with Beaty and Emma, and the kids while we went on our errand.

It was only a five minute drive and then we pulled up to a little dive bar. The door was open. Music drifted out, which was enticing, but it cracked me up that he had walked to the pub based on the music alone.

We climbed from our cars and the large group of us stood in the door of the bar. It was so dark it took a moment for my eyes to adjust, but there was Lochinvar at the bar.

He slurred, “Och, ye hae come, m’family!”

The bartender said, “This the king?”

He said, “Och aye, the king and a brother and another brother and the…” He waved his hand. “Tis all of them, all of them brothers, told ye they would come for me.”

Magnus clapped his hand on Lochinvar’s shoulder. “We were wondering where ye were.”

“Ye returned from the thirteenth century a’ready? Ye got the dog?”

The bartender said, “He has been telling us stories for almost an hour, we were about to go through his phone to call him an Uber.”

Hayley said, “Well, good luck with that.”

James bought us a round. “And put Lochinvar’s tab on my bill.”

The bartender added, “He was drunk when he got here.”

Lochinvar pulled a flask from the pocket of his sweatpants and waved it around. “I hae this, tis almost empty though.” He unscrewed the lid and turned it upside down. He frowned comically.

The bartender said, “I told you, dude, you can’t drink that in here.” To us he said, “He’s been hiding it, but it’s in plain sight.”

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