Page 89 of Only a Breath Away

Fraoch said, “James, it sounds like a wonderful adventure for ye, but Hayley and I hae planned tae go fishin’ on the morrow—”

Lochinvar said, “I will go with ye.”

Magnus said, “Dost ye ken what ye are volunteering for, Lochinvar?”

He said, “Nae, but ye canna send a man alone tae do it. Ye daena want tae test the fae. They will lie in wait and seduce him, ne’er tae be seen again. I will go along if needed.”

Fraoch sighed. “If Og Lochie is goin’, then I will do it as well.”

Beaty said, “Tis okay Quennie, ye can go with James, butafter, ye must promise tae relax.”

Quentin said, “Beaty, are you saying it’s okay, because you think if the timeline is safe, Magnus will go get the dog?”

Beaty said, “I hope he will go get the dog, but also I think we need tae be certain the timeline is safe. If someone comes upon us and we are forced tae jump, we need tae ken that we can trust where we are going. We hae tae ken. Tis verra important.”

James nodded. “I’m glad you agree, Beaty. We need this to happen and I’ll take Quennie with me. Everyone else can stay and enjoy a little down time. We’ll arm up and we’ll make sure that we keep it safe, day by day. And no fairy seduction, promise.”

Magnus said, “We will make a plan on the morrow.”

Emma said, “But for now we all need sleep. Zach and I will give up our room and we can—”

Magnus said, “Ye daena hae tae give up yer room for us. Kaitlyn and I will bunk in the bunkhouse. I think Kaitlyn wants tae be near the bairns since we are newly returned.”

She said, “And we can put Lochinvar on the…”

“Lochinvar dost ye want tae sleep on the daybed out on the porch?”

“Aye, looks verra comfortable.”

Fraoch said, “We need tae assign him a guard duty, he needs tae take the middle of the night shift so I can sleep. And has someone taught him tae use the toilets—?”

“He has been with us in the future-future, he’s up to speed on some of that.”

Lochinvar said, “I am verra hungry.”

Zach laughed and went to the kitchen, returning with a box of Oreos and placing them in front of Lochinvar. He said, “Before anyone else asks, there’s only a few Oreos left in the box and they’re Lochinvar’s. Everyone else goes to bed, don’t make me regret getting them out, no fighting.”

Magnus joked, “Fine, I winna remind ye how long it has been since I hae seen an Oreo cookie.” He winked at Archie, who giggled and then yawned.

CHAPTER 63 - KAITLYN

We all went to our rooms. It was a three bedroom house, and one bunkhouse with two bunk beds. Quentin and Beaty had a room, Zach and Emma had one, James and Sophie had one, and Hayley and Fraoch had taken the pull-out sofa in the living room.

Magnus led us into the bunkhouse, Zach carrying Ben, and as we walked through the night I glanced back to see in the dim light of the moon, the lights going off in the house, and Lochinvar as he dropped down onto the daybed on the porch, placing the box of cookies on his stomach.

I said, “He is going to put on fifty pounds in cookie fat if we don’t teach him moderation.”

Magnus chuckled, “It haena hurt me.”

“But you just spent how long in the past?”

“Months, there is a hungry pit in my stomach that is nae satisfied.”

Zach groaned. “Now I feel guilty that I didn’t give you the Oreos. I will make it up in the morning, I will cook you a breakfast feast of eggs and—”

“Bulgin’ waffles?”

“I forgot you called Belgian waffles that.” He laughed. “Yes, I might have to go to the store, but hell yeah, Bulging waffles it is.”

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