Lena gave Weston an appreciative up and down look. “Are you ready to run?”
He wiggled his eyebrows at her, then pecked her on the lips. “I’m ready to win!”
“Yeah!” Aisling cheered.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Lena said. “Just finishing is an accomplishment.”
“Bah!” Weston said, waving her off. “I’ve been training for this day.”
Lena threw her head back and laughed. “For about forty-eight hours.”
Weston smirked, then leaned down, kissing Aisling on the top of her head. She offered him a bite of her cookie for good luck. “Mmm,” he murmured. “Very sprinkly.”
“It’ll make you run faster,” Aisling said.
Kenna’s eyes lit up. “Cookie?”
“Here, Kenna,” Aisling said, breaking her off a chunk. “You can have the unicorn’s eyeball. Uncle Alistair, do you want the tail?”
“Oh, I’m good, sweetheart,” he said. “I had my cookie before we got here.”
“You just don’t want to eat the unicorn butt,” Weston murmured with a cheeky smile. He glanced at me. “No Locke yet?”
I shook my head, lifting my camera to catch a few shots of Tam carrying a giant Scottish flag out to the starting line. “Last I heard, he was heading out after finishing a few things.”
Weston checked his watch. “He should be here any time then.”
“Convenient timing. He just didn’t want me to crush him in this race,” Alistair joked. He bounced Kenna who was happily nibbling on her chunk of cookie now. “Think Daddy’s going to win the race?”
“Yep,” she said.
“Well, there you have it,” Alistair said to the rest of us. “I’ll await your applause.”
Weston clapped him on the shoulder. “All right, let’s go before your ego gets too big and weighs you down.”
“Mine will never be as big as yours,” Alastair said, his grin wide as he laughed.
I was glad to see the guy smiling and joking. He probably needed a fun day like today more than anyone. His lawsuit was wrapping up, and the judgment would be announced shortly. Maybe crushing Weston in the kilted dash was exactly what would carry him through that upcoming stress.
I shook off the sudden wave of melancholy. I couldn’t help being a little sad that Locke was missing these moments with his friends…withme. I missed him today, and I was sure they did too. Hell, I’d missed him last night.
“Mind keeping an eye on this one?” Alistair asked, passing Kenna off to Lena.
“Let’s get a photo before you go,” I said. Weston threw his arm over Alistair’s shoulder, pulling him close.Click.That ache flared inside me again. Locke should have been standing between them.Click.
“Okay, go, go,” Lena said, ushering them away. “Tam’s about to wave the flag.”
Weston and Alistair hurried over to join the crowd at the starting line.
“I’m sure Locke’s just pulling up,” Lena assured me, concerned on her face. Did I look that upset? “He’s probably just trying to find parking.”
I sighed, forcing a bit of a smile. “Well, he’d better hurry. Because there’s a tent full of haggis with his name on it.”
“I forgot he was doing the haggis judging,” Lena said, bouncing Kenna on her hip as Tam waved that giant flag. The kilted dash runners exploded into movement.Click.
I focused on Weston and Alistair.Click. Click.“Are they trying to trip each other?”
“Boys,” Lena murmured fondly.
