Page 125 of The Defiant Curse

She nodded and sipped the hot coffee.

“I just didn’t expect excitement regarding that clusterfuck,” she admitted.

Honestly, she was trying not to die from the scone.

Gabby lowered her voice.

“Oh, I’ve been itching for some mystery. Do you want to be Velma or Daphne?” she asked. “I’ll let you pick first, simply because it’s your castle. Oh, and by the way, they are Fred and Shaggy.”

Michael lifted a brow.

“Do I need to explain why that isn’t going to work?” he asked. “Because…”

Graham laughed.

“I’ll be Shaggy, but I’m getting a dog for the castle then,” he stated, understanding the reference.

Truthfully, he hadn’t before, and he’d had to look it up after Ian had mentioned it, and he’d watched the cartoon and found it amusing.

That had Elizabeth’s attention.

“Wait. I can get a dog for the castle?” she asked. “Is that allowed?”

Again, they were sad she had to ask permission. It was, after all, her castle. Well, half hers by proxy of her husbands. They technically owned her half.

“Uh, yeah,” Michael said. “You can get twenty. Graham has to take care of them, though, so love him a little.”

The man snorted.

“I mean, get me a herding dog. We can get sheep next,” he joked. “I may need a house lamb. You know, one that sleeps by the fire and in our bed.”

Michael stared at him in horror.

“If you weren’t as good as you are in bed, this would be an absolute NO. Since I happen to like your ass, I should probably reward you for that.”

Elizabeth snorted.

“Whore,” she said, making both men and Gabby laugh.

Why?

Both men were.

Michael kept his voice down as he changed the subject, so they didn’t become proud sheep herders.

Then, he told Gabby all about Elizabeth, the sleepwalking, and what went down with the lake and the picture. The whole time, her eyes were huge.

She considered it, and as their food was brought out, Elizabeth cracked into the Haggis like she’d not eaten for a month.

And Graham appreciated it.

Sometimes, people yucked it, but Haggis was good here.

As she ate it, she chewed.

“What do you think, Mom?” Graham asked, curiously.

Elizabeth didn’t hold back.