Page 24 of Dance in the Stones

By late afternoon, word had clearly spread beyond Duncan’s initial announcement, although he had a reach similar to an old-time town crier. Three different villagers found excuses to stop by - one claiming to be lost despite being local, another saying she’d heard about the castle renovations and wanted to see the progress, and a third bringing a basket of baked goods “to welcome Mr. Stone properly.”

All of them congratulated Damon with knowing smiles.

“Margaret from the pub sent these,” the third visitor, an elderly woman named Mrs. Donaghue, said as she handed over the basket. “She says you’re to bring your young man down for dinner sometime this week. On the house.”

“That’s generous,” Redford said, appearing at Damon’s side as he always seemed to when strangers arrived.

“She’s been worried about this one.” Mrs. Donaghue patted Damon’s arm. “Living alone up here for all this time, rarely coming down to socialize. We’re all pleased you’ve found someone.”

After Mrs. Donaghue left, Damon turned to find Malcolm and his assistants packing up their tools.

“Are you all heading out early?” Redford asked.

“Figured you two might want some privacy.” Malcolm winked. “Plus, we’ve been listening to well-wishers show up all afternoon, and we’re starting to feel like we’re in the way of something.”

“You’re not…”

“It’s fine, Mr. Stone. We’ve done most of what we had planned today.” Malcolm clapped Redford on the shoulder. “You’re newly together and should take time to enjoy it. We’ll be back tomorrow to finish the foundation work.”

After the contractors left, silence settled over the castle ruins. Damon leaned against the partially restored wall, watching the sun begin its descent toward the horizon. Through the bond, he felt Redford approaching before he heard the footsteps.

“Well,” Redford said, sliding an arm around Damon’s waist. “That was a day.”

“Everyone knows now.”

“Does that bother you?”

Damon considered the question. A week ago, he would have hated the intrusion into his carefully maintained solitude. But now, with Redford warm against his side and their bond humming contentedly beneath his ribs, he found he didn’t mind at all.

“No.” He leaned into his mate’s embrace. “It actually feels good. People are treating us like we’re a real couple.”

“We are real.” Redford pressed a kiss to his temple. “Very real, probably a lot more real than they could ever imagine, but there are some things they don’t need to know.”

It was nice, just taking in the scenery together. Damon realized that everything felt different now, even though in theory it hadn’t changed at all…except for Redford now sharing his life with him.

Home, his hound rumbled. This is home.

And for the first time in three years, instead of always thinking of himself as a tenant and someone who would be made to move on eventually, Damon leaned into his hound’s assessment and agreed. Duncarrick was his home now.

Chapter Ten

“You could have just told me you wanted me back at work at the start of the call.”

Redford shifted the phone to his other ear, rubbing the spot between his eyes as Wilson, one of his best team leaders from the task force, droned on about a new case. Another paranormal pharmaceutical company, this one suspected of using shifter DNA without consent. The details blurred together - he’d handled variations of the same sort of case a dozen times over the past ten years.

“I understand the urgency,” he said, watching through the cottage window as Damon hauled stones across the castle courtyard. “But I’m on leave.”

“Yes, but you’re the only one who knows the protocols for this specific type of…”

“Wilson.” Redford cut him off gently. “I wrote those protocols, step-by-step, specifically so someone else could handle cases like this one when I wasn’t available.”

There was a long pause, then Wilson seemed to get huffy, even though Redford wasn’t sure why. “Special Agent Stone, with all due respect, we both know you’re better suited to…”

“Have you tried the approach I outlined in section seven?”

“Well, no, not yet, but…”

“Then try that first.” Redford kept his tone firm but not unkind. “Email me if you run into genuine problems. Otherwise, you have everything you need.”