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“No, neither of us. It has nothing to do with…” I trailed off, knowing he was smarter than this. “Don’t be deliberately obtuse. Just back off, all right?”
“No,” Graham said, shooting me a cheeky grin, and my mouth dropped open. I was so used to people listening to me that it took me a moment to respond. By then, he’d joined Sophie at the fence and fury raced through my blood. I strode forward, ready to give him a piece of my mind, and stopped short when Sophie turned and beamed at me.
That smile.
Since I’d met Sophie, most of the time her face had been furrowed in deep concentration, suspicion, or annoyance. The rare times I had seen her smile had all but taken my breath away. But this? This was the first time her smile was just for me.
It was as though someone had tossed a caber right into my gut, and I almost bowled over from the force of it, as I discovered a new desire. Now, instead of just poking at Sophie to get a rise out of her, I now wanted to make her smile. While she still made me nervous, knowing that she could up and leave us hanging at any point and thus putting the castle and our village in a precarious position, I reminded myself that she could also decide to stay here. I’d fallen into an overly cautious way of thinking about the situation, always assuming the worst, a habit I’d learned after my mum had died. If I could anticipate the worst possible outcome, then I could prepare for it. But now, seeing Sophie smile at me like I’d just given her a gift, I allowed myself to think optimistically.What if? What if Sophie stayed? What if she made an actual difference to our lives? Maybe, instead of being the harbinger of doom, she might be the angel of hope.
“Look at you,” Sophie exclaimed, and I glanced down at myself and realized she was excited about my kilt. Matthew turned and waggled his eyebrows at me.
“My, my. The man does clean up well,” Matthew purred.
“I have my moments,” I said with a smile. “How are you feeling today? You were out late last night.”
“You heard us?” Sophie asked, a guilty look flashing over her face.
“Honey, the whole village heard us,” Matthew said. “Don’t you remember us howling with laughter the whole way up the drive? Clyde?”
“Oh! Clyde! I’d forgotten he’d walked us home.” Sophie slapped a palm to her thigh. “He…he mooed at us.”
“Yes, well, that is what coos are known for,” I supplied, amused at her.
“Yes, but a ghost coo…like, first of all, can we just stop and appreciate how quickly I’ve grown to accept the fact that a ghost coo wanders about the castle? And that I can see him? Like…that fact alone is something that two weeks ago I would not have readily accepted. But, you know.Boo.Moo.” Sophie looked at me expectantly while Matthew started to laugh behind her.
“It’s still funny, Soph. Even if Grumpy McKiltsman doesn’t get it,” Matthew said, bumping his shoulder to hers.
“I’m not grumpy,” I protested, and the whole group laughed at my words. Was I grumpy? Maybe I was too serious at times, but everyone looked to me to solve problems. I had to be serious, didn’t I? “I’m practical. Assertive. That’s not grumpy.”
“Methinks you doth protest too much,” Matthew said out of the side of his mouth as he turned back to the field where two new wrestlers circled each other. “Now this is a sport I can get into.”
“I prefer a weapon,” Sophie mused, turning back to the field, leaving me feeling like the sun had gone behind a cloud. “Are there swords in any of these games?”
“Aye, broadswords is up next,” Graham said.
“Is it? Now that is what I’m into,” Sophie said.
“I’m not grumpy,” I said from behind them, unable to move past their words.
They all turned to look at me, and Graham got a calculating look on his face.
“Yes, you are.” Sophie shook her head and sighed.
“No, I’m not,” I said, parroting her head shake.
“As I’m on the receiving end of it, I can tell you that you’re grumpy,” Sophie insisted.
“Perhaps grumpy means something different in the States.” I narrowed my eyes at Sophie.
“Nope, pretty sure it’s a universal concept,” Sophie insisted.
“Oh, like your fanny?” I asked, hands on my hips.
“My fanny?” Sophie peered over her shoulder and raised a hand to brush her bum. “Is there something on my pants?”
“Fanny isn’t…” Matthew leaned in and whispered in her ear. Sophie’s cheeks pinkened, and her hand automatically came forward to cover the V between her legs.
“Is that what you call it?” Sophie asked.
