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“Munroe, good to see you, lad.” Archie nodded to the gift bag I carried at my shoulder. “You didn’t have to bring me gifts though.”
“And what makes you think you deserve a gift?” I rocked back on my heels and pursed my lips at the old man.
“I take care of this place, don’t I? Damn near raised you as well, at least part of the year,” Archie muttered, his thick brows drawn low on his forehead as he glowered at me.
“He’s tetchy today. He wants to be out on the river, but Sophie is on him to put together a space for an herb garden for Lia.”
“It’s an odd time to be starting a garden is all,” Archie protested, squinting up at the sky. “It’s half-summer now.”
“Herbs hardly take all that much time to grow though,” I pointed out, as I reached in my pocket. “It’s not like she’s asking you to plant her tatties.”
“And don’t you be putting that thought in her head.” Archie glowered at me. “We’ve a lot of rain up here. Potatoes could rot.”
“Could do,” I nodded. “And then again, could be great.”
“Bloody hell. The lad makes some drink from berries and suddenly thinks he’s a farmer,” Archie muttered. I handed him a small packet that I had pulled from my pocket. “What’s this then?”
“Open it and see.”
“Marabou feathers,” Archie said when he unwrapped his gift, a smile springing to his face.
“Sustainably sourced from a friend who has them as domestics.”
“That’s a good lad,” Archie said, clapping me on my shoulder. “They’ll be a great addition to my fly-tying box.”
“Where’s my gift?” Lachlan demanded, holding out a hand. I slapped my palm into his.
“My friendship is all the gift you need.” I fluttered my eyelashes at him.
“More like a curse,” Lachlan muttered, and nodded at the bag at my shoulder. “What’s this about then?”
“It’s for Lia.”
“Is that the way of it?” Lachlan measured me.
“Aye, that’s the way of it.” I didn’t care that I was declaring my intentions toward Lia to someone else before I told Lia herself. Graham had already figured out my interest from the first night she’d arrived, and Lachlan was well besotted with Sophie, so he wouldn’t be fussed.
“Does the lass know that’s the way of it?” Archie demanded.
“Not yet, she doesn’t. So don’t go ruining things for me. I need to take my time here,” I said.
“Versus every other time you’ve gone after a woman?” Lachlan rolled his eyes. “You move as fast as a glacier.”
“Which means this one is likely more important. Seeing as he’s already bringing gifts,” Archie pointed out.
“Ohhhh, is it love then?” Lachlan said in a singsong tone.
“I’m happy to take my feathers back,” I said, mock reaching for my gift that Archie still held in his hand.
“Not a chance. On you go, lad. Lia’s in the kitchen fussing about with a recipe or two. We need to finish getting this garden sorted before we move on to more important business.” Archie exchanged a look with Lachlan that had my friend picking up his shovel again. There’d been a lot of meaningful looks tossed around in the past few days, and I couldn’t help but feel that I was missing something important. My instincts told me that I was, but, because I trusted Lachlan, I decided that I wasn’t going to push the point. If it had anything to do with the Kelpies, he could tell me in his own time.
A battle cry greeted me as I approached the doors to the kitchen, and I smiled down as a tiny ball of rage raced toward me.
“Greetings, Sir Buster,” I said, knowing better than to bend to pet the vibrating chihuahua who escorted me to the doors. “Lovely day, isn’t it?”
Buster growled. As I wasn’t fluent in Chihuahua, it could have been agreement or a complaint for all I could tell. Lady Lola sat on the grass in front of where the kitchen doors were thrown open to encourage the breeze, and she promptly rolled onto her back when she saw me.
“Giving it up so easily, eh? Shameless hussy.” I clucked my tongue as I bent to scratch her tummy, and she wriggled on the grass in joy. Buster’s growls reduced to a series of grunts, and only then did I reach out and give him a quick scratch behind the ear. Once I’d passed the guards, I poked my head through the door. “Knock knock.”
