Highlander's Beloved 02 - A Highlander's Passion (9 page)

After showering and putting on clean clothes, Bryce was still floating on his sexual high when he stepped into the huge, spotless kitchen at Matheson Lodge. Colleen stood on a wooden chair at the sink, her little arms elbow deep in a pan of sudsy water. He bent to kiss her upturned face as bubbles floated about her head. “How’s Da’s sweetest girl today?”

“Dinna ask! I’m as peeved as two bees in a jar, working as hard as I am.” She tilted her head to a pan of clear water full of doll clothes. “I’ve been doing me laundry. Twelve dollies make a lot of dirty clothes.”

“Maybe it’s time ye threw a couple away, especially the old ones who’ve lost an arm or leg.” He stepped back in case she decided to kick him fer his remark. The child had more dolls than any four girls.

“I’ll pretend ye dinna say that. Especially when I have a bone to pick with ye.” Her auburn eyebrows lowered, and she grunted as she pulled his pink, bejeweled T-shirt out of the soapy scrub water. “I found yer bestest shirt under yer bed. Is that any place to keep a masterpiece such as this?” She speared him with a scowl that frightened his bear.

Kiss her. Make her happy again. Dinna let her start that infernal screeching ye humans call crying.

ʼ
Twas time to feign innocence. “Och, me darlin’, how did it end up there?”

Her little arms worked furiously, the level of soap suds rising in her scrub bowl. “Dinna ask me. I’m not the one who wore it last.” She cast an accusatory glare his way. “Good thing I helped Cook clean the private quarters this afternoon. I found a golden Barbie high heel under me bed and this under yers. And just what do ye have to say fer yerself?”

Bryce glanced at Cook Edweena for help. All she offered as she looked up from the large pot she was stirring was a narrow-eyed stare. It seemed the entire house went into a tizzy anytime Colleen got upset.

“Och, and wait till Uncle Ronan sits at his place at the dinner table and sees the magazine I found under his bed. I’m putting it directly on his plate.” Colleen waved her soapy hands around in obvious disgust before planting them on her tiny hips. “Wait until you look at that awful magazine. What kinda woman would have her picture taken with her bare bottom stuck in the air as if she wanted the wind to blow up her arse just to see if it would whistle?” She puckered her lips and made a whistling noise.

Bryce swiveled toward Cook Edweena, her back facing him now, her shoulders shaking in obvious laughter. He joined her at the stove. “Me daughter isna the hired help for upstairs work. She can help down here.”

The woman’s face was bright red. “I’m sorry,” Cook whispered. “I didna ken she would find so much stuff. She’s like a human dust rag, that one. Nothing misses her scrutiny.”

He rubbed a consoling hand over Edweena’s shoulder. “She is a handful. Perhaps we’ve got her a wee bit spoiled. From now on, find her little jobs down here to keep her busy until school starts.” He winked at the old woman. “I canna wait until Ronan gets his arse chewed fer having that magazine. Colleen will embarrass the hell out of him.”

Cook snorted. “I’ve got the whole staff on notice.” She glanced over her shoulder at the child. “Bright as a button, she is. Ye know everyone at Matheson Lodge loves her more than the next Highland sunrise.”

“Aye. As do I.” He pivoted and stood behind his daughter, wrapping both arms around her wee shoulders. “Me sweet one,
ʼ
tis sorry I am fer tossing yer beautiful handiwork on the edge of the bed when I undressed last night. I was too tired to put it in its proper place. I guess as I tossed and turned in me sleep, it fell on the floor.” He buzzed a kiss on her neck, blowing raspberries that brought about giggles. “Can ye forgive yer careless da?”

She kept on scrubbing the T-shirt as if he’d worn it through a mud storm. “I wanted ye to wear this to the cinema tomorrow. Did ye ask Kenzie to go with us?” A splash of soap suds landed on her forehead and Bryce quickly wiped it off before it ran into her eyes.

“Aye, I did. She’d love to go if she doesna have to work for Effie. Ye ken I told ye she was to be her personal assistant.”

“Then perhaps ye should step outside so ye can call yer sweetheart. Cell phone perception is better out there.”

“Reception, me sweet one.
ʼ
Tis phone ‘reception.’ And what is this about ‘me sweetheart’?”

“Och, that.” Her head bobbed like it did when she was about to explain one of life’s mysteries only she seemed to understand. “I’m yer sweet one. She can be yer sweetheart or yer luv. That way ye won’t get us mixed up when ye sweet-talk us both at the same time.”

Bloody hell, his wee sweet bairn was growing up too fast. Jealousy. He hadna given a thought that his little girl might be envious of his new relationship with Kenzie. And this would be a deeper connection between Kenzie and him—a permanent one, a committed one. His daughter’s feelings must be taken into consideration. He’d not have her hurt.

“Ye do ken ye will always be first in me heart? Always.”

“Aye. But I’m a watcher. I watch how Grandma loves ye, Uncle Creigh, and Uncle Ronan the same amount. A wee bit different, but the same, if ye catch me meaning. I think ye can do the same with me and Kenzie too.”

His darling girl was a smart one, she was. Smart and intuitive. “Ye mentioned having Kenzie for a mum. Were ye serious or just talking wishes?”

The child jumped into his arms, her wet hands sending a chill down his neck and soap suds settling in his still damp hair. She blew them away, then said, “Och, Da, I was really, really serious. And I ken just how ye should propose.” She took a deep breath before giving her excited directions. “I’ve been giving it careful thought all day while I worked. Listen to me now while I give ye a few tips I learned from
Beauty and the Beast
and a few other fairy tales.”

A cold chill slithered up his back. It was never good when Colleen got to planning things. “Well now, Kenzie might refuse me. Ye never ken.”

“Not if ye do it right. Do ye have a ring?” Colleen’s head tilted. “A ring is verra important. And satin breeches. Do ye have satin breeches to wear? Golden ones would be best. Och, and matching gold satin shoes with heels and buckles.”

What the fukin’ hell? “Not fer any woman am I wearing gold satin breeches and shoes with heels and buckles.”

Colleen crossed her arms and arched her eyebrows in her typical bet-me glare.

Cook covered her wrinkled face with her apron and laughed out loud.

Kenzie’s cell phone rang as she soaked in a hot bubble bath. She reached over the side to grab it and saw Bryce’s name on the caller ID. “Hello.”

“I’m a fukin’ excuse of a da. I lied to me daughter.”

The concern in his voice was so serious, she couldna help but laugh.

“
ʼ
Tis not so damn funny! I came home to find her scrubbing me ‘special’ pink T-shirt, pissed because she found it hidden under me bed. I had to pretend I hadna a clue how it got there.”

She squeezed the loofah sponge, allowing the water to dribble over her upraised leg. As Bryce retold the entire story, including the part about the adult magazine beneath Ronan’s bed and the woman’s bare arse, she laughed until tears of mirth moistened her cheeks. She moved around in the bathwater some more. “Ye’ve got quite the daughter there, Bry.”

“ ‘Bry.’ Ye’ve not called me that in ages. Och, and I’m under orders to call ye ‘sweetheart’ or ‘luv.’ ‘Me sweet one’ is Colleen’s special name.”

She straightened, ready to reach for the bath plug. “Do ye think our seeing each other will make her feel left out? I dinna want to make her jealous or feel less important. She’s so dear to me already.”

“No. She just has her own ideas about things. Believe me, she is not in the least bit jealous. Sweetheart, where are ye right now? I hear water. Please dinna tell me ye are taking a bath…naked…because I’m getting a hard-on just thinking about watching ye.”

“Isna that how one takes a bath? Naked?”

His moan was both sensual and painful.

“Da, can ye hang up yer special shirt now so it dries for tomorrow? Are ye talking to Kenzie?” There was movement she couldna discern. “Let me talk to her while ye hang yer shirt and me Barbie clothes on the clothesline.”

“So much fer putting on a macho front, hanging up Barbie clothes. Here’s Colleen, sweetheart.”

“Hi, Miz Kenzie. Do ye like the new name I gave ye? Though what will I call ye?”

“ ‘Kenzie’ is fine. Friends call each other by their first names, dinna they?”

“I was thinking of ‘Mumma.’ ”

Och, dear God. How do I handle this? I’d love to have her call me that, but ’twouldn’t be right.

“What a lovely thought. Something we can talk about later. Okay? Yer da tells me ye’ve been working hard. I hope ye have taken a rest so ye get better.” She pulled the plug, stood, and reached for a towel, trying hard to keep the cell from plopping into the water.

“Aye, I did work hard today.” She heaved a sigh over the cell. “And I lay down twice fer naps, but I only slept once. I read books the other time. Are ye going to the cinema with us tomorrow?”

“Aye, I am. What color are ye wearing, so we look alike?” She wasna so old she didna recall the girly dressing ritual when going somewhere. They quickly decided on jean shorts and purple T-shirts.

After dressing and drying her hair, Kenzie joined Effie in the breakfast area. Mary Kate placed the soup tureen on the round table, and based on the delicious aroma, she’d made cock-a-leekie.

“Come sit, Sparrow,” Effie said. “Only in this marvelous land can a simple chicken-and-leek soup have such an interesting name. ‘
Cock-a-leekie’
sounds half obscene, don’t you think?” Her eyes twinkled, and Mary Kate’s face bloomed with a deep blush while she struggled not to smile. “For dessert, our sweet Mary Kate’s made us
crannachan
with raspberries, oats, and whisky. I even talked her into serving it with ice cream.”

“Ma’am Effie has a sweet tooth, so she does.” Mary Kate filled their bowls, bobbed a curtsy, and scurried back to the kitchen.

Kenzie was too amused to speak. This old woman was like a human sunbeam.

“Tell me all about your day. I saw your car parked near the garage. Did Bryce fix whatever was wrong with it?”

“Aye. The motor runs much smoother. He also fixed the side mirror and had new tires put on it. None of which he’ll let me pay fer.” She cast an embarrassed glance at Effie. “He claimed it was a man’s job to make his intended’s life easier and wouldn’t tell me how much he’d spent on repairs.”

Effie sipped at her soup. “ ‘Intended?’ He used that word with you?” Her bright pink smile spread.

“Yes.” She felt the heat of a blush creep across her cheeks. “He said a lot of things to me today. I think we’re slowly working through some of our past issues, but there are so many.”

“Be patient, Sparrow. The wait and the work will be worth it. He is the nicest man. I can tell how much he cares for you.” The corners of her lips lifted. “I sense something else.” She winked as she took another spoonful of soup. “There’s a change in the color of your aura.”

Mary Kate carried in a basket of warm rolls, bobbed another curtsy, and swiveled to exit the room.

Effie sighed. “Mary Kate, darlin’, your knees are going to give out with all that bobbing every time you do something for me. Let’s not stand—or bob—on ceremony.”

The young cook blushed, and bobbed. “Yes, ma’am. Will ye ring the bell when yer ready for dessert?”

“Yes, darlin’, I will.” Effie leaned across the table. “Now that it’s just the two of us, tell me the rest. Your aura glows with happiness and…” She tilted her head. “And a sense of peace that wasn’t there this morning.”

Just how much explanation did she want to give? Kenzie put down her soup spoon, glanced out of the windows beside the table, and was startled by the lynx’s appearance. How the animal had acquired the reputation of being an often invisible, elusive animal was beyond her, fer he seemed to hang around her at every opportunity.

Question her about Morpheus and yer da. Ye have been lied to all yer life and it must stop. She knows it all.
A shimmer of tan and green waves, and the lynx vanished.

Never looking up, Effie dipped her spoon into the thick bisque. “We’ll discuss Paws’ remarks upstairs as part of your lesson. Tonight, I shall give you both your first and second Wiccan names. Being what we are, we sometimes choose and sometimes earn additional names to distinguish us in the realm.”

What lies had she been told about her da? She’d always heard he’d been killed in an accident on his job. Yet she never knew what kind of work he did. How could Effie know anything about him? Surely the lynx was mistaken.

Kenzie picked up her spoon again. “I told Bryce what I am.”

Effie’s spoon stopped midway to her mouth. “Did you now?”

“He claims he wants to date me again and fer me to spend time around Colleen. I felt he should know all about me.”

“A wise move.” Effie patted Kenzie’s hand. “I suspect the young man is crazy over you. How did he react?”

“Not at all like I expected. He said if I could handle his shifting, he could handle my powers.”

“Oh, I do love a man who’s into equality among the sexes. It took a while for my Morris to accept it. I mean, we all have distinctive talents, right?” She tilted her head. “Some of our skills are just more unique than others. Morris could make fabulous things out of wood. I accepted that. He was a little less accepting of
my
talents. And it took my changing him into a goat two times before he realized life, for him,
ʼ
twould be easier if he just went with the flow.” She gave Kenzie a sheepish look. “
ʼ
Course, I got in trouble with the current high priestess every time I did it.” She waved an open palm through the air in a fluttering movement. “It’s all part of one’s learning curve.”

Now would come the tough part. “I ken I will probably make ye angry when I tell ye what I did, but I told him about ye, too…in confidence, of course.” She cast sad eyes on Effie, hoping she hadn’t betrayed her.

Pink curls bobbed. “I think that was wise. With all that lies ahead of us, he needs to know.” Effie wiped her mouth with her napkin. “He may need to help us, so don’t you give it a second thought.”