Our Shared Horizon (Kaitlyn and the Highlander Book 10) Read online

  She humphed dramatically. “That makes me furious.”

  “Well, you married him. I warned you that you would have to put up with all kinds of issues with him, superstitious down to his core, seeing things in black and white, I warned you.”

  “It was very selfless, he did seem very overwhelmed by it all. He carried me all the way from the castle to the woods.”

  “All that way? Wow. So he could say goodbye? Because he thought you were going to die? This is so tragic.”

  “And selfless.”

  “Especially after that beard riding you did earlier.”

  She sighed dramatically. “I miss him so much.”

  I clapped my hands together. “Well, you have to get better and return to tell him you survived.”

  “And he’s never ever allowed to lie to me again.”

  “Probably though, in retrospect, don’t demand that he come with you. You might be giving him an impossible choice.”

  “He’s never going to come here?”

  “You were warned.”

  “Yeah, well that’s fine, truly. I’m prepared for it. I’m just angry with myself. I only lasted like five days and then I came running home.”

  “Medical care is a pretty strong draw to our century. I’m glad you came home. I don’t even know what I would do if something happened to you, something that could be cured easily by you being here. How would I live without you?”

  “I am pretty important.”

  “So important. Your mother says so too. She is with her boyfriend at his house in Tampa. What’s his name?”

  “Ted.” She rolled her eyes, which was the only thing she could ever do when she talked about him. “Did she sound drunk?”

  I chose my words carefully. “She sounded like they were having fun. She sounded appropriately worried about you.”

  “Marie’s running the company?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good, she’s more competent than mom anyway. I can’t believe she’s still with that guy, he’s so bad for her.”

  “When you do see her, are you going to tell her you got married?”

  “Probably, I’ve always planned to elope anyway.”

  “You still probably have to wait a few days before it’s safe for you to travel.”

  “Fine, I might as well be here for the birth then.”

  “The birth? That’s still a month away.”

  She said, “Girl, you look like you’re going to pop. This is a ridiculous thing you’re doing, whose idea was it anyways? I blame Magnus, he’s all, ‘can’t wait to get her pregnant.’”

  “Your husband cool with you not wanting to get pregnant?”

  “Yep.” She sat up and brushed cookie crumbs off our pillows.

  “Who would have thought your perfect man would be from the eighteenth century?” And then I added, “Good news is it was only love and not the plague you brought home with you.”

  Twenty-two - Kaitlyn

  We were all gathered in the living room while Hayley shared her story.

  Magnus said, “Och, I will need tae go.”

  He looked concerned and my heart sank, I was worried he would decide to go now. I couldn’t let that happen, so I tried to talk him out of thinking it. “Stuff happens back there all the time and you aren’t there. You just have to accept that they can take care of themselves.”

  Hayley said, “True.” But then she added, “The man sounded serious when he said, ‘the Campbells are going to be sorry for it.’”

  Magnus said, “Och, did Fraoch ken it? Did Fraoch tell Sean?”

  “Yeah, I’m sure of it. They’re on it.”

  “Good.”

  I agreed, “Good, you just can’t go back there, not right now, it’s too...”

  He said, “I ken, Kaitlyn, I winna go right now.”

  Hayley said, “Also, Mags, just to go back to the beginning, I killed a man, in self defense, me, a bad ass. So you don’t need to go, I have it all under control.”

  Magnus smiled, “Aye, twas terrible arsery,” when we laughed he grinned, “tis a thing! Arsery, I have invented it tae describe the actions of m’wife.”

  I wasn’t a vision of terrible arsery at the moment. I was in the comfiest chair because my belly was ten times bigger than it ought to be, so I demanded it. I had a blanket around my shoulders because even though it was August, I had to have the air conditioner on full blast, very, very cold. I was a whiny pregnant lady if it got too hot or too uncomfortable.

  Hayley was recuperating on the couch, wrapped in her own blanket, while we gathered to listen to her stories: her wedding and then the rain, how she had passed out gifts to everyone.

  Beaty asked, “What was the name of the girl he was wantin’ tae marry?”

  Hayley said, “He didn’t ever want to marry her, but it was Elen MacNichol. I don’t know if they ever spoke two words to each other.”

  Beaty said, “Och, Elen MacNichol is verra young, and she daena hae a sense about her. He is verra fortunate tae hae ye be his wife, Madame Hayley. Her family be risin’ from the left of the bed.”

  Hayley laughed. “What does that mean, Beaty?”

  “Ye ken it, ye canna rise from the left side of the bed or twill bring ye bad luck and if ye keep doin’ it when ye hae been warned against it...” She waved her hands, as if it was bothersome. “Her family will be always in a bad way because of it.”

  “Now I feel sorry for her!”

  “Daena, she has been wantin’ tae marry young Thome. He is a numpty without the sense tae build a bed with the right side. The two of them will make a great deal of bairn without the sense of — Och! Hae ye seen the photo of the pig I am wantin’ tae bring home?”

  We all laughed.

  Hayley said, “I’m glad Elen is going to get married to young Thome and I haven’t seen the photo — you’re getting a pig?” Hayley looked at me with her eyes wide. “Pig?”

  Beaty scrolled through her phone and then flounced across the room to show the image to Hayley.

  Hayley declared it, “So cute!”

  “Tis a pot-belly pig, twill be wee and I will walk it on a leash with sparkles on it.”

  Hayley grinned. “I can not wait for you to walk a pig on Amelia Island. That is awesome.”

  Emma asked, “So when will you be going back, Hayley?”

  “I have a doctor appointment in a week to make sure my lungs sound good, then I can do whatever.”

  Quentin said, “Okay, Hayley, I will go with you, check things out — it’s my turn to go.” He met our looks by saying, “Seriously, I’m the security guard and there hasn’t been a single thing that’s needed guarding in months and months—”

  I groaned. “Is it just that our lives have always been so dangerous, daily, that now we haven’t had a near death experience and you’re bored?”

  “Hell yeah, I’m bored. No offense, love.” He said to Beaty.

  She scrolled through something on her phone. “None taken, Quenny, I love ye too and tis verra borin’ sometimes. Ye are King Magnus’s colonel, ye needs tae hae somethin’ tae do tae keep from becomin’ a reiver.”

  “What is a reiver?” I asked.

  Beaty quit scrolling enough to say, “Cattle-thief.”

  He said, “I’m not going to get so bored I steal cows, it’s hard to imagine a dumber crime in Northeast Florida. But this is my point, Boss, I’m an inch away from stealing cows.”

  Magnus said, “Och, tis a verra hard life, brutal, bein’ a reiver.”

  I said, “You sound like you know!”

  “Aye, I hae been a cattle-thief. Tis expected when ye are a man of fightin’ age, tae obtain cattle from yer enemy’s lands.

  I said, “Wow, I’m learning so many new things about you. That’s kind of like being a cowboy in the Wild West. Say something like a cowboy, say, ‘get-a-long, lil dogie.’”

  Magnus chuckled, “What dost it mean?”

  I said, “It means ‘follow me, you cattle.’”

  “Och,
” Magnus swigged some beer, “back home we would say, ‘get ye here ye wee daft coo.’” We all laughed. Then he nodded at Quentin, “A’right, Black Mac, I shouldna leave Kaitlyn when the bairn is comin’, so ye can attend Madame Hayley tae Balloch. Ye will find out if somethin’ is happenin’ tae be of concern.”

  “Awesome.” Quentin rubbed his hands together.

  Emma said, “This brings me to a thought I’ve been having.” She jumped up and retrieved a stack of books off the side table. “We have people hopping time, getting sick, being pregnant, and that brush with scurvy—”

  Magnus shivered.

  “Exactly, so I was thinking about postpartum nutrition and sports nutrition and I have an experiment: I want to amp you up with vitamins and minerals and see if that helps with the post-jump recovery. I was reading about the side effects of mineral depletion and they sound like what it feels like to jump.”

  I asked, “Do you think it could be that easy? Like Gatorade will fix it?”

  “More than Gatorade. I want to check mineral and vitamin levels before a jump and after a jump and get the balance perfect. Too much can be a problem too. But if we got the controls, ideally, someone would take a dosage right before jumping and see if it’s protective. Until then though, I’m just going to give you a really good potion.”

  “If it helps even a little bit, I’m in,” Quentin said.

  “Good, I’ll gather the supplies.”

  Magnus said, “So I am tae drink a terrible drink afore I jump?”

  Emma said, “Every time.”

  He scowled. “Ugh, I daena like it but I will.” He added, “I think ye needs tae be takin’ weapons as well, Master Quentin.”

  “I’ll go to the warehouse, go through our gear, we can decide what I’ll take.”

  Beaty looked up from her phone. “How long will ye be gone, Quenny?”

  “I don’t know, maybe I’ll make it a week away?”

  She said, “Good, I will get the pig and ye winna hae the trouble of takin’ care of it.”

  He chuckled. “Thank god, I wouldn’t want the trouble of a baby pig in my house.”

  She put her phone down and looked at him with the saddest face. “Dost ye nae want the baby pig in the house, Quenny?”

  “Nah babe, it’s cool, it’s important to you, get the pig. Just let me make jokes about the pig.”

  “Okay Quenny, tha thu mo bheatha.”

  “Tha thu mo bheatha, Beaty.”

  Magnus smiled. “Ye are learnin’ Gaelic, Master Quentin? Ye will be a proper Scotsman soon enough.”

  “Aye,” said Quentin, “Tae keep Beaty from bein’ homesick.” Quentin and Beaty bumped fists and made an explosion gesture.

  It was very heartwarming, the two of them. The way they were so perfect for each other. They made this business of being from different centuries look easy. “You guys are so cute you’re going to make me cry.”

  Magnus raised his brow. “Ye are cryin’ for all the things whether they are cute or nae. I think the bairn has turned on yer fountain.”

  I pretended to dab at my eyes. “It’s all just so many feels!”

  Hayley had some work things to handle which she wasn’t happy about it, but it gave her something to do while she healed. She needed to heal because she still got tired quickly.

  I wouldn’t let her go to Fraoch until she was well and she was furious with me about it.

  I told her she had to meet some benchmarks:

  Could spend three hours at the office without needing to sit on the couch watching television.

  Could deal with trivial things without telling everyone to fuck off.

  She said, from her spot on the couch under the blanket, “I don’t know when you became the boss of me.”

  “Oh yeah, I’m the queen. Do not forget this. Queen of the future and what are you exactly?”

  “A peasant’s wife.”

  “I am also the sister of Lizbeth, she is basically the queen of your past. What would she tell you if she knew you got tired just going to work in an air conditioned car to an air conditioned building?”

  “She’d tell me I wouldn’t last ten minutes in the Scottish dreich.”

  “Spoken like a true Scottish wife.” I frowned in commiseration. “I get it that you want to see him, but also you’re still not well. I would worry about you so much if you jumped while still healing. Do you need me to pull the pregnancy card...?”

  “Hell no, that would be the tenth time today and I’m sick of hearing about it. You’re pregnant, we get it. You’re about to push a baby the size of a Tonka truck out of your wazoo. You’re a freaking goddess, whatever.” She flounced the blankets over her head. Then from inside the covers said, “I am very proud of you for the whole Tonka truck thing, I’m just carrying on with the act.”

  “Good, because I will admit that this whole pregnancy thing is making me very over-protective, but also, Hayley, what if you get back there and you relapse? What is—”

  “I know. You’re right. Can you get me a Coke?”

  “Of course.” I got up to pad to the refrigerator. Arranged across the kitchen island was a row of notepads, one for each member of the family. Zach’s read: Grocery store! Text if you remember something you need.

  Emma’s read: “Dear everyone, Ben and Archie and I are at the park, back at 11. If you need something, call.”

  Quentin’s said, in a list: “John is on the roof. Skies clear. Let him know if you’re coming or going. Beaty and I have gone for pig. I will be back before 1.”

  Magnus’s notepad had a check mark beside gym 8-11. Because though he could write, it took him a long time to do it. So I made him a list of all his places so he could check mark easily. Whenever he picked up the pen he had to say to the group, “Tis a marvel this pen!”

  I popped the top of a Coke bottle and called into the living room. “Besides, since you’re staying, you’ll get to meet the pig!”

  She groaned.

  We were all home when Quentin pulled up outside.

  “Ready?” I asked everyone. “Want to go meet the piggy?” I asked Archie.

  Magnus answered, “I verra much want tae meet this piggy, he is a bringer of much excitement.”

  We went to the driveway to meet them.

  Quentin opened his truck’s door for Beaty who was inside smiling a beaming smile with a little piggy on her lap. The pig was wearing a rhinestone collar. “Dost ye see him? Inna he cute?”

  We crowded around the piggy, petted him, and he made a little piggly-grunt and Archie said, “Pi-wee!” And Ben said, “Piwee piwee poo!” and I burst into happy tears. Because yeah, my thing now.

  And then we spent the next few hours lavishing the piggy with love and trying to come up with a name for him. I made a list that included, Mr McPog, and Tugboat and Diddly-do and Shark. Beaty thought they were all hilarious and I wondered if she would ever be able to choose.

  Twenty-three - Kaitlyn

  It took a while before we agreed that Hayley was ready. Her cough had lasted, but she didn’t feel sick, her mood worsened, until finally she was acting like we were holding her hostage. She had suffered under our restrictions long enough. She couldn’t remember having been sick and finally said we had no reason to keep her from going back in the first place.

  She and Quentin were going to jump to a week after she left. We considered all the dates, but Magnus had a point — from now on we should always give at least a week between arrival and departure. Or vice versa, to make sure we had time to loop if we needed to.

  Hayley said, “But what about Fraoch’s feelings? He’ll think I’m never coming home!”

  Magnus said, “Twill be a week. He will be grateful ye are there and winna hold it against ye.”

  “Last time when I returned he was planning to get married already!”

  I said, “Yes, and you didn’t have any time to adjust and loop around and fix it. Look, Magnus and I don’t know everything, we make a lot of mistakes when traveling. The truth i
s, if you haven’t got a buffer between leaving and returning, if something goes wrong, you don’t have any time to work with. The timeline can go crazy. Trust us.”

  Magnus said, “Aye, and ye should hae a long talk with him about how this will work. If ye are tae jump back and forth while he remains, he will need tae get used tae how ye will be gone.”

  “True, but I’m not leaving anymore.”

  I said, “Not even for antibiotics, Hayley? Not even for chocolate? A shower? I think you’ll come back. You’d be crazy not to, just give yourself a buffer, always. And whenever you arrive somewhere always find out the date.”

  “Do you do that?”

  “I always mean to. I regret it when I don’t, that’s what I’m saying, learn from my mistakes.”

  “Okay, I’ll return a week after I left.”

  Quentin said, “And I’ll come back at least a week after I leave, let’s see...” He called into the kitchen, “Zach, whatcha cooking for family dinner next Sunday?”

  “I don’t know, your favorite?”

  “That roast thing you make with the potatoes and the carrots with the sauce, just being all sauce-alicious?”

  Zach leaned over the island. “All right, it’s on the menu.”

  “Then that’s when I’m coming home, that’s the ‘wake up from time jumping’ meal for sure.”

  We walked Hayley and Quentin out to the sand and helped them load their gear. Quentin was armed to the teeth for the eighteenth century. “I feel really good, super energized, that vitamin potion Emma gave me, man — ready to go.”

  Hayley said, “Me too, so many vitamins my pee is neon yellow.”

  Quentin said, “Too much information.”

  “And yours wasn’t?”

  “Mine was, but neon with the look of health and vitality. I hope this works.”

  Beaty hugged Quentin goodbye with little Mookie in the sand beside her grunting happily. I hugged Hayley goodbye. “Send our love to Fraoch. There is a wedding present for you in your satchel, from me and Magnus. I stuffed it in while you were in the bathroom this morning.”