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“They were so welcome. I’ll be over about a quarter of eleven.”

“Super. See you soon.”

Then he went back to work on organizing his kitchen. He was thinking once he got his house in order—no packing boxes all over the place any longer—he would invite both Maisie and Anne over for dinner to reciprocate for the lovely dinner he’d had at their place. He needed to get some more groceries also.

With all the unpacking he was doing, it didn’t take longbefore he needed to leave. He donned his kilt, shirt, and boots, grabbing his sword and dirk for the sparring activities after lunch, and then drove out to the inn to pick up Maisie.

Anne opened the door and greeted him. “Oh, Maisie didn’t tell me you would be all dressed up in your kilt.” She looked impressed.

Maisie waved to him from the dining room where she was seated, having a cup of tea. “The MacQuarries are battling it out after lunch. You know, warriors will be warriors.”

“Aww. Then you’re watching them?” Anne asked Maisie.

“Yeah. I’ll pick up tips while I do, and we can use them in our own demonstrations,” Maisie said.

“Well, you’re looking mighty fine in your kilt, that’s for sure,” Anne said.

Maisie laughed. “I agree, but I was going to tell Robert that once we got into the car.”

“Thanks,” Robert said, glad he at least had the kilt and rest of the wardrobe for the affair. He had the sword his grandfather had passed down to him, though he hadn’t used it in a good long while. Actually about twenty years ago, sparring with his da.

He checked over Maisie’s ankle. “The swelling is really going down, and the bruising is starting to fade. Have you tried to step on it?”

“Yeah, it still hurts. Not really bad, but enough that I don’t want to put a lot of weight on it yet.”

“Maybe by tomorrow you will be able to.” He lifted her off the dining room chair and carried her to his car.

“Thank you. But at the castle, I’m strictly using your crutches.”

Anne walked outside with them. “Enjoy lunch and the rest, you two.”

“You know you could join us.” Robert didn’t want Anne to believe she wasn’t just as welcome as Maisie.

“I figured that, but I need to work on the rooms and monitor the reservations,” Anne said. “It really is better if one of us is here, though we would like to train someone else to fill in so both of us can be away if there’s something important for both of us to go to.”

“Check with Grant and Colleen. You might be able to find a wolf or two who could use some extra income and a job away from the castle,” Robert said.

“I’ll do that today while I’m up there,” Maisie said.

She and Robert said goodbye to her sister, and then he drove off to the castle.

“Okay, so you look super-hot in your kilt,” she said.

He laughed. “Thank you.”

“I wasn’t sure that you would be dressed for the occasion.”

“I might not be a master swordsman, but I’ve got the wardrobe to make it look like I am.”

She smiled. “You sure do, and you have the body to make it work.”

He reached over and squeezed her hand. “You say all the right words.”

Once they reached the castle, she used the crutches. When they walked inside the great hall, the Irish wolfhoundsall greeted them. Edeen and Lachlan welcomed Maisie and Robert to the high table, where she’d saved seats for them like she promised she would.

Maisie sat in the seat saved for her, and Grant and Colleen both came over to check on her. “How are you doing?” Colleen asked, looking concerned.

“I’m good. I’m going to sit and watch everyone sparring instead of training Conan today. Maybe in a couple of days I’ll be able to work with him.” Maisie loved how genuinely caring everyone in the wolf pack was.