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I glance down at the census book still open in front of me. “A dead end, that’s what.”

“Still looking into that history, aye?”

“Trying to,” I tell him. I watch Brodie bob his head as a thought strikes me, sitting up a little straighter. “You’ve been looking into all this too, right?”

“Aye, a bit,” he says. “Mostly just for fun. My da used to say we had Vikings in our ancestry.” He scoffs. “But he’s probably full of shite.”

“Yeah,” I say with a nervous laugh, trying not to think about magical shape-shifting horses. “Probably.”

He glances at the book again. “Anything in particular you’re looking for?”

“We’re good,” Lachlan says tightly, and when I look over at him, I notice his jaw is clenched.

I make a face at him, trying to convey with my eyes that I am prepared to slap the shit out of him if he doesn’t tone down the macho bullshit.

“I don’t think it would hurt to ask Brodie for a little help,” I stress. “It’sjustfor fun, after all.”

Lachlan gains the look of a scolded child, shifting in his seat. “I guess it couldn’t hurt.”

“Sit, Brodie.” I pat the seat next to me. “Sit here.”

Brodie still looks slightly unsure, but takes the offered seat nonetheless. “Sure. I’ve got time.”

“We were actually looking into when the MacKays first settled here,” I tell him. “They bought the land from Lachlan’s family, right?”

“Oh, aye,” Brodie confirms. “The auld farmhouse was actually built right along the border of where the Greer land starts.” His face lights up, clearly passionate about the topic. “The Greers already had their dead buried there, aye? That meant their servants and such too, so the MacKays that had worked for the Greers for centuries prior were all there. So, they took what they could as close as they could to the burial grounds to be closer to their family.”

“I…didn’t know that,” Lachlan says with genuine surprise. “Is that true?”

Brodie nods, regarding Lachlan warily. “It is. Never could find the original deed, though. Just saw it referenced a lot.”

“Did you ever see anything about a journal when you were browsing?”

“You mean the one Duncan supposedly found?”

My brows rise. “Rhona told you?”

“No, not really.” He shrugs. “I heard her mention it before, but there’s mention of an original record from the first one who settled that land.”

My heart flutters. “You know who it was?”

“Sure. His name was Tavish. He was a stable hand for the Greers back at the original keep.”

Lachlan leans in. “The castle?”

“Mhm.” Even with the way Brodie is clearly unsure about sharing all this so casually with meandLachlan, he looks tickled to have someone interested in his project; it almost makes me feel guilty for not telling him the whole truth. “He married someone else that lived in the keep. Maybe a servant? I’m not sure. Her name is never mentioned. I reckon they’re the first MacKays to settle where Rhona and Finlay are now.”

My heart is thumping in my chest now; something about this information feels relevant.Importanteven. If Lachlan has always been told that a stable hand named MacKay fell in love with the kelpie, that he helped her escape…ithasto be this Tavish.

It takes all that I have not to jump up from my seat, a frenetic energy building inside as I meet Lachlan’s gaze from across the table. I see a similar expression of shock mirrored there, his mouth parted and his blue eyes wide as he digests the same information as I’m hearing.

“What?” Brodie asks, justifiably confused. “What is it?”

“I…” I do a spectacular impression of a goldfish as my mouth opens and closes and then opens again—finally swallowing down the thick lump forming in my throat. “Nothing,” I say finally. “We just had a bet going. Sounds like I might win.”

A muffled laugh escapes Lachlan. “I don’t know about that.”

“You two are sweet,” Brodie sighs. “It’s a bloody awful sight for us single folks.”