Page 33

LEXI

F irst I banged on the guest room door and woke up Jen, then I went down the kitchen to make the coffee. I glanced out the window as I was putting the filter in the basket to see Torin striding up the lawn.

He was wearing his own clothes, the yellow shirt with the embroidered details, the plaid kilt, and the fur-trimmed cloak. He had his broadsword and dirk sheathed from his belt, and the sporran hanging in the front. He looked as if he were embarking on a journey.

He rapped on the door.

I pushed the button on the coffeemaker and went to answer it. Both Torin and Dude were standing on the mat.

Torin bowed deeply, “Good morn. I could see ye had arisen, Mistress Lexi, I hope ye daena mind that I hae come.”

“No this is fine, good morning, Torin, welcome.” Then I said to Dude, “Did you stay the whole night bugging Torin?”

Dude meowed.

Torin said, “He kept watch with me and followed close by m’heels, he is a verra loyal cat.”

I returned to the kitchen saying over my shoulder, “Jen will be up in a moment to get the pancakes going, I’m going to whip up the batter.”

He followed me in. “I had a question for ye...”

“Uh oh, is it bad?”

“Nae, twas somethin’ I was ponderin’ last night... Where is yer bread oven?”

“Oh, that’s funny, you made the question sound important.

” I pointed to the oven, “That’s the oven.

” I opened the door to show him. “I don’t really bake bread, unless it’s zucchini or carrot — this is bread.

” I pulled a loaf from the steel bread box that had been in the family forever and held it up.

“But we aren’t going to eat bread, we’re having pancakes.

” He unfastened the brooch, took off his cloak, and stabbed the brooch through the fabric and closed it to keep the bundle together.

He took off his sword belt and leaned it in the corner with the bundle beside it.

While he did that, I got my cookbook down from the shelf and flipped it directly to the page, pulled a bowl down, and stacked the bags of flour and sugars, the can of salt, and a dozen eggs beside it on the counter.

He came close and watched this intently, big and close, oh my, it got me flustered.

I poured flour into a measuring cup as I asked, “Have you seen a dozen eggs in a carton before?” I gestured with my elbow because my hands were full. “Can you pull me out four?”

He figured out the lid and passed the eggs to me, I broke them into a bowl and whisked them. “What does a kitchen look like where you’re from?”

He leaned on the counter, his shoulders wide, he looked a combination of dangerous strength combined with an easy smile and good humor. He was also vulnerable, far from home and reliant on me for everything.

It was very, very charming.

And his voice was so sexy, deep, and low when he said, “The eggs are collected in the morn, they are warm and kept in a pail.”

“Interesting, I buy them from the store, I would like to keep chickens, but…” I dumped the eggs into the bowl and began to whisk. “Not sure I can protect them from the predators. Sounds heartbreaking.”

“Aye, because ye hae insufficient guard?—”

Jen walked in. “Why are you making the pancakes?”

“Because you are not in here to make them.”

Jen said, “Good morning, Torin.”

“Good morn, Mistress Jen.”

She got busy pulling the griddle out from under the stove, placing it on the range, and setting the flame to the necessary height.

Torin leaned over, asking, “How did ye start the flame?”

She showed him the dial, turning it back and forth, the flame going up and down. “Och, this is a miracle.”

I wiped my hands on my apron, pulled open my junk drawer, and found a box of matches. “Check this out.” I struck one on the side of the box.

His eyes went wide.

I blew out the match and handed him the box. “You try it.”

He fumbled until he got out a matchstick and struck it. It flamed up, first try. “Och, this is verra… this is a miracle.”

“You can have that box, keep it, it’s yours.”

“Are ye certain, Mistress Lexi? It must be verra valuable.”

“Honestly, Torin, it’s inexpensive, no worries. I want you to have it, plus this...” I dug through the drawer and pulled out a disposable Bic lighter. I held it up and pulled my thumb down the spark wheel. The flame rose.

His eyes widened even more. I looked at it against the light.

“This one has plenty of fluid, should last for a bit, but it won’t last forever.

” I passed it to him and helped him get the hang of lighting it, wishing I had thought to buy him a nice refillable one when we had been at the store.

“This is called a lighter, these are matches. Don’t let the matches get wet. ”

I pulled out a plastic pencil box, big enough for both, and dumped the pencils into the drawer. I put the lighter and matches into it. “This is waterproof.”

He shook his head.

“I won’t listen to no, I want you to have it.”

“Aye, thank ye, Mistress Lexi.” He took the box and clutched it in both hands. “Master Cooper winna be upset that I hae been given these gifts?”

“No, he would want you to have them, speaking of…”

Cooper came into the kitchen. “Ah, everyone is here.” He kissed me on the cheek, hugged Jen, and nodded at Torin. “Torin.”

Torin bowed his head. “Good morn, Master Cooper.”

I said, “Coop, will you pour the coffee? I’m cooking the bacon.”

He took down some mugs and asked Torin, “Cream or black?”

Torin said, “I daena ken, what is it?”

Cooper said, “Coffee? Have you never had coffee before?”

“Nae, how dost ye drink it?”

Cooper said, “Oh, this will be fun, introducing you to coffee. First, just taste it black.” He poured some in a mug and passed it to Torin.

I smiled, enjoying the fact that Coop was actually being cool, finally.

Torin immediately sipped and then dribbled it out, “Och nae, hot!”

Cooper said, “I’m sorry, I kinda thought you would know?—”

Torin grimaced. “Also, tis bitter.”

I said, “You’ll want lots of cream, plus a spoonful of sugar.”

Cooper said, “...or just a dash of cream.”

Jen said, “I like a vanilla latte.”

Cooper said, “What we’re saying is everyone takes their coffee differently, but I think you seem like a cream man, no sugar, not after the way the sweet got to you last night.”

Torin nodded, “Aye, I agree.” He passed his mug to Cooper who added cream to it.

Cooper and Torin both drank.

Torin nodded approvingly then looked at the mug’s Jurassic Park logo. My coffee mugs were an eclectic mix collected over my lifetime.

“What is the meaning of this?”

Cooper said, “I picked that mug for you, it’s from the movie, Jurassic park.”

Torin shook his head. “I daena understand.”

Cooper said, “The one about the dinosaurs in the park — you know, came out about ten years ago?”

Torin continued shaking his head, a grin spreading. “Ye keep explainin’ but ye are using many words — I daena ken the meanin’.”

Cooper chuckled. “Still going, huh? Want me to explain the movie Jurassic park?”

“What is a movie?”

Cooper said, “A movie, a moving picture, a film, a video… TV show?” Then he said, because Torin was still shaking his head. “Damn it, fine, okay, I’ll show you?—”

Jen said, “Nope, breakfast is almost ready, it’ll have to wait until after.”

I got the syrup out of the pantry.

Torin said, “I also daena ken what a dinauswer is.”

Cooper’s eyes went wide. “You don’t know what a dinosaur is?”

Jen turned from the stove with oven mitts on her hands. “Holy smoke, Torin! You don’t know what a dinosaur is? How freaking old are you supposed to be?”

I said, “Dinosaur bones are a fairly recent discovery in the scheme of things.”

Jen blinked for a moment. “I hadn’t thought of that... that’s wild. But... anyway, stacks are ready! Bring your plates!”

We lined up and Jen gave us each a stack and we sat around the kitchen table where I had the butter dish, a syrup pitcher, sliced strawberries, a dish of blueberries, and a can of whipped cream.

We were all quiet for a minute while we passed the toppings and put it all on our pancakes. Torin studied our actions and copied us again.

Torin was so big his seat looked small under him, but he seemed self-conscious and trying to be well-mannered. He asked, “Dost ye mind if I pray afore we eat?”

“No, please do.”

We all bowed our heads and folded our hands.

I opened an eye to peek. Torin had his hands clasped tightly, his eyes closed.

“Oh merciful Lord, our hearty thanks for this bounty, I ask that ye watch over m’companions, keepin’ them in health and good spirits, also remindin’ them tae explain what a dinashwar is, and bless our sweet cakes of the morn, and grant that I may be strengthened in body and soul tae embark upon m’journey today, amen. ”

We all said, “Amen.”

He put his elbows on the table but then pulled them off.

Cooper said, “A dinosaur was a great beast, like a monstrous lizard, that roamed the earth long before man. Now their bones are turned to stone.”

Torin said, “Monstrous lizards, ye say? Sounds like a dragon — did these beasts breathe fire and plague villages?

I said, “No fire, no village-plaguing. Just big, scaly things — some as long as a castle wall. But they were gone long before man.”

“So they werna dragons, but died long before man, and dragons were left. Dragons were the winners of the ancient monster wars.” Torin poured syrup on his pancakes.

“No, dragons aren’t real, dinosaurs were real.”

“Dragons arna real? But I hae seen them with m’own eyes!”

Cooper said, “No way, that’s not true.”

Torin said, “Tis true, well... twas nae me, I dinna see one, but m’uncle told the story many times. He was travelin’ in the highlands and witnessed a dragon departin’ a cave on Beinn Nibheis.”

Cooper raised his brow and looked at me. “Yet another wild tale.”