Page 19 of Wild Scottish Gold (The Enchanted Highlands #7)

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Kaia

A few days later, the weekend arrived, and I had a day off to do with as I wished.

I’d passed the third challenge. It seemed charming the hearthwards had satisfied the Stone of Truth and now I was officially a member of the Order of Caledonia.

When I’d noticed the third band in the handle of my chisel, Murdoch and I had given ourselves a little dance party in the backyard. It was about as awkward a dance party as one could imagine, with Murdoch flapping his wings and hopping across the grass and me bouncing up and down as I sang myself a congratulatory song. Off-key. Nevertheless, it was still a celebration. I hadn’t told the others, as I was meant to go up to the castle on Sunday. Lia had decided to start throwing family dinner nights every Sunday, and I guess that extended to me now.

When she’d called with the invitation, my heart had warmed. I was doing it. I was really doing it. I was employed, I had my own house, I had snagged a delectable Scotsman, and somehow, I’d stepped into my magick. If I thought too long or hard about all those pieces at once, I’d freeze up. It was like I’d grown so used to struggle that I couldn’t quite fathom that all aspects of my life could simultaneously be running smoothly. It made me slightly nervous, if I was to be honest. Struggle was my comfort zone. I knew how to handle struggle. But contentment? Bliss, even? That was uncharted territory for me.

I’d called Marisa in a panic the night before and she’d listened with her straight face, calmly taking it all in, before leveling me with some sound advice.

“Don’t fuck it up.” Those were her words to be exact. When she saw the panic on my face, she’d sighed. “You have to learn to allow yourself to enjoy the things you deserve.”

So now my new morning mantra, if I remembered to say it, was supposed to be something along the lines of how I deserved the success I’d worked so hard for. Because it had been work. All of it. Including learning how to navigate a workplace relationship.

Not that I’d been navigating it all that long.

I’d been worrying over how to tell the others at the workshop, but Thane had taken the matter into his own hands by walking out back while we were all having lunch at the picnic tables, brushing a kiss lightly on my forehead, and then asking if anyone needed something to drink. There’d been a small pause in the conversation, and then everything had returned to normal. A minute later, when Thane returned with his hands full of drinks, the lads had ruthlessly lit into him for never giving them kisses on their heads, and all was right in the world it seemed.

Though I’d been on high alert after that, nobody had said anything untoward or rude toward me, and I hoped that pattern would continue. Thane was a fair boss, I’d been told more than once, so I think the men were happy if he was happy.

But for now, I had the morning to myself, and Thane would stop by later with the molds, and we’d start distributing them around the village. Starting with my own wee cottage. I giggled to myself. I was starting to pick up a bit of Scots here and there. If only in my thoughts.

“All right, Murdoch, shall we see if your idea is right?”

Murdoch looked up from where he was cracking open some peanut shells that I’d given him.

I’m certain I am.

“I like that about you, Murdoch. Confidence is key.” At least that’s what Marisa insisted I keep telling myself. Scotland Kaia was a confident bitch. Or something along those lines. I’d figure out a mantra soon enough.

Kneeling down, I picked at the moss that had grown over one of the stepping stones that dotted the ground in my overgrown garden. I still hadn’t gotten around to clearing the back garden, and the long grass and wildflowers had grown waist high and carried all the way back to the dense tree line.

I still looked out there every morning, wondering if I’d see that unicorn again.

Maybe a unicorn needed to be my new mascot. If I could believe in a unicorn, I could believe in anything. I snorted. Not that I’d be surprised by much at this point. Since coming to Loren Brae, I’d been all but run over with magickal beings. At this point, Mickey Mouse could walk out of the bushes and I’d simply wave at him and offer him a cup of tea.

It was more than a little surreal. I think that added to this disconcerting feeling that lingered with me. It felt a little like walking into a theme park and finding out that everything was real.

My phone buzzed in my pocket and I leaned back on my heels, checking a text from Willow.

Do you have plans to go by the loch today?

Not that I know of.

I just had the tiniest snatch of vision. I’m not feeling great about it. Don’t go down there today, okay? Just be careful.

Understood. I’ll steer clear.

I wish I had seen more, but I got interrupted.

I smiled. I could imagine just who had interrupted her.

All good. I’m working in the garden today.

K, have fun!

Pocketing my phone, I turned back to the stepping stone. They were rugged, worn with age, and moss clambered over the gray stone. They also were heavily embedded into the dirt, so I didn’t want to have to pry each one out. I was hoping there would be some indication on the actual stone so I knew which one to dig up.

Maureen’s words drifted back to me.

“Step by step, you walk on me, beneath one tread, the treasure shall be.”

It made sense, there would be something under a stepping stone, although I had first thought perhaps a floorboard. Murdoch had insisted we start with the stones, so here I was, scraping moss away from ancient stones, looking for a treasure, while my talking bird ate peanuts next to me.

As Saturdays went, it wasn’t a bad one.

Humming, I used my chisel to scrape some moss away. It had become my go-to tool for anything these days, since I carried it with me at all times. Thane had even joked that he needed to disarm me before he took me to bed. The thought of him made me smile. He was gruff, funny, tender, and fiercely protective. A man of his word, and like he’d once explained to me, dedicated to keeping the fires running hot both at work and at home. I would be hard-pressed to be in a bad mood after the number of times we’d made love over the last few days.

I added a nap to the day’s itinerary.

Thane’s here.

Murdoch flapped his wings and took to the sky, and I stood up as I heard a car door slam. I rounded the corner of the house and was surprised to find Murdoch sitting on Thane’s shoulder.

“Now, listen, lad. I wasn’t sure what to get, so it’s apples for you.” Thane handed him an apple slice and Murdoch took it and flew away. Affection filled me. I so appreciated the constant reminders that Thane was indeed a good man.

“Are you trying to win my bird over with snacks?”

“Damn right. If you play your cards right, I’ll do the same with you.” Thane sauntered forward and I put the back of my hand to my head, pretending I was going to faint.

“You had me at snacks.” I tilted my head up for a kiss as Thane wrapped his arms around my waist. Would I ever tire of hugging him? It felt like being engulfed by a bear, his masculine presence surrounding me, and I leaned into him, inhaling his soapy scent.

“What are you doing in the garden?” Thane leaned back and gave me a soft kiss that had my heart fluttering.

“ I’m on a treasure hunt,” I said, stepping back and grabbing his hand to tug him along with me.

“I feel like this is something Audrey would say to me.”

“The girl does love her sparkles, so I can see that.” I stopped in front of the row of stepping stones. All told there were around thirty of them, winding back into the yard’s dense overgrowth, and I definitely wasn’t keen on digging them all out. “I’m looking for something to give me some sign or indication that I need to dig up one stone.” I gave him a quick rundown of what had happened with Maureen in the bookshop and the secret she’d whispered to me on her way out of the shop.

“Just one?” Thane studied the stones, a considering look on his face.

“I’d rather not dig them all up. They’re quite pretty, if not a bit slippery with all the moss.”

Thane glanced back at the cottage. “Do you have a garden hose? We could power-wash these quickly.”

“I have no idea. But I just want to take my time with this.” I almost rolled my eyes. Leave it to a man to try to immediately bring in a noisy tool. Of course it was likely much more efficient, but I wasn’t looking for efficiency right now. I was looking for a quiet, easy morning with soft breezes and digging in the dirt. A power washer would just turn this into a chore.

“Got it. Slow and steady it is.” Thane crouched and pulled the rest of the apple slices from his bag, laying them neatly next to the house for Murdoch, and left the bag next to it. Wiping his hands, he stood and pointed at the stone in front of the one I was working on. “Can I work on this one next?”

“Why not pick one in the middle and we’ll work toward each other? Otherwise we may be bumping into each other.”

“Should I start at the other end?” I looked to where the stones disappeared into the overgrowth and shook my head.

“No. Then you’ll be too far away.”

A grin slipped over Thane’s face, shifting those sharp edges of his jaw, and he gripped my chin with one hand and gave me a searing kiss that had me rocking back on my heels before dropping my face and wandering to a stone in the middle of the path. My breath caught as I watched him crouch and gently begin to scrape at the moss with his bare hands.

I deserve this . I had to swallow against the lump that had risen in my throat, watching Thane not question or push me on what I was doing, instead just easily joining in to help. Even though my parents and Marisa had been endless champions in my life, it seemed that I’d been the one who’d been letting myself down all along. The question was, could I accept it? Would I actually be able to believe that I deserved this chance at happiness?

For the next half hour, we scraped moss and cleaned the stones, and chattered away about nothing and everything. This was nice. Being together, working on a small project, enjoying a rare morning of no rain.

“I think I found something.” My breath caught and I jumped up and bounded over to where Thane crouched by a stepping stone about halfway back into the yard. I crouched next to Thane and he pointed to the worn carving in the stone.

“A triskele,” I breathed, excitement filling me. “You found it!” I high-fived Thane and he laughed, clearly pleased to help me.

“Do you have a shovel?” Thane asked, pulling me to standing. Turning, I craned my neck. I hadn’t seen any laying around. Thane saw me looking around and shook his head. “I’m guessing you don’t. Hold on, then.”

Thane trotted away and returned quickly brandishing a crowbar in one hand. In moments he had the stone pried up and flipped over. It was a thicker stone than I had anticipated and it left a hole in the dirt behind.

“Oh look!” I slapped my hands against my cheeks when I saw a small metal box in the dirt. It was copper, and well corroded, but I could make out the triskele sign on the box. Using my chisel, I dug it out of the dirt and presented it to Thane.

“No, no.” Thane waved it away. “This is your treasure.”

“But you found it,” I pointed out.

“You open it. I’ll look on.” Coming behind me, he rested his chin on my shoulder.

Brushing the residual dirt from the box, I opened it carefully to reveal a small scroll of paper and an antique key.

“‘I stand where sun and shadows weave, where autumn gold and ivy cleave. My walls are old, my hearth still bright, find me hidden from the light,’” I read out loud.

“Hmmm,” Thane said, his voice rumbling at my ear. “This looks like a house key, not a key to a safe or something like that.”

“Where autumn gold and ivy cleave,” I murmured, looking back toward the forest line. “Would that mean forest?”

“It just might.” Thane followed my gaze. “Makes sense, doesn’t it? Shall we have a wee wander?”

“I believe we shall.” Thane took my hand and a thrill of contentment shot through me. We wandered back on the stones until they stopped at where the line of trees met the overgrown yard.

“Looks like there’s still a natural formed path here.” Thane gestured to where large trees lined both sides of a natural walkway. Looking up, I saw the branches mingling together, a touch golden at the edges.

“I feel like Hansel and Gretel or something.” I laughed, following Thane into the cool shadows of the forest. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t been back here yet, but I’d been so busy with getting the house livable and work that I hadn’t had much time to explore. After only a short walk, Thane drew up.

“I think we have your treasure.”

My mouth dropped open when I peered around him. Maybe I was really in Hansel and Gretel, because in front of me was the cutest stone cottage that I’d ever seen, with a massive fireplace on the side, windows with the panes still intact, and a simple mahogany brown wood door.

“No way. Is this mine?” I asked, moving around Thane.

“Let’s see if the key fits, shall we?”

“Should I knock first?” I asked, pausing before I brought the key to the lock. What if there was someone living in it?

“Can’t hurt.” Thane reached around me and rapped sharply on the door, the noise loud against the wind that shifted through the trees.

When nobody responded, I tried the key.

It turned.

“Oh my God,” I gasped, turning around to look at Thane. “No way! What is this place?”

“Oh, I have an idea. But let’s see.”

“Did you have something to do with this?” How could he know what it is?

“No.” Thane chuckled behind me as I eased the door open. “But I know the look of these buildings.”

The hinges on the door stuck, and they complained loudly as I eased it open, but open it did. I leaned forward slightly, the cobwebs dripping from the ceiling in front of the door making me hesitant to pop my head all the way through.

“Here, let me.” Thane brushed past me and ducked inside, waving his arms to clear the cobwebs away. He was a better person than me. Trying not to think too deeply about creepy crawlies, I followed him in.

“No way,” I breathed, when my eyes adjusted to the dim light filtering through the dusty windows.

It was a small blacksmith shop.

The fireplace was wide, with dusty old blacksmith tools lined up neatly next to it, and there were two long tables on either side of the room, one with an anvil draped in cobwebs. Shelves lined the back wall that held various instruments, and a molded leather apron was hung on a peg by the wall.

I could just see it. Working here on a bright spring day, with the doors and windows thrown open to catch the breeze. Although, realistically, it would be rainy days more than sunny, it was still my own fantasy and I got to decide the weather. Either way, this was the perfect wee forge.

Just for me.

I realized it all at once too, as Thane turned to look at me. If I modernized this space, I would have an actual workspace to complete my projects. Maybe just my jewelry line and smaller pieces to start with in here, but I could do it. I could be fully independent of him if I needed to be.

If things ever went wrong between us.

Independence was a gift in so many different ways.

Murdoch landed at the door, flapping his wings, all but screaming, and I jumped about a foot in the air. Thane caught my arm and steadied me.

“Murdoch!” I laughed, slapping a hand to my chest. “You scared me.”

Audrey’s at the loch. You must go. Now.

“No! It’s Audrey, she’s at the loch.” I was already running, pulling Thane with me when a Kelpie’s shriek shook the sky.