Once Cooper knew where I spent my days away from the castle, there was no keeping him away. He would show up every afternoon for a snack and a visit. Within three days, Isobel was mad for the kid and at first opportunity asked him if he’d like to join them on their trip to Cagair Castle. She knew full well no one in the family would ever let him travel there alone without one of us to accompany him.
Once he was aware of the trip, Cooper made it his sole mission to gain permission. The last thing he wanted was to miss out on an adventure as he had the last time we visited Cagair Castle. He’d been forced to remain at home, and he wasn’t about to let anybody forget it anytime soon.
Still, despite his endless begging, his mother remained firm that she wouldn’t spend a month without him, and I remained hopeful that we would make it past Isobel and Gregor’s departure date without Grace caving. Then, the day before Orick was meant to arrive to escort everyone, Eoghanan saw fit to offer his two cents on the matter—damn the man straight to hell.
The next thing I knew, Grace showed up at the inn to ask me a huge favor—to say that she’d thought it over and decided the trip might do Cooper some good since he’d felt so neglected lately with the new baby and another on the way. That maybe, it would be a good idea to just let him have this one, if he wanted it so badly. And please, oh please, would I travel with them so that she wouldn’t worry.
And so, the journey to Cagair Castle began with me, Cooper, Isobel, and Gregor all following Orick’s sound and cautious lead. We moved slowly, taking care to make sure Isobel stayed warm and comfortable. I had to admit that the travel seemed to be doing her some good. If anything, it improved her mood greatly, and that had the positive effect of helping her feel better than she’d seemed to in a long time. Even her coughing, despite the cold wind, slowed down a little.
It was our last day, and we only had a handful of miles to go before we arrived at the castle. We stopped by a small stream that led to the village near Cagair Castle for a quick bite of Isobel-baked-bread and dried herring.
I anticipated my next interaction with Adwen about as much as I’d anticipate a wart growing right on the bottom of my big toe, but I knew the meeting was inevitable. I could already see just how it would go down.
He would say something infuriating, and I would spar right back with something inappropriate. Then we would leave each other’s side with him amused by my craziness and me feeling all breathless and needy, which would only piss me off further.
I only hoped that he wouldn’t be able to see how often I thought of him. That he wouldn’t be able to tell how my breathing grew shorter and my muscles tighter whenever he was near.
It was my ridiculously long sex drought that caused such a reaction to him, a purely physical reaction to being annoyed by an undeniably attractive member of the opposite sex. Despite Isobel’s high praises of him, I’d seen nothing to prove him to be more than a buffoon, and I doubted anything would change my mind.
So what if I’d dreamt about how wonderful I knew he’d look shirtless and how that smooth skin would turn red as my fingernails dragged against him while he drove into me? It was a natural phenomena born out of my biological need to have my brains ‘tupped’ right out of me from time to time.
The chunk of bread had softened into mush inside my mouth as the thought of Adwen doing dirty things to me filled my mind and stopped my jaw from chewing. Cooper’s fingers pulling on my own yanked me abruptly from my daydream.
“Aunt Jane, why is it that Gregor won’t let you ride up beside Orick and me? I’ve been trying to get him to slow his horse so you could catch up the whole trip but every time he starts to, Gregor grouches at him and tells him to get on up there where he belongs.”
I laughed and bent to pull Cooper up into my arms while the whole group stood around in amused silence, waiting anxiously for my answer. I could tell they all expected me to lie to him, but with Cooper, I always had trouble doing that. I knew it was one of the reasons we were so close. Coop knew that adults often told him versions of the truth because they thought him too young to hear the real thing. He learned over the years that he could come to me if he wanted a straight answer. I prided myself on being that person for him.
“He’s afraid if he lets Orick near me, then I’ll kiss him again.”
Cooper’s eyes widened to comical proportions as he laughed and squirmed out of my arms. “What? You already kissed him once? I didn’t know you liked Orick.”
Orick spoke up, humor in his tone. “She doesna fancy me, lad. She only kissed me in jest. ’Twould do Gregor good to remember that and put it to rest.”