And although I’d put off his reaction to Jeffrey’s arrival as being more out of surprise at the situation than true anger, it seemed weird to me that he would assume that just because Jeffrey was Cooper’s father that he and I were married. With divorce being so common, it surprised me that it wasn’t his first conclusion rather than me being a cheating spouse.
Lastly, Cooper’s small mention of a secret between him and Eoghanan nagged at the back of my mind relentlessly. I knew it had to be innocent enough, but I couldn’t help but wonder if it was somehow related to Cooper’s belief that Eoghanan was the man he’d thought he’d seen at the park and airport. I knew my son, and he was not one to let things go. If he believed something, he wouldn’t allow it to be dismissed without proper explanation, and he’d dropped the issue suddenly—right after his fishing trip with Jerry and Eoghanan.
I liked Eoghanan…a lot. I loved talking to him, I loved how much Cooper adored him, and despite how it made me feel like a sex-crazed teenager, I couldn’t be near him without daydreaming about him slamming me up against whatever wall, car, or now castle that we stood next to. Still, I needed to know a lot more, and very soon, or I would have no reason to stay past the end of the week—even if he wanted me to, which as of yet, he’d said nothing of the sort.
I smiled as I approached him, hoping he couldn’t see all the thoughts running wild behind my eyes. “Hey, you. Everything alright?”
His face was serious and a bit apprehensive as he took my hand and began to pull me away from the others, toward the side of the castle. “Aye, come with me.”
Allowing myself one quick glance backward to make sure Cooper was being supervised, I turned back to him, allowing him to lead the way. It struck me as odd that he moved with such direction. Without a doubt, he’d been here before. “Where are we going?”
“There is a tree near the back with a large branch that nearly touches the ground. I go there often to think.”
“Often?” How could that be? He’d told me more than once that he lived quite far from Morna and Jerry’s. While it was a several hour drive, he’d spoken about his home as if it were much further away. Had he lied and that was why he’d been so hesitant to come here? “Are you from near here?”
He turned suddenly toward me, blocking the path. “Aye, in a way I am from both verra near here and verra far away. Do ye believe in magic, lass?”
What a weird question. I stuttered a little, unsure of what he meant by ‘magic.’ “Do you mean like a higher power or something? If so, yes, I do. If you mean like hocus pocus stuff, I’ve not ever seen it, so I would say I don’t know. I do think things happen all the time that have no logical explanation, and perhaps those things are the result of a kind of magic. Why?”
Perhaps the magic he spoke of lay within him, for I couldn’t help but feel as if he’d read my mind. While the direction of the conversation made me uneasy, I had a feeling I would finally be granted some answers.
He said nothing until we reached the tree. After he sat down, he pulled me in next to him. “I’d like to tell ye something…me surname is McMillan.”
“Oh.” It seemed an odd build up for such a small piece of information; then I remembered where we were. “Oh. Ooohhh…” each time I said the word a little louder, as if some sort of grand realization came over me…it didn’t. “So, you didn’t grow up quite as far from the inn as I thought, although I guess that all depends on your perspective. Does your family own this? Your ancestors were what? Scottish lairds or something?”
“Aye, they were, but no only me ancestors. Me brother is Laird of this castle now.”
“Your brother.” It wasn’t so much a question, as a statement while I thought about what he could mean. It was the first I’d heard of a brother. While I supposed there could still be a laird by title if his family did still own the castle, I didn’t think it would be anything more than just that…a title. “Okay, so does your family live near here? Sort of oversee things?”
Eoghanan began to cross his arms, but stopped as his shoulder pulled. “We doona live near it. We live in it, lass.”
I quickly grew frustrated. I’d taken the same self-guided tour of the place as he had, and it was obvious that no one actually still lived in the castle. Furthermore, if they had, why hadn’t he said anything while we were walking through it? Told us stories, or talked about the castle’s history, his ancestors, anything?
“Eoghanan, I walked through that castle just a few hours ago, and there’s no one living there now.”
Eoghanan stood and started pacing back and forth in front of me. He looked as frustrated as I felt. “Do ye remember what Cooper said about me when ye first arrived here?”
I pulled my jacket around me more snugly. There was little wind, but my body temperature seemed to drop suddenly. “Which part? When he mistook you for someone else? He thought he saw you at the airport, but obviously that wasn’t you.”
“Aye, lass. It was.”
*