“Aye, I havena experienced it meself, but me wife says the ache in yer head is the worst part. At least ye dinna land in the pond.” I opened my eyes to see a man slightly taller than Eoghanan, clad in a kilt, with dark hair and brooding eyes in front of me.
Eoghanan sat up next to me. Blood seeped through the cloth wound around him. “I doona wish to argue with ye, but ’tis no me head that hurts.”
I shifted, swinging Cooper’s weight onto my side so that I could lean over and check on him. “You are a stupid, stupid man. You should not have come.”
“’Tis no nearly as bad as I expected, lass. Morna said it might bleed a little.”
He struggled to stand, and the tall man reached out a hand to assist him. Once he was standing, I could see that he was right. He only bled a little.
My nerves relaxed and I stood up, Cooper still clinging to my hip.
“Are you okay?” I reached up and brushed his hair back, examining his head for apparent injury, just like every mom in every TV movie did when she found her missing child. I realized that it was a pointless gesture and stopped, settling instead for planting a big kiss on the top of his head.
“Yeah, Mom, I’m awesome! Everything is lit by candles, and I got to pee in a bucket! Even the bathtub is just a big old bucket that they carry into your room. I only wish that they had dragons. I really thought there would be some here.” His voice drifted a little as he reflected on his disappointment.
I heard footsteps approaching and another voice joined the conversation. I turned to see Jeffrey walking along with a stunning red head, her belly swollen with the later months of pregnancy. I moved to hug Jeffrey as she spoke to me.
“You must be Grace. I’m Mitsy.” She extended a hand, which I took, and she continued. “I have some ibuprofen for your head that should help. I know it’s got to be hurting you. The time travel thing is a bitch.” She quickly glanced down at Cooper who snorted slightly at the word. She began apologizing profusely. “Gosh, I’m sorry. I have a tendency to speak without thinking.” She patted her stomach. “Poor kid. I am so not ready for this.”
The man who stood next to Eoghanan, the man whose name I still didn’t know, reached over to grab the woman’s hand, pulling her into him. “No one is ever ready, but ye will be a wonderful mother.”
“He’s very right. You can’t be ready, not really, until the baby is here. Even then, you’re just learning as you go. Um…you have ibruprofen?”
Mitsy laughed, nodding excitedly. “Yes, Morna often sends modern-ish things to Conall Castle for Bri, and I grabbed some the last time I was there.”
“Oh.” I didn’t know who Bri was, but I didn’t ask.
“Grace.” Eoghanan stepped closer to me, placing a hand on the small of my back. “This is me brother, Baodan. He is Laird here at McMillan Castle, and ye have already met Mitsy, for she has better manners and has already introduced herself.”
Mitsy laughed and threw her arms around Eoghanan. She clung to him despite his bandages, and he gladly embraced her. I could sense the strong friendship between them. I expected that their relationship was part of the reason he’d not questioned my relationship with Jeffrey once he’d calmed down and allowed me to explain it to him.
“I’m so glad you’re back, E-o.” Her voice was soft and near cracking, but she held back her tears.
She’d called him E-o, just like Cooper, and I realized that Mitsy was the beloved ‘girlfriend’ he’d mentioned. I really needed to teach him the definition of that word.
“I’ve been so worried about you. I mean, I trusted Morna to take care of you, but…I still can’t believe you did that. You’re a stupid, stupid man.”
Eoghanan laughed loudly, prying Mitsy off of him. “I doona think I like that word. I’ve been called it too many times today.”
“What did he do?” My question seemed to interrupt their moment a little, but I wanted to know. In this time, a sword injury made much more sense, but Eoghanan’s previous description of the event had been much too vague.
“Oh,” Mitsy gave Eoghanan a look that said she was surprised I didn’t already know. “Their brother was a crazy sociopath who murdered anyone who inconvenienced him. He tried to do the same to me, but Eoghanan jumped in the way of the sword. Then I killed the bastard.” She looked at Cooper apologetically once again. “Sorry.”
Cooper waved a hand dismissively. He’d heard his Grandfather curse plenty.
“Oh.” I was saying that word a lot lately. She’d explained it only a fraction better than Eoghanan, and it did nothing to satisfy my curiosity. I looked over in Eoghanan’s direction and decided further probing could wait. He’d wilted a bit and now stood leaning harshly onto his left foot. He looked like he might fall over at any moment.
Cooper must have noticed the same thing, and he squirmed in my arms so that I would set him down. He ran over to Eoghanan’s side, leaning against his left leg as if trying to prop him up. “Hey, you don’t look so good, E-o. You alright?”