The Morrigan: Damaged Deities (13 page)

“Maister Kade!” she cried. “We’ve missed ye, lad.  Where’ve ye been?”

“Away on business, Maddie,” Kade answered with sincere warmth, leaning over the bar to peck the woman on her round, ruddy cheek. “Did ye rob an angel o’ her beauty, luv?”

“Ack, yer inna mood,” the lady gushed, blushing as red as her hair.  She eyed Morrie with a gleam in her eye. “And I see why!  Ye brought back wid ye a bonny prize?”

“This here’s Morrie Brandon, visitin’ from the States,” Kade introduced her, his hand resting again on her lower back.  It seemed to have made itself at home there much too easily.

Hoping the cold masked her blush, Morrie nodded and said, “Nice to meet you.”

Maddie placed her fists on her hips and smiled. “Ah, an American? Well, welcome tae the Highlands, miss.”

“We’re going tae take this table over here, luv,” Kade said, pointing at a two-seater by the window with an unimpeded view of the ocean.

Maddie nodded. “Aye, I’ll bring ye menus,” she said as Kade ushered Morrie to the table, pulling out a chair for her. 

Morrie slipped off the coat Lorna had leant her; Kade took it as she sat before removing his own coat and hanging both up on hooks on the wall that held all the patrons’ belongings.

The table had a breathtaking view sitting just on the cliff’s edge.  Below them the white waves crashed against the rocky shore.  The ocean stretched out grey and powerful, above it the remaining daylight barely bled through the crushing cloud cover.

Maddie brought menus and two glasses of water. 

Kade looked up, grinning. “If ye could bring a large Dr. Pepper and keep it flowing, I might get intae this pretty lass’s good graces and be forever in yer debt.”

Maddie chuckled. “Aye, I can do that.” Then she left them.

Morrie turned a frown on Kade. “You make me sound so shallow that I can be bought with soda.”

“With the daggers ye were throwing that poor grocer girl, I’d think ye’d kill for it.”

Morrie bit back a grin and looked down at her menu. 

He was right.  If she’d had a sword, she’d have beheaded the dumb bitch.  For her poor supply of soda and for the way she eyed Kade.

After they browsed a moment, Maddie returned with her Dr. Pepper.

“Oh, thank you,” Morrie breathed, taking the glass like it was an offering of nectar from Frey.

When a couple of fishermen entered, Maddie left to greet them with a promise to return to take their orders. 

Morrie took a long drink, closing her eyes and savoring the sweet burn down her throat.  With it she felt all her nerves calm in its wave. 

Addicted
. 

By the gods, the humans were good at creating vices. 

Breathing a sigh of satisfaction, she licked her lips and opened her eyes to find Kade watching her.  His expression had darkened, his eyes nearly black. 

Heat burned through her under his gaze. 

Flushing, she looked away.

Clearing his throat, Kade sat up and murmured, “Had I known that’s how ye’d react, I would have taken the throne of England tae get it for ye.”

Hiding her grin, Morrie lowered her head over the menu and asked, “So what’s good here?”

“All of it, really, but Maddie’s famous potato stew is what I crave when I’m away.”

Morrie looked up. “How often do you go away?”

“More often lately, it seems, but I never really know.  The trips are always of a…spontaneous nature.”

“Where do you go?” 

Good to know her inquisitive nature was still strong and intact. 

“Here and there,” Kade answered with an ambiguity that didn’t fit his character. 

Morrie let the subject drop.  Browsing the menu, she set it aside and said, “Potato stew sounds good.”

When Maddie returned Kade smiled and gave their orders, asking for a coffee, as well.  Left alone for the time, he rested his elbows on the table and leaned in.

“What got ye intae horses?”

Morrie tried to think back. 

It was different long ago—a horse was like a car; everyone had one and it was just part of everyday life.  But there had been a point where she stopped looking at them as just transportation and instead as companions. 

It was when she first abstained from using magic and lived life like a true human.

“I had been injured.  I was out, far away from any help with only my horse.  He took me to safety.  Somehow he kept me on his back, kept me from falling unconscious and walked me the long distance back.  He knew where to go.” She shrugged and took a sip. “I knew there was more to them and that I had a connection with them.”

“I imagine the horses here are a bit different than the ones where ye’re from.”  He leaned back, crossing his arms. “They’re a bit wilder here.”

“Nothing’s so wild that can’t be tamed.” Morrie smiled. “Not by me, at least.”

Kade grinned in a way that seemed to tickle her bones. His response was slow and deep. “I doona doubt that, lass.” 

And again it filled her with that warm chocolate oddness.  Morrie cleared her throat.

“What were you and your brother doing in the graveyard this morning?” she asked, hoping to redirect the tone of their conversation.  It probably wasn’t the best question to do so, though.

“We were visiting the graves of our father and brother.”

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t think…,” Morrie tucked her hair behind her ear and looked down. “I shouldn’t have asked.”

“Doona apologize, I doona mind ye asking me anything.”  He smiled sadly. 

But she
was
sorry, and that confused her. 

She normally wouldn’t care.  Hadn’t cared about much, really, for a very long time. 

But seeing the sorrow in his eyes made her feel as if it were her own.  She pressed her fingertips into her sternum where that ache sat.  For some reason this young Scotsman made her feel a great many things.

“How old was your brother, when he died?”

“He’d just turned twenty.”

“When?”

“Some time ago.”  

An elusive response.  Morrie wondered why. “He was younger than you?”

“Aye.”

“How did he die?”

“He drowned, a freak accident.”

“Were you close?”

He nodded.  “All three of us were verra close, but we’d get into lots o’ trouble, Kris and I.  We fought and played like two pups. I’m surprised any o’ the furniture survived, though I daresay a few o’ our bones dinna.  We were rough.  Bothered Kam somethin’ terrible.  He was always so serious, preparing for the day he’d have tae take over the business.”

“You had no interest in that?” Morrie asked, grinning.

“Nay,” he smiled, showing perfect, white teeth. “I was too busy having fun.  Payin’ for it now, though.”

“Because your brother sends you away on so many business trips?”

“Aye,” he answered, though a wane in his eyes told Morrie that maybe that wasn’t entirely true.

“And your mother?”

The amount of questions she asked surprised Morrie.  Even despite her inquisitive ways, she couldn’t seem to stop asking them.  She’d not had this interest during her first conversation with Kade’s brother, but then he’d also rambled on about the family business, which she didn’t much care about.

“She lives in London, collecting a check,” Kade answered shortly, telling Morrie that maybe his mother was a topic he’d rather leave alone.

“Kamden told me ye have sisters,” Kade said. His large hands cupped the coffee mug gently.

“I do, Bev and Macy.”

One dark eyebrow quirked.  “Older, younger?”

Morrie smiled.  What was it with men and the idea of sisters? “The same age.”

“
Christ Almighty
,” he sighed, scratching his head.  He leaned back and studied her, something passing in his eyes, like the haunting ghost of a memory. “There’s three o’ ye?”

“Bev and Macy are very different from me,” Morrie answered, amused and confused by his reaction. “Different, but the same.”

Maddie arrived with a tray holding two steaming bowls and a large loaf of freshly baked bread.  As soon as the food was set out before them and Maddie left, Morrie’s stomach purred like a kitten, earning her another one of Kade’s sexy eyebrow quirks.

“Did they no’ feed ye in Oklahoma?” he asked.

Ignoring how her stomach clenched at the way Oklahoma tumbled across his tongue—and secret plans to somehow trick him into singing the song from the musical to her—she answered, “They think the only way to cook a potato is to mash or fry it.”

Stirring his stew, he watched as she brought a big spoonful to her mouth, blowing on it a few times before eating it.  As the warm, tasty broth sat in her mouth, she closed her eyes and groaned, savoring the taste and the feel of it slipping down her throat. 

She had forgotten how much she loved the food in Britain. 

Slowly, she opened her eyes again.

“I doona think I’m going tae be able tae make it through this meal,” Kade said, watching her with his spoon suspended in his hand. “Keep eating like that and I may have tae take ye across this table.”

Morrie smiled, scooping out another big spoonful.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

His face lit up as he sat back. “Getting ahead o’ myself implies there’s a way tae go.” His voice dipped. “How far do I have tae go tae get ye, Morrie?”

“I’m here to catch a horse,” Morrie replied.  She had to reign in this conversation.  He was a client, after all. “Then I go back home.”

C
HAPTER
T
WELVE

“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.”

G.K. Chesteron

Their spoons rested in the bottom of the empty bowls, the bread hacked so that only a few pieces remained.  Morrie had consumed four glasses of Dr. Pepper. 

She had just finished off her last glass while Kade sipped another cup of coffee, his gaze never leaving her.  The way he watched her, like he drank her in instead of his coffee, stirred a heat within her that made her shift in her seat. 

She was saved from her discomfort by the front door bursting in, an elderly couple shaking water off their coats and umbrellas. 

Only then Morrie noticed the curtain of rain outside the window. 

Kade watched the couple with interest before setting his cup down and motioning for Maddie behind the bar.

“Best tae get home before the rain gets worse,” he said to Morrie, then turning his smile on Maddie. “The bill, love?”

“O’ course, sweetheart,” she said, digging within the pockets of her apron before fishing out a crumpled ticket.  She set it down and took their dishes away.

“Come back again, soon.”  She nodded at Morrie. “Nice tae meet ye, dear.  Treat our boy well.”

Morrie frowned, but had no time to correct the restaurant owner as she scurried away. 

Kade dropped a few bills down on the table and stood up, giving his hand to Morrie to help her stand. 

She’d never cared for chivalry, being a warrior goddess tended to put her above any man, but he was using it in way that seemed to slowly disarm her, gave her no choice but to let him take her hand.  It came so easy for him, the way he moved with her that she could almost understand his statement of familiarity.

Once outside, they stood on the front porch, huddled under the overhang against the downpour and considering the distance to the truck.