The Empire and the Wolf King (Kaitlyn and the Highlander #21)

49. Chapter 49 - Kaitlyn

CHAPTER 49 - KAITLYN

THE DO-OVER - MAY 15, 2025 - FLORIDA

T he kids were wiped out by a day of partying, a bouncy house with a water slide, and cake and ice cream. The littles had been melting down, and had all gone to bed. Archie and Ben, already in their pajamas, were watching a movie in the living room and eating popcorn.

And we adults were out on the back deck, a long table decorated with a floral centerpiece, and takeout from Zach’s favorite restaurant. He had to sit there while we served it too, not helping, since he was part of the couple we were celebrating.

He gripped the edge of the table comically, pretending like it was hard to watch Fraoch pull boxes from the bags, popping the clamshell lids open, and peeking inside. Fraoch poked a finger in and licked it. “Och aye, tis garlic potatoes.”

Zach groaned. “It says it on the box! You don’t have to put your finger in!”

“Aye, but ye canna trust everything, Zach, this is yer problem, ye are too trustful!” Fraoch grinned at Hayley. “Inna it true?”

“I disagree, his problem is he’s mistrustful , look at him, he can’t even trust us to open the boxes and put them in front of everyone.” She pulled a box out of the bag, checked the tag taped to the side. “Short ribs, who ordered short ribs?’

Zach said, “Me!”

Hayley grinned. “Let me check first.” She opened the clamshell and poked her finger in. “Yep, seems like short ribs!”

Zach groaned, put his arms around Emma’s shoulders, and buried his face in her hair. “Don’t make me watch! We should have gone out.”

We got the boxes of food in front of all the places. I said, “I’m sorry we didn’t open it in the kitchen and put it prettily on the plates.”

Zach said, “I couldn’t bear letting you do it out of my sight, or in my sight, I might have a problem — but kidding aside, this is perfect.”

Magnus pushed his chair out and raised a glass of whisky. We all raised our glasses.

He opened a piece of paper and I could see his handwriting on it. He squinted at his notes in the darkness, “Och nae, tis difficult tae read, I have a good toast I wanted tae make...”

I turned on my phone’s flashlight and held it over the page.

He said without reading, “We hae convened here, a light tae illuminate the words, a deck built from hearty trees, here in the present, with our gathered guests from so many different ages. One, our Sophie, carrying a bairn, bringing a future tae our family?—”

Sophie smiled, “I am due with the next moon.”

“Aye, twill be a blessing. And we hae spent the day with bairns, celebrating the joy and blessin’ of them, and now we hae a toast from the past that I read upon the computer?—”

Fraoch said, “M’arm is growin’ tired.”

Magnus said, “Och, ye are soft.”

Fraoch shrugged. “I am not the one who has written out a blessin’ tae read afore dinner.”

Magnus ignored him and began to read: “Chef Zach and Madame Emma, may the blessin’ of light be upon ye – light without and light within. May the blessed sunlight shine upon ye like a great peat fire so stranger and friend may warm himself in the flame. And may light shine from yer eyes, like a candle set in the window, biddin’ wanderers tae come in from the storm tae bless them with yer fine meals and yer warmth. And may the blessing of the rain be upon ye, may it beat upon your Spirit and wash it fair and clean, and leave there a shining pool where the blue Heaven shines reflected...”

Fraoch lowered his glass.

Magnus grinned, and continued, “... and may the blessing of the earth be on ye, soft under yer feet as ye pass along the roads, soft under ye as you lie upon it, tired at the end of day.” He raised his glass even higher. “And may yer love grow strengthened in the arms of our family. Slàinte!”

We all said, “Slàinte!”

Fraoch said, “I grew impatient but twas lovely.”

We sipped from our whisky and then dug into the food, a loud cacophony of conversation and laughter as we ate. At one point Noah woke up, crying in his bed. Beaty said, “Pardon me, I must go see tae the bairn. He is all turned upside down from the party today.”

Quentin closed the box covering her food. “...to keep it warm.” She left the deck with Mookie following along behind her, never leaving her side.

Hayley said, “Man, I really like the ease these days, nothing happening, no worries, history is settled?—”

James said, “Uh oh,” and added, “Could we maybe wheesht and not tempt fate, because Sophie’s due date is this week?”

We all raised our glasses to him and Sophie.

I tossed back a little more whisky. “Sophie, I cannot wait to meet your new baby, Jack and Noah are so old we need new babies around here!”

Everyone laughed, because the boys weren’t even one yet.

James raised his glass, “Here’s to the Irish triplets we’re about to have in the house!”

I said, “One of the things I’ve liked is that the pregnancies take almost ten months, they’re fairly constant, we can judge time by them. Even if you time jump, even if time shifts, your body is still growing a baby and it takes the amount of time that it takes.”

Sophie said, “Och, I am ready for it tae be done though, the bairn has been kickin’ up a storm, but aye, with time changin’ around us, tis nice tae hae somethin’ that follows the moon. The physician told me the bairn was due on the twenty-second day of the month, but I am inclined tae think he will be delivered tae our arms on the night of the new moon.”

“That’s lovely, we ought to drink to that.” I raised my glass. “To the coming bairn on the night of the new moon and Sophie and James’s waiting arms.”

Everyone raised their glasses and we toasted with a bit more whisky.

Then Zach stood. “No one stop me. I know I’m not supposed to do anything, I must be waited on, but if we don’t have a round of beers we’re going to be drunk off my arse.” He hiccuped, laughed, and went into the house.

Magnus shook his head. “How long did we keep him from the kitchen?”

Emma said, “It was a valiant effort, but lasted about an hour.”

Fraoch said, “Tis where he is lord, he must rule over it.”

We all raised our glasses again, but then Zach returned with a case of beer and a pitcher of what he called Party Punch, a nonalcoholic juice.

Hayley said, “Hey, how come you don’t serve us Party Punch after a jump? Why go-go juice? Party Punch tastes much better.”

“It’s much better because it has mounds of sugar in it, go-go juice is specially made to be vitamin heavy and... gah!” He waved his hand. “Just drink your juice. Just accept that I have concoctions that are specially made and I know best. When I pass everyone a juice...” He popped a cap off a beer bottle and tipped it up taking a swig. “What do you say?”

Quentin joked, “Yes, sir. It tastes terrible, sir, thank you, sir.”

Chef Zach said, “See, Quentin gets me!”

I said, “Now where were we...?”

Hayley spoke, “I said ‘History is settled’ and was told to wheesht and not to tempt fate, is that what you mean?”

I said, “I agree with the wheesht — no talking about the big scheme of things, not when everything seems good — it feels settled. We’re surrounded by twinkly lights and barbecue, babies sleeping, a baby about to be born... let’s not discuss the history of the world.”

Hayley said, “I’m sorry I said it. Now, looking around at everyone, that seems like a downward turn, who wants that? Not me! I ate a fine dish of barbecue, let’s just digest.”

Lochie said, “But...”

Magnus groaned. “What, Lochinvar?”

“Nothin’, just daena like the idea of becomin’ soft.”

Fraoch scoffed. “We arna soft.” He tried to pop the cap off a beer and accidentally nicked his thumb, winced, and sucked it for a minute. “Daena look at me.”

Lochie said, “We canna be soft, we must keep aware of our surroundings.”

Quentin nodded. “Totally agree.”

Lochie said, “We hae tae keep a clear eye when we look around at the timeline, make certain we arna missin’ something.”

Magnus exhaled. “Aye, tis true. We must always be watchful.”

Hayley said, “Well, that’s a downer. I notice no one told you to wheesht.”

Beaty returned, holding Noah.

I asked, “Did Jack wake?”

“Nae, he’s fast asleep.”

She sat down with Noah in her lap. Quentin kissed her cheek and the top of Noah’s wee head. Mookie dropped down to his side by her chair with a grunt.

I asked, “What would be a good way to keep aware of our surroundings?—?”

The security guard up on the roof said, “Sir, there’s a storm.”

Zach jumped up from his chair and rushed into the kitchen and came back with his monitor while Magnus and Fraoch both rose from their seats.

Zach said, “Looks like your mom.”

Magnus said, “Och, tis great news, just what we needed on our convivial night, who wants tae go?”

Quentin, Magnus, and Fraoch all left. James and Lochinvar stood at the end of the walkway watching down the beach.