Chapter Eleven
The Castle
Nightfall
Scotland
Luckily for them, they just made it back when the snow started falling all around them. Any longer, and there was no doubt that the two men would have sent out a search party to make sure they weren’t lost on the estate grounds.
The whole time they rode back, one thing hit them both.
It was absolutely beautiful here in the mountains of Scotland. Oh, and that it appeared they were going to have a white Halloween at this point.
Elizabeth hoped that Ian and Gryphen were good with that for their wedding.
While she could change up decorations, she couldn’t make the weather change.
That was all about Mother Nature and her fickleness.
As they put the horses away and scared the goats together, just to get their giggle on, Ethan did something he hadn’t in a long time.
He gave her his back and expected her to jump on so that he could do something he rarely got to do anymore.
Give Elizabeth a piggyback ride.
They’d done it countless times when they first found each other, and now, he wanted to go back there, feeling her legs around his waist, as she laughed outrageously.
He missed those moments.
So, he tried to recreate this one next.
At first, she went to worry, but she knew he was asking for trust too.
So, she gave it to him.
Hiking up her skirt, she jumped and let him piggyback her into the castle.
At the back door, they headed in and were met with Graham and Michael in the kitchen, sitting at the island.
Both had wet hair, and Elizabeth doubted it was from being out in the snow.
That was shower-sex hair.
She knew it well.
Oh, and she missed it too. Maybe later, when they went to bed, she might be able to convince Ethan of some fun water games. God knew the shower was big enough for some competitive team sports.
Callen, if anything, was predictable.
That was for sure.
“We were just going to send out someone to find you,” Graham admitted, pointing at his husband.
Oh, and the man being pointed at got it.
Michael laughed.
“I see where your loyalties lie when it’s cold and wet outside. I’m the search party.”
Graham gave him a kiss.
“Aye, Laddie. That you are.”
He’d manhandled him in the shower, and Graham was an equal opportunity kind of a man. Besides, seeing his husband on horseback was incredibly sexy.
Sue him.
He had his kinks, too.
“I thought you guys got lost,” Michael offered.
Ethan put his wife down, and he hung up his jacket that he’d been wearing.
“We found a field and made use of it,” he said, winking at the man. “It was filled with all of these pink and purple dahlias. So, I needed to show it absolute perfection,” he added, meaning his beautiful wife.
She blushed, and Ethan kissed her on the cheek as he wrapped his arm around her waist.
Oh, yeah, this was a good sign, and the two men knew it. All seemed to be working out, after all.
As for the location, Michael knew the field.
But beyond that, he was damn happy.
Mom and Dad had fixed their shit, and it appeared they were back on the right path.
Thank.
Freaking.
God.
Without their core, they had a slew of problems. Ethan and Elizabeth were the center of the family, and everyone wanted them to be okay.
“We were also going to work on dinner,” Michael admitted. “What are you in the mood for?” he asked, not sure if she planned on cooking or not. That had been before she found out that Ethan had arrived.
If not, they could handle it.
It was, after all, their job.
Elizabeth put her hand in Ethan’s, and she stared at Michael like he’d lost his mind.
“Did I not say I’d make dinner?” she asked.
Michael grinned.
“I mean, that was before you got pecked at by a certain dad in a field.”
She snorted.
“The raven is good at pecking. Probably too good for my own good,” she joked.
Ethan winked at her.
“I’ll be pecking later, too. If the room is a-rocking, put in some earplugs.”
That was his warning.
Hopefully, they all got it.
Michael stared at him.
“I’m right here. That’s my Mom,” he said. “Seriously, Dad? Pervert.”
That made Ethan laugh even more. While Michael wasn’t of his wife’s body, he was of their hearts, and that was far more important.
“I’m definitely on cooking duty,” she said, changing the subject before they all needed therapy.
Michael grinned.
“Mom is cooking,” he said, rubbing his hands together. “Please say Italian. Please say Italian,” he said over and over again as his husband stared at him.
“By this reaction, you’d think you hadn’t eaten in a long time,” he joked.
Oh, this man didn’t get it.
“Her Italian is to die for,” he stated. “Every year for my birthday, she makes me chicken cutlets and pasta. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen mom beating the hell out of chicken for dinner.”
She snorted.
“We don’t have chickens here, do we? Once I make friends, I can’t eat them.”
Michael laughed.
“We have some cranky ducks, but no chickens. They live on the lake. I’d be cranky too if I lived there.”
Well, then, she was good.
“Chicken cutlets it is.”
Only, Ethan stopped her.
“I’m cooking too. Point me at the sauce. Lyzee, my love. You’ve got the chicken, but I’m on sauce duty.”
Michael was giddy.
“Oh, we eatin’ tonight,” he said.
The whole time, his husband stood there with his arms across his chest.
“I mean, I’m eating again,” he stated, correcting himself. “No one cooks as good as my husband.”
Graham laughed.
“Liar.”
He let it go.
Why?
Because Elizabeth and Ethan were going to team up in the kitchen, and that almost never happened anymore.
Time hadn’t permitted it.
As for Ethan, she bumped him with her hip.
“You know it, handsome. Let’s show these children how it’s done,” she said.
And with that, she rolled up the sleeves to Gabby’s borrowed sweater, toed off her shoes, and got an apron from Graham.
The two men sat down as Elizabeth and Ethan got to work.
“You’re about to enjoy the best pasta and chicken cutlets ever made,” Michael told his husband. “Trust me when I say you’re going to want to eat it naked in bed at three in the morning.”
At his words, Ethan began laughing.
“I remember those days,” he admitted. “When Elizabeth and I first got married, we came back to DC, and we had that as our first meal there. Right after, we moved to Damascus to open FBI West for Gabe. We’ve eaten a lot of chicken at three in the morning.”
She smiled.
“When I was pregnant with CJ, I liked a cold cutlet sandwich with pickles at three in the morning. I ate that a lot. By some miracle, I didn’t get fat, and the kid didn’t come out looking like a cutlet.”
He slapped her on the ass.
“You got fat right where it needed to be,” he said, winking at her.
It made her blush.
As Graham and Michael watched, it was nice to see them back in this groove together. Michael hadn’t seen this in a long time—even before he left the US to come here.
It was sweet.
As Ethan got down to making the sauce, and Elizabeth was pounding chicken breasts, they all heard the alarm notify them that the gate just opened.
Both Ethan and Elizabeth paused. It was clear they were not accustomed to people not reacting to that.
“It’s coded,” Michael admitted. “That’s going to be Finn and Gabby. My phone chimed with a set sound to tell us who it is. It’s okay.”
Yeah, they’d been locked down hard if a chime made them both go on alert.
When no one went running, both Ethan and Elizabeth glanced at each other.
Pavlov’s dogs had been trained.
Now, they both relaxed.
It appeared dinner was going to be an event, and they were here for it.
Going off to let them in and to move the car into the garage, Graham grabbed the keys and left them there to continue without him.
“Snow is coming,” Michael stated. “Apparently, it’s going to be a mess tomorrow. Thank goodness we bought you guys heavy gear.”
Ethan was appreciative.
The last thing he wanted was to freeze his balls off if they went horseback riding.
He needed them.
As he made his famous sauce, he was chopping fresh herbs for his wife and himself for each of their parts of the recipe.
“Thanks for getting everything for me,” he stated.
Elizabeth lifted a brow.
“Funny how you don’t seem shocked that Ethan just showed up here,” she said, accusingly. “And you magically knew to buy him clothing—clothing I thought was for you and Graham,” she added.
He laughed.
“He knows the codes to the house, so when he arrived, and I saw the gate being opened, and the house being accessed, I got the alert.”
She listened.
“PLUS, if you recall, on our way down the hill, a dark blue sports car went by us. The American-made one. That’s Callen’s, and he keeps it at the airfield.
There is nothing at the top of the road but us, so we also knew then that someone arrived.
If anything, Mom, I’m very observant. That’s why Ivan isn’t here up all of our asses. ”
Well, thank God for that.
Still, it was sneaky.
But she appreciated him letting it be a surprise. It ended up being what she needed.
As Gabby and Finn came in through the garage, Graham was right behind them.
As soon as she saw Ethan, she gave him a big hug.
“Ethan!”
He hugged her back.
“Hey, Gabs,” he said. “I’ve missed you. It seems that Scotland is good for you. I haven’t seen you smiling this much in a long time.”
Yeah, the feeling was mutual.
And true.
She loved it here.
“You remember my husband,” she said to Ethan.
Yes, yes, he did.
He shook Finn’s hand. He’d met the man when Gabby headed home to pack up her place before returning to her new home in Scotland.
“Inspector,” he said. “It’s a pleasure seeing you again. Thanks for taking care of our Gabby.”
Oh, he didn’t mind.
Finn took his wife’s coat, and his, so he could hang them by the door.
“That is a pleasure,” he stated. “Gabby makes my heart happy,” he admitted. “Oh, and it’s just Finn,” he said. “Fancy meeting you here, Lad. Come for the scenery?” he asked, amused.
From what he’d noticed when they came in, Elizabeth looked better.
It looked as if she got her wish. He and Gabby had been discussing her on the way up the mountain, but now, there seemed to be nothing to worry about.
Ethan glanced over at his wife.
“Yeah, and it’s gorgeous.”