Chapter Sixteen
Three Hours Later
The Castle
Late Afternoon
Oh, it had been a chilly walk back to the castle, and despite that, no one seemed to care. The sun had broken through the clouds, and the breeze had stopped blowing. That made it almost pleasant.
Only, the whole way back, they didn’t talk about what went down in that part of the woods.
Why?
What was there to say?
Anyone who had been skeptical about ghosts being a real thing couldn’t be a naysayer any longer. In fact, this little experience told them all one thing.
Scotland was definitely full of the dead. It was an old country, on an old continent, and the lands there had to have many lost souls.
You could just feel it when you were here.
Now, though, she was thinking about trying to put this all to bed, once and for all. While she appreciated all the legwork they’d done to get it this far, Elizabeth knew this was the most important part.
Why?
Because she looked like Ceit, and a piece of her was worried about one thing.
Was she related to the woman?
Or was the universe just yanking her chain?
Only, for her, Elizabeth knew that coincidences were bullshit, and that was making her curious.
If it wasn’t a coincidence, that had to mean that her bloodline was tied to this. What she did know was her father had told her that his side of the family was Scottish. He knew that was his ancestry, but what were the chances?
Did this all happen because fate was driving that particular bus?
If she wasn’t, how the hell did she look like an older Ceit according to that portrait. There was no way that was a coincidence either.
Then take the name of the place.
Ravensmire?
After Timothy Blackhawk called her the raven, and head of the family?
Again, Fate appeared to be driving this bus.
Her gut said it was all connected because very little happened without fate being involved. Callen and Chris didn’t randomly stumble upon this place.
She’d bet on it.
At the barn, they headed in and made sure the horses were back. They were actually standing inside the barn, eating apples from the barrel that Graham kept nearby and full.
“Aye! You’ll be fat!” he said, putting the lid back on that one of the horses had pulled off to get to the treats.
Elizabeth just laughed.
“Uh, no one has ever gotten fat from an apple, Graham. I’d be more upset that they ditched our asses. They aren’t team players,” she joked.
Well, there was that too.
“Why don’t you head in, Ladies?” Graham stated. “I’ll groom the horses.”
Gabby looked at her watch.
“I need to call Finn. I want to check in and tell him all about this! He’s not going to believe this! This was insanity!”
That it was.
Ethan was curious.
“Can I help?” he asked. “I like spending time with the horses. I can’t wait until the kids see them.”
Graham didn’t mind.
Michael on the other hand was going to head in if Graham had help.
He’d get some coffee on to warm them up and put out a snack for all of them.
He was peckish.
Sue him.
That had been a hike, and he’d been digging a hole. He needed to refuel.
“I’ll put on some water for tea and get the coffee pot going,” he offered.
The whole way, Elizabeth was quiet.
In fact, she walked away, leaving them all standing there.
“Is she going to be okay?” Gabby asked. “She didn’t say a word the whole way back.”
Yeah, Ethan was aware.
“I think she’s processing,” he admitted. “This was a lot. She’s not a fan of this kind of a thing. While we both know that ghosts exist, since we’ve had a run-in before a few times, it’s a lot.”
That it was.
“Just give her some space.”
That was probably for the best. No one wanted to bother her or upset her.
As they divided up, Ethan kept helping with the horses, and Graham was curious.
“Michael told me she wants more animals. Are you going to be okay with that?” he asked. “We rescued these horses from slaughter.”
He pet Juliet as he was brushing her down.
“And she wanted a bigger barn built.”
He knew why he was asking.
Ethan was notoriously difficult when it came to animals being adopted. Mostly, dogs.
It was clear that Michael had told his husband that.
Honestly, it wasn’t that he didn’t like them, but as a kid, he didn’t have pets. They barely had enough money for food for them. On the reservation, the dogs ran wild, and there was a good reason.
They had a better chance on their own than chained to a doghouse with Natives in charge.
So, technically, they all had pets.
Kind of.
“I’m good with it. I just don’t like dogs eating my shoes. That stems from my childhood.”
Graham let him talk.
“When you don’t have a lot growing up, and you knew you weren’t getting more of something, you were very protective of it.”
Graham got it.
“I’m sorry you had a bad upbringing.”
Ethan shrugged.
“It wasn’t bad. It was just…lean. Tell me about your life before the military,” he said, knowing some things about Graham, but not a lot. He did know his parents turned him out when they found out he was gay.
And that pissed him off.
He’d never tell CJ or any of the kids to leave. He’d never pack them up. Well, he’d likely be packing CJ up—for his prison sentence.
But that was a whole other situation.
At his curiosity, Graham moved the one horse into the stall, and began working on another one.
“I had a good childhood. I’m an only child, that I know of, but my parents were good parents until they found out I was gay.
I made the mistake of telling them before I could go to university.
I had to join the military to survive. That’s how I got lucky on a joint military venture and met D’Artangnan—I mean Michael. ”
Ethan focused on the man.
“I guess I’m glad you had to go into the military then. I know that Michael was heartbroken over you for years.”
He let him talk.
“Elizabeth had to talk him down from the ledge MANY a night. She even had to go get him from a bar or three when he’d gotten into a fight or was too drunk to call a cab.”
Yeah, Graham had heard.
“We both suffered in our own ways.”
Ethan was honest.
“I’m glad you found each other again. There’s a huge difference in Michael now that he’s found his other half. In fact, between you and I, he’s working on a gift for you.”
He lifted a brow.
“What?”
Ethan smiled.
“Well, it’s not really a gift. It was something he asked my wife to handle. You’ll have to talk to him about that.”
Well, he would.
Bet on it.
As they finished up the horses, it had taken a little time, and Ethan wanted to get a shower and change.
Especially if they were going into town.
“Thank you for taking me in,” Graham said. “I can’t tell you how much my heart has healed since not only finding my other half again, but also having a family. I didn’t realize how much I needed a mother and father.”
Oh, he knew that feeling.
Ethan knew his life would have been different, and so would have Callen’s had they been loved like they’d needed by parents.
And Chris’s.
And Gene’s.
And Elizabeth’s.
All of them had lost someone they loved, and that changed each and every one of them.
“The pleasure has been ours, Graham. You’re a good son, and we’re glad to have you in our family.
Love is precious, and you’re going to have a good life with Michael.
I can tell. We love being grandparents, so if you take on children, sign us up to babysit.
Don’t think that my wife won’t get on a jet and fly six hours to get to a grandbaby.
Just check her purse before she leaves.”
That gave him so much joy to think he and Michael would one day be parents, and not only that, but have backup.
“They will be lucky kids,” Ethan admitted. “You’ll be an amazing father, and so will Michael.”
That overwhelmed the man, and Blackhawk could see it.
So, he did what was needed.
Hugging him, Ethan patted him on the back.
“Love heals. I’m glad you’re the man you needed to be,” he admitted.
Yeah, Graham was too.
Now that the horses were done, and they’d had their heart-to-heart, Ethan headed away, going inside. There, he found Gabby having some coffee, and Michael leaning on the counter.
“Where’s Elizabeth?” he asked.
Michael told him.
“She’s in the library. I just brought her some coffee. Right now, she’s neck deep in research. She borrowed Graham’s laptop, and she’s doing some investigating on the internet.”
He lifted a brow.
“Really?” he asked. “That’s new. Normally, she has someone help her.”
Michael handed him a mug of steaming coffee.
“Well, she didn’t look like she was against company. Maybe we should all spend some time working on that before we head into town for dinner.”
That worked for him.
“Let’s go see what she’s working on,” he offered. “And help out.”
Gabby grabbed her coffee and the plate of cookies to share with Elizabeth. She was going to fatten her up a bit while she was here in Scotland, so she’d go back healthier, and with the weight she’d taken off back on her body.
“I’ll catch up. I’m going to wait for Graham.”
That reminded Ethan.
“You need to tell him what you’ve planned. I hinted that you had a present coming. He’d love to know it.”
Oh, well, he would do that later when they were alone. His plan had been to surprise him.
“I can’t wait.”
Gabby lifted a brow.
“What are you talking about?”
Michael just grinned.
“I’ve changed my name back, legally,” he said.
“I’m going back to being D’Artangnan. I want to reclaim that part of my life—because it isn’t painful anymore.
It’s actually important. Instead of making Graham try to remember to call me Michael, he can use the name he knew me by before. That man is back again.”
Gabby smiled.
“So goodbye, Michael?”
He shook his head.
“No, it’s now D’Artangnan Saint Michael Graves. The saint part is a little homage to my mother, Elizabeth, because that’s what she calls me.”
Gabby hugged him.
“It’s good to have you back, D’Artangnan, or Saint Michael,” she said. “Graham will be tickled pink.”
Oh, he was aware.
There was no doubt in his mind.