Chapter 8
As soon as Robert arrived home, he headed over to the vet clinic. He needed to remove the pictures from the walls so Maisie could adorn them with her own animal photography, and he didn’t want her to know that he’d already decorated the clinic. Edeen had actually picked out the pictures and helped him hang them. He hoped he wouldn’t disappoint his sister when she saw the changes he was making. Though he suspected Maisie couldn’t take the photos right away because of her sprained ankle.
To his surprise, he heard Edeen say, “Knock, knock!” at the door of the clinic.
He left one of the exam rooms, carrying some of the pictures, and she frowned. “You’re redecorating the clinic at this hour? Are you planning to paint the walls a new color? I thought they were perfect—a light beige that isn’t as glaring as all white.”
Now he felt really guilty that Edeen had done all of this for him. “No, you picked out the perfect paint for the place. Maisie asked if I wanted her to photograph some of the animals that we take care of to put them up on the walls. What you did was great, though, and if she hadn’t offered to do the photos for the clinic, I wouldn’t have changed a thing.”
Edeen smiled. “Aww. That’s a wonderful idea, instead of using the generic pictures we bought online. She probably could use the extra money and you have plenty.”
Both Edeen and Robert had inherited quite a bit of money from family, and with his income from his vet business also, he was doing well. He always tried to support wolf businesses whenever he could. “Yeah, between the MacQuarries, the MacNeill pack, and us, I already have a lot of animals I’ll be working with. Having photos of different breeds of dogs would be nice.”
“Veronica could frame them,” Edeen said. “You don’t think Veronica will mind that you spent time dancing with her at Christmastime and now you are spending time with Maisie, do you?”
“Veronica and I have never indicated to each other that we want to date. Though with Maisie, that’s another story.” He removed some of the pictures in the lobby.
“Oh?” Edeen took down the last of them in there.
“We decided we needed to do something that wasn’t so dangerous on our next get-together, so we are going to Heather’s shop for pies the day after tomorrow for lunch.” He moved into another exam room.
Edeen laughed and followed him in there. “That sounds good. How are Lady’s puppies doing? When Lachlan came home for dinner, he told me all about them.”
“They are all perfectly healthy, and so is Lady.”
“That’s good. I guess you met Maisie’s sister, Anne?” Edeen took down the last picture in an exam room, and they carried them out to the lobby.
“Aye. She seems really nice. I had a great dinner with them. Are you going to have lunch at the castle and watch Lachlan spar tomorrow?” Robert asked.
“I wouldn’t miss it. I’m going to be there to make sure that Lachlan doesn’t get too caught up in the fight and forget you’re just in training.”
Robert loved how his sister was always looking after him, just like he did with her. “I’m sure he’ll be really easy on me, or Colleen would have words with him since she needs me to deliver her babies. If you get to the castle before me for lunch, save Maisie and me seats together, will you? She was supposed to go there by herself and be working with Conan, but because she has a sprained ankle, I’m picking her up and taking her.”
“Good, and I sure will. She and I, and probably Colleen, if she’s not too uncomfortable, will watch you spar then.”
He really wished he wouldn’t have an audience, though he knew it was inevitable. “Of course.” Everyone would want to know how the newest male member of the clan could sword fight.
“Oh, I realized that I haven’t invited the sisters to the wedding. I need to do that.” Edeen set the picture she had removed on the floor next to the others.
“I’m sure they would love to come,” Robert said.
“I’ll be sure to invite them then. So…how is it going between you and Maisie?” his sister asked.
After the kiss they shared? No way was he going to pursue any other she-wolf unless things didn’t work out between them. “Great. We just sync on so many levels.”
“Like Lachlan and me.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, and in disastrous situations, she’s a gem. She was eager to rescue a wolf in need—that’s me—and a dog giving birth. She’s a rugged individual with a heart of gold.”
“I knew you liked her the way you were all in with wanting to do more things with her.”
“On another note, I’m worried that she might have a stalker situation with her ex.”
“No. Did you tell Grant and Colleen?”
“Yeah, on the way home, I called them to let them know.” Then he told her about them finding the driver’s license in the garden.
“Hmm, that all sounds mysterious. Keep me posted on it.”
“I will.”
Edeen glanced around at the walls. “They look so barren now. I hope Maisie takes some photos that will go up soon.”
“I have three weeks before I’m open, so I’m sure they’ll be done by then.”
Edeen gave Robert a hug. “Well, it’s so nice of you to hire her for some photography work.” She looked at the pictures leaning against the wall. “Do you want to put them in one of my storage buildings until we can find a new home for them?”
He smiled. “Yeah, that would be great.”
“You’ve had a wild day of it. I’m sure you want to get some rest. I definitely need to. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Thanks. It has been that.” Ever since Maisie had come into his life. He hugged his sister, then left the clinic with her, carrying the photos to her storage building.
Then he returned home, and Mittens greeted him, purring while winding her body around his legs. “Time for bed, little one.” Robert took a shower before he went to bed. All he could think of was snuggling with Maisie on Eilean Tioram by the campfire with Lady. He smiled. He was sure their date at Heather’s shop would be uneventful and really nice. But before that, he would enjoy having lunch with her up at Farraige Castle and hope he didn’t look too inept while he sparred with Lachlan.
***
The next morning, Robert was up early, still unpacking his stuff at the house—though twice when he went to break down a box, he found Mittens had climbed into one and curled up to sleep—and needing to get everything ready for the open house party that weekend. Chef was eager to make the food for the celebration, and Robert was happy to let him be in charge of the whole thing.
Robert called Colleen to check on her after breakfast. “Hey, how are you doing?” he asked when she answered. He hoped he wasn’t making a nuisance of himself, checking on her and Heather all the time, but they were both first-time mothers and he didn’t want to miss delivering them or learning if either of them was having any kind of distress. Both Heather and Colleen were alphas and tended to believe they could handle things on their own.
“I’m good. I’ve just been having those false labor pains. No big deal. They’ve been going on for the last week, but just on and off, you know. Nothing steady or long-term,” Colleen said.
“Okay, well, let me know if anything changes as soon as it does.” He thought she sounded fine.
“I sure will. Thanks, Robert.” Her voice was warm and welcoming.
He could tell she was glad he was checking on her, and he was relieved about that.
When they ended the call, he checked in with Heather, who was due about the same time, only a couple of days after Colleen.
“I’m fine,” Heather said, and he could hear customers in the background ordering meals.
Then he heard Oran say, “Who is that? Enrick?”
“No, it’s Robert.” Heather sounded annoyed with her brother.
“Let me have the phone,” Oran said.
“No, go away, Oran. I’m fine.” Heather said to Robert, “I’m not having any contractions.”
“Hey, Doc,” Oran said, “tell Heather she needs to get off her feet. Callum, Ethan, and I are filling in for her so she can get some rest, but she insists that she doesn’t need to rest. That if she keeps working up until the time she goes into labor, it will happen more quickly than if she just lies around at home. But we’re all feeling like we’re dangling from a cliff here. We don’t know how Enrick can be so calm about it, except he’s not here to see her working so hard.”
Robert smiled. “If she feels fine, she’s okay to work. But if she is having a lot of swelling in her legs, ankles, and feet, then she needs to get off her feet. Let me talk to Heather.”
Heather said to Robert, “Sheesh, you’re lucky you don’t have a bunch of annoying brothers.”
Oran said, “We heard that.” Then the brothers laughed.
“Are you having any swelling in your legs?” Robert asked, glad her brothers were watching out for her while her mate was working up at the castle.
“No. I put my feet up at night. Enrick insists upon it, but really, I’m good.”
“Okay, well, if you feel any discomfort at all, let me know.”
“Thanks, Robert. Colleen and I are just really glad you’re here to help us through it. I’m sure the rest of our families are also.”
“I’m glad to be here. I just wanted to check in with you.”
“Thanks, Doc. I’m glad you’re doing so. If my brothers had had their way, I would have stopped working a month ago. As it is, all three are in here constantly, trying to help out or take over, and are driving me nuts. The thing of it is, once the babies are born, they’ll have to work in here, so they really should leave me to my work until then.”
Robert suspected she was saying that more to her brothers than to him. “They just worry about you.”
“They’re worried they’re going to have to deliver the twins at the shop.”
Robert chuckled. “I don’t blame them. I wouldn’t want to have to deliver your babies there either, even as your doctor.”
Heather laughed.
Then they ended the call, and he checked in with Maisie. “Hey, how’s your ankle?”
“Much better. It helps to be a wolf.”
“Yeah, it sure does. Can you walk on it?”
“Nay.”
“I’ve got some crutches. Would you like to use them?” He had that and wheelchairs just in case anyone needed some assistance if they were injured.
“Aye! Thanks. I don’t want you to have to carry me everywhere, so that would be perfect.” Maisie sounded grateful, and he was glad he had them for her to use.
“Okay, I’ll bring them with me when I come to get you.”
“The Abercrombys had breakfast with us and our other guests. They couldn’t get ahold of Gus’s brother, Ike, but they did reach Stuart, and he said that all he knew was that Gus was going to be in our area for a couple of days. They gave me Ike’s phone number. They are returning home, but they wanted to thank you again for helping to locate Lady and delivering her pups.”
“They were so welcome. I’ll be over about a quarter of eleven.”
“Super. See you soon.”
Then he went back to work on organizing his kitchen. He was thinking once he got his house in order—no packing boxes all over the place any longer—he would invite both Maisie and Anne over for dinner to reciprocate for the lovely dinner he’d had at their place. He needed to get some more groceries also.
With all the unpacking he was doing, it didn’t take long before he needed to leave. He donned his kilt, shirt, and boots, grabbing his sword and dirk for the sparring activities after lunch, and then drove out to the inn to pick up Maisie.
Anne opened the door and greeted him. “Oh, Maisie didn’t tell me you would be all dressed up in your kilt.” She looked impressed.
Maisie waved to him from the dining room where she was seated, having a cup of tea. “The MacQuarries are battling it out after lunch. You know, warriors will be warriors.”
“Aww. Then you’re watching them?” Anne asked Maisie.
“Yeah. I’ll pick up tips while I do, and we can use them in our own demonstrations,” Maisie said.
“Well, you’re looking mighty fine in your kilt, that’s for sure,” Anne said.
Maisie laughed. “I agree, but I was going to tell Robert that once we got into the car.”
“Thanks,” Robert said, glad he at least had the kilt and rest of the wardrobe for the affair. He had the sword his grandfather had passed down to him, though he hadn’t used it in a good long while. Actually about twenty years ago, sparring with his da.
He checked over Maisie’s ankle. “The swelling is really going down, and the bruising is starting to fade. Have you tried to step on it?”
“Yeah, it still hurts. Not really bad, but enough that I don’t want to put a lot of weight on it yet.”
“Maybe by tomorrow you will be able to.” He lifted her off the dining room chair and carried her to his car.
“Thank you. But at the castle, I’m strictly using your crutches.”
Anne walked outside with them. “Enjoy lunch and the rest, you two.”
“You know you could join us.” Robert didn’t want Anne to believe she wasn’t just as welcome as Maisie.
“I figured that, but I need to work on the rooms and monitor the reservations,” Anne said. “It really is better if one of us is here, though we would like to train someone else to fill in so both of us can be away if there’s something important for both of us to go to.”
“Check with Grant and Colleen. You might be able to find a wolf or two who could use some extra income and a job away from the castle,” Robert said.
“I’ll do that today while I’m up there,” Maisie said.
She and Robert said goodbye to her sister, and then he drove off to the castle.
“Okay, so you look super-hot in your kilt,” she said.
He laughed. “Thank you.”
“I wasn’t sure that you would be dressed for the occasion.”
“I might not be a master swordsman, but I’ve got the wardrobe to make it look like I am.”
She smiled. “You sure do, and you have the body to make it work.”
He reached over and squeezed her hand. “You say all the right words.”
Once they reached the castle, she used the crutches. When they walked inside the great hall, the Irish wolfhounds all greeted them. Edeen and Lachlan welcomed Maisie and Robert to the high table, where she’d saved seats for them like she promised she would.
Maisie sat in the seat saved for her, and Grant and Colleen both came over to check on her. “How are you doing?” Colleen asked, looking concerned.
“I’m good. I’m going to sit and watch everyone sparring instead of training Conan today. Maybe in a couple of days I’ll be able to work with him.” Maisie loved how genuinely caring everyone in the wolf pack was.
“There’s no rush. He’s a good dog, and whenever you’re ready to do it, he’ll be ready for you,” Grant said.
“On another topic, we need a phone hacker, if anyone in the pack can do it,” Robert said, bringing out Jude’s phone. “I don’t know if anyone can or not.”
She was relieved he had brought it up because she had been concerned about it.
Grant raised a brow in question. Colleen looked just as interested in learning what that was all about.
Maisie instantly worried they would think that hacking into the phone was an invasion of someone’s privacy and not a wolf’s way. Before she could explain the situation, Robert did.
“He is an ex-boyfriend of Maisie’s from Glasgow and lost his phone in her garden. He wasn’t a guest, and he didn’t go to see her, so we need to know what he was up to,” Robert said. “Hopefully he’s not stalking her, but we need to be sure about his intentions.”
“Ah, I see your point.” Grant took the phone from him and turned it on. “We’ll have to find someone who has a charger that fits this phone and get it charged up too before it dies. I’ll see who might be able to deal with it.”
“Thanks,” Robert said.
Maisie echoed his comment, so glad Grant would look into it for them.
Despite having an injured ankle, Maisie was having a grand time. All the guys eating in the great hall looked like they were getting ready to battle it out in a movie. She knew a movie had been filmed here before. If she and Anne had lived at the inn at the time and had known the MacQuarries were lupus garous also, they might have been able to take part in the movie. If nothing else, they could have watched it being filmed. That would have been fun. Even though the movie had featured wolves, she and Anne had never guessed they were shifters and not just real trained wolves.
Once they finished their delightful lunch, she, Edeen, and Colleen had front-row seats outside, in the inner bailey, to watch the battle. It was a warm, sunny day, just perfect for the practice session.
Maisie had walked out on the crutches, wishing she could ditch them tomorrow, when she and Robert would go to Heather’s shop for lunch. She glanced at Colleen, who was so big with her twins, she looked like she could have them at any minute. The guys had even erected a sun umbrella for them so they would stay cooler. They were served refreshments, which Colleen definitely needed, but Maisie thought the guys working out would need them a lot more than Maisie did. Men and women on staff were setting up a table filled with refreshments for the warriors. That was good.
This was so cool. The men were stripping off their shirts, looking hot and muscular, but Robert had all Maisie’s attention. Now that Robert was shirtless—again—it made her think of the comment Lachlan had made about Robert removing his shirt in front of her, which had tickled her. She would never tire of seeing Robert’s hot abs on full display.
The men started to fight, Grant and Enrick sparring with each other while Lachlan was working with Robert. Despite Robert saying he didn’t know how to fight, Maisie was impressed with his skills as she watched him attacking, parrying, and holding his own. Maybe Lachlan was holding back a little, but Maisie didn’t think he was doing a whole lot to ease Robert into the training. Here she thought she would have to take Robert in hand and show him all the moves she knew when he could definitely teach her a trick or two.
“Robert is really good at this,” Colleen said, rubbing her belly.
“Yeah, he has really surprised me. I thought the way Robert was so worried about fighting the guys that he would lose his sword or have to take it really easy to begin with,” Edeen said.
“He is amazing,” Maisie said, so impressed.
Edeen suddenly grabbed Maisie’s arm, startling her. “I keep forgetting to tell you about our wedding. Lachlan and I are getting married in a week. We would love to have you and your sister both come to it. We were so undecided about the time of the wedding that we only just finally firmed it up. We’ll have it a week from Saturday at ten at the castle for the wedding and reception.”
“We would love to come. We’ll have to make arrangements to have everything covered at the inn, but I’m sure we’ll be there. Do you have a registry set up anywhere?” Maisie was delighted that meeting the members of the wolf pack had opened their world up to all kinds of celebrations with more shifters. It was really fun, and she wanted their parents to move here and be able to enjoy all the happenings.
“If you want to take the photos at the wedding, we don’t have an official photographer. That would be wonderful.”
“Oh, sure, I can do that. I would be honored. Are you going somewhere for your honeymoon?”
“Bali, Indonesia. Robert will be taking care of all the animals.”
Maisie laughed. “I’m sure he’ll love it.” She continued to watch Robert battle it out with Lachlan and hoped he wasn’t trying to show off in front of her. Though being a wolf, he was probably trying to prove his worth to everyone, guys and ladies both.
A dark-haired woman with the prettiest brown eyes joined the group of women. “Hi, I’m Veronica Daniels,” she said, introducing herself to Maisie. “I do all the picture framing for the pack as well as creating other wood-crafted items. Robert said once you take photos for his clinic, he wants me to frame them.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful. As soon as I’m off these crutches, I’ll take the photos and you can work your magic.”
Veronica nodded. “Colleen said you and he got stuck on Eilean Tioram for a few hours yesterday. It must have been romantic.”
While Veronica was talking to her, Maisie was watching Robert, not wanting to miss any of the action. Robert glanced their way, and Lachlan whacked his sword hard and sent it flying. Poor Robert. But truly, he needed to focus fully on fighting and ignore everyone else around him.
Robert smiled at Maisie, and she smiled back. He quickly retrieved his sword and began fighting Lachlan again. Maisie cheered him on. She probably shouldn’t have. Several of the men fighting smiled, though they kept their eyes on their targets.
She was amazed to see all the fighters’ footwork, sword skill, and general cheerfulness as they sparred with each other. They were getting a workout, but they appeared to be having a blast doing it. Verbal banter between the guys made her smile.
“Hey, brother,” Grant said. “You do so much better when you and Enrick are both ganging up on me.”
Lachlan laughed. “I hate to admit it, but Robert’s making me work for it instead of you, Grant.”
As the oldest triplet and the pack leader, Grant always had to prove he was the most powerful of the brothers.
When Grant called a break, they all went to get drinks. Grant got a cup of water and walked over to see Colleen. “How are you doing?”
“I’m great. You’re doing fine as usual,” Colleen said, squeezing his hand.
Veronica smiled at Robert. “I told Maisie I would frame her animal photos when she has them done for you.”
“That’s wonderful,” Robert said. “You do a superb job.”
“I bet,” Maisie said. Watching the two interact, she suspected that Veronica’s speaking with her earlier was the reason for Robert’s distraction. Had Veronica dated Robert? Women’s and wolf’s intuition made Maisie suspect so and that’s why Veronica had said that getting stuck on Eilean Tioram with Robert was romantic.
Now Maisie wondered if Veronica was still interested in Robert or if it had been a short-lived thing.
“How’s your ankle, Maisie?” Robert asked.
“It’s fine, really, Robert.”
“Good.” He turned to Colleen then. “And how are you feeling?”
Colleen smiled. “Ready to deliver these babies. But otherwise, I’m good.”
“I bet,” Maisie said. “At least you’re not having triplets like Lachlan and his brothers’ mother had.”
“That’s for sure,” Colleen said. “I know Heather feels the same way as me about it. She has three brothers, so she was worried she might end up with quadruplets even because of our wolf heritage.”
“Oh no,” Maisie said. “I can just imagine. Oh, Colleen, I meant to ask if you have anyone who works here who might want to work part-time at the inn. Sometimes my sister and I need some additional coverage, like when we go to Robert’s open house or like with me injuring my ankle.”
“I can put out the word,” Colleen said.
“Perfect. Thanks.”
After another hour of sparring and another beverage break, Robert took Maisie to the kennels to see Conan. He was so excited to see her, but Robert immediately made him sit before he knocked her over.
“I truly need to do the transitional training with him.” She sat down on a bench, and he came over to greet her. “I miss you so much.” She hugged her dog, and he wagged his tail like crazy. She was glad he hadn’t forgotten her in the two and a half weeks he’d been here for training. She couldn’t wait for him to come home with her.
After that, Lachlan had to take him back to training.
“Would you like to have dinner with me?” Robert asked. “Or do you need to help at the inn?”
“Let me call my sister and see if she needs me. Otherwise, I would love to.” They got into his car, and Maisie called Anne. “Hey, Robert invited me for dinner. Are you going to be alright, or do you need my help?”
Anne laughed. “You know I can’t say you’re needed here when you have an all-important date with Robert. So how did it go?”
“Robert was amazing. He could teach us a thing or two about how to sword fight. Tomorrow, I need to sort through the marine life photos and then send them to the magazine. But if you need me to do anything at all, I’ll do it.”
“You can take care of online reservations if you want. Otherwise, we’re covered. You can’t do a whole lot with your bum ankle. We’re good.”
“Okay, thanks, Anne.” Maisie felt a little guilty that she was eating out with Robert and Anne was on her own, but she knew if the roles had been reversed, she would have been just as happy for Anne.