Page 49 of Wild Scottish Beauty

“I saw the Kelpies, and wanted to come check that everyone was okay.”

Silence greeted Agnes as we all looked up at her. She tilted her head at us in question, concern furrowing her brow as she folded her umbrella and placed it by the door, before shaking her coat off and hanging it on a hook. “What’s happened? What’s wrong?”

“Willow’s figured out what her magick is. And, apparently, also just informed Ramsay that we have magick. We’re just processing … I’m guessing?” Sophie twisted to look at me and I nodded faintly. “Also, they rescued this kitten from the loch.”

“Aww, look at the wee lad. Sometimes they do slip off that sea wall, don’t they?”

“Aye, we know it. Sir Buster did it himself, didn’t he then?” Lachlan said and I gaped up at him.

“Sir Buster fell in the loch?”

“And Lachlan went after him. We almost lost him because of how long he’d been in there.” A look passed between Lachlan and Sophie, full of so much love and tenderness that my heart twisted in my chest.

I wanted that. That inscrutablesomethingwith someone where a thousand words were said with barely a glance.

“Does this happen a lot? With animals by the water?”

“Here and there. Along that one side of the loch where there’s the sea wall that protects the road, they’ve slipped a time or two.” Agnes crouched by my side and ran a finger over the kitten’s head and its rumbling increased. “He seems well enough though.”

“Does he? I have no idea. I’ve never had a cat before.I’ve always wanted one though.” I looked down at the sleeping bundle, barely resisting the urge to rock it. The kitten was already sleeping, he didn’t need me to rock him to sleep. “Can I …”

I trailed off, not sure if it was too much of an ask and suspecting I wouldn’t like the answer that I would get. Sophie had already done so much for me, and I’d hardly proven myself—not as an employee nor as a member of the Order—and to ask to bring an animal into her home was totally overstepping.

“Can you what?” Ramsay’s voice was gruff.

“I really want to keep him. I’ve always wanted a cat, and I just feel like he’s mine. I really do. But it’s such a huge ask, and you’ve already got the dogs. Maybe I could keep him here? Or just in the apartment but not in the actual castle? Or bring him back and forth? I just feel like … I don’t know … like he belongs to me.” I stroked the kitten’s soft fur, and it nuzzled closer, tucking its head beneath my chin, and I realized that I was dangerously close to tears. It was stupid, really, he was just a kitten. I’m sure I could find him a good home if I needed to.

Maybe I just needed something for me. Something to love me without reservation, or expectation of anything other than companionship. A silly thought, maybe, but I was in a different country, with new friends, a new job, and felt decidedly out of place as I tried to navigate these wild, new circumstances into which I’d been thrust. Last night, when Sir Buster and Clyde curled up on my bed, it had been decidedly soothing, and now, as I held this tiny kitten to my chest, I desperately wanted him to be mine.

The kitten, seeming to sense my distress, lifted its head and licked my chin, its tongue rough against my skin.

“What’s his name?” Ramsay asked me.

“Calvin,” I said automatically, and Sophie laughed.

“Like Calvin Klein?”

“No, likeA Wrinkle in Time.”

“Ah yes, a wee hero in his own right, eh?” Agnes scratched Calvin’s ear, nodding her approval at me. “Great book.”

“It was my favorite growing up. Love wins.” I’d probably reread that book a hundred times. I could relate to the idea of a missing parent and feeling at odds with the world.

“Of course you can keep him,” Sophie said, smiling at me. “We’ll figure it out with the dogs.”

“He can stay here too.”

At that, I looked up at Ramsay, a smile on my face.

“Really?”

“Aye. But you’ll need to get him a scratching post. If he rips any of my fabrics, he’s in trouble.”

“Oh shit, yeah, that would be bad.” I tightened my grip around Calvin. “We’ll train him. I promise. Thank you, guys. I just feel like he’s mine. It’s dumb, I guess.”

“It’s not dumb,” Sophie and Agnes chimed in at the same time.

Ramsay stood and left the room, and shuffling noises came from the back room. In moments he was back, two chairs hooked under his arms, and he placed them by the fire, dragging over the other one from in front of the desk. Next, he draped towels on all the chairs, before stopping in the doorway between the rooms.

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