Page 129 of Only a Breath Away

My eyes wide, “Did you do this?”

He said, “Aye, Barb was attemptin’ tae teach me.”

“I love it so much, can I keep it, too?”

“Of course.”

Then he said, “Look at this, Archie and Ben, tis a fungus from a tree. They call it an artist’s conk. Archie, yer great-grandfather, Jack, showed me how tae pull it from the tree and here I hae carved m’name intae it.”

It had the words, Magnus Campbell, Nov 21, 1993 carved into it.

I pulled that into my arms too so that I had an armful. “I know I’m being pretty selfish, but I really really really want all of this. Can I have it all? I’m sorry children, I know it’s cool, but I want it.”

Magnus laughed. “I think when I collected it all I had ye in mind. I ken I stitched the thistle for ye.”

Tears welled up — there was something so wonderful about this time capsule.

The kids ran off to play. “I don’t know why I got so emotional about all of this, I think it was that we were so new to each other, and I loved you so much and you loved me and you were at my grandparents house, that’s where you came when you were in trouble. It’s like we were so completely entwined, already, from day one and… I just love this so much.”

“Aye, me too.” He ran his hand through his hair, then put his arm around me and we kissed.

Quentin said, “Cool, you guys take all of this, I’m going back in to see what else I can find.”

We sat on the picnic bench, our view, the lake.

Fraoch and Hayley were in a canoe offshore, fishing. Lochinvar was sitting on the end of the dock with the kids around him. Zoe wearing her floaty arm bands, the boys, and Isla, all looked like they were listening to him tell a long interesting story.

I leaned against Magnus’s shoulder. “It’s going to be alright, you know?”

“It feels like it, I feel verra at peace.”

“That’s a first, huh?”

“It does feel like it.”

CHAPTER 81 - KAITLYN

Istood on the dock holding a blanket as a canoe holding Magnus, Archie, Ben, and Isla slid up beside the dock. Magnus’s eyes gleamed. “Och ye read m’mind.”

I said, “My turn!”

The kids scrambled out. I kissed Isla on the cheek as she raced past. “I’m going canoeing with your da!”

“Have fun Mommy, make him show you castle rock!”

I climbed into the rocking canoe and picked up the paddle.

We paddled away from the dock to the middle of the lake. I said, “You’ve only got one good arm, you want me to paddle in the back?”

“Nae, I am twice yer size, I ought tae be in the back even if I am nae much help. Besides, as ye ken, I do like the view from back here.”

I laughed. And paddled, enjoying the smooth glide of the canoe through the water, the sound of the small splashes and drips and the ‘thunk’ of the paddle against the side of the canoe. These were the sounds of my happy place, my childhood, my grandfather Jack would have been in the back, helping to steer as I paddled us through the shallows. The wide blue sky, the trees lining the shore, the darner flies flitting around on the surface of the lake.

He said, “Also, I need ye in my sight line, did ye ken ye disappeared while we were on a procession from Scone tae Stirling?”

“Really?”

“Aye, ye were ridin’ behind me and I was talkin’. I turned tae the front of the line, then thought of somethin’ else tae say tae ye, and turned back — ye were nae there.”

---