Page 34 of A Thistle Beyond Time
The drive home was quiet. Dylan and Chester snoozed in the back and Cormac had finally relaxed enough to enjoy the scenery and let go of his death grip on the dashboard. Jenna was delighted that Dylan was leaving her home alone with Cormac tonight. She thought about what the evening might entail, anticipating a night spent in his arms, when traffic suddenly came to a dead stop in front of her, and she had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting any other cars.
“I’m sorry about that,” Jenna apologized.
Dylan didn’t move. Chester opened one eye and when he was satisfied that all was well, closed it again. Cormac seemed to be the only one at all rattled by the event.
“What happened, lass? Did ye nae see them stopping?” Cormac asked, concern written all over his handsome face.
“I was day-dreaming. Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Are you alright?” she asked.
“Aye, I be fine, especially if ye dinnae do that again,” he teased. “What were ye day-dreaming about?”
She knew he was fishing to see if she had been thinking about him, so she fibbed. “I was wondering what to make for dinner. That’s all.”
Traffic started up again and they crawled past a wreck on the side of the road. Cormac’s eyes grew wide with interest. “What has happened here?” he asked Jenna.
“Looks like an accident,” she stated, as the lanes in front of them began to open up, allowing her to increase back up to the speed limit. “The highway patrol was there, but no ambulance, so no one was hurt.”
“Highway patrol?” he questioned, lifting one eyebrow.
“The car with the flashing lights on top. They patrol the freeways, making sure people are obeying the rules of the road and helping motorists who’ve had accidents or breakdowns.”
Cormac nodded in acknowledgement, and appeared concerned. She was quite certain he didn’t understand any of what she had shared.He must really live in the boonies, she thought,either that – or he’s a good actor.“Who makes sure people follow the rules where you come from?” she asked innocently.
“’Tis Robert who does,” he answered.
“You work for Robert, right? So, do you help him with that sort of thing? Are you like the highway patrol?”
Cormac nodded. “Aye. When there is trouble, we handle it.”
She wanted to know more, but decided she’d approach the subject slowly. She had to figure out if he was delusional, doing a fine acting job to prank her, or last and least likely – telling the truth.
“I’ll need to hit the grocery store. Would you like steak for dinner tonight?”
“I be happy to eat whatever you cook, lass. Do ye have a bow I could use?”
“What would you need that for?”Wait, was he talking about a bow, like for your hair, or a bow-and-arrow bow?
“So I can go hunt for our dinner. Ye will have to show me where yer game is located, but I have no doubt I can bring back meat for our meal.”
Jenna tried hard not to roll her eyes at that crazy pronouncement. “No need to hunt when we have a grocery store nearby. You can come with me and see how we get our food here inmytime,” she announced, with a hint of sarcasm.
“’Tis no trouble at all, lass.” Cormac responded seriously, as if he’d completely missed Jenna’s cynicism.
“We don’t hunt around here, Cormac. I mean, some people do, but you’d have to drive quite a way and you’d need a hunting license, if it’s even hunting season right now.” Her lack of hunting acumen was showing.
“I see,” Cormac said, but she knew he really didn’t. “Another license,” he muttered.
The rest of the drive was uneventful and they made it back home without waking Dylan or Chester.
“Hey, Dylan, why don’t you hose Chester off before he comes inside? I’m going to take a quick shower before I head to the store; you probably should too, Cormac.”
“Aye, aye, Captain,” Dylan teased, lifting his arm into a mocking salute. “Right away!”
Dylan took Chester around to the side yard and Cormac helped Jenna unpack the truck.
With everything put away, they went their separate ways to shower and agreed to meet back in the living room in thirty minutes to go shopping. Jenna just hoped she could resist the urge to meet Cormac in his bedroom, instead.
* * *
