Page 182 of Charlie

"That's not an excuse, Charlie."

I shrug. "She's not always that bad. I think she's worried about me. And maybe a little jealous."

"A little?" Jack snorts, shaking his head.

"It's always better when we have a little distance between us. And in a week or two, there will be a lot of distance."

"I'm proud of you, little witch." Cam snakes his arm around my back, hugging me into his side. Jack joins us, wrapping his arms around all three of us.

"Now we just have to tell them we're getting married. No biggie." My laugh sounds more like a sob. "I think I need a nap before we take the family tree to Arty. Anyone want to join me?"

99

The tube housing the family tree is clenched tightly in my hands as we wait for Arty to answer the door. I’m not nervous until we pull into his driveway, my heart jumping to my throat when I hear the bolt turning. This is it. I’m handing off the most important commission of my life.

"Arthur MacLeod! How are you old man?" Jack exclaims, stepping forward and pulling Arty into a hug, a warm smile tugging at his lips.

What the hell is happening? "You two know each other?" I ask, looking between them.

"Nice to see you again, Arthur," Lach says, grasping his hand.

"So this is where you disappeared to," Cam says, hugging him tight. "There's not a dig I go on that I don't wish you were there to give your advice."

"Hold up. You all know each other?" My head is spinning. Arty's eyes twinkle, lines creasing his face as he grins at me. "Did you send me there knowing I'd meet them? Did you guys know about this?" I ask, suspicious of how this is starting to feel like a setup.

"They didn't know, Charlie," Arty chuckles. "I had no way of knowing if you'd meet one of them, but I hoped you would." He looks at us, his eyes dancing. "It seems like you found all three. That's my Charlie, always shooting for the moon."

My laugh sounds more like a sob as I fold him into my arms, squeezing him as hard as I dare. "Thank you, Arty. For everything." He waves away my thanks away, taking the tube from me and heading inside.

"I called last night and special ordered the frame. The shop will call you when it's in, all you need to do is take it there, and they'll do all the hard work," I say, following him into the house.

He makes a beeline for the dining room, his steps a little more unsteady than when I left three months ago. He holds the tube out for me to pry off the top and then gently eases the heavy parchment from its home, his touch reverent.

"The moment of truth," he whispers as he carefully unrolls it.

The room is silent except for Lach's breathless Holy Fuck as three months of my life unrolls on that shiny mahogany table. My heart lodges in my throat, strangling me as the silence becomes deafening.

"Somebody say something," I beg, pressing my hand over my heart to ease the tension.

"It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, Charlie." Arty wipes under his eyes with a gnarled knuckle, leaning closer to the parchment. "You added their stories," he says, tracing the writing under one of the vignettes.

"Now their stories will never be lost again," I smile, wrapping my arm around his shoulders.

"You have no idea how much this means to me, Charlie."

"I feel the same way," I sniff, looking down at his watery eyes with so much affection that my heart could burst.

"What are your plans now?" he asks, rolling the parchment back up and carefully sliding it into the tube.

"She's going home with us, Arty," Jack says, unable to hide his pride in his voice.

"Do I smell a wedding in the future?"

"We'll have a handfast ceremony in October," Lach says, a grin spreading over his face.

"Are you still looking for an officiant?"

"You would marry us?" I ask, blinking back tears.

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