The Blessed Blend (11 page)

Lowell frowned. “Then why’d he say his eye’s bad?”

Callie closed her eyes and put a hand to her forehead in exasperation. “Lowell, drink your juice and go play.”

Lowell looked at her, even more confused than he’d been originally. He looked at his cousin, shrugged, and drank his juice. In typical three-year-old fashion, he amused himself by blowing bubbles in it. Not to be outdone, Red Wolf blew bubbles in his juice as well. Both boys started laughing and ended up spitting juice all over the table and themselves.

John and Euan chuckled, no doubt remembering doing similar things when they were little. Callie grabbed a clean dish cloth and wet it before scrubbing the boys down and shooing them outside so she could clean the juice off the table, chairs, and floor.

Euan held out his hand and offered to clean up after the boys. “Ye’ve cleaned the wee lads,” he said. “I’ll take care o’ the rest.”

Callie leveled a look at him, shrugged, and handed him the cloth. “Yeah, after I’ve done the hard part you want to take over and take credit. Just like a man.”

John laughed. Euan smiled and retorted, “It’s in oor nature. Wha’ can I say?”

Callie raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest for a moment before bending over and reaching under the sink. She pulled out a spray bottle of cleanser and handed it to Euan. “Well, since you made such a magnanimous offer, Mr. Wallace, how can I refuse? Here’s something to make sure the job’s done right.”

The sarcasm in her voice was evident but light in tone. Seeing Euan on his knees would provide some amusement in an otherwise frustrating day.

He took the cleanser, bowed with a flourish, and said, “As m’ lady commands.” Euan was used to cleaning up after himself as he employed no servants and only had Elda Walton come in once a week to clean. He knew he didn’t keep things as clean as a woman would, but his abode was nowhere near being a dump.

 
Euan wiped the table and chairs and then squatted down to clean the floor. John teased, “Are ye comfortable doon there, Euan?”

“Och aye, lad,” came the reply. “Can I do anythin’ fer ye while I be doon on m’ knees here? Mebbe kiss yer arse?”

John’s face crinkled as he cracked a huge grin. “Well, lad, ye might want tae wait until I’ve scrubbed it gude for the occasion,” he chuckled.

“Well, MacQueen, tha’s more than I’d do fer the likes o’
yoo
,” Euan returned.

“An’ I kenned ye be m’ friend, Wallace,” John said in feigned shock. “Och, ye’ve hurt me tae the core!”

Euan flipped his hand up in a rude gesture, to which John replied, “Nae thanks, lad. Ye nae hae the right equipment for
that
job.”

Callie shook her head and rolled her eyes. Men were men no matter where they came from. Everything revolved around their egos, their bellies, and their groins. She had long ago figured out that insulting each other’s manhood was the equivalent of chest-thumping for the male of the species, something that had probably gone on since the dawn of humankind. No doubt the females of the species had been rolling their eyes in exasperation ever since then as well.

They were into their second cup of tea when Caleb entered the kitchen. “They’re ready,” he said. Looking at John, he said, “Please don’t think we’re bein’ rude but this concerns them two. Would you mind waitin’ here?”

John nodded. “It’s only right,” he agreed. “I’ve nae problem wi’ it.”

Callie felt weak at the knees and her mouth went dry. Her chest tightened and her whole being was ready to panic. Still, she held her head up and kept her body steady, steeling herself for yet more bad news.

Euan followed Caleb and Callie. His mind turned over various possibilities as to the decision they were about to hear and he hoped that it was favorable. He wanted more time with his children, time enough to perhaps soften Callie’s heart towards him or at least lessen her anger.

They stood in front of Callie’s elders. Papa rose from his chair and faced them. He looked Euan and Callie over for a moment before starting. “It has been decided by the elders of this family that Euan Wallace will be able to stay amongst us so as to get to know his children and be their daddy right an’ proper.

“It was discussed that the best chance for him to do that would be to live under the same roof with ‘em -”

“What?!”
Callie interjected.

Papa continued, “- but seein’ as how he ain’t married to the children’s mama, that wouldn’t be proper. Callie’s parents have offered him room and board in exchange for his labor and have accepted responsibility for keepin’ an eye on him. Callie and the children will also live here for the time being so as to enable the children to be with their father whilst keeping things respectable between the parents.

“In return, Mr. Wallace will give his word of honor that he won’t try takin’ off with the young’uns, that he will respect the authority of this family in all matters concernin’ ‘em, and that he’ll conduct himself in a way that won’t bring shame on himself or his children.” Papa paused. “Do ye agree to this, Euan?”

“Aye!” Euan answered in a voice thick with emotion. “I gi’e m’ word o’ honor to abide by a’ tha’ ye require.”

Papa looked at Callie, who was both shocked and seething. “And you Callie, will give your word that you’ll abide by this decision and won’t interfere between your young’uns and their daddy so long as he does right by ‘em.”

“Or what?” she challenged before slipping into the local dialect. “Ye might take a strap to me? How could ye do this? You’uns don’t know this man or what he’s capable of! He could light out of here with my children in the middle of the night and be on a plane back to Scotland by daybreak!”

Tears came to her eyes and she shook with fear and fury. She started to continue her protest but Granny Robertson raised her hand. Callie could only stand there as her words were waived off.

“A man has just as much right to his young’uns as the mother,” she said firmly. “I realize that yore perceptions of ‘im are colored by how he done ye, Callie, and I ain’t excusin’ none o’ that. But he ain’t done them kids no harm and his heart is true towards ‘em. There ain’t no deceit in him when he says he ain’t going to take ‘em. Ain’t none there when he says he’s sorry for hurtin’ ye, either. We’uns has decided to give him a chance to prove hi’self because it’s what’s best for the young’uns. Now child, ye’ll give us
yore
word on it.”

Euan glanced at Callie and felt compassion for her. The last thing he wanted to do was cause her more pain and yet that was all he seemed to be doing. He could only hope that someday this would all be worth it for both of them.

Callie was mad as hell but constrained by a lifetime of upbringing to bow to the wishes of her elders. She hated the fact that her children had taken to their father like he’d always been part of their lives. Resented it as a matter of fact. The son of a bitch just waltzed in and had everything pretty well handed to him and she was going to have to stand by and accept that or face the censure of her family.

But there was the matter of her children. Now that they knew who their father was and wanted him in their lives she would only hurt them if she tried to cut him back out. However, she didn’t give a tinker’s damn if they wanted her and Euan back together. Hell would freeze over a hundred times before that happened!

Taking a deep breath she calmed herself and said, “I’ll agree, but I don’t like this one bit. If anything happens to my children or if he takes off with them, it’s on all y’all’s heads.”

She turned to Euan and looked up at him, her eyes glittering with anger. In a level voice she warned, “If you harm or take my children I
will
hunt you down and kill you like the damn dirty dog you are. I won’t interfere between you and our children so long as you keep your word to my elders but you had better stay clear the hell away from me!”

Euan could feel something radiating out of Callie, maybe her barely-controlled rage. Maybe something deeper and more dangerous. The look in her eyes was full of fire while at the same time cold enough to freeze a man in his tracks, and the tone of her voice was as chilling as a sharp blade swinging through the air. He could remember when her eyes and voice were warm and soft upon him and the longing cut him to the quick.

“And Euan?” Callie had drawn herself up as tall as her small frame would allow. “Don’t even entertain the thought of using my children to soften me up to you. They don’t deserve to be done that way.” With that she turned on her heel and went outside, slamming the door behind her.

There were a few moments of silence during which Euan wondered if he had damned himself to living in the memory of what had been and the soul-agony of knowing what could have been had he not been such a fool. Maybe his punishment was to live knowing what he had done to Callie, the damage he had done to a soft and innocent heart, and the fact that perhaps neither of them could get past it to love again.

Papa put his hand on Euan’s shoulder. “Young’un, ye have yer work cut out fer ye. My advice is to let her be and concentrate on bein’ them young’uns’ daddy. It’ll work out better for everyone thataway,” he advised.

 
Grandpa Conley nodded in agreement. “That gal ain’t one to let things go easy-like. She’s got a fierce pride like a fortress wall and she ain’t going to let her guard down. Ye done hurt her bad once. She ain’t fool enough to let ye do it again.”

Euan spoke softly, “I doona want t’ cause her any more pain, sir. I’d cut out m’ ain heart afore I’d do that an’ I’d cut off m’ right hand if it would make things alright for her again.”

Papa gave Euan a slight smile. “Our Callie has always been a little warrior, but a wounded one. It’ll take a gentle hand to deal with her, son. If’n ye show her that yore word is true, that’s the first step. Show her that ye love yore young’uns and that yore a good daddy to ‘em and that’s the second step. Ye ain’t getting’ no further with her unless ye can do that.”

Granny Robertson cleared her throat. “Well, she needs to accept what is and quit fightin’ it. She’s born to the blood.”

Euan asked, “If ye doona mind, could ye explain that t’ me? Callie used to speak of the
gift
. Are ye witch-born?

Granny Robertson and the other women laughed. Granny Stockett explained, “Not as ye most likely think of witches. It’s more a knowin’ of things that no one tells ye, seein’ things others can’t see, and hearin’ what most folks is deaf to.” Her dark eyes shone as she continued, “We’uns dream dreams, sees visions, and walk amongst the spirits. Now, we’uns don’t cast spells or hex a body.
Most
of the time.”

“And Callie can do this?” Euan asked.

“Hers is small and she keeps it to herself,” Jolena replied. “She’s never been one to share it with anyone. Says most of the time it’s about bad things a-fixin’ to happen and she just don’t want to deal with it.”

Granny Robertson asked, “Do none of yore people do this anymore?”

Euan shook his head. “Nae in m’ immediate family, ma’am,” he said. “There’s folk I ken who hae what we call the
glamour
, but they doona go talkin’ aboot it much. Used tae get a body killed for witchcraft, ye ken. Nowadays its verra likely tae peg ye as bein’ daft or a liar.”

Heads nodded. “Folks pretty well leave us’uns alone up here in these mountains,” Grandpa Crockett said. “And we’uns leave they’uns alone as well.”

The meeting adjourned and Callie’s elders headed home. Papa and Jolena drove back to their cabin. Jim and Darlene went to bed as they had to head out early to Morristown for some hardware supplies. Everyone else turned in as well.

Euan had a hard time falling asleep and when he finally did he dreamed of Callie. Loving her. Losing her. Trying to find her while being lost himself.

In one dream she was angry, yelling at him in words he couldn’t quite hear. His voice was gone and he seemed to be under water but was breathing. He saw Red Wolf and Mountain Rose. Callie picked them up and held them over her head and they became a long sharp blade which she plunged into his heart.

He awoke with his heart pounding as he took deep, shaky breaths, swearing in a harsh whisper as he collected himself.

Throwing off the covers, he got up and headed down to the kitchen to get some water. The lodge was quiet except for the sound of John’s snoring. Euan was glad they didn’t have to share a room as the big
yin
could have drowned out the average rock band going full throttle.

Feeling his way along, he reached the kitchen and turned on the light. He closed his eyes against the glare and then opened them up, startled to find Callie sitting at the table. “Ye…ye’re up?” he asked.

Her eyes narrowed as she replied, “Yeah. What of it? And why are
you
up, Euan? Up to something already?”

The venom in her voice stung him for a second and then pissed him off. Mustering his self-control, he answered evenly, “I couldna sleep, lass, so I come doon t’ get me some water.”

Her face registered her disbelief. “Right,” she said. “And I’m here on a pleasure cruise.”

Euan turned to face her. Looking her dead in the eye, he returned her glare with one of his own. A minute passed before he spoke. “Callie, ye can be angry wi’ me for aye. I admit I deserve it. But ye need nae t’ goad me intae a fight. I’m here for m’ bairns. Ye ha’ nae t’ worry tha’ I’ll bother ye.”