The Blessed Blend (21 page)

Callie gasped and reached up to grab Euan by the ear. As she yanked down, he growled, “
Arrrrgh
, lass! Let. Me. Go!”

“Not on your life, Euan Wallace!” she retorted. “You want the milk, the horns come with the heifer!”

“If ye doona let go o’ m’ ear, ‘tisna
heifer
I’ll be callin’ ye!” he warned.

At that moment Nancy Jo stepped through the door. Seeing the two of them, her eyebrows shot up and her mouth formed an
O.
She cleared her throat and offered, “Well, ‘mornin’, you two!”

“Good mornin’, ma’am!” Euan returned as Callie released him and he stood up. “I trust all is well wi’ yer hoosehold?”

Nancy Jo grinned and giggled like a school girl. “Oh, we’re blessed, we’re blessed!” she said in a breathy squeal.

Callie rolled her eyes and looked down. Honestly, the woman was older than her mother and still acted like a teenager around men. Apparently cheerleading was a congenital defect with life-long impairments. However, the mental image of Aunt Nancy Jo trying to squeeze her ample frame into her old cheerleading uniform was enough to make Callie laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Nancy Jo asked.

Callie looked into her coffee cup and shook her head. “Nothing, Aunt Nancy Jo. Private joke.”

Nancy Jo shrugged to herself and got busy. There would be guests coming in this afternoon so they would have a tea for them at about four and dinner at six-thirty. The menu was tacked up on the board with the recipe cards.

Tonight’s meal would be buffalo steaks with parched corn, peas with pearl onions, and roasted squash. The herbed bread dough was already rising on the warming shelf above the oven. Grated cheese would be mixed in during the last kneading before it was baked. They would make apple cobbler for desert, served with a generous scoop of home-made ice-cream.

Darlene came in from outside, carrying two covered pails of milk. Red Wolf and Mountain Rose followed with the egg bucket carried between them. Jim and John were carrying the rest of the milk to the springhouse to let the cream rise and Caleb and both Mikes were splitting firewood to carry to camp.

“Well,” Darlene drawled. “I see you two love-birds are up. Did you sleep well?”

Callie groaned. Euan’s back was to Darlene so she couldn’t see the self-satisfied grin that split his face. “Aye, ma’am,” he answered. “Thank ye for lettin’ us sleep in this morn.”

“As long as you don’t slack on your work today,” Darlene said. “We have guests coming in and there’s laundry to be done, Callie. And Euan, Jim needs you and John to finish hewing those big logs for the guest cabin.”

“Aye, ma’am,” Euan replied. “I’ll get on it as soon as we eat.”

Darlene saw Nancy Jo trying to signal her and knew the busybody was just itching to find out what was going on. It gave her no small amount of pleasure to know that she wasn’t going to tell her sister-in-law a damned thing. If the dimwit couldn’t figure it out on her own she didn’t deserve to know.

The twins climbed up in their chairs so they could sit with their parents as they ate. Mountain Rose chattered on about Raze dragging some dirty old deer hide around the yard with the rest of the pack trying to take it away from him. Callie remembered that her intention to scrape the hide had gotten interrupted and shot Euan a dirty look. “That hide was worth some money!” she griped.

“So’s mine. I’d say ye got the better part o’ the trade, lass,” he replied.

Red Wolf watched his parents quietly until they noticed him staring at them.

“Is there somethin’ wrong, lad?” Euan asked as he lifted his fork to his mouth. There was something peculiar about the look on the child’s face, an eerie
knowing
that made the nape of Euan’s neck prickle.

Red Wolf cocked his head for a moment and then with a look of certainty asked, “What are you gonna name our new baby brother and sister?”

Darlene and Nancy Jo both dropped whatever they had in their hands and whirled around. Euan choked on a mouthful of eggs and Callie spit juice all over her plate. Mountain Rose exclaimed, “Oh, goody! I really want a sister! Can I take care of the babies when they get here?”

Callie sputtered, “How could you know that, Red Wolf? We only…last night…” She turned beet red and tried to talk but couldn’t get anything else out.

Euan leaned forward and asked his son, “Hoo d’ ye ken tha’, lad?”

Red Wolf shrugged and replied, “I can
see
them, Daddy. Inside Mama.”

“Mountain Rose?” Euan asked.

She nodded. “Yes, sir, down in Mama’s secret place
there
,” she said, indicating her mother’s womb. A pensive look crossed Mountain Rose’s face and her brows knit in thought. Looking at Euan, she asked, “Daddy, is that why you’uns were naked? Is that how people make babies?”

Thoroughly mortified, Callie buried her head in her hands and wished for the ground to swallow her up right then and there before her children could possibly embarrass her any further. Instead, all that happened was that her mother and aunt burst into raucous laughter. Euan roared, laughing until tears came to his eyes. Noticing Callie’s deep blush, he pulled her to him and chuckled, “It’s alright, lass. Someday ye’ll look back an’ hae a good laugh o’er it yersel’!”

“If I don’t die of shame first!” she squeaked.

No one made much of a fuss over Euan and Callie getting back together except Nancy Jo, who thought that it was just like a romance novel. The rest of the family was more pragmatic. As Papa pointed out, they already had the twins. All that had remained to be done was to get past what had separated them and they had succeeded.

For the most part.

Callie still feared that Euan would leave her if his parents made things hard on them and she would withdraw from him somewhat. Euan assured her that he wouldn’t allow anyone or anything to drive them apart ever again. “I’ve made m’ choice, Callie,” he said. “It’s ye an’ our bairns, an’ the hell wi’ m’ parents if they canna accept tha’.”

Euan objected to Callie’s night-time hunts with the pack, partly because he had difficulty understanding it, partly because of her apparent pregnancy, but mostly because he feared that his parents would use it against them in some way. After a huge argument they agreed that she would hunt if the pack did so while it was still light out and that she would no longer go out with the pack if a pregnancy was confirmed. Callie wasn’t too happy about that but took her grandmother’s advice that she had to give up some things if she wanted some other things.

Callie and Euan shared a room after that first night, much to the twins’ delight as they could snuggle up with both parents at the same time. Euan insisted that they sleep in their own room, however. As he explained it to the children, “Yer mathair an’ I need oor ain time t’ tend tae each oother. Ye’ll ken tha’ when ye get aulder.”

 
Grannies Robertson and Stockett stopped in to check on things and Euan wasn’t surprised that they already knew that Callie was pregnant or that the twins had known the morning after
it
happened. The Grannies had come to resume lessons with the twins on how to strengthen and control their
gift
. This
gift
that Callie’s family shared made him a bit uncomfortable but he accepted that it was what it was and agreed that if this was part of his children, it would be better for them to know how to use it properly.

Callie admitted that hers wasn’t very strong but it allowed her exceptional rapport with animals and gave her empathic abilities that were strong enough to make being in large crowds painful after a while. She could see some spirits but felt them more than saw them and she couldn’t talk to them like her children and other members of the family could. She received premonitions in dreams and visions, but usually negative ones and usually in bits and pieces. Quietly she admitted to Euan that she had no control over any of it.

“It comes and goes as it will,” she said. “I can’t call it up or hold it off. Sometimes I have nightmares about what I see.”

Euan held her close and promised, “Ye need nae fear it, Callie. I’ll hold ye tight ‘til it passes.”

Callie’s cousin Belinda came calling a few days after Euan and Callie had gotten back together. She flirted with John for a bit, all the while giving Euan the eye. When John excused himself to go to the bathroom, Belinda made a play for Euan. “Come on, sugar!” she drawled. “I can show you a few things I’ll bet my cousin don’t know how to do!”

Euan backed away from her attempt to embrace him. “Leave me be, lass,” he warned. “I doona want any part o’ ye!”

Belinda looked up at him from under long lashes, her bright blue eyes twinkling carnally. “You know Callie’s kind of weird, right?” she insinuated. “Everyone ‘round here knows she runs in the woods with the wolves, and she don’t act feminine at all. We all thought she was a lesbo.”

“I doona care wha’ ye or anyone else thinks!” he stated flatly. “’Tisnae yer business. Now get ye away from me b’fore m’ woman beats yer arse intae the groond!”

“Like I care?” Belinda snorted. “That bitch ain’t all that!” She tugged at her blond curls and huffed. “She’s short and dumpy and dresses like a lumberjack! What could you possibly see in
her
?” Eyeing him up and down she continued, “A good-lookin’ man like you deserves a woman with better looks and more class than Callie could ever have. I mean, seriously, don’t you like what you see here?”

She twirled slowly in place to show off her tall, slender frame and thrust out her chest to display her shapely bosom. There was no doubt that Belinda was a beauty, with large bedroom eyes, small pert nose, and full, plump lips. Her voice was soft and sweet, her laughter musical, and she could charm anyone into doing just about anything she wanted them to. Very aware of her sensuality, she carried herself like a goddess and was used to men falling at her feet.

When she once again faced him, Euan crossed his arms over his chest as if to guard his heart. Och, aye, the lass was a bewitching beauty and if he hadn’t already been in love with Callie he might have been tempted to sample her wares. But he had known women like her, pretty poison that ruined the lives of anyone foolish enough to swallow their lies. His friend Jaime Forrester had lost his marriage and nearly killed himself over one.

Euan’s face grew hard and his eyes blackened in anger. “Ye doona ken Callie a’ all, ye wee slut! An’ ye doona ken me either if ye’re still entertainin’ the notion o’ a tumble wi’ me. Callie is m’ ain true love an’ the mathair o’ m’ bairns. D’ ye think I’d risk losin’ her o’er the likes o’ ye? Go oon an’ leave me be!”

Belinda laughed. “I
love
it when a man plays hard to get!” she cooed breathlessly. “It makes ‘em so much more interestin’!”

Callie stood in the doorway to the kitchen. She had heard the entire exchange and was seething. This was her territory, that was her mate, and the claws and fangs were about to come out.

Moving swiftly and silently, she strode into the room and grabbed Belinda from behind by the throat while sweeping a foot to knock the younger woman’s legs out from under her. Belinda squealed as she hit the floor. With her hand still on her cousin’s throat, Callie spoke in a quietly menacing voice. “You try anything like that again, I can guarantee there’ll be nothing left of you for anyone to find!”

Belinda tried to hit Callie in the face, only to have her fist caught in a crushing hold and then bent painfully back while the grip on her throat tightened to the point of cutting off her wind. She struggled, tears of fear coming to her eyes, but couldn’t get loose. The look on Callie’s face and the steely glint in her eyes told Belinda that her life was in very real danger.

Callie leaned down close to Belinda’s face and hissed, “You even
look
at my man the wrong way, I’ll cut you high, wide, and deep! Understand?”

As Callie spoke, it occurred to Belinda that she had never noticed how long her cousin’s canine teeth were. Almost like fangs. And God was she strong! Maybe some of those superstitious rumors about her were true.

“
Mo cridhe
, let ‘er go,” Euan requested, albeit with some amusement. “She looks like she’s aboot tae soil herself.”

A wolfish grin spread across Callie’s face. “Do I have to?” she cooed wickedly. “I was just getting to the
fun
part!”

Euan chuckled. “Aye, lass. The wee slut isna worth goin’ tae jail o’er, an’ ye really shouldna off yer ain kin.”

“I should at least give her a good beating,” Callie said. “Maybe next time she’ll think twice before she makes a play for someone else’s man.”

Without releasing her hold on Belinda’s throat, Callie pulled her to her feet and slung her over the back of the sofa to land on the cushions. Grabbing her hair, Callie yanked her up to her seat and bent her head back to look Callie full in the face. The air crackled as Callie’s cold rage readied to strike.

Belinda felt the charge in the air and her terror grew. “Please don’t hurt me!” she pleaded tearfully. “I swear I’ll never even look at him again!”

Euan stepped over to look down at the woman. “An’ ye’ll leave here today, lass,” he said. “’Tis best for yer ain safety tha’ ye go far away from here.”

“You’ve got until tomorrow morning to get the hell off this mountain,” Callie warned. “After that, all bets are off.”

Belinda ran out of the lodge and begged Caleb to take her to get her stuff and drive her to Morristown. As they left, John came out of the bathroom. Noticing the absence of Callie’s cousin, he asked, “Did I miss anythin’?”

The first snow fell two days before John was supposed to leave. The flakes fell fat and white like goose down shaken from a pillow, veiling the mountains in a magical silence. Adults and children alike went out to play, and snowballs flew in sallies accompanied by teasing and laughter. Hot cocoa and hot toddies were in order afterwards as guests and hosts came in to thaw out. Darlene and Callie fixed up some three-way chili for dinner and John decided that the mixture of chili and tamales served over spaghetti noodles was very tasty fare.

Some of the roads became impassible and the following morning Jim expressed concern that it might take a bit longer to get down to the interstate. There were three guests leaving that day anyway and Jim prided the lodge on getting guests to and from the airport on time. “Y’all might want to leave today and spend the night in Knoxville,” he advised. “No sense rushing back and getting into a wreck.”

John was pretty well set to go anyway and it didn’t take long for Euan and Callie to pack an overnight bag for themselves and the twins. They also packed emergency equipment and supplies in Jim’s SUV just in case. Jim, Darlene, and Callie’s siblings gave John hugs and well-wishes along with an open invitation to visit anytime. Ever a big teddy bear, John shed a few tears and thanked them for their hospitality. “’Twas a gude time,” he said. “Ye hae been like m’ ain kin.”

“Well, you
are
family, John,” Darlene said. “You’re closer than a brother to Euan, and that counts as well as blood in these parts.”

Darlene had given John a sugar-cured smoked ham which was being shipped in a well-insulated cooler, and John had bought himself a hand-thrown clay mug, large goblet, deep plate, and large serving bowl from a local potter, Sam Busby. Callie packed these in bubble-wrap and a sturdy straw-lined box for shipping. The group stayed overnight at a motel near the airport, enjoyed a fine meal at a local restaurant, and watched the Discovery Channel on the television.

John was pleased that Euan and Callie had been reunited. “It’s the right thin’ for ye,” he told Euan as he readied to depart at the airport. “I’ll miss ye, ye stubborn bastard! Doona let me hear o’ ye muckin’ it up this time aroon!”

“Ye nae be afeart o’ tha’, MacQueen!” Euan replied. “I
do
learn from m’ mistakes, ye ken.”

“An’ ye’re guine t’ hae twins again!”John remarked as he shook his shaggy head. “Are ye sure ye doona hae fae blood in ye?”

John picked Callie up and hugged her. “Take gude care o’ m’ friend here, lass!” he admonished. “He’s hard tae train but he grows on ye!”

Callie laughed as he set her back on her feet. “We have plenty of skillets for his hard head, John. I’m sure one of them will get through to him.”

“Aye, an’ ye hae somethin’ else wha’ gets through t’ me s’ much better, lass!” Euan teased, wincing as she elbowed him.

John held his arms out to the twins, who leapt into them and giggled as he swung them around. “Ah, m’ wee mon and lassie!” he said as he kissed their cheeks. “Ye mind yer parents and help take care o’ yer little brother an’ sister when they get here!”

“But you’ll be coming back to visit us, Uncle John,” Mountain Rose said. “And we’ll come visit you, too!”

“Ye’re
siccar
for aye?” John asked.

“For
aaayyyye!
The twins shouted in unison, throwing their hands up in the air as they grinned and laughed.

“Well, then,” John agreed. “We’ll be visitin’ back an’ forth. Anyhoo, I’ll send ye the rest o’ yer stuff within a week, an’ I’ll be in contact aboot yer ain parents an’ what they be up tae. Are ye invitin’ ‘em t’ yer wedding?”

“We’ll hae one wedding for Callie’s family an’ fly to Scotland for another for m’ kith an’ kin,” Euan said. “If they come, tha’s well an’ gude. If they doona, tha’s alright, too. But I hae foon’ m’ heart and m’ life, an’ here I stand for aye.
”

John had to go through security and then wait a couple of hours for his flight. He hugged Euan fiercely and then wiped a few tears from his eyes before heading up the concourse to the security checkpoint. Euan and Callie wiped at their own eyes as well and Euan called out, “Take care, ye big
yin!
” as John gave them a last wave of farewell.

Before heading back to Hancock County they picked up supplies for the lodge as well as a list of things Jolena had requested. They stopped at a couple of thrift stores to see what bargains they could find. At the second one, Mountain Rose pointed at a wedding gown hanging in its protective plastic bag.

“Look, Mama!” she said. “It’s beautiful! You should get married in this!” She patted the bag and then turned to Callie with a grin. “You’ll look like a princess!”

Callie examined the fine crystal beadwork on the bodice and sleeves, the edging of the veil, and the glittering crown. It
was
beautiful, something most women dreamed of wearing on their wedding day. However, by the time they probably got around to getting married her waistline would be expanding with growing babies and the slim lines of the bodice wouldn’t fit her at all. She said as much to Mountain Rose.