He grimaced, thinking of all the people. They’d had to wait an hour for a table at lunch. The shops were crowded, and he was grateful they did not live there.
Daisy nodded. “I’m so glad we don’t have to deal with that. Summer here is bad enough with all the people.”
A sheepish look crossed her face. “Though now we’re ‘one of those people’ since we moved here from Boston.”
There were so many clients wanting swordplay lessons that Callan had to employ a young lad part-time to deal with the paperwork and scheduling. The lessons were strictly word of mouth, no advertising, and no social media, which according to Drake made him exclusive, and the more exclusive the better, he’d said. Then, with a gleam in his eye, Drake told Callan to double his prices. The cost for the lessons was already outrageous, but the man knew money and rich men, so Callan raised his prices, shocked when even more clamored for his expertise.
Daisy splashed in the water, splattering water over both of them, her eyes sparkling.
“What about those actors? Are they still calling? Karen has a huge crush on Austin Butler. She’s hoping he’ll end up here for lessons at some point.”
Drake had sent several millionaires to him, making Millie complain that too many rich people were moving to Holden Beach. When Drake laughed and said they too were rich, she scowled at him, grumbling under her breath.
“I’m already counting down the days until Labor Day when we’ll have our quiet mornings back. I love it when we have the whole beach to ourselves.” Daisy piled her hair atop her head and secured it with a bright pink clip.
“Aye. The people will still come, but not as many. It’s too cold to swim in the ocean unless they have a heated pool, but Drake said they like the lower rental prices.”
His lass had been so excited that the small cottage came with a large fenced-in backyard and a swimming pool that she’d jumped up and down, telling him about a pink and orange rug she wanted to put on the outdoor patio.
Saints, preserve him.
The dogs loved jumping in the pool and swimming with them. Heating the pool water in the winter was nice, Callan admitted to himself, remembering swimming in the pool while it was verra cold.
There were days during the off season when Callan went for an early morning walk, the dogs by his side, and didn’t encounter a single soul, except the occasional hopeful fisherman.
He and Drake had gone fishing several times, cooking their catch for dinner. The man had connections to aid Callan with the papers he needed to survive in this world. He now had a passport, driving license, credit cards, and everything else he needed to get by in this world.
“Now that I have a passport, would ye like to go with me to England? I would like to see Blackford Castle. Drake said they are all buried in the cemetery there.”
She turned to him. “I’d love to go. We could leave the dogs with them. He said he and Millie would be happy to watch the dogs if we ever wanted to go away. Maybe we could spend a few weeks over there?”
“Aye, I would also take ye to Scotland, to where my mother and I lived,” he said quietly.
He would pay his respects to her grave and tell her all that had happened, introduce her to his lass.
Once a week, he and Daisy visited with Millie and Drake, and sometimes Karen and her husband, Arthur, for dinner.
They were renting a cottage with a screened-in-porch two blocks from the beach that Millie helped them find. ’Twas the perfect size for the two of them and the dogs. And for Zara, Daisy’s best friend who had spent a few days with them over the holidays, and was coming next month for a week. He had already asked Drake if he would like to go deep sea fishing so he would not hear all the womanly shrieking while they spent time together.
The owners of the cottage had decided to move out west to California to be close to the rest of their family, and Millie thought they’d be willing to sell the place to him before the end of the year. Then his lass could pick out bright colors for every room, though Callan told her no pink bathroom.
Last year when Daisy had come with him on the road trip, and they’d almost lost each other, they had sorted things out, and decided this was where they wanted to live. They drove back to Boston, packed up Daisy’s favorite things, leaving the rest for the new tenant who was happy to purchase the furnishings along with taking over the lease, and then they took the scenic way, visiting many other states, enjoying the journey with the dogs by their sides.
He had plenty of money from the sale of the coins, and now spent his time consulting for the movies, and teaching rich bastards how to use a blade. They paid well to be ground into the dirt.
This summer he had asked Karen to help find a couple of lads or lassies who needed to improve their confidence, whether it was due to bullying or something else, and offered them free lessons over the summer as he found knowing how to protect oneself, gave the young ones the confidence they lacked. It was a tradition he wanted to start, to take two or four of the children every summer and aid them. Mayhap in time he would have his own sons and daughters.
A few strands of hair had escaped in the breeze and were blowing around Daisy’s face as they turned around to walk back.
A group of children ran in and out of the waves at the edge of the water, shrieking as they splashed each other.
Both dogs, now used to the gulls and children, followed along, occasionally dashing towards the water before barking and running back to them.
As they walked, he touched his pocket for the tenth time, reassuring himself it was still there, the small black velvet box. He’d been carrying it around for weeks, waiting for the perfect moment.
He took a deep breath. “I’ve been thinking,” he said. “It has been a year since we first came here to Holden Beach. A year is a good time for new beginnings.”
She looked at him, curious. “What are we beginning?”
