Page 17

I caressed her stomach. “Aught ye want to share, firebrand, I will hear.”

I’d said it teasingly, but from her shuddering breath, whatever she was about to say was serious. Beneath my touch, the bairn shifted again, trying to distract me with wonder, but I kept my gaze on Cataline.

“I should have—I mean, I did not mean harm.” She swallowed, then took another deep breath as if girding herself, placed her hand over mine where it rested on her stomach, and finally met my eyes. “Maardok, the babe I carry⁠—”

“Mama! Maardok!”

Whatever Cataline had been about to tell me was interrupted when her son threw himself on the mattress with us, bouncing across her legs.

“I slept on the hearth and I was warm and I didn’t get burned at all! Did you see me? I love my new bed!”

Ewan’s mother winced as he tried to climb her, so I scooped him up and tossed him over my shoulder as I rolled out of bed.

“Come, lad, give yer mother some space. She has to piss and we have to roll up yer pallet so we dinnae trip on it today!”

I heard her sigh behind me and wondered what she’d been trying to tell me as we began our day.

And a surprisingly special day ‘twas!

I thought I’d understood what peace and happiness was. Each winter I rolled out of bed late and took my time boiling water for my morning herbal drink and porridge, enjoying the tranquility. But until today, I hadn’t realized I’d been missing laughter and joy and activity.

The snow had finished before dawn, thank the gods, and the day dawned sunny for a change. Would it be enough to melt the snow? Unlikely, but it meant that Cataline was willing to let Ewan venture outside, now that he had a warm pair of gloves. I wrapped him in my second plaid as a makeshift cloak, and I taught him to make balls from the wet snow and throw them at the side of the hut.

This, of course, resulted in the lad throwing wet snow at me, and of course I had to retaliate. We were both muddy and soaked by the time I hoisted the shivering wee body over my shoulder and stomped inside.

His mother—whom I had left sewing her own mittens—had taken one look at Ewan’s filth and screeched. I laughed and returned to the barn to check on the horse and collect more firewood, plus a wooden tub I’d seen there.

When I dropped it in front of the fire with a bang, Cataline had raised a brow at me.

“You are giving him a bath? Good luck.”

I needed it. Turns out wee lads are slippery when they’re naked and wet, and the pair of us both ended up bathing. From Ewan’s breathless chatter and whining objections, he hadn’t bathed since the weather turned cold. In the summer, Cataline had forced him to bathe in the barn or in a nearby stream since she couldn’t carry the tub herself.

Another reminder of how much help I could be to her, were I willing to stay in the humans’ world.

The thought of leaving my family and friends and comfortable home to live here in squalor among humans who were terrified of me? ‘Twas not a pleasant one. But would it be worth it, to know Cataline and her children were protected?

Aye, of course. But mayhap we would all be happier if they returned to my world with me? I would have to convince her to try.

Her laughter as I struggled with her slippery son made my Kteer purr happily, made me want to ensure I heard it always.

After Ewan’s bath, I wrapped him in a clean, dry blanket and plopped him on the bed, where he immediately began to try to wriggle free.

“Dinnae move, laddie,” I commanded sternly. “This place has a dirt floor, and ye’ll turn it to mud, then I’ll have to spend my afternoon cleaning it instead of telling ye stories.”

He froze immediately, almost vibrating with excitement as his mother snorted at my unconventional bribe. But it worked. I was able to toss out the lukewarm water, scrub the hearth area, and slice off thick chunks of the bread for Cataline and the lad before he blurted, “What stories?”

Chuckling, I crossed to him and began to help him dress. “In my home, we dinnae take baths in our homes. We have hot springs nearby, and I grew up bathing in warm water all year, without having to lug it anywhere.”

“Bath stories?” Ewan’s wee face was locked in a frown as it emerged from the neck of his woolen shirt. “I don’t want to hear stories about taking hot baths.”

But his mother sighed in what I thought might be longing as she dropped her hand to her stomach. When I caught Cataline’s eye, she blushed and looked away, and I wondered if she was thinking of what had passed between us this morning, or how I’d cut up more pieces of my plaid for her to use to pad her sensitive nipples and keep her bodice dry.

And if the thought of my colors against her skin made my Kteer howl with pride or my cock stiffen again, well…she didn’t need to know that.

I wasn’t here because I expected intimacy from a woman who was clearly uncomfortable in her own body; I was here to help her. Because she was my friend.

“Well, what kind of stories do ye want to hear, laddie?” I asked Ewan as I helped him tie on his shoes.