The Morrigan: Damaged Deities by Kennan Reid Page B

long time. 
    But seeing the sorrow in his eyes made her feel as if it were her own.  She pressed her fingertips into her sternum where that ache sat.  For some reason this young Scotsman made her feel a great many things.
    “How old was your brother, when he died?”
    “He’d just turned twenty.”
    “When?”
    “Some time ago.”  
    An elusive response.  Morrie wondered why. “He was younger than you?”
    “Aye.”
    “How did he die?”
    “He drowned, a freak accident.”
    “Were you close?”
    He nodded.  “All three of us were verra close, but we’d get into lots o’ trouble, Kris and I.  We fought and played like two pups. I’m surprised any o’ the furniture survived, though I daresay a few o’ our bones dinna.  We were rough.  Bothered Kam somethin’ terrible.  He was always so serious, preparing for the day he’d have tae take over the business.”
    “You had no interest in that?” Morrie asked, grinning.
    “Nay,” he smiled, showing perfect, white teeth. “I was too busy having fun.  Payin’ for it now, though.”
    “Because your brother sends you away on so many business trips?”
    “Aye,” he answered, though a wane in his eyes told Morrie that maybe that wasn’t entirely true.
    “And your mother?”
    The amount of questions she asked surprised Morrie.  Even despite her inquisitive ways, she couldn’t seem to stop asking them.  She’d not had this interest during her first conversation with Kade’s brother, but then he’d also rambled on about the family business, which she didn’t much care about.
    “She lives in London, collecting a check,” Kade answered shortly, telling Morrie that maybe his mother was a topic he’d rather leave alone.
    “Kamden told me ye have sisters,” Kade said. His large hands cupped the coffee mug gently.
    “I do, Bev and Macy.”
    One dark eyebrow quirked.  “Older, younger?”
    Morrie smiled.  What was it with men and the idea of sisters? “The same age.”
    “ Christ Almighty ,” he sighed, scratching his head.  He leaned back and studied her, something passing in his eyes, like the haunting ghost of a memory. “There’s three o’ ye?”
    “Bev and Macy are very different from me,” Morrie answered, amused and confused by his reaction. “Different, but the same.”
    Maddie arrived with a tray holding two steaming bowls and a large loaf of freshly baked bread.  As soon as the food was set out before them and Maddie left, Morrie’s stomach purred like a kitten, earning her another one of Kade’s sexy eyebrow quirks.
    “Did they no’ feed ye in Oklahoma?” he asked.
    Ignoring how her stomach clenched at the way Oklahoma tumbled across his tongue—and secret plans to somehow trick him into singing the song from the musical to her—she answered, “They think the only way to cook a potato is to mash or fry it.”
    Stirring his stew, he watched as she brought a big spoonful to her mouth, blowing on it a few times before eating it.  As the warm, tasty broth sat in her mouth, she closed her eyes and groaned, savoring the taste and the feel of it slipping down her throat. 
    She had forgotten how much she loved the food in Britain. 
    Slowly, she opened her eyes again.
    “I doona think I’m going tae be able tae make it through this meal,” Kade said, watching her with his spoon suspended in his hand. “Keep eating like that and I may have tae take ye across this table.”
    Morrie smiled, scooping out another big spoonful.
    “Don’t get ahead of yourself.”
    His face lit up as he sat back. “Getting ahead o’ myself implies there’s a way tae go.” His voice dipped. “How far do I have tae go tae get ye, Morrie?”
    “I’m here to catch a horse,” Morrie replied.  She had to reign in this conversation.  He was a client, after all. “Then I go back home.”
     

C HAPTER T WELVE
    “The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.”
    G.K.