Lorna kept her tone light as she replied, “That seems a strange deal. But here I am. As you can see, I’m still alive. Not even my devil children have killed me yet.”
The corner of Stuart’s mouth ticked up. “Not for lack of trying, I bet.”
“Hey now, my children adore me.” She looked to Fergus and waved. “Tell him.”
Fergus frowned, but Stuart spoke before he could. “Of course they do. Anyone who knows you would love you, Lorna.”
His words set off warning bells in her head. It was best to change the subject. “Now that’s sorted, how about we get walking. Then you can tell me all about your mate Deborah and your horde of children.”
Sadness flickered in Stuart’s eyes. “Deb passed away a few years ago from cancer. And our only son died in his teens at the hands of the dragon hunters.”
Bloody hell. Leave it to her to bring up every painful memory in one go. “I’m truly sorry, Stu.”
He smiled again. “That means a lot coming from you, Lorna.”
Her dragon chimed in. If you won’t go after the human, then what about Stuart?
Ignoring her beast, Lorna cleared her throat and motioned to their surroundings. “Aye, well, we can chat some more later, and you can tell me all about your braw son and your mate. I lost my own Jamie, so I understand the grief and pain more than most.”
Stuart nodded. “I heard about Jamie. I’m sorry, Lorna.”
“It was a long time ago.” Stuart opened his mouth, but Lorna beat him to it. “But we can talk later. If we don’t get a move on, Fergus will have a stroke.”
Fergus frowned. “Hyperbole doesn’t help anyone.”
“Not true. It helps quite a bit with bairns. You’ll find that out soon enough, once wee Jamie is walking about and getting into things he shouldn’t.” A cool breeze blew, and Lorna rubbed her hands together. “For now, it’s bloody freezing out here, and we should get moving. My bones aren’t a fan of the chill, and I don’t think you want to be responsible for my death, Fergus.”
Her son sighed at her exaggeration.
However, Stuart grinned at her deliberate use of hyperbole. “Aye, I know the feeling as we’re of an age.” He put out his arm and waved his elbow. Lorna snorted as she threaded hers through his. Stuart added, “So let’s get both of us out of the cold air before we catch our deaths.”
Fergus studied them a second. He wisely resisted arguing and merely motioned toward the Protectors’ central command. “This way.”
As they followed Fergus, Lorna resisted looking up at the handsome, blue-eyed dragonman at her side. While things had been awkward at first, they’d nearly fallen into old times with teasing.
Her dragon spoke up again. If not Ross, then what about Stuart? Pick one.
Lorna didn’t like ultimatums. And yet, she wondered if maybe she should go after one of the males.
But she would debate all that later. For the moment, she would simply enjoy walking on the arm of a handsome dragonman, especially one she had such a deep history with.
It may have been thirty years, but time wouldn’t erase the fact she and Stuart MacKay had nearly mated. If not for Jamie’s bold move, her children would’ve been Stuart’s instead.
She wondered exactly why he wanted to see her after all these years. If he was looking for a new mate, then Lorna started to wonder how she would respond.
~~~
Ross Anderson took a deep inhalation and let it out as Fraser and Holly shut the rear door behind them. Ross wasn’t usually hotheaded, but Lorna’s son had a way of bringing out the worst in him. If his daughter didn’t love the bloody dragonman, Ross would’ve tried long ago to convince her to leave him. But Holly did love him, for whatever reason, so Ross put up with the young lad’s overprotectiveness. Well, sometimes. Ross wasn’t above taking Fraser by the ear if he ever truly stepped out of line.
Although, Fraser had come close to that line earlier. To be honest, the lad had hit close to home with their row.
Every day Ross wondered if Lorna would ask him to leave. The fact she hadn’t done so earlier, when asked point blank, made him think he might still have a chance with the dragonwoman.
He well knew Lorna mourned her dead husband still. Ross understood the feeling better than anyone considering his own wife had been murdered over a decade ago. Much like Lorna loved her dead husband, he’d always love Anne. Truth be told, Ross had never expected to find someone else, especially once the cancer had taken hold.
But the treatments his daughter had given up so much for had worked. A few weeks ago, he’d been declared cancer-free. For the first time in a long time, he had a future.
And while Lorna may be determined to keep her heart closed off, Ross wanted more than their chats or head shaking over their children. Not just because she was beautiful—although she was to him—but also because of her heart, vivaciousness, and humor. He could see them growing old together. Or, rather, older together.