~

“I still know my name, Jack Mackie, you don’t need to keep on reminding me of it,” I tossed that out there and brought Jack’s attention towards me. It was less painful than watching them size each other up with their testosterone on display.

Jack did the caterpillar eyebrow thing again, and that time I didn’t think it was so cute — probably because he was offering me a half glare at the same time.

“There’s something about that man — I just can’t put my finger on it,” Jack said, although, I don’t think he was talking to me, just speaking aloud in general.

“I could tell you — but then I’d have to kill you,” I offered back. The look on his face was priceless. I felt like shouting; vampire! Surprise! But it probably wouldn’t have been me trying to kill Jack. “Joking – geez.” I rolled my eyes and made light of it.

“Dougie is back with his new fiancee, and I’m on my way off the island,” Jack said like that was big news. Obviously, it had been coming.

I really was happy for the newly engaged couple though, and I really did wish them a long life full of happiness away from the darkness that surrounded mine. As for Jack leaving, well, it was best that he was getting out of harm’s way before he uncovered something that would get him killed.

“The tourist’s death is…?” I had to ask. It had been avenged in the best and oldest way possible.

“Unexplained animal attack.” Jack fidgeted from one foot to the other, he looked uncomfortable at that conclusion, and I couldn’t blame him, it wasn’t like Skye had wolves or bears.

“Those darn haggis,” I said. Trying to make light of a bad situation that really shouldn’t have been made light of.

He berated me with a look. Funny, I was getting used to that look on him, and now he was leaving again.

“I can’t be a part of this world, Maggie,” he said, coming to the same conclusion that I had.

My people weren’t Jack’s people. He had no way to defend himself against a vampire, wolf, or even a witch. He was better off out of it, and we’d already proven twice that we could clear up our own mess.

“Best not to try. Someone will only get hurt.”

He could take that anyway he wanted. I knew that I’d been pulling away from Jack since the moment he’d left the last time and there was no reason not to. I’d made it clear to myself that Jack just wasn’t in my stars.

“Right.” He went to turn and hesitated. “What about that animal was it — is it over now?”

“Done.” I shrugged my shoulders and said no more.

He nodded. It looked like he understood, and as he turned and walked away from me I knew that we were also done, not that we’d ever gotten started, but I had hoped. Oh, it didn’t matter, life was never easy.

Malachi caught my eye. He was standing over by the parked cars looking down at me.

I wasn’t entirely sure why he was there, and I wasn’t entirely sure if he could hear me or not — he may have been eavesdropping, but I gave a slow shake my head just in case he felt the need to tie up any loose ends where Jack was concerned. I was sure of one thing; Jack Mackie wasn’t a threat to any of us.

“I would never forgive you,” I said, still not knowing if he could hear me, or if he cared one way or the other whether I hated him to the bone or not. But he turned on his heels and walked away, and for my own peace of mind, I had to assume that he’d heard and that Jack would stay safe from harm.

What else could I do? Follow Malachi everywhere he went for the rest of Jack’s life – that would have been … awkward.

I turned back towards Raasay. My heart wasn’t heavy, but it did ache just a little as tended to be the case when somebody that was in your life left it for whatever reason.

“Maggie!” Moira’s shrew-like voice called from the back of the bistro. I turned to find her with a look of glee on her face. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth was open. “Eileen is going to finally boil an egg!” She beckoned me on with a wave of her hand like an excited child.

“Shut your yapping; I’ve boiled an egg before,” Eileen’s voice carried from out of the kitchen and towards me.

“What are the odds that she gets it to explode?” Moira winked and my heart sunk lower in my chest.

“It never rains, but it pours.” I set off for the bistro on fast feet, hoping that Moira hadn’t already spelled the egg to do something disastrous. I really didn’t want to have to clean the kitchen.

“Gee, cheer up, you still have Malachi,” Moira said as I drew level with.

“I do not!” I snapped back.

“You say potato…”

“I say shove it up your bum.” I hissed back, elbowing her out of the way, and walking into the kitchen to try to herd that cats that were my sisters. I loved them, but they could be tiring.

Eejits, the pair of them. We had a business to run, and if they wanted to start world war three, then they could do it in Gran’s kitchen. She might have been more forgiving.

 

~

 

“Don’t be stupid,” Gran snapped at my father. They both had a deep scowl on their face, both had their fists clenched around their knife and fork, and both were glaring at each other in a face-off that had been going on for over a minute.

You had to love dinnertime at my house because the outbreak of World War three was always better confined to the time before dessert.

“Fiona’s right,” Malachi said, stupidly getting involved in things that didn’t concern him.

“Says you,” Dad turned a disapproving look onto the vampire, and you could see when the cogs in his mind clicked into place, the little nerve under his right eye started to twitch. “And why are you here? Who invited you? I know why these two are here,” he motioned to bat-boy and Split-personality, and I had to chuckle.

“Maggie!” Moira said, and my eyes darted in her direction as I did some scowling of my own.

“Excuse m…” I started, but the sound of my father spluttering like Moira’s exhaust pipe on a cold morning made me turn my attention toward him. His face looked red and puffy, and he couldn’t quite get the words out.

“W-w-w..? Y-you and him?” Dad lifted his knife and pointed it at me and then Malachi. I did some spluttering of my own, but it was my brain that was spluttering, and I couldn’t get my words out either.

“Really?” Eileen piped up. Her eyebrows were raised high on her forehead, and she had a smile like the Cheshire cat.

“Are you insane?” I snapped at my sister. Then I turned my attention towards Moira and resisting the urge to zap her; I demanded an explanation with the death glare that I levied at her.

“And we’re back to feeling very frosty and unfriendly in here,” Malachi said.

“Only to you, cousin.” batboy offered him a smirk.

“Explain!” I demanded when Moira stayed silent.

“Yes — explain!” Dad chimed in.

“Maggie invited him,” Moira lied, and I could tell she was lying because her little eyes were getting all squinty.

“I invited him,” Gran said.

“And why would you do that?” Dad asked.

“I’m sitting right here,” Malachi said, and I suppose on some level you did have to feel sorry for the guy. But this was my family, and this was my kin’s idea of dinnertime, and if he was going to lurk around this family, then he had better get used to it. “Should I leave?”

“Yes!” Moira and I said together.

“I value democracy, and that was only two votes for me leaving,” Malachi offered back.

“He’s been helpful,” Gran said, and I noted how her demeanor had suddenly changed from the standoff that she had my father and the death glare that she was generally offering around, to a more cagey attitude.

“Well the cow was helpful in providing milk for the butter we’re having for dinner, did you want to invite the cow to dinner as well? Should I set another place?” Dad said.

“Now you’re just being childish,” Gran said, lifting her chin and offering him that noble air of disdain.

“There’s a shocker,” mother piped up. “Someone at this dinner table being childish, who would have thought it?”

“So, who did kill the sheep?” Eileen piped up, and silence hung in the air around the table.

Then everyone started talking at once, and life went back to normal. But I did have to wonder about Eileen’s question. Was it a random act by Fraser? Had Lachlan done it before he died? Neither man was on the island at the time, allegedly. Not that we would ever know any different now.

I looked at Ross, and he was looking back at me. I think he was thinking the same thing. Maybe it was Ross. Maybe it was Malachi. Maybe there was another force at work somewhere on the Isle.

I didn’t care. Not right then. Everyone that I did care about was around the table and safe, that may or may not include Malachi.

I did know that I was tired and the sooner that dinner was over, the better because I was going to climb into my bed and sleep all night — at least, that was the hope. Because tomorrow was a new day, with new tourists, new cookies to bake, new muffins to make, more games of charades to play, and gossips to evade.

I was kind of hoping that life could go back to being simple once more. But with a werewolf and two vampires at the dinner table, what were the odds?

 

Not… The End.

 

I hope you enjoyed the second book in the Witches of Skye series. Before you leave, please leave a review on Amazon. Thanks. M.L.

Don’t forget to look out for book three.

Love Lies Bleeding.