For one of the first times she could remember, Cat finally saw Jamie as more of a grown male than a child.
She sometimes forgot he wasn't the wee lad following her around everywhere anymore.
Her dragon sighed. Aye, aye, he's grown. Now let's hurry. You know Lachlan will be pacing a hole in the carpet if we don't.
Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door.
Even though Sarah had been told Cat was coming, the human opened the door a crack, looked at each of Cat's brothers, and then said, "Aye? What do you want?"
She gestured to each brother in turn. "My brothers Connor and Jamie often volunteer with the school here. Since your sons will be attending soon, I thought they could answer your boys' questions out here in the garden whilst we talk alone."
Sarah looked suspiciously at Connor and Jamie. Since the human was a wee thing by comparison and unused to dragon-shifters, she could understand how they were intimidating to her.
So Connor lifted the container he'd brought with him. "I made some biscuits to say welcome. We're family now, after all."
Sarah looked at the container. A small voice behind her asked, "Can we have some, Mum?"
A small dark head popped up at her side, the older of Sarah's sons—Mark. Before Sarah could answer, the wee lad's eyes caught sight of the football and widened. Mark looked up at Jamie. "Are you the coach here? I want to play, but all the boys at schools say I'm rubbish."
Jamie smiled at the boy. "I used to be rubbish too. But with lots of practice, I became one of the best players in the Highlands."
"Of all the dragons?" Mark asked in awe.
Jamie lowered his voice. "Of all the humans as well." He shrugged. "I can't play for any team, though, because I'm a dragon-shifter. So I just teach lads and lasses for fun. If your mum says it's okay, I can teach you a few things out here in the garden."
Mark looked up at his mother. "Can I, Mum? Please?"
Sarah looked undecided, so Cat spoke up. "I promise on my unborn child that I'd trust my brothers with my life, Sarah. They'll watch over the lads like they were their own, I promise."
Sarah searched her gaze a few beats before finally sighing. She swiped the container of biscuits from Connor's hand and said to her son, "Fetch your brother."
"But Mum, he's so slow."
Sarah raised an eyebrow, and Mark wilted a wee bit, the way children tended to do when they knew they couldn't win. "Aye, I'll get him."
He dashed away, and Sarah opened the door. "We'll sit in the kitchen, which overlooks the front garden." Sarah pinned first Connor and then Jamie with a stare. "I'll be watching you both, so remember that."
Well, at least in the case of her children, Sarah was stronger than she looked.
And while not exactly a warm-hearted embrace of Cat's brothers, she knew complete trust would take time. Cat would take it.
The boys both appeared in the doorway. The younger one also had dark hair but was a bit shyer than his older brother and hid behind Mark.
As if sensing he needed to break the tension, Connor ran further back, and after squatting, he flipped in the air before landing back on his feet.
The younger boy—Joey—gasped. "Do it again."
Connor grinned. "Only if you come out into the garden."
Mark went first, following Jamie as if he were some sort of god. It took Joey a few seconds, but once his mother gently pushed him forward, he raced over to where Connor stood.
As each of her brothers began entertaining the lads, Cat smiled at Sarah. "They'll both be ready for naps when my brothers are done with them."
Sarah nodded but didn't say anything. However, she gestured inside, and Cat followed the human into the small kitchen that indeed overlooked the garden.
Once Sarah filled the kettle with water and turned it on, she asked, "Why are you here? No one would tell me the reason for your visit."
Cat leaned against one of the counters. "First, let me say that Lachlan wanted to do this, but I made him let me do it instead."
Sarah shook her head. "No one makes my brother do anything. At least not anymore."
She smiled. "Maybe not before, but he's changed." Sarah opened her mouth, but Cat beat her to it. "But we can talk about your brother later. I'm here because I need to explain what's going to happen to you and your family."
She expected Sarah to demand, or freeze, or show some sort of emotion. But the human merely raised her eyebrows.
Cat had a feeling the female had suffered through heaps of explanations over the years. Ones that had, in reality, merely been excuses for hurting her.
Her dragon sensed her unease but remained quiet for the moment to avoid distracting Sarah. Cat decided to just be blunt. "We've figured out how to protect you, but there are a few conditions. As to what they are—you and your family are to stay on Lochguard until we receive word it's safe."
"I knew that."
"Aye, but unfortunately, it means keeping your husband locked up until that word arrives."
She watched the female closely, but she couldn't read any emotion off her.
Maybe, like Lachlan, she'd learned to conceal her feelings to protect herself at a young age.
Sarah finally said, "I suspected as much. He hates your kind, aye?"
"But you don't, though. I'm curious as to why?"
The kettle clicked off, and Sarah turned to pour the hot water into the cups. "I met a dragon-shifter once, although I didn't know he was one until he told me as he left. His eyes didn't even flash once, at least not until after he told me what he was." She laid out some biscuits on a plate, and Cat held her tongue, waiting for Sarah to continue, hoping she'd share the full story.
After another few beats, the human did. "We took a trip to the Lake District last summer, and Joey disappeared somewhere near Keswick. My husband had gone off somewhere that morning, and I was doing my best to handle the situation. The dragonman was randomly in the same area with his own son, overheard about Joey's disappearance, and helped me find him." She paused to turn back toward Cat. "He was nothing but kind to me and my boys. When he revealed he was from Clan Stonefire, I almost didn't believe him until he let his pupils flash to slits and back again. It was the first time I ever took a second to wonder how dragon-shifters were in reality versus what floated around via the news and rumors."
Cat nodded, wondering if she could find out who the male had been. Maybe he could help Sarah build more trust with the dragons in general.
Sarah stared at her a second before asking, "What I don't understand is why are all of you so willing to help us? Aye, you're Lachlan's bride. But marriage doesn't instantly make a family care for you."
The statement revealed more than Sarah probably realized. Cat suspected Sarah's husband's family were all horrible too.
Her dragon rumbled but remained silent. Cat replied to the human, "Much like how that dragonman helped you find your son without asking for something in return, the dragon-shifters often like to help those they can. Not to mention Lochguard takes care of its family. Even if loosely related to the clan, it's enough." She took a step toward Sarah. "Although I'll admit that I'm surprised you aren't more upset about the fact Rob will have to be locked up the entire time he's here."