He let out one last satisfied “Moooo,” more pleased with himself this time, then shot upward toward the ceiling and disappeared straight back into the stone with a faint ripple, like someone had dropped a pebble into a pond.
For a moment, all any of us could do was stare.
“Well,” Lia said finally, dropping into her chair. “I honestly don’t think I’ll ever get used to that.”
“I think I just lost three years of my life,” Matthew said faintly. “Do you all just…live like this?”
“More or less,” Orla said, reaching down to ruffle one of the Scotties, who was still growling at the wall. “He’s mostly harmless. Just dramatic.”
“Ghosts,” I muttered, trying to get my heart rate back under control. “Unicorns. Chartweaving. Sure. Why not? Add jump scare ghost coo to the list.”
“Wait. Unicorns?” Faelan asked and the entire table rounded on me.
“Um.” My eyes widened as everyone suddenly looked extremely interested in what I was about to say next.
“Are you dating someone, Liora?” Willow leaned forward, interest on her face.
What in the world did that have to do with unicorns?
“Um, no. Yes. Kind of.” I blew out a breath. “It’s complicated.”
“Ah, and was Mr. Complicated there when the unicorn arrived?”
“Wait, an actual unicorn?” Lottie turned and beamed at the table, her face lighting up. “Are they really real?”
“This one sure was,” I said.
“That’s incredible,” Lottie breathed. “Och, you’ll have to describe it for me so I can paint it.”
“Um, sure.”
“So? Was he with you?” Sophie leaned forward.
“I mean, yeah, we were both in the yard. It’s his house.”
“Och, lass.” Orla pursed her lips in a soft smile. “Good luck to you then, on your complicated situation. Because you’re going to have to get that sorted out at some point.”
“Wait, why? What does this mean?” I turned to Sophie. “Explain.”
“I can’t.” Sophie held up her hands. “It’s just going to have to be something you figure out.”
“But it’s not dangerous…is it? You wouldn’t keep that from me?” I asked, annoyed.
“Dangerous to your heart only. Don’t worry. It’s a good thing. We’ve all seen the unicorn at some point.”
“I want to see a unicorn,” Matthew complained.
“Well, Matthew. You never know. If you move here for real, you just might,” Sophie said.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
LIORA
Lachlan’s truck rumbled away down the lane, headlights cutting briefly across the trees before disappearing. The moment they were gone, the quiet settled over the house, the moonlight glinting over the loch. I took a moment to stare out at the silvery surface and wonder if we really could contain the Kelpies or if they would continue to terrorize Loren Brae.
Not that I’d had much terror from them, but based on what some of the women said tonight, that was a blessing. They sounded incredibly dangerous and horrifying. Maybe it was best that Torin was keeping tabs on me. That being said, did I really want to put him in harm’s way? I realized that I was coming to care for him, more than was probably wise, which meant I’d be devastated if he got hurt trying to help me.
I took a breath and pushed open the front door.