Magnus and a Love Beyond Words Read online

  “Oh, well that sucks.”

  They were all the way across the lawn and we could still hear Archie’s cries. My heart hurt from it all. A tear rolled down my cheek.

  Emma said, “To quote my dear husband, fuck this shit.” She took off jogging after them.

  “What are you doing?” I called. She waved over her shoulder and kept going.

  I asked Hayley, “What do you think she intends to do?”

  Hayley said, “Well she’s not going to let that baby cry anymore, that’s for sure.”

  Emma caught up with the group and from way away through the darkness she was speaking to Bella. And speaking to Bella. Then speaking to John Mitchell and Hammond. Then speaking to Bella. And then she gingerly scooped Archie out of the baby carrier and with the soldier just behind her she walked back toward us, carrying Archie, a triumphant smile on her face.

  As soon as she got to me she placed a now calmer Archie in my arms. I was full-on happy sobbing. “What did you say?”

  “I told her I was a nanny and you hired me to take care of the baby so she could sleep. She seemed skeptical. I could tell she didn’t want to deal with the baby but she didn’t want you to have him either, but the man totally agreed I should take him so they could sleep. So I did.”

  I looked at Archie’s sweet crying face. “Yay, little baby, you get to stay with me tonight.”

  Emma grinned happily and hugged me and Archie. “He is such a cutie, Kaitlyn, and oh my he has some great lungs.”

  The soldier placed the baby carrier beside my legs. Emma carried it into the house. Hayley followed her in.

  And then me, with Archie in my arms.

  Chapter 73

  Zach with Ben asleep in his arms asked, “That’s little Magnus?”

  I held him so Zach and Quentin could see him. “This is Archie Campbell, Magnus’s son. Archie this is Uncle Quentin and Uncle Zach and also your Aunts: Beaty, Hayley, and Emma.”

  I crossed to the big wide comfortable chair with the puffy footstool which was frankly difficult to get to with the mixture of happy-crying and desperate-crying wetness making it hard to see. It was like all the fear and danger and loss and worry of the last hours had hit me with the arrival of Archie. A little guy who needed his Da. Like me. I needed Magnus, I needed him so much. I dropped into the seat cross-legged with little Archie across my lap.

  I chewed my lip.

  Emma asked, “Do you need us?”

  “No, I’m just going to stay awake and hold him.”

  “Okay, Zachary, we have to get to a bed.”

  He stood with little Ben. Emma put the baby carrier beside me. Inside was a bottle and a diaper. She gave me three extra pillows around my elbows and near my head and kissed Archie on the forehead. “Have fun with this little sweetness.” She stroked her fingers down his face. “I forgot how tiny they can be.”

  Hayley said, “I’m headed to a bed too.”

  I said, “There are two bedrooms through that hallway. Make yourself at home. Quentin, guess what? You get the master bedroom through there.”

  “Finally, a proper room.”

  “How’s Beaty?”

  “She isn’t vomiting anymore, so that’s good, right Beaty?”

  “Aye,” she groaned. “That food was disagreeable.”

  “Shh, Katie thinks it’s awesome, but she has awful taste.” She giggled sweetly.

  I said, “Very funny,” as he picked Beaty up and carried her to their room.

  They left me all alone with Archie. I clicked off the table lamp throwing the room into almost darkness, except for the glow of outside lights shining through the foyer windows. Light enough to make out the shapes. Dark enough to not be afraid.

  Though I was plenty afraid.

  I wrapped the blanket around my legs and adjusted the pillows to get comfortable. “Hey Archie, I’m so sorry you were in the war.”

  He looked up at me.

  “Poor baby, it was probably so scary. And you’re probably wondering where your Da is… but I…”

  I wrapped my hand around his. “I don’t know where he is but I don’t want you to be worried.” I whispered into the soft skin of his tiny sweet little fingers. “He’ll survive this because he’s never once let me down.”

  I kissed his little fist. “I thought he had that one time but now you’re here and that’s something wonderful. You’re not a let down at all.”

  I ran my fingertips along the soft hair beside his ear. “Did I tell you I was going to have a little boy? He would be just…” I tried to think about what age he would be, younger than Ben, older than Archie. “I really wish he would have… because now your Da is not here and…”

  My voice cracked apart with my heart.

  “It was so scary. I don’t know how he lives through it and I… You might be all that’s left of him.” Tears streamed down my face.

  Archie, oblivious, began sucking on his fists. “Hungry?” I reached over the arm of the chair and rifled through his carrier for the bottle. “Here you go.”

  He took the bottle hungrily with sweet little gulps. “You should tell me earlier, sweetie, before you’re this famished.”

  I sighed. “I don’t know if our timing was right. It would be so great to give you a little brother to watch over. You would be good at that, because someday in an alternate universe you will watch over me.” My chin trembled. “And I just want to thank you for that. You gave me a little more time with Magnus and I’m forever grateful for it.”

  Lacking a better choice I wiped my tears on the edge of my blanket. “I’ll make sure this is laundered tomorrow,” as if Archie cared.

  I settled my head back on the chair pillow and waited for him to finish his bottle.

  “All done?”

  His dark eyes looked right into mine.

  “Hi, Archie.” I said. “I didn’t mean to frighten you about your da. I just miss him so much.” He yawned, his face going through like five different silly phases. His eyes began to close. I brushed my fingertips on his soft cheek and whispered, “Your da loves you and he loves me and we’re all connected. It’s like a big knot of tangled love. If you listen really closely in the quiet spaces near your heart, you’ll hear him — he’s telling us he’s doing everything he can to come home.”

  * * *

  The end.

  Thank You

  This is still not the true end of Magnus and Kaitlyn. There are more chapters in their story. If you need help getting through the pause before the next book, there is a FB group here: Kaitlyn and the Highlander Group

  Thank you for sticking with this tale. I wanted to write about a grand love, a marriage, that lasts for a long long time. I also wanted to write an adventure. And I wanted to make it fun. The world is full of entertainment and I appreciate that you chose to spend even more time with Magnus and Kaitlyn. I just love them and wish them the best life, I will do my best to write it well.

  As you know, reviews are the best social proof a book can have, and I would greatly appreciate your review on these books.

  Kaitlyn and the Highlander (Book 1)

  Time and Space Between Us (Book 2)

  Warrior of My Own (Book 3)

  Begin Where We Are (Book 4)

  A Missing Entanglement (short story 4.5)

  Entangled with You (Book 5)

  Magnus and a Love Beyond Words (Book 6)

  Always Under the Same Sky (book 7)

  Series Order

  Kaitlyn and the Highlander (book 1)

  Time and Space Between Us (book 2)

  A Warrior of My Own (book 3)

  Begin Where We Are (book 4)

  A Missing Entanglement (short, optional, between 4&5)

  Entangled With You (book 5)

  Magnus and a Love Beyond Words (book 6)

  Always Under the Same Sky (book 7)

  Also by Diana Knightley

  Can he see to the depths of her mystery before it’s too late?

  The oceans cover everything, the
apocalypse is behind them. Before them is just water, leveling. And in the middle — they find each other.

  On a desolate, military-run Outpost, Beckett is waiting.

  Then Luna bumps her paddleboard up to the glass windows and disrupts his everything.

  And soon Beckett has something and someone to live for. Finally. But their survival depends on discovering what she’s hiding, what she won't tell him.

  Because some things are too painful to speak out loud.

  With the clock ticking, the water rising, and the storms growing, hang on while Beckett and Luna desperately try to rescue each other in Leveling, the epic, steamy, and suspenseful first book of the trilogy, Luna's Story:

  Leveling: Book One of Luna’s Story

  Under: Book Two of Luna’s Story

  Deep: Book Three of Luna’s Story

  Some thoughts and research…

  Some Scottish and Gaelic words that appear within the book series:

  Chan eil an t-sìde cho math an-diugh 's a bha e an-dé - The weather's not as good today as it was yesterday.

  Tha droch shìde ann - The weather is bad.

  Dreich - dull and miserable weather

  Turadh - a break in the clouds between showers

  Solasta - luminous shining (possible nickname)

  Splang - flash, spark, sparkle

  Mo reul-iuil - my North Star (nickname)

  Bidh thu a ‘faileadh mar ghaisgeach - you have the scent of a breeze.

  Osna - a sigh

  Rionnag - star

  Sollier - bright

  Ghrian - the sun

  Mo ghradh - my own love

  Tha thu breagha - you are beautiful

  Mo chroi - my heart

  Corrachag-cagail - dancing and flickering ember flames

  Mo reul-iuil, is ann leatsa abhios mo chridhe gubrath - My North Star, my heart belongs to you forever

  Dinna ken - didn’t know

  A h-uile là sona dhuibh 's gun là idir dona dhuib - May all your days be happy ones

  May the best ye’ve ever seen

  Be the warst ye’ll ever see.

  May the moose ne’er lea’ yer aumrie

  Wi’ a tear-drap in his e’e.

  May ye aye keep hail an’ hertie

  Till ye’re auld eneuch tae dee.

  May ye aye be jist as happy

  As we wiss ye noo tae be.

  Tae - to

  Winna - won’t or will not

  Daena - don’t

  Tis - This is or there is. This is most often a contraction t’is, but it looked messy and hard to read on the page so I removed the apostrophe. For Magnus it’s not a contraction, it’s a word.

  Och nae - Oh no.

  Ken, kent, kens - know, knew, knows

  iora rua - a squirrel. (Magnus compares Kaitlyn to this ;o)

  scabby-boggin tarriwag - Ugly-foul smelling testicles

  latha fada - long day

  sùgh am gròiseid - juice in the gooseberry

  Beinn Labhair - Ben Lawers, the highest mountain in the southern part of the Scottish Highlands. It lies to the north of Loch Tay.

  * * *

  Characters:

  Kaitlyn Maude Sheffield - born 1994

  Magnus Archibald Caelhin Campbell - born 1681

  Lady Mairead (Campbell) Delapointe

  Hayley Sherman

  Quentin Peters

  Beaty Peters

  Zach Greene

  Emma Garcia

  Baby Ben Greene

  Sean Campbell -Magnus’s half-brother

  Lizbeth Campbell - Magnus’s half-sister

  Baby Archie Campbell - born 2383

  Bella (?)

  John Mitchell - Bella’s guy

  Colonel Hammond Donahoe

  The Earl of Breadalbane - Lady Mairead’s brother

  Uncle Archibald (Baldie) Campbell - uncle to Sean and Lizbeth

  Tyler Garrison Wilson

  Grandma Barb

  * * *

  The beautiful Robert Burns poem, O my Luve's like a red, red rose, written in 1794 is actually a song. I knew I wanted to use it in this story, but discovered later it wasn’t included in Robert Burns’s published book, Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, also called the Kilmarnock Volume, published in 1786.

  After careful consideration and because it was so important to the story, I decided to leave it as it is, a world in which the song was included in the book — so that Kaitlyn can find it and she can read it to Magnus.

  * * *

  Locations:

  Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida, 2017

  The Dock by a spring on a piece of unoccupied land near Gainesville, Florida. Owned by Zach and Michael’s uncle. Used by Magnus and Kaitlyn to hide the vessels.

  Magnus’s home in Scotland - Balloch. Built in 1552. In early 1800s it was rebuilt as Taymouth Castle. (Maybe because of the breach in the walls caused by our siege from the future?) Situated on the south bank of the River Tay, in the heart of the Grampian Mountains

  Kilchurn Castle - Magnus’s childhood home, favorite castle of his uncle Baldie. On an island at the northeastern end of Loch Awe. In the region Argyll.

  The kingdom of Magnus the First.

  The Cracker Barrel off I-95 in Savannah.

  Acknowledgments

  A huge thank you to David Sutton for reading and advising on story threads. While it might be unpopular that you advised me to remove a sex scene (I had them getting busy right after the surgery), you also asked me to add a scene with Magnus and baby Archie. You were so right about both those things. You also found Magnus’s horse and mentioned that it might be time for a bedroom scene from Magnus’s perspective, which were both great ideas. You have an amazing knack and seem to want the best for Magnus and Kaitlyn; I value your opinions so highly.

  A big thank you to Heather Hawkes for beta reading, championing, being a long time friend and supporter, and for saying things like, “So heart breaking! I cried… beautiful too,” about the scenes where Magnus and Kaitlyn meet Archie for the first time. It’s terrifying to release a book into the wild and I’m so grateful that you’ve been enthusiastic and sometimes ‘on-call’ when I’m totally freaking out.

  Thank you to Jessica Fox for reading and saying, “I like that Kaitlyn keeps growing up but still manages to be annoying occasionally to remind me that she’s still the same person.” I like that you say things like this to help me keep it real. Your advice is great and it means a lot that you think this is my best so far.

  Thank you to Kristen Schoenmann De Haan for your tireless beta-reading for me and for championing my very first book, Bright. That means so much to me. I also like that you said this, “He is funny, that Magnus. Sometimes he is the most enlightened man, and other times very much that bear.” I totally agree.

  And a special thank you to Cynthia Tyler, a truly amazing editor, for going through the manuscript with your wit and wisdoms, your attention to detail, and your magical ability to past-participlate the verb ‘to lie.’ I adore that you ‘get’ that Kaitlyn doesn’t know how the heck to do it and you just want to nudge her in the right direction. I’ve about given up on her, but you haven’t. I’m so grateful you found me or I found you — however it happened, you add an excellent polish to the words. And you do it again and again as often as I need you. I thank ye for it.

  * * *

  A huge thank you to every single member of the FB group, Kaitlyn and the Highlander. Every day, in every way, sharing your thoughts, joys, and loves with me is so amazing, thank you. You inspire me to try harder.

  And when I ask ‘research questions’ boy do you all deliver.

  ______________________

  I asked, What do you think Magnus would be delighted by in a Cracker Barrel General Store? And what would he and Kaitlyn take to the past with them?

  There were so many great ideas, but these were the ones I used:

  Different flavored old fashioned candies - Dianna Schmidt, Karla Blaise, Jenna Rae
Payne, Denagh Lynn McBean, Lauren Ah Sang, Diana Toles, Gail Bissett, Krystal Brazil

  Beanie hat - Dianna Schmidt, Lauren Ah Sang

  Quilts - Jenna Rae Payne

  Holiday displays (ornaments) - Jenna Rae Payne,

  Scented candles, soap, lotion for Lizbeth - Tammy Aya Abouelnasr Keener, Patty Wayne, Lindsay Holden-Shannon, Gail Bissett, Sheryl Lee, Lisa Warfield

  Coffee and tea - Tammy Aya Abouelnasr Keener

  Soda wall - Denagh Lynn McBean, Gail Bissett. Sheryl Lee

  Scarves - Denagh Lynn McBean

  Flavored tea - Patty Wayne

  Chocolate - Patty Wayne

  Checkers - Michiko Howard Martin, Lauren Ah Sang, Christine Davis Clinton, Sheryl Lee

  Christmas ornaments- Lauren Ah Sang

  Jump the Peg game - MaryAnn Meyers, Liza Cook Griggers, Sheryl Lee

  Wooden rockers (they didn’t buy these but might someday) - Sheryl Lee

  Biscuits and gravy - Nancy Graff

  Thank you to everyone who weighed in!

  _____________________

  I also asked, “What was the photo that Kaitlyn took with her when she went to 1679?”

  This is the one I chose:

  Kaitlyn and I with our horse in the snow in Scotland. Twas the year 1702. We were both smiling.

  Thank you for the ideas, Catie Brooks (Didn’t she take a photo of them in Scotland on her phone?) and Nancy Graff (I was thinking of them on his horse.) and Kathy Fletcher Bainter (What about the one she took in the forest in Scotland of the two of them?)

  ___________________________

  I also asked, “I need a date. Because something big happened in the 1500s…”

  The winner was Samhain, or All Hallows Eve, and the following day, All Saint’s Day, or La Samhna, November 1st. Thank you Margaret Parker, Rhonda Bascle, Heather Story, Dayle Brunson, and Maureen Woeller for helping me pick the day of the battle.