The Highlander Next Door Read Online Free PDF Page B

sheriff to show up,” Duncan countered. “That’s why the plan is to station a couple of officers in each town while pooling our resources to save on administrative costs.”
    “What resources?” Niall countered back. “I don’t even have
one
station.”
    “We’re working on that.”
    “And while you’re working on it,” Niall went on, “see if ye can’t get your fellow councilmen to pony up enough money for me to hire a secretary. When I trained with Jack Stone, it was obvious that Ethel is the heart of Pine Creek’s force for keeping everything organized, answering the phone, and dealing with walk-ins.”
    “I’ll try, but don’t hold your breath.” Duncan suddenly sighed. “It’s hard for people who’ve lived paycheck to paycheck all their lives to wrap their minds around a budget that now involves millions of dollars instead of a few hundred thousand.”
    “But are the towns not collecting millions in taxes?” Titus asked. “What with all the new businesses springing up and the grand year-round homes being built to replace the old seasonal camps, the town coffers should be flush with dollars.”
    “Aye,” Duncan admitted. “But the older folks are stubbornly tightfisted, and they don’t like the idea of building an infrastructure that’s turning their wilderness into small cities—especially if they can sneak by with what they have.”
    Such as not purchasing a new cookstove if two burners were still working, Niall thought as he grinned into his ale.
    Apparently not liking
this
subject, since he was directly responsible for turning Spellbound and Turtleback into small cities, Mac lifted his glass in salute. “To progress,” he offered, “and the wisdom and courage to embrace it.” He looked at Titus. “Speaking of which, how is your mass exodus coming along?”
    Titus let out a resigned sigh of his own. “Folks becoming set in their ways is a timeless affliction, I’m afraid.”
    “How many are left?” Mac asked with a chuckle.
    “Eight families for a total of two dozen stubborn souls. And don’t think the irony is lost on me that it’s the younger islanders who are reluctant to leave. I finally gave them the choice of being gone in two weeks or becoming instant celebrities when an army of twenty-first-century scientists descend on their long-lost mythical home.”
    “Wouldn’t it simply be wiser to leave Atlantis lost?” Duncan asked. “Are ye not worried that any number of nations will go to war over it? Hell, at least seven countries have laid claim to Antarctica.”
    Apparently deciding that was a rhetorical question, Titus turned his attention across the table. “Is there a reason you’re quieter than usual this evening, Nicholas? You appear ready to fall asleep in your cups.”
    “Julia is
nesting
,” Nicholas said as he glanced at Mac. “Has Olivia shaken you awake in the middle of the night yet and informed you the nursery needs to be finished by
yesterday
?”
    Mac crossed his arms over his chest, his expression equally beleaguered. “By the time Julia is pregnant with your sixth
son
, you’ll be lucky if he’s not sleeping in a bureau drawer, since the more children you have the less nesting is needed, apparently. Olivia has put Sophie and Ella in charge of decorating their new sister’s room, and to date I’ve ordered and canceled
three
different furniture sets, now know more about
themes
than any man should, and have painted the walls
five
times.”
    Aye, Niall thought with a silent chuckle; having been told last week that Olivia was expecting another girl, the wizard obviously didn’t like that Nicholas was having only sons, since it was looking as if young Henry would be Mac’s only male heir.
    “Why don’t ye just have the resort facility crew do the painting?” Duncan asked, obviously fighting a grin.
    “Because Sophie informed me that modern dads
participate
,” Mac explained—Sophie being his twelve-year-old stepdaughter.
    “Oh, come on,”