“Are you hungry, Ben?”

Brandy turned to face me, her eyes daggers.

“No, I ate earlier. The others went to the village with the big fella. I stayed behind hoping we could talk. I can come by later—”

“It’s all right, come in.”

Brandy allowed him to squeeze past her before returning to the kitchen. “Something tae drink, then?”

“No, I’m good. Who’s this little guy?”

I smiled proudly. “This is our son, William. Willy, say hello to Mr. Hintzmann.”

Willy smiled bashfully, then swatted his dish of applesauce and strained spinach off the highchair’s tray, turning Ben’s jeans into something that resembled a Jackson Pollock painting.

“Willy! Ben, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

Brandy wetted a dishtowel and handed it to Ben. “Perhaps one day ye’ll have bairn of yer own?”

“Bairn?”

“Baby.”

“Sure. Maybe. My girlfriend’s more focused on her career.”

“But ye want a wee un, I can tell. Perhaps this girlfriend of yers is not the marryin’ type?”

“Brandy!”

Ben finished wiping down his pants. “Amanda’s still adjusting to me no longer being in the Air Force. And with all the changes, I’m not exactly ready to be anyone’s father. What’s that smell?”

I inhaled, catching a whiff of the baby’s soiled diaper. Releasing Willy from his chair, I handed him over to his mother. “Brandy, would you mind?”

“Time for his bath anyway. Serve yerself the mutton pie before it gets cold.”

“It’s okay, I’ll eat later.”

Brandy shrugged and carried the baby into the connecting suite, closing the door behind her.

Ben smiled. “Mutton?”

“Sheep meat,” I said. “It’s like lamb, only tougher and drier. Want to try some?”

“God, no. I’d rather eat Willy’s leftovers.”

“Let’s talk out here.” I led him to the terrace door and outside to the enclosed balcony. The glass walls blunted the cold to near-tolerable levels, the night concealing Loch Ness from view. Ben made himself comfortable in one of our padded rocking chairs while I ignited a portable heater.

“Must be nice out here during the summer.”

“It’s peaceful,” I agreed, flopping down on a lounge chair. “So what’s on your mind? This isn’t a last-ditch effort to recruit me for Vostok, is it?”

“Just an opportunity to get to know someone I admire. For the record, I wasn’t interested in the Vostok mission until I heard they were recruiting you.” His eyes settled heavily on mine. “When I read The Loch last year, I remember thinking how hard it must have been for you, as a reputable professional in your field, to have been ridiculed by your peers for believing in the water equivalent of Bigfoot or the Abominable Snowman.”

“I had a close encounter. It didn’t matter what my peers believed, I knew the truth.”