Excuse Billy while he takes a moment to process the information. According to Jamie, the Cranstons were a Lowlander clan. Highlanders and Lowlanders weren't on speaking terms, to put it mildly. But he was a well-integrated American who had never heard stories of Scotland at home. Jamie had been pre-wired to harbor prejudice against him and subsequently conquered it, and Billy had never known that any of this was happening. Some genius he's turning out to be.

"My family never discussed their Scottish heritage in detail. I'd looked up some basic facts on my own, but I never knew that we were meant to be rivals based on our names." Billy doesn't judge Jamie for this. He knows all too well how difficult it is to overcome long-standing feelings of animosity toward certain groups of people.

He closes his hand around the badge tightly. "Thank you for allowing me to prove myself to you."