A Highland Home A Contemporary Highland Romance Book Two (18 page)

“I don’t know if that’s still the case, but my understanding is that yer mother never told him about ye, and she left soon after. He may still not know, love. But my concern is why yer ma never told ye his name and never told him about ye.” Angus took her hands in his, his gaze kind yet intense. “She was frightened love-and if it’s because someone didn’t want yer father to know ye exist, then the threat might still be there.”

Rowan’s mind raced and her stomach churned as if she might be sick. It was all too much. She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. “I need to go. I can’t stay here.”

When she stood, he stood with her. “Ye can’t, love. It’s not safe.”

“Thank you for making yet
another
decision for me. Because I’m obviously not capable of a single thought without your help.” Her entire body was shaking, too angry to even shed tears. She was ready to murder him. “How long have you known?”

He let out a ragged breath. “A few weeks-or more.”

She shook her head and headed for the door, unable to even look at him, her stomach churning from the heartache.

“Rowan, please.” He grabbed her arm, but she yanked it out of his grip and spun on him.

“
Don’t
. Don’t even speak to me, Angus.” Her things, her bag. She didn’t care. As long as she had keys, she could come for the rest later. She just needed to go. Needed fresh air. And needed to get away from him.

He stepped in her path, blocking her way. “Damn it, Rowan. Don’t ye get that it could be dangerous? Yer mother didn’t tell ye about yer father for a reason. Stop and think. Please, love. From what I’ve been told, yer father’s a good man, but if he didn’t know she was pregnant, then who had her so scared? What if they’re the ones behind the threatening note?”

“You don’t get it, do you? I’m not going to stop looking for him, Angus-especially if he doesn’t know I exist. And I get that you’re only trying to protect me, but you crossed the line when you started looking into this on your own and
didn’t tell me
.” She squeezed her eyes shut to keep the tears from falling. How did it all go so wrong-yet again? She felt hollow. As if her soul had been torn from her and she was nothing but an empty shell. “
I trusted you
, Angus. And you kept this from me-even though
you knew
how important it was to me.”

“Och, love. I’m sorry. I only did what I thought was best.”

“I know.” She shook her head and looked away, her heart breaking. “But it’s still over. I can’t be with someone I can’t trust. And I don’t trust you, Angus. I don’t know if I ever will.”

***

When the incessant pounding on her cottage door refused to stop, Rowan dragged herself out of bed, her head spinning from lack of sleep and her eyes swollen from the tears she’d shed. If it was Angus, she’d murder him. Plain and simple.

“Lovely.” She groaned and let Conall in. “It’s a bit early for visiting, no?”

“Maybe if ye were still in Vermont, what with the time difference, but around here, lunch has come and gone, my dear.” He wandered into her sitting room and took a seat.

“What are you doing here, Conall?” Couldn’t he see that she didn’t want company? She’d yet to sit, but when he motioned to the empty seat with a tilt of his head, she tossed herself in it.

“I’m here to take ye to my father. Angus called and said ye should speak to him.” Conall tilted his head as he looked at her, his lips pursed. “Have to say, as smitten as Angus is with ye, I hadn’t expected him to screw up this early on. The boy has a talent for that sort of thing.”

She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I’m not talking to you about my relationship. And what? You now do Angus’s bidding. Can’t say I expected
that
one.”

Conall shrugged, not rising to her bait. “He promised to train that crazy mutt of mine in exchange. Now get showered and dressed. My father’s waiting.”

She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly while getting to her feet. “Are all Scottish men this bossy or is it something in the water of Dunmuir?”

Not waiting for a response, Rowan made her escape. She quickly showered and got dressed, taking the time to towel off her hair well before twisting it up and out of the way. Though she was still annoyed that Angus was interfering-obviously the man couldn’t help himself-she was glad for the opportunity to speak to Conall’s father.  She didn’t have many connections to her mother and her past, and now that things were over with Angus, she didn’t know how any of the locals would feel about her.

Her heart ached to think of Angus, but along with the pain came her anger and hurt. Of all the people she thought she could trust… of all the people she didn’t think would break her heart.

With her eyes burning, she took a deep breath and another, pushing her emotions back. She already looked a wreck with her eyes puffy and red, and didn’t want to make matters worse by shedding fresh tears. With shaky hands, she swiped some gloss across her lips, took a moment more to settle herself, and then headed downstairs to where Conall was waiting.

“Ready. Are you driving or should I?” She tossed on her jacket to keep the chill at bay.

“I like my life, thank ye very much. Seeing as ye haven’t been driving on our roads long and yer eyes are all but swollen shut from crying, I think it best if I drive.”

She shook her head and ground her teeth. “You really know how to make a girl feel special.”

“I do try.” He pulled the door open with a smile.  “After you.”

It was a short drive down along the coast to a good-sized traditional cottage. Wrapped around the house were the bones of what would be a pretty garden come spring, the sea and sky acting as an ever-changing backdrop.

She stopped Conall with a hand on his arm. “Are you sure about this? I can’t imagine your father wants to go digging up his past.”

“I called first, and truth is, he’d like to see ye.” Conall started to move towards the house, but Rowan stopped him again.

“Wait. Why did Angus want me to speak to him?” She didn’t know what his motivations were anymore. Was he trying to prove something? Or was there more information he hadn’t given her.

“How would I know? If ye want to know the inner workings of Angus Macleod, then ye’ll have to ask him. Now are ye coming or not?” Behind his scruffy stubble, she could see his lips were pursed with impatience.

“It’s a wonder you’re still single when you ooze such charm.”

Conall scoffed. “Aye-and that’s the way I like it.”

With a quick knock at the door, he didn’t bother waiting, but rather let them in and led them to the sitting room. “Da. This is Rowan Campbell. My father, Gordon Stewart.”

Gordon got to his feet and took her hand in his, his gold eyes intense as he held her gaze. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet ye, lass. Please, have a seat.”

Rowan pushed back her nerves and gave him a smile, noticing the similarities between the two men. “I can’t thank you enough for seeing me.”

She and Conall sat on the sofa across from his father, but she wasn’t quite sure what to do with herself.

Gordon shook his head, his gaze returning to her time and again. “By the gods, ye look just like her.”

She suddenly felt guilty, knowing her mother had hurt him. All she could do is hope that time had healed his wounds. “I’m sorry if this is awkward for you.”

“Dinnae fash, lass. I’m glad ye came.” There was such kindness in his eyes; it had her throat going tight. “How can I help ye?”

There was no point to delaying the matter, and at least now she felt more comfortable asking him. “It’s my understanding Angus came to see you about my mother?”

“Aye, lass. He said ye were looking for yer father, and wondered if I might have information on him. Unfortunately, Iona didn’t tell me much, given the circumstances.” He shook his head, his lips pressed together. “Angus wanted to know if she seemed scared, and I’ll admit, Iona was certainly more frightened than I’d ever seen her.”

Just like Angus had said. “I don’t suppose she said why she was scared?”

“It had to be related to the pregnancy. Thinking back on it, I believe it had to do with his family. Whether or not that’s who had her frightened or if it was the awkwardness of the situation, I couldn’t say. But for her to not tell the lad she was pregnant… there’d have to be a damn good reason for it. She wasn’t the flighty or frivolous sort, as I’m sure ye know, so she’d have thought the matter through.”

So Angus had been right-not that it was any justification for what he’d done. But what happened to frighten her mother enough to leave the country without ever telling Rowan’s father she was pregnant? She had to try and find him-now more than ever.

“I don’t suppose you know any of her friends from college? We saw her roommate, Imogen, but she didn’t have any information. Even a name would be helpful… anything at all.” It was her last hope. She was running out of avenues for information.

“She was popular enough at university, even if Anne was still her closest friend. There was her roommate, as you said, though I’m not sure how close they were.” He sat back with a sigh. “I hate to admit it, but it was hard to not get jealous when she was so far away and there were so many other lads constantly lingering. Not that I could blame them. She was a pretty thing, with a smile that set everyone at ease. And smart too.”

He continued with a sigh that left Rowan’s heart aching for the poor man. “I knew she wasn’t truly in love with me, but I asked her to marry me anyway. I don’t think she had it in her to turn me down since we’d been good friends and she loved me in her own way. It was before she’d left for university, and we were both so young.”

Rowan could see it all unfolding, and heard the pain and longing that still lingered in Gordon’s voice. “It didn’t excuse what she did.”

“No. It didn’t. But I tried my best to understand.” He shook his head with an exhale. “She loved him, ye know-yer father-and said he was a good man. Which is why I couldn’t fathom her decision to keep the pregnancy a secret. I’m sure she had her reasons, but I couldn’t tell ye what they were.”

“And there’s no one else who might know?” Her heart was aching, her hope dwindling.

“I wish I had answers for ye, lass. I truly do.” Gordon picked up a shoebox that was sitting on the side table and handed it to her. “I found some photos from around that time. Thought ye might like them, though I doubt ye’ll find any clues. Still, some of them are of her friends, though I wouldn’t know their names. They were taken the few times I went to visit her in Edinburgh.”

Knowing now that she might never find her father, a glimmer of hope and wishful thinking blossomed in her chest, as she reached over and touched Gordon’s arm. “I don’t suppose there’s any chance you might be…”

He covered her hand with hers, his voice gentle and raw with emotion. “There’s nothing I would like more, lass, but I’m afraid not.”

***

Once at Conall’s, Rowan sat on the sofa next to him and watched him type away on his laptop, his gaze locked on the screen. “What are you looking for?”

“Give me that picture-the one taken the day yer mother graduated from college.” He took it from her and he looked at it again. “I’m thinking that anyone close to her might show up in this picture. There’s her roommate and her family, by the looks of it. But there are also a few others here. If I can track down the list of those who graduated that day, I may be able to place names to the faces for ye.”

Hope once again flooded her heart, even though she told herself it was a long shot. “Do you really think you can find out who they are?”

“Aye. Ye’d be surprised at the sorts of pictures people post of themselves online. Seems like everyone wants to reminisce about their past. When they were thin and young and had more hair. They all want to recall better times-not that they remember the reality of it.”

She had to laugh. “You’re awfully cynical for one so young, Conall.”

He glared at her for a quick second before returning to his laptop. “Off with ye. Ye’re distracting me, and I like to work alone. I’ll stop by with any information I find.”

***

It had been over a week since Rowan’s argument with Angus, and one would think that with her gallery opening tomorrow, she’d have plenty to keep her busy. Yet somehow, despite her best efforts, Angus kept niggling his way back into her thoughts. Not that she’d seen hide nor hair of him. For someone so in love, he hadn’t bothered to stop by or call to see how she was doing.

She knew from the start that it’d be a mistake to pursue anything serious with him, and yet he’d been impossible to resist. Even now, the mere thought of him had her heart beating a little faster, her stomach fluttering and her heart aching. Damn it.

Part of her tried to reason that he’d only been trying to protect her. Yet he’d been dishonest and kept things from her, manipulating things as she searched for her father. She couldn’t trust him. If he’d given her the facts, they could have worked together to figure something out. Instead, he’d treated her like a child and made the decisions for her when they were hers to make.

Her eyes burned, but she took a deep breath and pushed her emotions to the side. No good would come of thinking about Angus-not when things were a mess between them. Instead, she got back to work putting the finishing touches on the gallery.