A Highland Home A Contemporary Highland Romance Book Two (19 page)

She wanted-needed-everything to be perfect for the opening tomorrow, and could only hope it would help the locals get used to her. Her recent split from Angus, especially after such a short time together, had the townsfolk giving her all sorts of looks, from smug to downright angry-and she could just imagine what they were saying.

But there was more weighing heavily on her mind-especially given her mother’s past. She was late. Not by a whole lot, but it was enough to have her counting days and replaying the nights she’d spent in Angus’s arms.

There was no way in hell she’d be going to the local pharmacy to pick up a pregnancy test. The rumors would whip through town like stink from a skunk. With luck, it was nothing more than the stress she’d been under. A few more days though, and she’d be trucking it to Glasgow and a pharmacy where no one knew her.

Doing her best to ignore the feeling of impending doom, she got back to hanging up the last of her photos and printed out the brochure she’d designed for the classes she’d be teaching. With how-to’s on pottery to jewelry, she tried to market it as a fun alternative for a night out with a friend. She’d already set up a website, contacted the local papers, and with the weather warming, she hoped there’d be an increasing amount of tourists.

It was well past dinnertime, and her stomach rumbled in protest.  She could go to the pub, but the thought of dealing with Lara or running into Angus had her quickly dismissing it as an option. Not that going home to cook or reheat leftovers seemed like an appetizing prospect. Angus had spoiled her with his gourmet cooking. Now, it didn’t seem like a proper meal if something wasn’t souffléd, flambéd, or brûléed. She grabbed her purse and flicked off the lights as she wandered towards the door.

Glass shattered in the darkness as pain rained over her, and she slumped to the ground.

Chapter Sixteen

Angus pushed through the crowd, his heart pounding as panic consumed him. Lara hadn’t said much over the phone-only that Rowan had walked into the bar covered in glass and dazed. Where the hell was she?

He spotted Walter Ramsey, the local constable. There. Behind him in one of the booths.

As if sensing him, Walter turned and immediately slowed his progress with a hand to his chest, holding onto him so he couldn’t get by. “Easy there, Angus. She should be fine, though ye should still have a look at her. She doesn’t want to bother with the long trip to the doctors or to emergency care. Cut and bump to the head, and a few superficial cuts to her face and hands from the glass. It was a rock through the window of her shop, and if I had to guess, it also hit her in the head. Given the age of the building, the glass hadn’t been replaced with the tempered kind, so when it broke, it shattered into sharp pieces.”

Processing the information, Angus nodded and shoved past him, his control tenuous. He saw the cuts, the blood, and it had his anger boiling over. He stepped to her side, though she didn’t look at him.

He took a deep breath and tried to maintain some semblance of calm, not wanting to upset her further. “Rowan… I’ll need to have a look, love.” His voice sounded strained even to his own ears, his body so tense it was vibrating.

“They shouldn’t have called you.” Her gaze settled everywhere but on him, and it was like a knife to his heart. “I just want to go home.”

He tried to keep his tone level, but it didn’t help that he was talking through clenched teeth. “You can either let me look at yer wounds here, or I can take ye to my home and examine ye there. But ye’re not staying in yer home alone when someone’s just assaulted ye.”

When she finally looked at him, his heart jerked to a stop as her eyes locked on his, shimmering ponds of green. “I’m fine.”

“For fuck’s sake, Rowan. Ye’re bleeding and might have a concussion-and that is
not
fine.” By the god’s, the girl would drive him to drink. “If ye’d stop being so stubborn, ye’d take the threats seriously. This is the second one, and it’s an obvious escalation from the first. So even if ye’re not ready to acknowledge it, I’m not willing to risk yer safety.”

“Well, it’s not your choice, Angus.” She got to her feet, but she was still unsteady. “I have to go board up the window and clean up.”

Lara stepped to her side. “We’ll manage it. Don’t go worrying about that. Just get yerself home-and let the poor man take care of ye. We’ll get to the bottom of this, aye? No one does this to one of our own.” There were sounds of agreement from around the pub. “Now get out of my pub. Ye’re getting glass everywhere and Angus is liable to punch something-or someone. Both of ye-get out.”

Rowan nodded. “Thank you, Lara.” She then settled her gaze on Angus, as if knowing she couldn’t win this fight. “Could you please take me home?”

“Aye, love.” He put a gentle arm around her back and took her hand to steady her, should she fall.

Not wanting to argue that his home would be safer, he took her to her home-not that she’d be staying there alone, if he had any say in the matter.  “Which room has the best light? I need to make sure I get all the glass out.”

“My studio.” Her gaze still refused to fall on him any longer than necessary, and it all but killed him. “I need to get changed first… the glass.”

“Aye, love. I’ll wait here.” He was desperate to hold her close and comfort her, but he’d gone and ruined that between them. It’d nearly killed him to give her some space after their argument, to not call her or swing by her house or the gallery. But now, after seeing how distant she was with him, he wondered if it’d been the right thing to do. Maybe if he’d stuck around, he could have smoothed things between them, made her see why he’d kept things from her.

When she returned, dressed in tights and a loose flannel shirt, they headed to the studio. She flicked on the lights, and he put his medical case down on the table, getting out his supplies and laying them out so he’d have easy access. “If ye could sit, that would help. I should be able to take care of most of yer injuries, but if it’s anything serious, I’ll have to take ye to the emergency in Glasgow.”

She sat down like he asked. “I’m fine. Just a bump and a few cuts.”

“Which likely have glass in them.” He quickly examined her, relieved to find most of her injuries weren’t terribly bad, and would heal within the week. The cuts to her face were few, but there were more on her hands. “The cut on your head isn’t too deep and won’t need stitches as long as ye’re careful with it. Ye’ll want to ice the bump though.” He flashed a light in her eyes to make sure she wasn’t concussed and then moved on to her cuts. “I’ll numb them up a bit to keep it from hurting if I need to go digging around.”

She nodded and he got to work, doing his best to ignore that it was Rowan he was working on-to ignore the anger that had his gut in knots and his shoulder tight. He often got called in to handle small injuries, since the closest physician was over an hour away, but this was different. This wasn’t someone accidentally cutting themselves while chopping onions. This was an attack-on the woman he loved.

He finished up by covering the cuts with an antibiotic ointment and bandages. “Will ye come stay in my guest room or should I go get my things so I can stay here on the sofa?”

“Angus… I’m fine. You don’t need to babysit me.” She looked away with a ragged sigh. “I appreciate your help, but I think it’s best if you go.”

Her words stung and made his heart ache. “Do ye hate me that much? I don’t get it, Rowan. I’ve only ever tried to do what’s best.”

When she looked at him, she was blinking back tears. “I know-but it doesn’t matter. Nothing’s changed-I’m still trying to find my father, and you still want me to stop looking-which means I can’t do this. It was a mistake to get involved in the first place.”

“Do ye really think that?” He refused to believe she truly felt that way. He brushed her cheek and tilted her chin up so she’d be forced to look at him. “I don’t believe ye, love.”

He leaned in and brushed her lips with his in a slow, sweet kiss, his heart pounding with hope when she didn’t pull away. Instead, she clung to him, her forehead pressed against his-even if it was just for a moment.

“Why are you doing this to me, Angus?” She pulled away and got up to pace.

He stepped in her path and ran his hands down her arm. “It’s the only thing I can think of to make ye see sense-to make ye see that I love ye.”

“Just go, Angus. I’m begging you to just leave me be.” Her tears rolled down her cheeks, as her eyes pleaded with him.

“Och, love… I’m begging ye to forgive me.” He brushed her tears away, his hand still cupping her face as he fought through his own fears and desperation. “Let me help ye find yer father. Let me keep ye safe.”

“How can I? You knew how important it was to be honest with me after my ex lied and cheated on me. And I trusted you, damn it. You said wouldn’t hurt me-and that’s exactly what you did.” She pulled out of his arms and took a step away from him. “I get that you were trying to keep me safe, but you lied to me and worse-you tried to manipulate the circumstances so that I wouldn’t go looking for my father, despite knowing how important it is that I find him.”

He clenched his jaw to bite back his response and then took a deep breath to calm himself before speaking. “You were just attacked, love. Do you think I was still wrong to keep things from you?”

“Yes, I do. Because keeping things from me and keeping me safe are
not
the same thing, Angus. And if you don’t see that, then there’s no hope for us.” She crossed her arms in front of her chest, disappointment in her eyes.

“I
do
get it, love. It’s just the thought of something happening to ye is enough to keep me from thinking straight.” He shook his head, worried she’d never forgive him. “I ne’er said I wasn’t an eejit, love.”

Unable to let her go, he found himself closing the distance between them. When she didn’t move away, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close, nuzzling her.

“Tell me there’s still hope, my love. I promise to ne’er keep anything from ye again.” He had to make her see what she meant to him. “I love ye, Rowan Campbell. Don’t be the one to break my heart, love, for I don’t think I’ll e’er recover.”

She melted in his arms, as his lips found hers and he kissed her as if there would be no tomorrow. Although she eventually pulled away from him, there was a renewed hope in his heart.

“Will you help me find my father-in earnest?” There was no waver in her gaze, and he knew this was his one chance.

“Aye, love. I’ll help ye any way I can.” He reached out and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. “And I’ll do all I can to keep ye safe.”

She nodded, but slowly pulled her hand free. “You can stay if you want-on the couch. And just for tonight.”

Even if it was a small step, it was a step in the right direction. “Aye, love. As ye wish.”

***

True to her word, Lara had gotten the broken glass cleaned up and the hole boarded. “They may need to order in the glass, but with luck it won’t take more than a day or two. I’ve got the dimensions and will let the window glazer know.” Angus let the tape measure slip back into its casing and followed Rowan inside.

Things were still a little uneasy between them and seemed to have reverted back to the way things were before they’d started dating. Still, it was a good start and Angus hoped he’d be able to win her trust back before long. “Will ye still open for the day, love? Or will ye put it off until the glass has been replaced?”

She leaned against her desk, her arms crossed in front of her chest. “I don’t know. I wanted everything to be perfect, and it just feels… off. It’s not exactly the opening I’d envisioned for my gallery.”

He saw the dozen roses, black as night, blooming in a vase by her laptop, and immediately recognized them as the kind her ex would always send. “From Stephen?”

“Yeah. He came across the gallery opening after I posted it online, hoping to drum up some business and get the word out. I guess he’s still feeling guilty about being a cheating ass.” She shrugged. “They were too pretty, and I didn’t have the heart to throw out yet another bouquet.”

His chest tightened at the thought of her ex trying to win her back. But it also made him wonder. “Rowan, would he be the sort to try scaring ye into moving back to the States?”

“No. I can’t imagine he would.” Her response was quick, but her furrowed brow told him she was still thinking about it. “It’s likely one of the locals, even if most of them are probably feeling bad after last night’s incident. None of them were too happy with me after you and I split up. And that’s saying a lot, since they didn’t like me when we were dating either.”

Being reminded of their short-lived relationship hurt, but he could push through it now that she was speaking to him once again. That had been the longest week he could ever remember. “I could see someone writing the original note, but I can’t imagine anyone in town being nasty enough to put a rock through yer window, especially with ye standing right there, knowing ye’d get hurt.”

“Which leaves us with your suspicions about my mother being scared.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “I’ve had Conall digging around. Do you think his search may have tipped someone off?”

“Anything’s possible, love. Did he find anything?” It soon became clear that if Angus couldn’t keep her from searching for her father, then the next safest thing would be to find out who he was-and with luck the threat would go away once her father was made known.