MacGowan's Ghost (29 page)

They all roared again.

Allie looked at Amelia. “Your novel?”

Amelia gave a short nod.

“Amelia's an American novelist,” said Gabe. “She writes under
Amelia Landry
, and she wrote about her experience at the Munro keep. It's in fiction form but 'tis their story, just the same.”

Allie smiled. “Wow, that's fantastic. I'd love to read it. I'll make sure to pick it up.”

Amelia waved a hand. “Don't you dare. I've got some spares around here, probably.” She elbowed her husband gently. “Ethan or one of the others always has a copy on them.”

Gilchrist, Ethan's youngest brother, grinned. “Chicks dig it.”

Everyone laughed.

Afterward, the guys all rose and hurried off to inspect a motorcycle one of them had purchased, leaving Allie and Amelia alone.

Amelia sighed, got up, and came to sit beside her. She held Allie's gaze with a kind look. “It's amazing, isn't it?”

Allie wasn't quite sure what she meant. “You mean your story?”

With a smile, Amelia shook her head. “I guess you don't see it. But I do.” She cocked her head. “It might not be any of my business, and if so, just tell me to hush. But I'm so proud of Gabe, and his love for you is so blatantly obvious. It's a blessing, you two finding each other.” She paused. “What do you know of his and Ethan's first meeting?”

Allie felt a kindred spirit in Amelia and found she didn't mind talking to her at all. “Only that Gabe was going through a terrible time
drying out
, he calls it, and that Ethan and the others helped him through it.”

Amelia rubbed her cheek with one finger and looked at Allie. “Ethan is a friendly, outspoken man. He isn't afraid to show his feelings, whether it be for me, his kin, or a friend.” She crossed her jean-clad legs at the ankle. “So when Ethan noticed Gabe across the loch, he made his way over one afternoon and introduced himself.”

Allie nodded.

“And Ethan, in his outspoken way, told Gabe—more than once—he looked like
bloody hell.
” Amelia gave a soft laugh. “Ethan came home with two black eyes, a bloody nose, and a swollen jaw.”

Allie's eyes widened. “Gabe beat him up?”

“They beat each other up. Beat the living tar out of each other, my granny would say. I don't know who looked worse, but they must have duked it out for quite a while before deciding enough was enough.” The smile touched Amelia's eyes. “And they've been fast friends ever since.”

“It sounds as though Ethan and the guys pulled him through some rough times,” Allie said. “It must have been horrible.”

“He looks amazing now,” said Amelia. “Back then, when he first came, he was skinny, unshaven—yeah, it was horrible. I felt so sorry for him. Having the guys, and their unique situation, helped, I think. Plus Gabe's dad and brother are fantastic.” She shrugged. “Everyone pulled together.” She patted Allie's leg. “But my Lord, look what you've done to him now.”

Allie grinned. “I haven't done anything. I've known him for a very short time, actually.”

“Really?” Amelia said, grasping Allie's hand and squeezing. “I don't see that.”

Allie glanced at Ethan, his kinsmen, and Gabe down on the car park as they looked over the bike.

Although it was dark, the outdoor light cast enough light for Allie to notice Gabe had turned his gaze in her direction.

He smiled, the whites of his teeth stark against the low light.

“I guess I don't see it, either,” Allie said.

And she didn't.

“You and Gabe will have to visit us at the keep sometime,” Amelia said. “There's plenty of room and lots of fun places to explore.”

Allie glanced at her belly and smiled. “That sounds exciting. How much longer before you can't explore anymore?”

Amelia waved a hand. “Pah, this is my third, and I've still got four more months to go. Easy peasy. You guys come whenever you like.”

Allie smiled and looked at the other woman who'd fast become her friend. “It's been great meeting you,” she said.

Amelia met her gaze. “Likewise. You know, in a sea of testosterone, us girls have to stick together. Big-time. And you know,” she said, pinching her thumb and index finger close together, “we're only this far apart on the map. So let's not be strangers.”

They laughed, and while the guys finished being guys, Allie dared to imagine what it would be like to be a part of this kind of life permanently.

The clean, cool Highland night air rushed over her, like an accidental touch, or a profound whisper, as someone urgently, from the glens and crags and depths of the loch, leaned close to her ear and said,
Stay, Allie Morgan, you belong. You belong with Gabe. You belong here.

Allie wrapped her arms about herself and inhaled again, hearing the water of Loch Ness ripple and lap at the shore below, and the leaves rustle above.

She indeed felt content. Gabe made her feel whole.

And she prayed with fervor that the haunting whispers of the glen were right.

 

Gabe pulled Allie close as they said good-bye to the Munros. Ethan's kin had all nearly slapped the breath from his lungs with their version of farewell, but Gabe felt lucky to have such an unusual lot of friends.

They'd all loved Allie on sight.

He'd expected no less.

As they climbed into the Rover, Gabe glanced down and noticed a copy of Amelia's book,
Enchantment
, clutched in Allie's hands. He was sure she'd find it just as fascinating as he had.

As long as she found it fascinating some
other
night.

They waved, leaving the big lot of lads, plus wee Amelia, on the deck. Ethan pulled his wife close and kissed her temple, one hand protectively sitting atop Amelia's blooming belly.

Gabe wondered briefly if that bothered Allie. Somehow, even if it did, he thought she'd never tell him. He wished mightily that he could change things for her.

As they drove along, he snatched glimpses of her profile in the dark, with only the stereo's neon green numbers casting an iridescent glow to Allie's face.

Turning the Rover onto a single lane, he headed toward a favorite place of his he felt sure Allie would love. They seemed to love quite a lot of the same things—which amazed him. She was simple, loved the outdoors, didn't mind hard work, and sweet God, she could kiss.

Which is all they'd be doing tonight regardless of their opportunity to be alone.

He'd given his word.

And while not at all a scaredy-cat—a term Ethan had used but Gabe felt sure he swiped from Amelia—he wouldn't give his word to five big lads from the fourteenth century who'd proudly hacked off a head or two and then take that word back.

A fool he wasna.

No' to mention that while Allie drove him close to insanity, with her warmth, her soft skin that smelled of flowers, the way she kissed and her bonny form pressed tightly against his, he
respected
her. He so completely respected her he'd push his own urges aside to care for her wishes.

He just prayed she didna wish the same thing he did.

“They're really nice,” Allie said, turning sideways to look him straight-on. “I really liked them.”

Gabe nodded. “Aye, and they took right to you, as well.” He smiled and inclined his head. “I see Amelia gave you one of her novels. You'll enjoy it. 'Tis an amazin' story.”

She looked at him and smiled. “This isn't the same way we came.” She cocked her head—an endearing gesture she did frequently that Gabe decided he liked. “Are you taking me somewhere secluded to make out?”

He raised a brow. “Aye, darlin', I most certainly am.”

Allie laughed softly and slipped her hand into his. “Good. I was hoping you were.”

Only his Allie would be so vulnerably open. He liked that about her, too.

Easing the Rover down the narrow gravel path, Gabe came to a stop and lifted the emergency brake. He inclined his head. “Quite a view, aye?”

Allie's eyes moved across the loch, the moonlight making her pupils shine. “Breathtaking.”

“Aye,” he agreed, although to a different scene altogether. He opened the door. “We have a clear view of the sky from here that we canna see from our porch because of the trees.”

Together, they leaned against the hood of the Rover and watched the stars. Gabe slid up onto the hood and pulled Allie to rest against his chest. He draped his arms around hers and held her, his chin on the top of her head.

He felt content.

Aside from
wanting
her so badly, that is.

“What did you study at university, lass?” he asked, thinking a nice, safe nonkissing topic would help him keep his hands to himself.

She laughed softly. “Strangely enough, astronomy.”

And then Allie Morgan proceeded to point out several constellations, stars, planets.

On her own, she turned in his arms to face him. His hands settled against her hips, and, God help him, she slid her wee hands to
his
hips. In the darkness, with the moonlight and the sounds of Loch Ness, Allie Morgan smiled and leaned against him. She pressed her mouth to his and inhaled as she slowly tasted him, and Gabe moved his hands over her back and pulled her to him, so close he could feel Allie's heart pounding against his. Her hands came up and grasped either side of his face, her fingers rubbing against the day's stubble on his jaw.

Without hesitance, she kissed him long, thorough, and he let her take the lead. When she finally stilled against his lips, kissed him softly once, and opened her eyes, she first looked at the mouth she'd just tasted, and then at his eyes.

“I love you, Gabe MacGowan.”

He smiled, shook his head, and then laughed. “She loves me!” he shouted, and his deep, booming voice bounced off the waters of Loch Ness and echoed through the glen.

Allie laughed and placed her hand over his mouth. “Shh, you crazy thing,” she said, her eyes shining.

“I love you, Allie Morgan,” he said against her fingertips. “I love you.”

Chapter 26

A
llie thought she and Gabe would get tired, grow sleepy, stop talking, or kiss some more.

Or just throw caution—and her reputation—to the wind and give in.

They both wanted it. Good Lord, the profound strength Gabe had exerted to
not
lose control when they had been on the forest floor was almost as much of a turn-on as the control getting lost.

She was thirty years old, for God's sake. She wasn't a virgin. She hadn't had many lovers—okay, so there was just
one
. But that
one
had lasted for a couple of years, and she thought they were going to get married. Little did she know he'd dump her for another woman.

But she and Gabe didn't give in. Not yet, anyway. Instead, on the high banks of Loch Ness, on the porch Gabe built with his own hands, they snuggled.

Guys hated that word.
Snuggle
. It was a girl thing to do, invented, probably,
by
a girl. It meant
to snug
. In other words, in a guy's mind, to
snuggle
,
or to snug
, meant
no sex.

Allie thought Gabe hid his loathing for snuggling rather well. Either that or, dare she think, he was one of the few men who actually
liked
it?

Either way, snuggle, in fact, is just what they did.

After they kissed some more.

The night wasn't as cool as it had been recently, and the outdoor fireplace, along with a few blankets, kept Allie and Gabe toasty warm. They talked. About family, about childhood, about places they'd like to visit, things they each enjoyed doing—they just
learned.

Allie was fairly positive that making love with Gabe would be earth-shattering. He'd probably have to teach her all over again how to actually make love—it'd been quite a long time for her.

Gabe kept talking, and Allie wanted to keep kissing. She wanted to touch, skim her hands over his rocky biceps, slip her hand under his shirt, and feel the ripped abs she'd seen that night when he'd had just a button-up shirt on, unbuttoned.

The thought made her mouth go dry.

Gabe
made her mouth go dry.

What, exactly, were they waiting on, anyway? Frustrated? To have Gabe so close and be so casual?

“Allie?”

“Yes?” she asked, smiling through her clenched teeth.

Gabe, lying behind her and on his side so she could fit on the deck sofa with him, looked at her, relaxed. With his head propped on the heel of one hand, the other rested casually over her stomach, he grinned. “What's wrong, lass?”

How could he be so calm?

She certainly wasn't. She felt as if someone had lit her virtual fuse and it was getting shorter and shorter by the second. Good Lord! They'd been lying nearly on top of each other for over two hours and she was about to yank her hair out. She probably needed to just go either jump into the cool October waters of Loch freaking Ness or take a cold shower in the cottage.

She opted for the cold shower.

Because of that whole monster thing.

She lifted Gabe's hand from her stomach, set it onto his own thigh, and rolled off the deck sofa.

Literally. She hit the wood, stood up, brushed off her backside, and began walking to the back door of the cottage.

“Allie, where are you goin'?”

She stopped, breathed a few times to mask her . . . whatever it was, and turned and smiled. “I'm
gooin'
to take a shower.” She smiled extra wide for good measure.