MacLarens of Balmorie 05 - Once Upon A Time In Scotland (11 page)

A groan escaped her. She removed her eyeglasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

What a nightmare. And, honestly, he wasn't to blame. Her actions were all her own. Her rational mind said one thing, but her body and emotions refused to behave.

The words on her laptop blurred. With a heavy breath, she leaned back in the kitchen chair.

After her little porn show in the woods, she'd holed up in the cottage and had begun writing furiously, intent on blotting out all images, memories, and emotions having to do with the sexy
Scot.
Her tale had begun with her main character arriving in Scotland for a conference and finding tales of murder and ghosts in the small Victorian manor house she'd booked for the week. Of course, as her heroine investigated the old tales, events in present day began to mirror those of the past. It seemed murder and mayhem at fictional
Blackwich
Manor had awakened once again...

The words were flowing.

In a weird way, she had Liam to thank for that. Shaking her head, she pushed the chair back and went for another cup of coffee. She was tired, her head hurt, and her eyes were no doubt bloodshot. Silly of her maybe, but she was pushing herself to exhaustion so that when her head hit the pillow, she'd actually sleep instead of thinking about Liam—because every time she did think about him, she found herself trying to find ways to make a relationship possible.

Only it wasn't possible.

A glance in the wall mirror told her what she already knew. Eyes bloodshot. Hair had seen better days. Shadows under her eyes. She took a long drink from her cup, eyeing her reflection before scolding herself. “Get your act together.” Mooning over something she couldn't have wasn't going to make things better. She was meeting with Riley and the girls in a little while—a goodbye dinner since Mia and Blake were flying home in the morning—and the last thing
Abbie
wanted was their instincts and discerning eyes to see the truth.

Continuing with the internal pep talk, she downed the rest of her coffee and headed upstairs for eye drops and makeup.

* * *

On the patio at
Balmorie
Castle, Liam sat on the lounge chair with Hamish while Fran and Lucy hovered in concern. Their attention was fixed on Harper Dean, sitting on the companion lounge facing them with a whisky glass dangling from her fingers and heartbreak in her eyes.

Liam held the letter in his hands.

The letter, which Harper never received, had been written over a decade ago by his brother. In it, a teenage Ross admitted his love for Harper and told her to meet him, that he didn't want to leave America without her. Of course, Liam knew some of the past events firsthand. Their mother and Whitney Dean had split suddenly and, in one night, she'd packed up everything and taken them away the following morning. Liam had never gotten to say goodbye. And, according to Harper, one day Ross was telling her he loved her and the next, he was gone without so much as a goodbye. She'd felt used and tossed aside.

And Ross had felt the same.

But the letter changed all that. And his brother needed to know the truth.

“Harper?” Fran said.

Lost in thought, Harper jerked. “Sorry?”

“Are ye going
ta
tell him, dear?” Fran asked.

“I'll go with you if you want,” he offered.

“I think this is something they'd probably want to do alone,” Lucy said knowingly and then stood. “When you're ready, of course. How about I make everyone something to eat?”

Fran joined her, telling Harper, “Aye. Ye just rest a while and we'll bring everything here to the patio.”

“Thanks.” Harper smiled and watched them retreat into the castle with a sad expression.

“Ye
dinna
have much family back home?” Hamish noted at length, watching Harper as she looked longingly after the women.

“Not anymore, no.”

Hamish gave her a warm smile.”
Ye'll
always have a place here, lass, ye ken?” He patted her knee and then stood, his knees making a popping sound.

Liam watched Hamish go, feeling touched by the man's kindness. “He hits me and comforts you. Doesn't seem fair.”

“Oh, please.” Harper laid back on the lounge. “I doubt you need much comforting.”

“Hey. Deep down, I'm a sensitive guy.” At the sound of laughter, Liam glanced behind him and saw Riley, Mia, Blake and
Abbie
heading out to the dock. No doubt on another trip to the village.
Abbie's
hair was down and she wore tight jeans, boots, and a snug tee shirt over breasts he now knew were the most brilliant things he'd ever
almost
seen. Or felt. Or touched.

“Let me guess. Trouble with the ladies,” Harper broke into his degenerate thoughts.

He scratched his head and couldn't help but smile. Trouble, indeed.

“You're such a player.”

His gaze went to the women once more. “So I've been told.”

Harper turned toward him, sitting up. “Okay. Let's hear it. Lay it on
on
me.”

“What?”

“Your woman troubles. Come on. It'll make me feel better.”

“Your concern is touching.”

“Isn't it? Now come on. Tell me.”

With a deep sigh, Liam reclined on the lounge, crossed his ankles, and tucked his hands behind his head. With a deep exhale, he said, “
Tis
nothing a little focus and determination
canna
fix.” He gave Harper a suggestive look. “What you call trouble, I call a challenge.”

No. God, what was he saying? There was no challenge for
Chrissake
. He had to leave well enough alone. He couldn't fix the fact that
Abbie
lived an ocean away.

“Right,” Harper was saying with a chuckle. “Good luck with that.”

Liam remained quiet, confused by his sudden change of heart and trying to get back to the place he'd been before. Irritated with himself, he leaned over, grabbed Harper's whisky bottle and took a drink for himself.

After Harper left to join the others, Liam stayed on the lounge, sitting on the low piece of furniture with his arms over his knees, staring at the loch.

Harper and Ross would work things out, he was certain. And the relief he felt at knowing his brother would find happiness was a weight he hadn't realized he'd carried so heavily. Harper was a lot like
Abbie
. Honest, forthright, and stubborn. Harper would fight for Ross. And if his brother messed things up, Liam would have to beat some bloody sense into him.

His thoughts led him right back to
Abbie
.

He wanted to know her, and the thought of her leaving before he could get the chance gave him the worst kind of heart burn. He'd always shied away from involvement because of his mother's divorce, his brother's divorce, and what had happened to Malcolm. To him, relationships always seemed to end in grief.

His cousins had found love. And now Harper and Ross would find their way.

Due to events beyond their control, they'd both lived so long without ever getting a chance at happiness.
Abbie
, however, was within Liam's grasp right now, and he was beginning to see that letting her walk away might just put him on the same miserable track that Malcolm and Ross had been on for the last several years.

The only question was, were his feelings real?

Since he'd never really felt the like before, he wasn't sure. But he did know it was different than anything in his past and whatever
it
was had grabbed hold of him with a tight fist and wouldn't let go.

He ran a hand over his head and then rubbed the back of his neck. He wasn't the kind of man who let life and opportunity pass him by. If he let
Abbie
go, he'd be letting go of a chance and a life he realized he wanted.

Hell, maybe he should just tell her how he felt and see what happened.

He snorted and took another drink straight from the bottle. She'd think him stark raving mad. A practical stranger standing on her doorstep asking to give them a chance. Yeah, he could picture the horror on
Abbie
face quite clearly. And then the door slamming in his face.

Of course, there was the wee chance she might be feeling the same...

The idea of putting it all on the line stayed with him.

It'd be one of the
ballsiest
things he'd ever done. And he'd done a lot of ballsy things. Jumping off mountains. Climbing sheer rock faces. Surviving in the arctic circle for weeks on end...

He'd taken on those challenges eagerly. So why not take this one? The worst that could happen was being turned down. At least then he would know. If he said nothing at all, he'd be kicking himself for the rest of his life.

Liam got to his feet and figured if he went through with it, he'd have the answer to whether he cared for her or not. Because no man in his right mind would face a woman they barely knew and put his heart on the line unless his feelings were real.

CHAPTER 11

After dinner was over,
Abbie
said her goodbyes to Blake and Mia at the castle and then caught a lift with Riley to her cottage. As
Abbie
stared out the dark window, she voiced her far-fetched desires. “How much would a cottage like mine cost, you think?”

Riley glanced over, surprised by the question. “Well, I'm not sure,” she said slowly. “Why? Are you in the market?”

A rueful smile tugged her lips. “I wish. Just daydreaming, I guess. I could never take Logan this far away from my mom and dad. They'd be devastated.”

“Unless you could convince them to move, or at least stay for summers, or something like that. I thought your mom and dad loved to travel.”

“They do. They've been all over the U.S.” And they'd always dreamed of exploring beyond its borders.

“It's surprising how easy it is when one has a place to stay,” Riley said. “Airfare and time is all they'd need... They're close to two major airports. And you're their only child, so they wouldn't have to divide their time between kids. It could work. Wouldn't hurt to mention it and see their reaction.”

“It's just a pipe dream,”
Abbie
said with a sigh.

They hit a particularly nasty pot hole, bumping them both off the springy seat. “Whoops,” Riley laughed. “I keep telling the boys they need to fill in the road.”

After driving a few more minutes, Riley said thoughtfully, “It's not impossible,
Abbie
. I once thought the same thing. Impossibility is sometimes something we create ourselves, you know? There are always ways to try, if you want it bad enough.”

“I keep thinking how much Logan would love it here. It's so calm and peaceful, and there's so much open space and freedom for him to run wild.” Of course, there was country only a thirty or forty minute drive from her current residence. It'd be hell of a lot easier to move within her own country than across the ocean. And yet, the simple fact was
Abbie
loved it here. She loved the people, the land, the pace of life, the history, everything. “I'll just have to keep writing books so I can afford to come here once a year,” she said with a smile.

Riley snorted. “Please. You can afford it now and you know it. The mysteries have been very good to you.”

She couldn't deny it. “That's true.”

“There are a lot of fixer uppers around, if you're looking for something off the beaten track and inexpensive. Could be like a summer home. I'm sure the boys would help with restoration. Something to think about at least.” Riley reached over and squeezed her leg.
Abbie
met her friend's emotional and encouraging smile. “And it sure would be nice to have my dearest friend living in the area. Our kids could grow up together.”