Page 78 of Kilt Trip

“Come on, there’s more to see,” Logan said. Her body wasn’t a substitute for the intimacy he craved.

A devious look floated across her face before she pulled him in for a kiss and bit his bottom lip.

“Ow! Ye wee water sprite.” He pulled back, pressing on the sore spot.

Addie’s brows knit together, and her gaze turned heavy. She cupped his jaw and ran her thumb along his lip. “I’m sorry,” she said on a low breath, like she was apologizing for more than the nip. Eyes locked on his, she moved slowly, bringing her mouth to his in a quiet touch, like she was kissing it better.

He melted into the softness of her caress, reaching to tangle his hands in her hair when a loud Ahem sounded from behind them.

Logan turned to find the security guard watching them with a severe look on his face. Addie backed away, and Logan couldn’t help the wayward thought that while he loved kissing her in dark corners, all he really wanted was to hold her hand in the light.

“We’ll be going, then.”

30

With every turn closer to the moor, Addie’s stomach shoved higher into her throat. Realizing her chest was nearly pressed into the steering wheel, she forced herself to lean back and blew out a long breath.

Logan’s hand brushed against her neck and slipped into her hair, massaging small circles there, but the anxious thrumming would not be quelled, egged on by Gigi’s cheery directions and the twisty back roads.

Addie had been miserable at the castle, stalling, pretending to have fun, and hated that she was hurting Logan by not taking it seriously. But she’d set foot in that castle and the overwhelming guilt and regret of not getting to experience it with her mom had nearly crushed her.

This was all too much to process. Her ancestors’ plights felt like nothing compared to the fairy dust she carried in the form of a thirty-year-old picture. One last ticket to a magical connection. And once it was all used up, it would be over.

“The destination is on your right,” Gigi singsonged.

Dread wound through Addie’s limbs, leaving her weak. She parked in a small lot on the side of the road and climbed out of the car, clinging tightly to the door handle as she gazed up at the mountains.

Low clouds made the cradle of the valley feel small and desolate, so similar to where she grew up. The raw power of nature. The determination of things to grow in an environment that wasn’t lending an ounce of help.

The burden of solitude in a barren landscape.

Addie’s heart kicked in an unsteady rhythm. She wasn’t ready to see this last place.

She wasn’t ready to say goodbye.

Blinking furiously did nothing to clear her vision.

Logan appeared by her side, holding the keys she’d left in the ignition. “I’m here for you, Addie. But if you want to get in the car, I’ll drive us straight back to Edinburgh.”

A part of her couldn’t release the safety of the door handle, but who knew when she’d be back here? When would she have another opportunity like this? She could leave the possibility out in the universe—but then she’d never know.

And she didn’t have to do this alone. Logan was here.

“I want to do this.”

Logan nudged her with a hand on her lower back, leading her.

Wrapping her arms around herself, she dragged her heels through the gravel, leaving sliding indentations through the parking lot.

As soon as she hit the deer path, she caught sight of the bend in the river.

The spot where her parents had stood. Completely unchanged.

Addie’s heart raced ahead like a shooting star. She pushed through waist-high grasses, swaying in the wind, catching on her clothes. Her heels sunk into the frosty moor after each crunching step, as if the earth wanted to slow her down. Along the rocky riverbank, past the lone copse of evergreen trees, she moved until there was nothing between her and the majestic mountains.

Wind tugged at her hair, the smell of peat sharp in her nose.

The vast, empty valley didn’t feel empty at all.

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