Page 10 of Kilt Trip

“Yes. I’ll give you the quick tour,” Jack said. “Here’s the living room.” He gestured to the leather couch hugging the back wall and the love seat framing the fireplace. An overstuffed bookshelf stood in the corner. “You’re welcome to anything in the lending library.” Addie immediately imagined curling up in the oversize reading chair tucked into the alcove of the bay window.

Just not tonight or she’d end up sleeping there.

Gemma straightened Jack’s collar as he moved past her, and he swatted her away. “Mum,” he pleaded. “Through there’s the kitchen.” He pointed to the open doorway and picked Frank up, dripping water down the hall. “And here’s your room.”

Addie studied him while he dug in his pocket and handed her a set of keys. “That’s for the flat, and this one for your room locks from the inside.” Jack wasn’t giving Addie any bad vibes with his brotherly demeanor, especially with his parents fluttering around, but the extra safety measure settled any reservations she had about this setup.

Gemma brushed past Jack into the bedroom, tweaking his collar again on the way and earning a heavy sigh. She waved Addie in. “We have three boys, and I always wanted to decorate a room with flowers.”

“Oy, are you giving this tour of my flat, or am I?”

Neil’s mustache snuffled as he tried unsuccessfully to hide a smile from his wife.

“You didn’t need to go to all this trouble on my account,” Addie said.

“Jack rents this room. It was a perfect excuse for some updating.” Gemma linked arms with Neil. “You’re helping my boys make changes around here already.”

Floor-to-ceiling gray curtains lent the room some grandeur. Sprigs of lavender stood in a brown-bottle vase on the nightstand. The cushy bed beckoned Addie. She wanted to face-plant into those pillows and not move until morning. She could already feel her weight sinking into the mattress and the lilac duvet, soft against her cheek.

Gemma pulled her attention to the three watercolors of Scottish thistles hanging above the headboard. “These are Scotland’s national flower—a native plant both bold and beautiful.”

The only things Addie had any attachment to in her Boston apartment were the blackout curtains she’d purchased in a jet-lag-induced haze. Gemma had created a sanctuary for her.

Despite the cold drenching from the weather and the water droplets that now stuck her shirt to her shoulder blades, Addie felt warm all over. The maximum effort clients typically expended on her account was offering a cup of coffee. She wasn’t used to people fussing over her.

It was nice, if a tad overwhelming.

“The thistle symbolizes courage and bravery,” Neil added with gusto, and Gemma beamed at him. “Legend has it that during an invasion, the Vikings planned to sneak up on the Scots and overcome them in their sleep. Only, as they crept in barefoot, a Norseman’s foot came down hard on one of these wee prickly flowers and he cried out, alerting the Scots, who charged into battle. The rest, as they say, is history.”

Addie’s gaze landed on Jack as he lifted his glasses to rub between his eyes, and she almost barked out a laugh. She felt some immediate kinship with Jack, both of them at the mercy of Neil and Gemma’s excitement.

Gemma gestured her over to a framed picture of a fairy-tale castle nestled on a tiny island surrounded by rolling hills. “Our Jack took this photo.”

“Wow. You’re very talented.”

“I appreciate it. Wish the galleries thought so, too.”

“That’s a tough business.”

Neil interrupted. “One of the most revered castles in all of Scotland. Eilean Donan.”

Addie’s heart pinched. She remembered the name from her mom’s stories, the ones Addie told herself over and over. Scotland is a magical place. Full of kelpies and shaggy Highland cows and the Loch Ness Monster. Fairy wells, standing stones, emerald hills. And the castles, Addie. You’ll love the castles.

“It’s the clan seat of the Macraes, so I thought you’d like it,” Gemma said proudly.

Addie swallowed past a lump in her throat as she nodded.

Her mom used to imitate the Macrae battle cry and tickle Addie until she couldn’t breathe. Every once in a while, Addie listened to the war cry on YouTube to make sure she wouldn’t forget.

But the sound of her mom’s echoing laughter had faded into the unreachable part of her subconscious. Even her expressions had narrowed in Addie’s memory to match still-frame photos.

She had so little of her mom left.

“It’s gorgeous,” Addie choked out.

“Aye. And it’s been an important stronghold since the thirteenth century.” Neil puffed up like he was about to embark on a story.

Jack leaned across Neil with arched eyebrows. “I can call security on them, if you’d like.”

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