Page 38 of Wild Scottish Beauty

The vision had been so clear, as though I was actually there, wading into the ice-cold loch, worry for a small kitten and Ramsay driving my decisions. I’d been able to smell the damp winter air, read the fear in Ramsay’s eyes, feel the sharp bite of freezing water nip at my skin. In any other instance, I’d be able to convince myself that I’d had averylucid dream.

But I couldn’t explain the water.

Considering, I leaned forward and licked a drop of water off the back of my palm. It tasted salty, and I felt like I remembered from somewhere that Loch Mirren was made of salt water. Or connected to the ocean in some way. Something like that. I’d played on her shores as a child, hadn’t I? I closed my eyes, and smiled as I remembered screaming away from the icy water as the boys tried to splash me, blinking at the salty sting of water in my eyes. Yup, salt water it was.

This had to be connected to my supposed magick then. Was it…was this something that allowed me to see the future? Or was I tapping into events or memories from the past? I wondered if Ramsay had a cat. Maybe he’d rescued a cat one time from the loch, and somehow, I was now able to tap into his memories.

How would that be helpful magick though?

I snuggled more deeply into the pillows, tightening my arms around Sir Buster when he grumbled at my movements, and stared blurrily at the window as my brain whirled with possibilities.

The future made more sense, though I couldn’t quite see Ramsay racing anywhere to save a kitten, grump that he was.

I guess I would find out in the morning. Maybe he had a shop cat with a dramatic origin story. If anything, it would be a good way to connect with Ramsay, and maybe we could become friends. Given how close he was to my family, it just didn’t make sense for us to be at such odds.This is a good plan, Willow. Let’s hope Ramsay lets you in.

The bed shifted, and my eyebrows shot up my forehead.

“Clyde!” I hissed, my heart jumping into my throat.

The ghost coo had climbed onto the mattress and wascurrently circling the end of the bed, much like Sir Buster had just done, before settling himself down onto the blankets. He tilted his head at me, almost as though he had a question in his eyes. I stared at him, frozen.

“Moo?” Clyde whispered, nudging my leg with his head, and I swear for a moment I could feel the press of his nose against my thigh.

“Um, I’m just fine, Clyde. If that’s what you’re asking.”

Clyde bopped his head once and then settled his entire massive head across my legs, as though he was protecting me, while Sir Buster let out a rumbly little snore at my throat.

I gaped down at the chihuahua, and the massive ghost coo, both of whom had now decided I was their bed. Should I … was this … what exactly did onedoin such a situation?

In the end, I did the only thing that I could think of.

I slipped into the most comfortable sleep I’d had in years.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Ramsay

I’d barely slept the night before.

Which certainly didn’t help my annoyance this morning, as I poured my third cup of coffee. I stood at the back entrance of my shop, door open to the blustery morning, not caring that I’d have to light a fire to warm the place up when Willow arrived.

At the moment, I needed the caffeine and the cold to shock my system into tearing my mind away from thoughts that I most decidedly should not be having.

It hadn’t helped that every time I did fall into sleep last night, a dream would slip through my mind, the softness of Willow’s lips pressed against mine. I’d shake myself awake, even in dreamland knowing that she was off limits, and adrenaline would send my mind racing as I tried to force mythoughts away from this attraction that had a chokehold on me.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been so instantly taken with someone, and the fact that it was Miles’s little sister was like pouring salt into a wound. If Willow had been anyone else, I’d be rolling out the red carpet and wining and dining the bonnie lass until she’d give me a chance. But now, I had to keep Willow at a distance and the only way I knew how to do that was to be downright surly to her. Arsehole move, for sure, but it was the one that resonated the most with me. Being friendly with her danced too close to a relationship status that I wasn’t ready for, so I’d need to enlist the time-honored tradition of Scottish banter coupled with my naturally grumpy exterior to keep a stern boundary between us.

Maybe I should set her up on a date.

The mere idea brought a scowl to my face, and I sipped at my black coffee, the liquid bitter against my tongue as I thought about Willow dating one of my mates. Miles would probably have my head if I went that route, so best to just steer clear of anything dating related when it came to Willow.

My laptop pinged, signaling an incoming Zoom call, and I turned from watching a crow swoop above a tree in the small courtyard behind my building and shut the door. The cold was finally starting to seep into my bones, and I flicked a glance to the empty hearth before picking up my laptop.

“Hiya, Sheila. How you getting on then?”

“Well enough, now that you’ve agreed to the airportstore. They’ve sent the contracts over for the lease. Tenancy will become available in three months.”

“That’s grand, I’m sure. I hope you’ve got a good plan for this.”

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