Page 76 of Wild Scottish Beauty

“No, Willow, you’ve donemorethan enough! I have to call my father. The thing with my mom is that she never goes to the doctor. She’s always so busy taking care of everyone else that she brushes off her own issues. He’s the only one who will be able to bully her into going. We might have caught this in time, with your help.”

I stood up and gave Lia a quick hug, worry curling through my stomach. “Let me know how it goes, please?”

“Am I interrupting?”

We pulled apart to find Ramsay leaning into the kitchen from the interior door.

“No, it’s fine, come in,” Lia said, pulling her phone from her pocket. “We were just finishing up.”

"What are you doing here?" I asked instantly noticing how happy I was to see him. I slid the image away, closing the app, and tucking the iPad into my bag. Calvin scampered across the kitchen floor, and Ramsay bent to scoop the cat up into his arms. I couldn’t help but admire how handsome he looked, his large arms cradling the tiny kitten, and it made me go soft and gooey inside.

“Thought I’d come pick you up since it’s heaving out there today.”

“That’s nice of you, thanks.” I wasn’t about to turn down the offer of a ride. I’d been walking most mornings, enjoying the brisk morning air, the time giving me a chance to soak in the stunning countryside.

“Everything good here?” Ramsay looked between the two of us, clearly sensing the tension in the air.

“Of course. Lia, I’ll see you later?”

“Yup, thanks, Willow. I mean it.”

“No problem.” I squeezed her shoulder, her phone was already at her ear, and started to leave.

“Oh, have fun on your date later,” Lia called after us, then started speaking softly into the phone.

“Will do.”

“Date?” Ramsay skidded to a stop in the hallway, and I almost bumped into his back.

“Yes, adate. You know, where two people go for coffee or a glass of wine and size each other up to see if they want to jump each other later.”

“I’m aware of the concept.”

I didn’t say anything else as we left the castle, my mind on Lia and her mother, and Ramsay also stayed silent. Tucking Calvin inside his coat, he held the door for me and gestured to where he’d pulled his truck as close to the castle door as he could. The rain hammered the earth, and I could barely make out the loch in the distance, let alone the end of the parking lot.

“Make it quick.” With that Ramsay dashed into the rain, flinging the passenger side door open, before sprinting around the side of the truck. I tucked my bag beneath my coat, and followed suit, and gasped as icy rain splashed against my cheeks. Diving into the car, I slammed the door after me, my chest heaving, as I wiped my face.

“Maybe we should have waited.”

A grunt was my only answer.

Calvin crawled out of Ramsay’s coat, picking his way across the seats to my lap, and I curled him to me. His little body shivered in the cold, and Ramsay turned the key, heat pouring from the vents.

“It rains a lot here.”

Ramsay didn’t even bother with a grunt this time, instead flicking his lights on and shifting into gear, before steering the truck carefully across the parking lot.

Giving up on any conversation, because based on the way his expression looked like it could be chiseled from marble, Ramsay was in a mood, I leaned back into my seat. Staring out the window, I watched as the raindropsexploded against the glass and wondered if my vision had come in time to help Lia’s mother.

Would my life always be like this from now on? When I’d first learned that I’d be able to see the future, I’d thought it would be a cool tool to have at my disposal. But something like this? Yeah, it carried a lot of weight. I realized that I’d need to be careful in how I used my so-called powers in the future, because who was to say how my visions could forever impact someone’s life? Now I was beginning to understand that line in Spiderman about great power bringing much responsibility. Since I wouldn’t have any control over the visions coming to me, I would have to decide what I shared with people. Like, what if I saw that someone’s husband was cheating and she hadn’t asked me about it? Did I just share that information? It could ruin someone’s life. Gnawing my lower lip, I stroked Calvin’s fur, his soothing purr rumbling under my hands, and let the heat wash over me. By the time we’d pulled up in front of the shop, Ramsay angling the truck as close as possible, the windows had started to steam.

“I’ll unlock the door.”

With that, Ramsay disappeared into the rain, unlocking the door before he ducked inside.

And that was it. No waving for me to come in, nothing. I looked down at Calvin.

The cat blinked up at me, telegraphing me an image of Ramsay with a grumpy look on his face, and I giggled.

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