Page 82 of Highland Hearts Holiday Bookshop

And love would only complement it, if I let it. I realized that I needed to be the one in the driver’s seat, which sounded silly when I thought it, but I’d been in the passenger seat for too long. Now I knew what I wanted, which was a future here as a bookseller and matchmaker, and I wanted Alexander as a part of my life.

Now I just had to convince him that my actions hadn’t been calculating when it had come to not sharing the matchmaking with him, more so that I was still getting my feet under me when it came to this new life. I absolutely should have shared it with him, and I would have, but I hadn’t gotten a chance to before he’ddiscovered it.

But I had a plan. A loose one, which involved some groveling and presents for Tattie, but it was still a plan.

Zipping up my coat, and checking my face in the mirror once more, I took a deep breath.

“You can do this. Go get your man, Rosie.”

Eye of the Tigerboomed from the speaker, and I laughed, giving it a thumbs-up.

“Thanks for the confidence, Moira.”

With that, I snagged a card I’d written for Alexander and slipped it inside the gift bag for Tattie. Now I just had to work up the nerve to knock on Alexander’s door and give it to him.

Kingsbarns had received the smallest dusting of snow that morning, enough that people were hopeful for a white Christmas, and I huddled deeper into my coat as the icy wind barreled across the fields. Still, a few people were out and about, and most gave a friendly wave as I passed. It was weird, this cheerful acceptance of newcomers in a small town, and I realized now that maybe this community was part of what my heart had been craving all along. I didn’t need a big adventure, at least not how Alexander had phrased it. What I needed was consistency and stability. A small life full of simple joys was the key to my happiness, and there was nothing wrong with that. It was something my mother had never understood, or it hadn’t resonated with her, and I had to accept that her path was her own. She shouldn’t have dragged her daughter along on it, but that no longer mattered. What did matter was the decisions I made for myself moving forward.

I wanted to sip tea while I read books by the fire and watch the moody winter light over the ocean. I wanted to stop in the supermarket and chat with my neighbors and make friends over our shared love of books. I wanted to build a future with Alexander, if he would have me, and settle in, right here, and find our peace. Together.

Even though I talked myself up the whole way to Alexander’s house, by the time it came into view, nerves derailed me. Immediately abandoning my plan to knock on his door, I veered right instead and stumbled my way over the dunes toward the beach. Maybe I needed just a few more minutes to gather my courage before I knocked.

Annoyed with myself for delaying, yet at the same time trying to give myself grace, I came out over the edge of a small cliff.

And saw a puffin struggling on the rocks.

“Oh no,” I gasped, as it tried to hop about, one leg dangling at an awkward angle. Unsure of what to do, I unwrapped my scarf and crept forward hoping to catch it.

The puffin paused, tilting its head at me.

“I promise I’m just trying to help,” I said, whispering softly, crooning to the little one as I crept closer. Ever so gently, I draped the scarf over the bird and scooped it up. To my surprise, it didn’t even struggle. I wondered if the poor thing was simply exhausted. Bundling it inside my coat, to keep it secure, I turned on the rocks to head for Alexander’s house when I caught my toe.

“Shit!” I gasped, turning to protect the puffin as I went down.

Hard.

Pain speared up my ankle and I winced as my back hit the sharp rocks. Somehow, I managed to twist my body so the puffin didn’t hit the rocks. I lay there for a moment, the puffin wiggling in my arms, tears spiking my eyes as I gasped for breath. For a moment, nothing came, and panic seized my throat.

You’ve just had the wind knocked out of you.

I repeated it over and over to myself until I could finally drag in a shaky breath, and then another, before I shifted on the rocks and sat up. The puffin was starting to freak out in my coat, and I was worried it would hurt itself more. Easing myself forward, glaring at the deep crater in the rock that I’d missed, I tried to stand.

And sat back down with a sharp cry of pain, my ankle unable to support my weight.

“No, no, no. Shh,” I whispered into my coat, tears streaking down my face. Murderous dark clouds had gathered on the horizon, a winter storm rolling in fast, and I had no other option than to call for help. Fumbling about, I reached into my pocket and called Alexander.

When he didn’t answer the first time, I called again.

“Please pick up, please pick up.”

This time, when his voice sounded over the line, I cried even harder.

“Rosie?”

“Help me. I need help. I’m hurt.”

“Where are you?” Alexander’s tone sharpened and I cried harder, choking on the words.

“At your beach. I rescued a puffin andI think I broke my ankle. I can’t move.” Just saying it out loud made the pain worse, and the reality of my dire situation set in. How was I going to get off this beach and save the puffin at the same time?

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