Page 238 of Tangled up in You

Beth looked around at her surroundings and her heart rate started spiking even more. How long had she been out of it?

“What bed and breakfast are you supposed to be staying at?” Brodie asked as he stood near Jack.

“The Highland Notchy, I think it was called. The reservations are in my overnight bag. I was following the GPS in the vehicle I rented in Inverness when it indicated I had to make a turn then glitched before it went out. The radio in the car went out too. An animal darted out into the middle of the road, and I crashedmy car into a ditch. I thought that the place wasn’t too far away based off of what I remembered from the GPS and the next thing I know I’m waking up here.”

Beth rambled on, her hand on her chest as she felt herself starting to panic. She started pacing as she thought back to everything that happened in the last five days.

“It’s ok. Relax, lass. We aren’t angry with you. We’ve been worried about you. You could have died last night had we not found you when we did.” Jack walked over and started to soothe her as he pulled her into his arms and rubbed her back.

“I…I’m sorry. The last week of my life has been a complete shit show and now this. If this isn’t the bed and breakfast, where am I?” Beth mumbled into Jack’s very naked and warm chest.

“A cabin that we had rented. The bed and breakfast that you mentioned shut down six months ago. When did you make your reservations?”

“I made it last minute. I was waiting for my flight at the airport after ditching my wedding, thanks to my former shitty employee and ex-fiancé.” Beth rambled on as she started to think about everything that the guys were saying.

“Former employee? Ex-fiancé?” Brodie asked as Jack stepped back from Beth at the same time.

Beth sighed heavily as she moved towards the couch and plopped down. Leaning forward she rubbed her face with her hands.

“Yeah. I’ve known Haley for several years. She was a waitress at the bar I tended and now manage. The owner died last year and left the place to me in his will.” Beth smiled sweetly as she remembered the old man who owned the bar. “He was like a dad to me. My parents were killed in a car accident. I was placed in a foster home which I ran from. Mac found me.”

“Mac?”

“Yeah, his last name was McFlanerty. Told me to call him Mac.”

“McFlanerty? Why does that name sound familiar?” Brodie asked as he looked over at Angus.

“He was originally from here in Scotland. It was one of the reasons I came here when I ran from the wedding. I decided I wanted to see why he loved it here so much.” Beth smiled as she looked up at Jack. “He was a good man. Quiet, had some old photos from his military days here.”

“He was military?” Angus asked, leaning against the wall, crossing his arms across his chest.

“Yeah. Army, I think. Special forces or something. His patch that he had on his desk said Special Air Service. The only time I got him to tell me why he moved to the US was about a bad assignment and he wanted somewhere that didn’t remind him of what was lost so he chose the US and then found the bar on a drunken night, bought it from the original owner and ran it ever since. Old man never got married or had children.”

CHAPTER 6

“You said that the man had died?” Jack asked as he studied Beth, making her squirm slightly.

“Yes. He died of .”

“You mentioned a honeymoon? I take it your married. Wouldn’t your husband be looking for you?” Angus asked as he pushed off of the wall, seemingly a little too unhappy at the thought.

“Sorry to disappoint the grinch who steals Christmas, but I’m not married. The asshat started acting strange when he thought I would inherit the damn bar. Kept pushing for me to sell it and invest in the bullshit idea he had. Told him not only no but hell no. Someone had to keep paying the damn bills. I’m supposed to meet with some attorney in London on my way back to the US. He finally returned my calls while I was at Heathrow Airport. Apparently, he was Mac’s attorney for everything, he said he knew how to help me get in touch with his family so I can get everything to them and go from there.”

“Doesn’t explain why you’re here and still taking your honeymoon.” Jack pushed as he sat down on the couch near her.

“The day of our wedding. I went to go look for him to ask him a quick question before we started walking down theaisle. Caught him banging my now former employee against the dresser in his suite. They were laughing about how stupid I was to not have caught on to the fact that they were having an affair. He kept saying how much of a dead fuck I was and neglecting him because I was mourning the old man and trying to run the bar and that he couldn’t wait to take everything away from me. I left. Went back to my place, changed clothes, packed a bag and decided I’d still come out here. I needed to get away to clear my head. I guess I really am a dumbass like they thought.”

Jack looked over at Brodie for a couple of seconds before looking at Angus who just rolled his eyes and walked away. Yeah, looks like Angus wasn’t buying the tears.

“I’m sorry you’ve gone through a lot lately. The bed and breakfast closed down six months ago. The owner died of a heart attack and well, his daughter didn’t want to keep it. She had her own life in England.” Jack said softly, squatting down in front of the distraught woman.

“Well fuck! I guess I’ll just have to find a way back to Inverness and figure out what to do from there.” Beth sighed as she leaned back against the cushion of the couch and closed her eyes.

“No one is going anywhere for a couple of days. Sorry, Beth, but the weatherman was off about this storm. It’s still snowing, and the snow is higher than it was last night. It looks like it will be close to the end of the week before any of us can get anywhere. Welcome to the Highlands.” Brodie announced from the kitchen window with a cup of coffee in hand.

“Are you serious right now?” Beth asked as she jumped up and rushed to the large picture window in the living room, looking out.

“Aye. None of us expected this weather. We found out about it ourselves after we’d already headed up this way. When the snow comes this early, it’s always a sign of a rough winter. TheHighlands is in need of it right now.” Jack answered as he joined her at the window.

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