Page 44 of Summer Escapes on the Scottish Isle

‘Sorry to disappoint you,’ he said, craning his neck.

‘Wait there, I’m coming down.’ Her head disappeared, and the window slammed shut.

A couple of seconds later, the front door opened and she was standing before him in a pair of cut-off jeans and a vest top. Her hair was tied back, copper tendrils escaping to frame her face, and her cheeks were pink and her feet bare.

Mack fought the urge to take her in his arms and kiss her senseless.

Och, he was the one who was senseless, having these ridiculous thoughts. Freya was not casual-fling material, a tourist who would be here today and gone tomorrow. And neither was she a local – not that he’d risk having a relationship with anyone who lived nearby, because he wouldn’t want to give them the impression he wanted a steady girlfriend.

Freya was somewhere in between. Unclassified. Out of bounds for both reasons. She might be gone sooner or later, but she’d be here for long enough to derail his orderly existence. Plus, he had a suspicion that if he let her, she might come to mean more to him than any woman ever had.

Then there was the irrefutable fact that she had a boyfriend, and he wasn’t in the habit of poaching on anyone else’s patch.

Her expression unreadable, Freya said, ‘Thanks for the pop and the tablet.’

‘I was in the shop for some bits and bobs, saw it and thought of you.’

‘That’s kind of you.’

‘It was nothing.’ He shuffled self-consciously from foot to foot, hoping what he was about to say next wouldn’t come out wrong or be taken the wrong way. ‘I’ve just come from the castle. Mhairi wants you to have dinner with her this evening. She wants to pick your brains about yesterday’s trip.’

‘Dinner at the castle? As Mhairi Gray’s guest?’

‘Aye, that’s the gist of it.’

‘I’ve always wanted to see inside.’

‘Now’s your chance.’

‘Can you tell her, yes, please, and thank you? Or should I phone the castle to confirm?’

‘No need. I’ll let Cal know.’

‘Maybe you should pass on my mobile number, in case there’s an issue?’

She gave him her number, and he called her back on it to ensure he’d typed it in correctly. Or that’s what he told himself. It had nothing to do with her now havinghisnumber. Though why she’d need it, he hadn’t figured out.

‘See you tonight,’ he said, opening the truck’s door.

‘Will you be there?’

‘Aye. It concerns me too. Apparently, I’ll be running these trips, whether I want to or no. A word of warning – what Mhairi wants, Mhairi gets. Be on your guard, that’s all I’m saying.’ And with that, he hopped into the truck.

Let her make of that what she will.At least she couldn’t say she hadn’t been warned.

Freya closed the front door and leant against it. Dinner at the castle, eh? She was rather surprised to be asked, and even more surprised that it was Mack who had done the asking. Wait till she told her dad – he’d be well impressed.

She wasn’t sure Hadrian would be, though; a castle in the wilds of Scotland wasn’t his kind of thing. She would tell him anyway, and she’d be sure to make a point that it was work-related, in case he still thought she was up here enjoying herself.

Another knock on the door startled her.

‘Come in,’ she said when the ladies from the local authority identified themselves, and the next twenty minutes consisted of them taking notes and advising her what they could and couldn’t do to help her dad.

They recommended that a stairlift be put in, along with a shower stall, or one of those baths that you get into while the water fills it; they also advised about installing handrails by the front and back doors, and suggested replacing the sagging armchairs with ones which had firmer seats at the very least (they did mention one of those electric chairs that raised or lowered at the touch of a button). Then they departed, leaving Freya with her thoughts whirling and a to-do list longer than her arm.

Was there really any need to have a new bath or a shower put in? And a stairlift?

Her dad would undoubtedly have difficulty walking for a while, but he’d soon be able to get up and down the stairs and in and out of his own bath, so was all this strictly necessary?

---