Page 3 of Dear Kilted Scotsman
“Festival?” Brianna asks.
“Yes, the Highland Strong Man Games of Loch Greer. My father started the festival twenty years ago to raise funds to make repairs on the castle. But now we do it to raise funds for the village. It's a big deal around here. We all dress up in period clothing. The men participate in the Strong Man games, and we all have a feast at the end.”
"Sounds fun." Brianna smiles, and my heart starts to thump wildly in my chest.
“You should come,” Ainslie says. “I’ve got the perfect dress for you to wear.”
Brianna looks nervously at me. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I should probably head out in the morning.”
“You should come,” I say, the words coming out of my mouth before I even realize I’ve said them. The thought of Brianna leaving suddenly makes it feel like there is a clamp squeezing my heart. I don’t want her to go.
“Yes, please come. We won’t take no for an answer,” Ainslie says.
“It’s probably best that you agree to stay for the festival. My wee sister can be a pain in the arse when she gets it in her head that she wants something,” I tell her.
“I guess I don’t have much of a choice then.” Brianna shrugs, her eyes glittering with amusement.
Ainslie claps her hands in excitement. The phone rings, and she excuses herself to go pick it up, leaving Brianna and me alone. A silence settles over us like a blanket, and I try to think of something to say.
“Are you hungry?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “No, thank you. I had a late lunch before I came out here.”
I nod. “Did you want me to take you up to your room? I’m sure that you are tired from your traveling.”
“That would be nice.”
I lead her up the grand staircase to the second floor. I have to slow down a few times when Brianna stops to look at a painting or antique sitting on display. I’m not much of a tour guide like Ainslie, so I just stand there patiently waiting for her to catch up.
“Colin?” Her voice like velvet when she says my name.
I turn and see her standing in front of an old painting my mother found in storage and restored years ago. Her arm is outstretched to me like she was reaching for me, but her gaze is glued to the image in front of her. My breathing sputters when I look at the painting. I've walked past it a thousand times, but it's at the moment that I feel like I'm looking at it for the first time.
It’s a painting of Loch Greer. The artist must have been sitting near the tree line when they painted it. There's a blurred image of a woman standing near the water's edge. It's as if a snapshot was taken earlier this evening when I found Brianna standing by the loch when the lightning flashed and painted it on this canvas.
Brianna turns to me, her eyes searching mine for some explanation, but I have none. She runs her hand up her arm as if a cold chill has just run through her. I move forward and unfurl the blanket in my hands and wrap it around her. The book tucked inside falls to the floor, but before I can move to pick it up, Brianna is kneeling and scooping it up.
“Thank you,” Brianna pulls the blanket tight around her.
I want to tell her that there is a tub in her room that she can soak in to warm up, but just the image in my imagination of her naked body lowering herself into the steaming hot water makes my cock hard, and I need to get control of myself.
“Your room is just this way.” I gesture down the hall.
She follows me to the door of the best guest room in the house. I'm grateful our mother always insisted that we keep this room ready if an unexpected visitor showed up. Maintaining a room that hardly ever was used always seemed like a waste of time to me until this moment.
“Everything you should need will be in there.” I open the door and flip the switch on the wall. The ornate sconces on the walls, meant to look like real candles, light up the room with a soft glow.
“Thank you for your help today,” she says before walking into the room. “I hope my intrusion isn’t too much of a bother to you or your sister.”
“It’s no trouble at all. We are happy to help anyone out when we can.”
Brianna steps inside the room and turns around.
“If you need anything,” I point over my shoulder. “My room is just down the hall—second door on the left.”
Brianna nods, and we say good night. I don't move until she closes her door. I'm sure Ainslie is downstairs waiting to pepper me with questions, but I’m not in the mood. I just want to clean up and go to bed.
I walk back down the hall in a bit of a haze, Brianna’s face crystal clear in my mind.What was happening to me?I don’t even know this woman. But why does it feel like I’ve known her all my life? Something on the ground in front of the painting catches my eye and makes me stop. I kneel to pick it up and see that it’s a letter of some kind.
