Page 9 of Edinburgh Escape
“You don’t think they will?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t actually met them in person.”
Callum glanced down, his brow dipping low. “Yet they’re your relatives?”
“It’s not like I’ve ever been to Scotland before,” she said. “As far as I know, they’ve never been to Montana.” And they hadn’t known about her until she’d connected with Ewan through the ancestry application after receiving her DNA results. Callum didn’t need to know all that. He’d probably think she was a ridiculous romantic for searching out relatives she’d never met.
Maybe she was. After losing her mother the previous year, Maggie had felt the void. For as long as she could remember, it had been her and her mother. No grandparents, siblings or cousins that she knew of. Her mother had never spoken of her father. When Maggie had been old enough to be curious, her mother had told her he was dead. Her grandparents had died before Maggie was born. Her grandfather had been an American soldier who fell in love with her grandmother while stationed in England. He’d brought her grandmother and mother to live in Montana after he left the military.
Sadly, he’d died of pneumonia within the first year there, shortly after Maggie’s mother was born. Her grandmother returned to her native Scotland, where she’d raised Ayleen, Maggie’s mother. When Ayleen’s mother had passed away, Ayleen returned to Montana, where her father was from, pregnant with Maggie. To this day, Maggie’s birth certificate had a blank space for the name of her father.
Based on the DNA results, Maggie’s father was Ewan Drummond’s father as well. She wondered if Ewan’s father knew Ayleen had given birth to his daughter. Ewan had mentioned his father had recently passed away, which made Maggie sad she hadn’t had the chance to meet him. Still, learning she had a half-sibling made her feel less alone in the world.
“If you don’t want to go inside St. Paul’s Cathedral, we can move on to the London Tower,” Callum was saying.
“What?” Maggie glanced up, her cheeks heating. “Sorry. I was thinking. What did you say?”
“I asked if you wanted to go into St. Paul’s. There’s a long line for tickets and it’s lot of steps up to the top, but worth the view.”
She smiled. “I’d love to go inside, but viewing it from outside will have to be enough for this short tour of London. I still want to see the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge—and I’m getting hungry.”
“I know a great pub that serves an amazing roast chicken not far from here,” Callum suggested. “We could eat first and then walk over to the Tower of London.”
“That would be nice,” Maggie said. “I didn’t realize how tired I’d be after the flight over.”
Callum nodded. “It takes a couple of days for your internal clock to synchronize with the different time zone. Maybe you’ll regain some energy with a hearty meal.”
He led the way to the pub, an old building that had been carefully refurbished, retaining the charm of centuries past.
The waiter led them to a table in the corner.
Maggie ordered a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Callum ordered a pint of beer. “Are you interested in the roast chicken?” he asked. “It’s more than enough for two people.”
“Sounds good,” she said, glad she didn’t have to scour the menu for something familiar that wasn’t a hamburger or fish and chips.
She sipped her wine, staring across the table at the handsome Scotsman. “So, what do you do besides acting as a tour guide to clueless tourists in London?” Her cheeks heated. “I mean, what’s your occupation?”
He stared down into his beer. “I recently left the military. Since then, I haven’t quite settled on what’s next.”
Maggie frowned. “That has to be hard, coming from a very regimented lifestyle. My friend’s husband was in the military. I’ve met some of the men he works with, all former military. They all say the same thing. It’s hard to go from military life to the civilian world. Some don’t handle it well at all. I guess that would account for the high suicide rate among former military folk.” She blinked. “Not that I’m suggesting you’re headed down that path. You seem to have your head on straight, even if you don’t know what you want to do next.”
“I’m not sure about having my head on completely straight, but I’m getting there.” Callum took another swallow of beer. “What about you? Do you have a job back in the States?”
“Nothing as dangerous and exciting as being in the military,” she said. “I’m a preschool teacher.”
Callum’s warm chuckle made Maggie’s heartbeat flutter. “I imagine being surrounded by small children could be dangerous. Is it much like herding cats?”
Maggie grinned. “It’s not so bad. They’re all super sweet. The hardest part of the job is letting them go at the end of the school year. I get too attached to my littles.” She drew in a breath and let it out. “Then a whole new class comes, and I fall in love with all of them.”
Callum shook his head. “It takes a special person to teach. Especially when children that small probably have never been in a classroom before.”
“They’re like little sponges, soaking in all the knowledge. When you think about it, from the moment babies are born, they learn so much. How to laugh, roll over, walk, all the words they acquire and so much more. Children are amazing.”
“Do you have children of your own?” he asked.
Maggie laughed. “No, I don’t. But maybe someday.” She shrugged. “I’m not in a hurry.” She would like to have a man in her life before she ventured into motherhood. Not that she was totally against being a single mom. It was just that having a partner would be easier. They could share the effort and the love.
