Even more shockingly, Iain held up his end of the hosting duties, contributing to more conversations than he could count. A half hour of socializing sped by, ending when Dr. Jameson hopped on a dais in the corner, announced the start of the festival to cheers, and took up his bagpipes.
It was time. Nerves inflated Iain like air to the pipes. Then, Anna took his hands and drew him into the circle of the spotlight. The brightness blinded him to anyone but her. She stole his nerves away as easily as she’d claimed his heart.
The music lifted around them, and he took her in his arms and led her into the waltz. No one would ever accuse him of being a professional dancer, but he didn’t embarrass himself or Anna during the few minutes they spent on the floor.
Other couples joined them, and the spotlight shifted away from them. Iain drew her closer. All he wanted was to take her home and strip her bare, body and soul.
“You did great, Highlander,” she said in his ear.
“Only because of you.”
“Half the town is here.” She chewed her bottom lip and glanced around them.
“A good chance to garner some votes, eh?”
“I was thinking the same thing.”
“You go on. I’ll be at the bar with a celebratory drink.”
She leaned up on her toes and kissed his cheek. “As soon as I finish schmoozing the room, we’ll head home for an early night.”
Home. If only he could take her home every night. He retreated to the bar and nursed a whisky while he watched her from the sidelines.
Holt Pierson joined him, propping his foot on the bottom rail of the bar. “Anna is a firecracker. I have no doubt she’ll be Highland’s next mayor.”
Iain shot him a look before continuing to track her progress around the room. “Will Highland’s old guard agree?”
“They’ll be overrun by her charm.” Holt angled himself toward Iain. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Have you been overrun by her charm?” While teasing lightened Holt’s voice, his face was serious.
“I have been bloody gobsmacked, but there’s nothing to be done about it. I’m needed at Cairndow.”
“So, you’re leaving.” It landed somewhere between a statement and question.
“I have my return flight booked for Monday.” It was a non-answer to Holt’s non-question.
“I see.” Holt stared into his whisky before drinking.
Iain wanted to know what Holt saw in the amber depths. Could he divine the future?
A tap on Iain’s shoulder had him whirling around. Anna smiled up at him. “Ready to blow this joint?” Without waiting for a response, she tugged him toward the door. “See you tomorrow, Holt.”
Anna’s urgency infected Iain like a spark to dry tinder. His truck was several streets away. Too far. As if she could read his mind, Anna kept hold of his hand and steered him toward the stairs to her flat.
“We need to make a pit stop,” she said softly. The dim light of a half-moon illuminated the narrow alley. She climbed two stairs and turned, leaving them almost at eye level.
Her kiss unlocked a wildness in him to match hers. They scrambled higher, kissing and pulling and clanging up the metal stairs. She unlocked the door and dropped her clutch and keys on the floor.
Her hands were under his kilt and tugging his underwear down before he got the front door kicked closed. He pushed the plaid off her shoulder and pulled her bodice down, her breasts coming out of the top.
It took some work getting his underwear over his boots, but finally he was free. She wrapped her leg around his, not needing to articulate what she wanted from him in this moment. He’d become fluent in her body language.
He pressed her against the wall next to the door, hooked a finger in her knickers, and pulled them aside. She tilted her hips, and in one smooth move, he was inside of her. His knees trembled, not from the effort of holding her against the wall but because of the way she clamped him tight with her body.
Her nails dug into his shoulder, and he slapped the wall beside her head, spurred to go faster and harder. She shuddered around him, and his control slipped to hang by fingertips. He knew just enough to withdraw before he released.
After the tumultuous sex, the aftermath was strangely serene. Anna slid between him and the wall until her weight left him and returned to earth. He let his forehead fall to the wall and breathed heavily.
Anna dropped to her hands and knees and crawled to the couch, flopping onto the cushions. He turned, still using the wall to steady himself.
“I’m tingly all over,” she said. “And officially exhausted.”
He found the strength to shuffle to the couch, leaning over the back to give her a kiss. “The beasties need their nightly watering. I should go.”
She took hold of his shirt, but her grip was weak. “I’ll come with you.”
He pushed her hair off her forehead. “If you come with me, we won’t get any sleep, lass, and we’ll need it to face tomorrow. I’ll see you at dawn?”
Anna nuzzled her lips against his palm, her eyes already closed. “If not before.”
His feet were almost as heavy as his heart as he retreated. He wanted nothing more than to spend his last weekend in Highland in bed with Anna, but the festival was his responsibility, and he would see it through even if it heralded the end of the best thing that had ever happened to him.
Chapter Seventeen
Anna’s day started before dawn when she woke on her couch, her bodice still pulled low and her body sore in the best possible ways. By the time she’d cleaned up and made it to Stonehaven, purples and pinks streaked the cloudless sky. Iain was already up and working.
From the moment she stepped out of her car, she didn’t stop, not even to eat a sandwich while walking from the food trucks to the athletic fields. Only a few bumps marred an otherwise smooth day. The temperature had soared into the low nineties, and Anna had scrambled to put together some sort of cooling station for the attendees. The same company who had provided the portable potties had answered her desperate calls and brought out a misting station that not only cooled bodies but tempers too. The kids in particular loved it.
Iain had finagled the food vendors to offer free refills of water, and it had turned into a win-win with people more often than not purchasing food if they were already standing in line. The athletic events wrapped up as expected with Holt Pierson taking the ribbon for Laird of the Games, and the husbandry exhibit had been a fun, if pungent, addition to the day. Harriet, in particular, had proved popular with kids and grown-ups alike. The dancing competitions would take place the next day.
All that was left to wrap up day one was a concert by the Scunners, a band that melded traditional Scottish music with a rock beat. They’d been a hit the year before, and Isabel and Rose had booked them months ago. The lead singer was a petite woman with short, spiky, bright red hair and an oversized stage presence. The rest of the members, men from what Anna could discern, were wallpaper in comparison.
The stalking tension that had been a constant companion for weeks stepped to the sideline. She had done it. No, they had done it, because as much as she had railed about not needing help at first, she would have fallen on her face without Iain.
A hand tapped her shoulder, and she spun around, expecting to see the man who haunted her psyche in the flesh. Instead, Holt’s dad stood with his hat in hand.
“Mr. Pierson. I can’t thank you enough for—”
“Ozzie is gone.” Grooves bracketed his mouth.
“Gone? How? When?” She fell into step next to him as they strode toward the barn. “Where’s Iain?”
“Radioed him, but he’s dealing with two young boys who smuggled alcohol in and are now sicker than dogs. I was on my way to find Elijah, but I spotted you first.”
Standing next to the open door to Ozzie’s stall was a young blond girl crying into her mother’s waist. The mother’s grimace held an apology. “Emily thought she was helping.�
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Anna put her experience teaching all sorts of children into practice and dropped to a knee, bringing them eye-to-eye. “What was wrong with Ozzie, Emily? Why did she need help?”
The girl lifted her head, her tear-stained face grubby after a long, tiring day at the festival. “The music was scaring her. I only opened the door a little bit to give her a pat, but she knocked me down and left that way.”
Emily pointed toward the barn door facing the parking areas and not the main field. On the plus side, the sheep had less of a chance to trample a festivalgoer, but a higher chance of getting trampled itself by a truck.
“It’s okay, sweetie. Ozzie and I have a special bond. I’ll find her and get her home safely.” Anna’s fake confidence dried the girl’s tears.
“Really?”
“Really.” Anna stood. “Why don’t you two go and enjoy the music for a bit.”
Once the mother and daughter were gone, Anna turned to Mr. Pierson. “Any advice?”
He pulled a carrot and an apple out of a bucket on the floor. “Bribes might help.”
“Good thinking.” Anna sent a quick SOS text to Iain before setting out.
With no sign of Ozzie in the parking areas, Anna headed toward the line of trees that bordered Stonehaven. The gloaming wasn’t quite upon the land, but the shadows under the trees were long and deep. Anna shuffled forward, a shiver raising the hairs along her arms.
She took a step into a spider’s web and squealed, high-stepping into something squishy and very stinky. A pile of fresh sheep excrement.
Muttering curses, she wiped her shoe off on the grass and leaves. At least she was headed in the right direction. She gazed into the trees then looked over her shoulder, hoping to see Iain charging in to save the day, but only spotted a few people headed for their cars and a swarm of gnats.
Hunching her shoulders, she took a step into the forest, then another and another. When neither a giant spider web nor Bigfoot attacked, her stride lengthened and she called for Ozzie while brandishing the carrot.
The sound of running water quickened her step. The sound made Anna thirsty, and if she knew sheep—which she didn’t at all—then maybe Ozzie was near the river because she was hot and thirsty too.
Anna followed along the bank until something white caught her eye. Ozzie stood in a small clearing, munching on sparse grass. The sheep’s underbelly was dripping water. Keeping her voice cajoling and holding the carrot out in one hand and the apple in the other, Anna crept forward. “Come on, you little terror. You’ve been a thorn in my butt since the moment you showed up at Stonehaven.”
Ozzie chewed and stared as if she understood the insults leveled by Anna. She tried again, this time with a stiff smile. “I’m kidding. You’re a frigging delight. Doesn’t this apple look delicious?”
Anna crept forward a few steps. Ozzie paced backward, keeping out of her reach. Anna halted and considered the situation. The sheep had no harness on because it had been in the stall, so even if Anna could get close enough, how would she control the sheep and get it moving in the right direction?
The image of old-timey cowboys came to mind. Could she herd Ozzie back in the right direction? She made a sweeping motion with her hands and stepped toward the sheep. “Shoo!”
Ozzie did shoo, but not in the right direction. She skittered toward the water, keeping Anna in her sights. Anna peered toward the river. It marked the boundary between Stonehaven and a state forest. The woods beyond the river were dense and the shadows were deepening by the minute as the sun crept toward the horizon.
If Ozzie spooked and bolted over the river, she might be lost forever. Or she might get chased by coyotes. What if the rumors of bobcats were true? Ozzie would be easy, delicious pickings.
Anna sidled between Ozzie and the river. Watery mud squelched around her tennis shoes and leaked inside. She ignored the grit and clammy cold, and waved her arms like she was directing an airplane in to landing.
“Go on! Get!” Making herself as big as possible, she stomped forward.
Ozzie scrambled away from her and the river. Anna breathed a sigh, but didn’t let her arms drop. She continued forward yelling nonsense. Ozzie turned and trotted toward Stonehaven. Anna followed, barely able to keep up. Ozzie wasn’t on a cleared path, but blazed her own trail through the woods. Anna slipped on dead leaves in her wet, dirty shoes. Low branches clawed at her hair and brambles snagged her clothes and scratched her legs, but onward she stumbled, keeping Ozzie’s white haunches in view between trees.
The woods seemed never-ending. Surely they would break through to the grounds of Stonehaven at any step. The music seemed louder, didn’t it? Or was it merely a trick of the ears? Just when she was beginning to worry they had circled back toward the river, the trees thinned and strobe lights from the stage quickened her step, but she wasn’t quick enough.
Ozzie broke through first and took off in a trot across the athletic field. Luckily, the competitions were over, and the field was mostly deserted. The festival attendees were crowded in front of the stage … which, of course, was exactly the direction Ozzie was headed.
Anna kicked into a squelching sprint as soon as she was in the open. Ozzie increased the difficulty by zigging and zagging. The sheep was scared. Fear made animals unpredictable. People too for that matter.
From the corner of her eye, she spotted Iain running hell-bent in from the parking area. Math wasn’t her strong suit, but in that moment, she turned into a savant, her mind estimating angles, trajectories, speed, and acceleration. Iain wouldn’t intercept Ozzie in time. It was up to Anna.
She kicked into high gear, trying to predict the sheep’s erratic path. Ozzie zagged, and Anna took a risk, keeping her line. It paid off when Ozzie zigged back into her path. She’d closed the distance and grabbed hold of the wool at the scruff of her neck, using her weight as an anchor.
Ozzie slowed, but didn’t stop, dragging her along, but it was enough to allow Iain to catch up. Breathless, Iain took control of Ozzie, slipping a halter with leads over the sheep’s head. Anna let go and fell to her back on the ground. A smattering of applause sounded, and as the music played on, she could only assume it was for the spectacle they’d made.
The carrot in her back pocket was a pain in her butt. She pulled it out, and as if nothing unusual had transpired, Ozzie leaned over and took the carrot out of her hand, leaving behind a wet trail of saliva. Anna wiped her hand on the grass and laughed with the limited amount of breath she had left. What else could she do in such a situation?
“That was quite something.” Iain loomed over her, his hands on his knees, looking both worried and amused. Then, his eyebrow quirked up in a totally Iain-like way.
The words popped out of her mouth before she had time to consider them or worry over them or weigh the consequences. “You should stay.”
“What?” The crinkle between his eyes erased his amusement.
“Stay in Highland after the festival.” Her swallow was painful, but she couldn’t stop now. “With me.”
He straightened and said nothing. Each second that ticked off was like a tiny splinter driven into her heart with the force of a sledgehammer. If enough seconds passed, would she bleed out on the ground?
“Nope. Forget I said anything. It was a stupid idea. Why would you want to stay? There’s nothing for you here.” Now it was her turn to zig and zag out of fear. She scrambled to her feet to try to put them on even footing. His silence bothered her more than an out-and-out rejection would have. “Say something. Anything.”
“Anna, love, I’m not sure what to say.” His gaze remained anywhere but on hers.
It wasn’t necessary to read between the lines. He might as well have been yelling through a megaphone. “I get it. You don’t need to say anything. Let’s wipe the last minute from our memories. We still have tonight and tomorrow to get through. Can you take Ozzie back to the barn and do something to prevent little girls with big hearts from setting the animals free?”
&nbs
p; She walked away and refused to look over her shoulder until she was hidden in the back of the crowd watching the concert. Iain had disappeared into the barn. The concert would be ending soon. Not that her night would be over. Izzy had left her with an extensive checklist to finish before bed, so the grounds would be ready for the next day.
In the midst of people clapping and swaying, Anna stood still and alone. Lonely. It was a revelation. She had a full life and meaningful connections with her students and a handful of friends. She was making a difference in Highland.
Yet, until Iain had bulldozed his way into her life—and heart—she hadn’t realized how lonely she’d been and for how long. It had been weeks, months, years.
She blinked back tears and barked a laugh. The last person she’d asked to stay had been her dad. She’d been eight. The moment carved itself in her memories with a clarity she wished she could blur. Her dad walking out the door with a suitcase. Anna crying and begging him not to leave her. He had left anyway.
Someone bumped her shoulder, and she whipped her head around to find Holt standing next to her. Anna sensed his thoughts were directed not at the redheaded singer of the Scunners, whom he watched strut and shimmy her way across the stage, but on her.
“You look like you’ve been dragged through the river bottoms,” he said.
Anna looked down at her mud-splattered legs and formerly white-and-pink tennis shoes. Her hand went to her hair. She pulled out a twig and snapped it in two, holding the broken pieces in her hand so tightly, it hurt.
When she didn’t say anything, he continued, “Did a festival-related disaster occur?”
“More like a life disaster.”
“A love-life disaster?”
She shrugged but then turned toward him. “Actually, it’s kind of your fault, considering you’re the one who told me to take a chance with Iain.”
“You told him how you feel?” Holt finally peeled his wide-eyed gaze off the singer.
“Yes. I mean, no. Not exactly, but I asked him to stay in Highland. With me.”
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