He wisely kept his mouth shut about her tendency to bear a grudge long term. “You should also know that he hacked your site and set up this whole husband competition to force the two of us together. He said we were stuck in a stalemate, and he wanted to make you notice me again.”
That didn’t make her look any happier. “Maybe we should wait until I calm down before we deal with Sean.”
His lips twitched, but he had the good sense not to grin. “Great idea. How long do you think you need?”
“Ten years?”
“Sounds about right.”
He reached for his spare helmet, the one he kept just for her, and strapped it on Mairi’s head, all the while staring into her eyes. Eyes that told him she was his soul mate.
“Budge up,” he said, and climbed on in front of her. He grabbed her hand and tugged her up against his back. “Hold on tight, Rusty. I’m going to take you for the ride of your life.”
“I know.”
And then she wrapped her arms around him, and they rode off into the night.
Together.
Epilogue
six months later
Mairi had taken over the downstairs bedroom in Keir’s—no, their—house to use as her office. Her new business, matchmaking for geeks, had taken off with a bang. The publicity around the husband competition had brought lots of interested partners for her men straight to her new website. The news of the husband hack, as it was now being called, had spread all over the world, and interest in her new business was booming. Within weeks, she had more clients than she could cope with and had to take on staff—two of them. They worked part-time to help her sort through the thousands of women who’d gotten in touch about her geeks. In fact, things were going so well that she was thinking about branching out into finding men for female geeks. But that would have to wait until she she’d sorted out more matches first.
Mairi could hardly believe how things had turned around. She was a business owner. With staff. Sometimes she had to pinch herself to check it wasn’t some weird dream and she’d wake to find herself naked in the middle of Campbeltown.
“You ready to go?”
Keir stood in the doorway to her office, which she’d painted pink and filled with plenty of bright blue cushions in her mission to bring color to Keir’s life. He had his arms folded over another muscle shirt, which made his shoulders bulge. He did it on purpose because he knew his shoulders were a siren call to her. They derailed her at least twice a day.
“I’m ready.”
She checked her briefcase, which held her laptop, tablet, phone, backup phone and several chargers. Just looking at it made her feel like an international executive. An executive who dressed in jeans, flip-flops and a red t-shirt with the words Klingons do It on the Starboard Bow. It had been a gift from Sebastian, who had a flair for finding cool shirts. He sent them to her regularly, whenever he came across one. Keir didn’t mind that Sebastian sent her clothes, although he drew the line at her receiving anything from a sex shop. She flicked some fluff off the front of her shirt and fought the urge to check her phone again. Sebastian was on his second date with a woman from France, and Mairi was keeping her fingers crossed that this was the one. So far, she’d found matches for Amir and John. She was working on the rest of her men and had high hopes she would find them all perfect partners.
“If you don’t get a move on, we’re going to miss our flight,” Keir said.
“Calm down, I’m ready. We can leave.” She rolled her eyes at him.
She could hardly believe what they were about to do. Keir had bought them round-the-world tickets, and Mairi had managed to set up face-to-face meetings with some of her clients during their trip—which meant the trip was tax-deductible. That in itself said romance to a Scottish woman, but the fact they were going to see some of the places they’d talked about years earlier was what made it truly special. One day, upstairs in the spare room, there would be a tiny bed with a little girl in it, who would listen to stories of her mother’s adventures and plan her own life full of excitement.
As she reached Keir, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her senseless. Something he’d had plenty of time to do since he’d sold his garage to his apprentice, Hamish. The plan was to start a new garage in Campbeltown once they got back from their trip.
“When are you going to marry me, Rusty?” Keir said when they came up for air.
“I keep telling you, proposals should be romantic, and they should be a question. Yelling ‘marry me’ while we’re riding your bike is not a proposal.”
“You’re a hard woman to please,” he said with a grin.
“It would probably be wise to remember that.” She grabbed his hand and tugged him toward the door. “The bags are already in the car, right?”
“Everything is in the car, except us.”
“I can’t believe we’re doing it.” She grinned at him. “I can’t believe we’re travelling. It’s going to be so much fun.”
“You bet it is.” His smile was perfection and warmed her heart.
Mairi threw their front door open and stopped dead. Their lawn was full of people, all of whom she recognized. Her geek boys were there, even Sebastian with the French girl at his side. The residents from the old folks’ home were there, with Gladys in between her two men, as usual. Her sisters were there too—even her wonderful niece and nephew were grinning at her. All of them, the whole crowd, beamed at her. Then, as one, they held up cards that spelled out, Say Yes, Say Yes, Say Yes...
Mairi’s mouth fell open as she turned to the grinning fool beside her. Only he wasn’t where she’d left him. He was down on one knee.
“Rusty.” He reached for her hand. “I’m on my knees because I’ll beg if I have to. Will you marry me?”
“You remembered it’s a question.” Mairi felt like her heart was going to burst, it was so full.
She tugged him up and threw herself into his arms. They stumbled back into the hall, and Keir kicked the door closed on their cheering crowd.
“I didn’t even get the ring out, but I’ll take that as a yes,” Keir said smugly before he kissed her.
“It’s definitely a yes,” Mairi said against his mouth.
And then they missed their flight.
More Books from Janet
READ ON FOR AN EXCERPT FROM RAGE
(which features all of the Sinclair sisters)
But first...
Thank you for reading my work.
If you enjoyed it, I hope you’ll write a review.
For information about upcoming books sign up to receive my newsletter.
Or you can visit my website and Facebook page for news about my books.
Scottish Highlands (Invertary Books)
Lingerie Wars, Invertary Book 1
Goody Two Shoes, Invertary Book 2
Magenta Mine, Invertary Book 3
Calamity Jena, Invertary Book 4
Bad Boy, Invertary Book 5
Here Comes The Rainne Again, Invertary Book 6
Caught, Invertary Book 7
Benson Security
Reckless, Benson Security Book 1
Relentless, Benson Security Book 2
Rage, Benson Security Book 3
Ransom, Benson Security 4
Other Books
Mad Love, London Book 1
Laura’s Big Break, London Book 2
Action
Excerpt from Rage,
Benson Security 3
The village of Arness, Scotland
Isobel Sinclair should have contacted the authorities the first time she saw the boat sneaking into the cove. But she didn’t. She should have called when there was a storm during the boat’s third visit, and the crew lost some of their baggage on the rocky path up to Arness. But she didn’t. Instead, she’d gathered their lost cargo, called it her own and sold it to help pay off her ex-husband’s debts.
Which made her a thief, just like him.
And her thieving was the reason she
still didn’t call in the authorities the time the boat turned up in the dead of night, and there was shouting in the darkness. Or the time she’d seen evidence that someone had dragged something heavy over the beach.
No, she’d never called the authorities. Not once. Even though she knew the boat brought nothing but trouble each time it snuck into shore.
But she should have called, because the boat had come back.
And this time, they’d left a body behind.
“What are we going to do with him?” Isobel’s youngest sister, Mairi, stared down at the man.
The dead man.
“I suppose we could bury him,” Agnes, one of their middle sisters, said.
“We can’t bury him here.” Isobel gestured to the rock-strewn beach. “Even if we do manage to dig a hole, the tide will unearth him in a day or two.”
Mairi looked up at the steep, rocky path behind them, the only route down from the bluff where the tiny town of Arness sat. “We’ll never get him back up there. He looks like he weighs a ton.”
“And he’s wet.” Agnes nodded. “That makes you heavier.”
“Aye,” Mairi said. “Water retention.”
Isobel and Agnes stared at their sister.
“What?” Mairi said.
With shakes of their heads, Agnes and Isobel turned their attention back to the body.
“How do you think he died?” Agnes said.
“I suppose we should look him over and see if we can tell.” Isobel didn’t like the thought of touching the man, let alone examining him for clues as to his cause of death.
“Does it really matter how he died?” Mairi said. “I mean, it isn’t going to change the fact that he’s dead. Or that he was left here by the boat people.”
“The boat people?” Agnes looked towards heaven and seemed to be counting to ten. Again.
Mairi shrugged, her long red hair shifting with the movement. “What else are we to call them? And he was left here by the boat crew. Isobel saw them while she was spying.”
Isobel adopted her patented “haughty eldest sister” look—it helped take her mind off her shaking hands and the fear gnawing at her stomach. “I wasn’t spying. I was looking out of my window and saw them carry him off the boat and dump him here.”
“You were looking out of your window with the aid of binoculars,” Mairi reminded her.
She had a point. “What I don’t get is if these boat people are so keen on going unnoticed, then why are they dumping bodies on the beach?” Isobel said. “I mean, they only come in the dead of night. And we know they’re up to no good.”
“Smuggling,” Mairi said with a decisive nod.
Agnes walked around the prone man and looked back out at the choppy waters behind them, then up at the hill leading to town. “Do you think they meant for him to be swept out to sea? Or to be eaten by the crabs?”
“If they wanted him to be swept out to sea, why not dump him out there in the first place?” Isobel said. “And I don’t think half a dozen crabs are enough to eat a full-grown body. At least not fast enough to get rid of the evidence.”
“Even then,” Mairi said, “there would still be the bones.”
They nodded in agreement, and Isobel couldn’t help but notice that her sisters were struggling to hide their shaking hands, just as she was doing.
“I think we should call the police.” Seeing as Agnes wasn’t the most law-abiding member of the family, it said a lot that she was the one to suggest calling them in.
“I can’t.” Isobel tugged at the sleeves of her oversized purple cardigan and wrapped her arms around herself. “They’ll find out that I sold the stuff I found, rather than reporting it to them in the first place.”
“I told you, you shouldn’t have gone to the pawn shop in Campbeltown,” Mairi said. “Too many people know us there.”
“I wanted rid of it fast.”
Plus, she’d needed the money to pay off the loan shark who was hounding her over her ex-husband’s debt. Seeing as the man couldn’t find Robert, he’d decided to make Isobel pay in his stead, with cash or her body, making it clear that her family would suffer if she didn’t comply. That was the reason Isobel’s moral judgment had been silenced when she’d found the stolen goods on the path—the thought of handing over her body to pay her ex-husband’s debt made her ill. But she’d do it if she had to. She’d do just about anything to make sure her kids were safe.
“Enough of this.” Agnes crouched down and turned the body over.
He flopped onto his back, and the cause of death was instantly clear. There was a wide, gaping slit where his throat used to be.
“I think I’m going to be sick.” Mairi covered her mouth and turned her back on the body, making gagging sounds as she did so.
“Don’t,” Agnes ordered. “You know I’m a sympathetic puker. If you start vomiting, we’ll both be doing it.”
Isobel ignored her sisters as she stared at the body. It was the most horrifying thing she’d ever seen. She swallowed hard. “You can’t accidentally slit your own throat, can you?”
“No,” Agnes said firmly.
Aye, that would have been too much to hope for.
There was a scrambling noise from the bluff behind them. The women yelped and spun, to see their remaining sister coming down the rocky path.
Isobel put her hand to her chest. Her heart was racing hard. “You nearly gave me a heart attack,” she told her sister.
Donna rushed up to them, her blonde hair flying out behind her. “Sorry. What’s so urgent we had to meet in the dark on the beach? Did you find more bounty?”
It was then she saw the body. The colour drained from her face, she turned and promptly vomited. Which, in turn, made Agnes vomit.
Mairi started making gagging noises. “I’m okay, I’m okay.” She held one hand up, pressing the other to her stomach. “I can hold it.”
“What a relief,” Isobel told her.
Mairi shot her an irritated look. “I told you not to call Donna. She’s vegetarian.”
“I didn’t expect her to eat him.” Isobel glared back at her.
“That’s just gross,” Mairi said, and gagged again.
Isobel threw her hands up in disgust. “Why did I bother calling any of you? You’re no use at all. We have a situation here and all you’re doing is being sick.”
“It’s not like we can help it,” Agnes said, looking decidedly green.
“Some warning would have been good.” Donna swayed in place. Her eyes were on the water instead of the man.
“I did warn you when I called,” Isobel said through gritted teeth. “I said, come quick, there’s a dead body on the beach.”
“I thought you were joking,” Donna said.
“About a dead body?” Isobel practically shrieked.
“Right.” Agnes held up her hands. “Everybody calm down. This isn’t helping. It’s getting light, and we need to deal with the body. It’s not like people use this beach, but if someone did come down here, they’d call the police.” She looked at Isobel. “And seeing as your house is the closest, you’d be first on their list to interview.”
“That wouldn’t go well,” Mairi said. “Your whole face goes red when you lie, and you start stuttering.”
“Then you just blab the truth and apologise for trying to lie,” Donna added.
“Which means you’d get arrested for fencing stolen goods.” Agnes nodded. “Something we’re trying to avoid.”
“Are you all about done?” Isobel put her hands on her hips and glared at them. Was this really the time to bring up every single one of her flaws? “The kids will be awake soon. We need to deal with this now.”
They all stared at the man.
“I’ve never seen a dead body before,” Mairi said. “They look so lifeless.”
“Idiot.” Agnes smacked Mairi on the back of the head.
“What was that for?” Mairi rubbed her head.
“For being an idiot,” Agnes said. “Now focus.
Do we leave him here? Cover him and come back later to bury him? Bury him now? Or move him somewhere else while we think things over?”
“I think we need to move him. It would be too hard to bury him here, and we couldn’t guarantee the tide wouldn’t unearth him later.” Isobel felt weary. She was sick of the stress in her life. Sick of dealing with other people’s messes. Sick of struggling every single day just to survive. “Whatever we do, we need to do it fast, before the kids wake up. Either way, I want him off the beach. Jack sometimes comes down here with his friends after school, and I wouldn’t want them to find the body.”
“You could put him in the freezer in your garage,” Donna said. “It still works, doesn’t it?”
“Aye, but it’s old, full of rust and smelly,” Isobel said.
“I don’t think he’ll care,” Donna said.
“What do we do with him once he’s in the freezer? We can’t leave him there forever.” Isobel gnawed at her bottom lip and wondered how her life had come to this point.
She was a single mother of two, with two failed relationships behind her, a mountain of debt she hadn’t personally accumulated, a minimum-wage job in the village shop and an ever-growing list of crimes under her belt. It was not how she’d imagined life would be at the grand old age of thirty-two.
“We need advice. We need someone who knows what to do with a dead body,” Agnes said. “We need an expert.”
“I’m not calling the police,” Isobel said adamantly. She was the only stability her kids had. She couldn’t even think of risking it.
“I wasn’t thinking of the police,” Agnes said. “I was thinking of an outlaw.”
“Yes!” Mairi clapped her hands and grinned. “Great idea, Aggie.”
“No.” Isobel shook her head. “No. Just no.”
Donna placed her hand on Isobel’s arm. “Don’t dismiss this idea just because you fancy the man. He used to be in the army. He’s bound to have seen dead bodies during conflict. He must have an idea what to do with them.”
“I-I don’t f-fancy him,” Isobel protested, but nobody was listening. No, she just dreamed about him every blooming night. What was it with her and bad boys? Hadn’t she learned her lesson by now? Why couldn’t she find a nice six-stone weakling of an accountant to fall in love with?
Can't Tie Me Down! Page 19