by Debbie Mason
“Abby, I—” He broke off when several of the bachelorettes crowded around him and one held up a camera to take their picture with him. He knew it was important to Abby and Sadie—Mallory too—that the tour went well so he smiled when the dark-haired woman prompted him to. He wasn’t as accommodating when she asked to squeeze his biceps.
“Let’s go, ladies. Another tour bus will be arriving soon, and we want to scope out the best tanning spots before they do.” Sadie ushered the women off the bus. She glanced from Abby to him with a frown and then said, “Hunter, would you mind bringing the picnic baskets and blankets?”
“Sure. No problem.” He reached for Abby’s arm when she went to follow them. “Hang on a minute. I want to talk to you.”
She wouldn’t look at him, and he tugged on her hand to bring her closer. “I’m sorry. You were nervous, and I made it worse.”
“I wasn’t nervous.”
“Come on, Abs. Fitbit? Ijit? I know you were upset about the cracks I made about your driving.”
“You can doubt my driving skills all you want, but I don’t. That’s not what upset me. I was mad at myself, and I was mad at you.”
Don’t ask why. Just let it go. He had an uneasy feeling she’d seen through him, and this was the moment of reckoning he wanted to avoid. Because, as terrified as he was of her dreams and expectations and his inability to be the man she wanted, he wasn’t ready to lose her.
“I promise. I won’t say anything on the way back to town.” Before she could argue that that wasn’t the problem, he curved his hand around her neck and drew her close. Then he bent down to kiss her, some of his tension easing when she softened and leaned against him, kissing him back with as much passion as he kissed her.
“Abby…Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Sadie said from the top step of the bus.
“It’s fine.” Slightly breathless, Abby straightened and glanced over her shoulder.
He took it as a good sign that she didn’t pull completely away from him, leaving her hand on his chest.
“What’s going on?” she asked Sadie.
“Dylan and his friends are here, and they’re dropping hints about tonight’s Outlander event.”
“I should’ve known he’d be a problem. He wasn’t happy that Haven and Haley didn’t choose him and his friends for Hottest Highlanders. But how did he know where we were?”
“I think Blair or one of her bridesmaids mentioned it last night at one of the bars, but we have more to worry about than them. Owen just pulled up with the soon-to-be chief of police. He said he’s showing him the ropes, but I think it’s more than that.”
Ten minutes later, Hunter found out Sadie was right. She had much bigger problems than Dylan and his friends. Only Hunter couldn’t warn her because he’d just been sworn to secrecy by Owen.
“You’re putting me in a difficult position here, Chief.” He leaned against the white SUV, watching Abby as she laid out the blankets and picnic baskets on the flat rocks at the base of the waterfall with the help of Sadie and Mallory. Dylan wore a plaid bandana on his head and whooped it up as he slid down the rocks with his buddies, performing for the bachelorettes who sunbathed nearby.
Gabriel Buchanan, the former detective from New York City who would replace Owen next week, was also watching the three women. Unlike Hunter, his attention was on Mallory.
“It’s for Sadie’s own good. Abby’s too, now that she’s involved with Highland Tours. Gabriel says his contact in the DEA doesn’t believe Sadie knew what her brother was up to, but the men he is, or was, involved with don’t fool around. Word is he left town with their money and product.”
“I’ll keep an eye out. Nose around some.”
Owen nodded. “Wouldn’t hurt if you stuck close for a while.”
Hunter looked over at the sound of Abby’s laugh, and his eyes nearly fell out of his head. She’d taken off her tour guide outfit to reveal a red bikini that left little to the imagination and had him remembering their night together in vivid detail. If he didn’t soon take his eyes off that lush body of hers, he’d embarrass himself. He hadn’t been planning on swimming today, but it looked like he’d be spending most of his time in the chilly pool at the bottom of the falls.
Owen laughed. “Told you she’d work her Findlay magic on you.” He clapped Hunter on the back. “It’s a good look on you. Happy for you, son. Liz would be too.”
“It’s not what…” As though she felt his eyes on her, Abby looked over and waved. Hunter smiled, and instead of telling his old friend he’d misread the situation, he thanked him.
Owen patted the hood of the SUV. “Let’s go, Gabe. Dot’s got pancakes on for us.”
The other man offered Hunter his hand. “Good to meet you. I’m sure I’ll see you around.” He went to walk toward the passenger-side door but then stopped and turned. “Do you happen to know anything about the circumstances of Harry Maitland’s death?”
“No. Why?” Hunter asked, surprised by the question.
“Just something his niece said last night at the Village Green. Probably nothing.”
“I wouldn’t put much stock into anything Blair Maitland has to say about Mallory. From what I’ve heard, the woman has it in for her.”
“Yeah, that was my impression too,” he said with one last look in Mallory’s direction.
Chapter Twenty-Five
I really am sorry that you had to sell your Louis Vuitton bag to cover the bill at the winery, Abby. Once I get everything straightened out with the bank, I’ll buy you another one. I promise.” Mallory had looked defeated when her credit cards were declined at Three Wild Women Winery earlier that afternoon but a little wine and girlfriend time had helped.
Just like they’d caved to Blair’s demands to visit the winery, Abby had caved to her offer to pay the bill in exchange for Abby’s pink Louis Vuitton bag. She would’ve preferred to sell it to anyone other than Blair, but she didn’t want Hunter to cover the charges for the wine tasting, and she didn’t want to run up another tab at a local business as Daisy had kindly offered.
“You know what? I’m glad I sold it,” she said, surprised to discover she wasn’t just trying to make Mallory feel better. Somehow it felt right. “I carried my pink Vuttie wherever I went, just like I carried my past. But I’m not that girl anymore, and I’m not going back to LA.”
She was making a life here, with the man she loved. She ignored the tiny warning blip in her brain that people she loved always disappointed her and traded up. Her mind even offered the moment earlier today on the drive to the waterfall as evidence that Hunter might be having second thoughts. But throughout the rest of the day, he’d more than proved he was as into her as she was into him so she pushed the negative thoughts aside and raised her glass. “A toast to our futures.”
“Sláinte,” Sadie said as the three of them clinked wineglasses.
Her friends didn’t appear as optimistic about their futures as Abby. Without the stress of selling the farmhouse and returning to her old life in LA weighing her down, she felt freer than she had in years. Which was why she suggested to both women, “Why don’t you guys just sell everything and move back here?”
Sadie held up a finger as she read the many messages coming in over her phone, pushing back from the table when it began to ring. “Sorry, I’ve got to take this,” she said and walked toward the living room.
It was just the three of them at the farmhouse. Hunter had reluctantly volunteered to drive the women for a last-minute shopping spree. He’d probably sensed Abby was on the verge of a meltdown at the bachelorettes’ demand to be taken into town.
She had to finish making dinner and preparing for the Outlander event with Sadie, who wore a white blouse, long drab skirt, and a lightweight dark cape for her role as Claire Beauchamp Fraser. Hunter’s cousin Jamie had won the role of Jamie Fraser.
Mallory swirled the red wine in her glass and gave Abby a wan smile. “The way it’s going, I might not have anything left to sell.”
Abby wished she didn’t, but she agreed with Mallory’s assessment. Today’s incident with Mallory’s credit cards was just one more piece of evidence that Mrs. Maitland the First was probably going to win the court case. The older woman had power and influence.
Chandler, Abby’s ex, had power and influence and a team of lawyers led by the manipulative Juliette Devereaux at his beck and call. And he’d wielded all that power and influence like a battering ram, smashing Abby’s glamorous life in LA to smithereens.
“You’re probably not going to want to hear this right now, and I don’t blame you. But I want you to know that if the worst happens and all you’re left with is your nest egg, Mal—”
“I’m not sure it even counts as a nest egg.”
“It doesn’t matter. You’ll be okay. The main thing is you’re not alone. You have me and Sadie, and it sounds like you have Blair’s mother in your corner too. But here’s the part you might not want to hear, because I didn’t want to hear it when my ex’s housekeeper said it to me, but sometimes things really do happen for a reason. Something good will come out of all of this, and if you don’t believe it, just look at me.”
“Thank you, and you’re right, at least about this weekend. I dreaded the thought of coming back to Highland Falls and spending three days being tormented by Blair and her friends, but in the end, I wouldn’t change a thing because I met you and Sadie.”
“Aww,” Abby said, leaning over to pull her in for a hug.
“But as much fun as it would be to live close by, I couldn’t face coming back here. My dad…Anyway, if I do lose the court case, it would be better job-wise for me to stay in Atlanta.”
“But then you’d have to put up with Blair and her friends.”
“I wouldn’t exactly be traveling in the same circles.”
“Why do you think Blair’s trying to make you look bad?”
Mallory shrugged. “Maybe she believes Marsha will leave her everything.”
“Why would she think that?”
“My husband and Marsha remained close after their divorce. Harry’s second marriage was messy and volatile, and Marsha was afraid ours would be the same. And while she may have thought she was looking after Harry’s best interests, she caused a lot of problems for us, using Blair to do some of her dirty work. Marsha isn’t getting any younger, and she doesn’t have children of her own.”
“Oh my gosh, no wonder she’s trying to cause problems for you. She doesn’t want you to inherit. One day you’ll marry again and have a family of your own, so that money would be lost to her.”
“If that’s what she believes, she’s wrong. I have no intention of marrying again or having children.”
Sadie rejoined them and picked up her glass of wine.
“Everything okay?” Abby asked.
“Yeah, I’ve just been getting a lot of hang-ups on my cell phone. A couple of weird texts too. I tried to look into it but I’m not getting anywhere. It’s probably nothing.”
Abby put down her glass of wine to check on the Slow-Cooked Chicken Fricassee that was tonight’s main course. She’d designed the entire menu around recipes from Outlander Kitchen, by Theresa Carle-Sanders.
Abby felt bad that she’d ordered the cookbook online instead of getting it from Three Wise Women Bookstore, but she didn’t want to arouse the curiosity of Hunter’s aunt. The book had been a godsend. Sadie had created a script for their Highland Falls Jamie and Claire by adapting some tidbits about the literary couple’s fictional life from the book.
Blair had vetoed Abby’s plan to dine in the woods so they were dining alfresco on the patio instead. Along with the main course of chicken fricassee and bannock buns, she was serving Beer-Battered Corn Fritters for appetizers. For dessert they were having Black Jack Randall’s Dark Chocolate Lavender Fudge. The man might be Jamie’s tormentor in the series, but his fudge was to die for.
“Abby, I almost forgot. While I was checking out the hang-ups, I got a bunch of inquiries about the tour. The video from the Fourth of July celebrations and Highland Brew are getting lots of attention, and so are Shane and his band. You’ve gained two thousand more subscribers and a couple of inquiries from advertisers.”
“That’s awesome. What about the tours? When do they want to book?”
“Several for the fall, one that I’m not sure what they wanted. It was kinda weird. And there was one for next week during the Highland Games. She seemed to know you.” Sadie swiped her screen. “Here it is. Tiffany Grimes for a party of six. What’s wrong?”
“Remember the Bel Air Bs?” Abby asked as she retrieved her phone from the kitchen counter and placed a call to Elinor.
“That’s Tiffany? Okay, I’ll get back to her right now and tell her we’re booked for the next five years.”
“Hi, Elinor,” Abby said as soon as the older woman picked up. If she hadn’t already spoken to Elinor earlier in the week, she would’ve taken the time to catch up. As it was, she quickly explained the situation. “Great, thank you. I really appreciate it. I’ll have a room ready for when you and Kate visit this fall.” She said goodbye and disconnected. “Okay, as far as Elinor knows, Chandler and Juliette have no idea about my new YouTube channel. But she’ll make some calls and get back to me.”
“Our reprieve is over,” Sadie said at the sound of the bachelorettes laughing and calling Hunter’s name.
“I think they like their new bus driver better than they like me,” Abby said, turning at the heavy clump of boots on the porch, followed by the click of heels.
“Too bad, because they’re stuck with you. I quit,” Hunter said from behind the boxes and bags he carried inside. He stomped into the living room and tossed everything on the couch. Then he stomped back through the kitchen, ignoring the bachelorettes patting him and thanking him.
Abby followed him out the screen door, trying not to laugh. But Blair’s “We couldn’t eat a single thing. Hunter took us to Sweet Basil Bistro and then to Udderly Delicious Creamery for dessert!” cleared up her laughter and her smile.
“Hunter, how could you?”
“If you want to blame someone, blame the business owners on Main Street. They were practically doing back flips to get them in their stores. What was I supposed to do?”
“Say Abby’s slaved in the kitchen for three hours making your dinner for tonight.”
“I’d have more sympathy for you if I hadn’t been stuck with them for three hours.” He dragged a hand through his hair. “I’ve spent enough time dealing with giggling, flirty women to last me a lifetime.”
“What about me?”
“You, I can handle.” He tipped her chin up for a kiss, then went to walk away.
“Hang on. I didn’t slave over a hot stove for nothing.”
* * *
Hunter sat outside eating Abby’s chicken fricassee and bannock buns by the open fire while keeping an eye on the bachelorette party on the patio across the meadow. The sun had set more than an hour ago, and stars littered the night sky. Voices carried, and for the last hour, he’d listened to Sadie and Abby tell some bullshit stories about life in the mid-1700s on the ridge.
They stopped talking and picked up lanterns. Supposedly Sadie, who had taken on the role of Claire Someone-or-Other, was going to travel through the stones to the man who visited her in her dreams.
Hunter shook his head. He’d be glad when this part of the tour was over. He was worried someone—namely his aunt—would find out what was going on tonight.
To his mind, too many people already knew. It was only a matter of time before word got out, and he’d be in the middle of it.
“Your mama’s a pain in my ass,” he told the rat, who sat by his side on her leash. “She’s lucky she’s beautiful and can cook, and has the best laugh this side of the Continental Divide.”
He watched as the lanterns wound their way along the trail. Then came the low drone of the bagpipes and the dry whine of the fiddles as they prepared to play “The Skye Boat Song.” He w
ould’ve known the song even if Abby hadn’t told him. She’d given him a rundown of what would take place that night. The music faded, and the bobbing balls of white light disappeared in the dark woods. A half-moon shone down from above, and nearby an owl hooted.
Hunter sat back to enjoy some well-deserved peace and quiet. He got to enjoy it for all of fifteen minutes before headlights cut across the meadow and a familiar white SUV made its way down the hill.
He muttered a curse when Owen pulled in front of the barn. He wasn’t alone. Hunter got to his feet and tossed the rest of his food in the fire so the dogs wouldn’t get it before heading toward the SUV. He had to keep them in the truck and send them on their way as quickly as possible.
Too late. Buchanan was already out of the SUV, and Owen was rounding the hood. Something was up.
“Sorry to bother you, Hunter. But I got a call from an agent at the local DEA’s office, and I could use your help. Owen says if anyone knows what’s going on in these woods, it’s you.”
These days, thanks to Abby, that wasn’t completely true. “What do you need?”
“DEA thinks Sadie’s brother is in the area,” Owen said, then frowned at the sound of raised feminine voices coming from the woods. “What the hell is that about?”
“Probably a couple girls going skinny-dipping at the springs,” Hunter said. “As to Elijah Gray, I haven’t seen any sign—”
From deep in the forest, he heard Abby scream his name.
He took off at a run with Owen and Gabriel chasing after him.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Abby ran down the path toward him wearing a white blouse and long skirt, tripping on a tree root just before she reached him. He grabbed her before she fell. “Hunter, Blair—” She broke off as Gabriel caught up to him, a winded Owen trailing behind. Out of the corner of his eye, Hunter caught movement. If he wasn’t mistaken, someone was hiding behind a tree several yards away.
“How could you?” Abby cried, regaining his attention.