A SEAL's Struggle

by Cora Seton

  The bunkhouse seemed much too crowded with Angus and Douglas both bedding down in it, along with Byron, Walker, Avery, Leslie and herself. She slept fitfully and dreamed more than once about bears growling. Each time she woke up, she realized it was Douglas snoring loudly enough to shake the timbers.

  In the morning, a quick shower refreshed her a little. Douglas kept a respectful distance for the most part, and when he did talk to her, his tone was light, his banter humorous. He told stories about the small village where he and Angus had grown up and he still resided, his impressions of some of the inhabitants leaving them all in stitches—except Angus. The rest of the cast seemed to find the addition of Douglas to their numbers both hilarious and alarming. Win couldn’t blame them—the two words summed him up perfectly.

  When she’d first arrived at Base Camp last summer, Angus had been the jokester of the group. He had a knack for diffusing tension with a quick quip, and when times were tough, he’d put on a strong Scottish accent and soon have everyone laughing.

  She could barely remember the last time he’d joked around like that.

  That was her fault, and she could hardly bear it.

  Douglas, however, was like Angus at his best—funny, loud and uproariously Scottish. He didn’t have to put on the accent, since it was his normal manner of speaking, but he could head out into the weeds of Scottish idiom and leave them all behind in moments when he wanted to. He seemed to want to often. He liked making them laugh. In between he grilled them on everything to do with the United States, interspersing his comments with bad imitations of American actors.

  As the day went on, Win decided she liked him despite herself, although she couldn’t fathom his motivations for coming to Chance Creek. He wasn’t Angus, though, no matter how Leslie tried to make her think he was. He was personable and curious, asking dozens of questions about her upbringing, her family, her home and what had brought her to Montana.

  Just like the bunkhouse the night before, however, the greenhouse seemed far too small this morning with Angus, Douglas, Leslie, Boone, herself—and a camera crew—inside it.

  Byron had brought reinforcements this time, and cameras focused on them from all angles.

  “We’re starting seeds today,” Boone said. “We do a lot of succession planting, Douglas. Angus works on the hydroponics. I’m in charge of growing things in pots—and outside in the garden when we’re able to. We figured we want a lot of redundancy in the system since we’re reliant on our own food supplies. I’ve got it all planned out.” He fished in one pocket, then another. “Heck, I forgot my notebook at the bunkhouse.” He handed several packets of seeds to Douglas. “Be right back.”

  “Makes a lot of sense,” Douglas said to the others as Boone left. “You know, we have a bonnie operation at our wee croft back home.” He got to work filling trays with potting soil. “I’ve always loved working with my hands.”

  “I don’t remember you liking hard work all that much back in Scotland,” Angus said. “Thought you wanted to be a big shot.”

  A muscle flexed in Douglas’s jaw. “Last time you saw me I was twelve. Not everyone gets the opportunities you get here, do they? I’ve grown up a bit since you knew me, Angus. I’ve come to learn you do what it takes to get ahead.”

  “I just bet you have.”

  Douglas turned to Win. “You’d make a bonnie addition to our family at home. But maybe you’d prefer to stay right here. I could get me a green card and settle down. Keep an eye on my cousin.” He winked at Angus.

  “For heaven’s sake,” Win retorted. “I’m not marrying you so you can get a green card.”

  “How about because you’re falling for me just a little bit?” He batted his eyes at her in an exaggerated swoon.

  Win shoved him aside and reached for another packet of seeds. “You’re incorrigible.”

  “You’re absolutely right. Incorrigible and nosy as hell. I’d love a tour of the place if you’ve got the time.” He’d dropped his joking tone and for once sounded… normal. His cousin always played a part, didn’t he?

  Maybe it was hard for him to be himself.

  Angus wondered how things were back home. It could be hard to get ahead in a small town.

  “Do you mind, Angus?” Win asked, ignoring Leslie’s scowl. “It’s pretty crowded in here.”

  “I don’t mind. Show him around, but you behave yourself,” he ordered Douglas.

  “Will do, cousin.”

  Angus watched them leave, the camera crew dithering for a moment, until Byron sent them out the door after them, remaining behind on his own. Boone was still gone, which left him and Leslie…

  “Alone at last,” Leslie chirped. She put down her tools. “I think Douglas and Win are the perfect match, which leaves nothing in our way. We can forget all about Win and finally get to know each other.”

  With each word she drew closer. “We haven’t spent much time together alone, you know. Isn’t there something you’d like to do that you can’t do when everyone else is around? I might look young, but I’m not. I’m a woman of the world.” She cocked her head flirtatiously. Angus was reminded of a preschooler fooling around in dress-up clothes. “You could kiss me.”

  Like hell he could. “I don’t really believe in fooling around before marriage,” he said desperately.

  She reared back, her flirtatious smile replaced by openmouthed outrage. “That is a downright lie, Angus McBride, and I don’t know how you can look me in the eye and say it.”

  “I… uh.”

  “Win is PREGNANT!” she shrieked at him when he didn’t follow her logic.

  “Oh.” Hell, she had him there, didn’t she?

  “I caught you two fooling around together twice. Remember the yoga pants? Remember both of you ‘going for a walk’ at midnight?” Leslie advanced on him again. He hadn’t seen her this angry before. It was rather remarkable. Her brows drew into a tight V. Her eyes flashed, and her jaw was as set and stern as a stallion’s before it went hell for leather after a rival sniffing around its herd.

  “I’m not fooling around with you.” Angus edged around her again. Leslie matched him step for step. “I mean it,” he said. “That wasn’t part of the deal.”

  “Deal?” Leslie cried. “We’re not talking about a deal! We’re talking about lo—”

  Angus feinted left, side-stepped right, ducked around her and raced for the door. He burst through it, nearly bowling over Boone, who had just reached out to open it and come in.

  “Where’s the fire?” Boone shouted after him.

  Angus didn’t answer. He had a head start on Leslie, and he was going to use it.

  “Angus McBride, you get back here—” Leslie’s words cut off among shouts and exclamations. Without looking back Angus knew she and Boone had collided and done each other some damage.

  He didn’t stop running until he reached Base Camp’s trucks, yanked open the door of one of them, hopped inside, fished a set of keys from the glove compartment and gunned the engine. He didn’t know where he was going, how long he would stay or how he’d pass the time.

  As long as it wasn’t kissing Leslie, he’d be fine.

  “What really brings you to Base Camp?” Win asked Douglas when they reached Pittance Creek, camera crew in tow. Douglas kept looking over his shoulder at them. Win realized she’d gotten comfortable with being filmed, but she couldn’t keep from scanning the forest to see if anyone was hiding out there. Surrounded as she was with people, she didn’t think she was in any danger, but there’d been someone out here twice before. Were they still hanging around?

  “I’m here to sweep you off your feet, lass. Am I doing a good job?” Douglas joked.

  “Tell the truth.” They stood on the banks of Pittance Creek listening to the light burble of water running.

  Douglas took his time answering. “It’s not often I’m invited to Montana. Thought I’d come and take my chances.”

  “With me? You can’t honestly think I’d marry you. I’m pregnant
with Angus’s child, remember?” Renata would love this conversation, she decided. It was just the kind of drama the show thrived on.

  Douglas nodded. “I need to make a change. I’ve been watching Base Camp. Seeing what my cousin is doing here, how he’s making a name for himself. I was curious to see if I could, too. Can you blame me? Life in Scotland hasn’t been the same since Angus’s family left. I think all of us have been living with one eye looking to the west, comparing what we have to what his family has. There’s not many of our kin left in Scotland these days, you know. They’ve scattered to the wind. It’s lonely losing everyone like that.”

  “But now here you are.”

  “Here I am,” he agreed. “Look, lass, Angus’s family came here for the opportunities they could find. I’m looking for opportunities, too. But I’m not a university professor like my uncle.”

  “What are you?”

  “A businessman.” He shrugged. “My family runs the local pub, if you must know, in additional to our little farm. But I handle the pub’s inventory, the books, the bands. I know I could do more.”

  “Here at Base Camp?”

  “Well, maybe not here at Base Camp,” he admitted. “But being here is a start. I’m curious. What made you run away to California all those months ago, when all of us were so sure you’d marry Angus the first chance you got?” His tone was light, almost teasing, but Win had a feeling he was interested in the answer, and this was a topic she didn’t want to discuss.

  “I had obligations at home, but now I’m back, and I intend to stay.”

  “How do your folks feel about that?”

  Win stiffened. What did he know about her family?

  “Your father’s well on his way to becoming governor. Some people say his aspirations run higher than that.”

  “Some people would be right.” Win searched for another topic, her gaze sweeping the forest again. A breeze was tossing the branches of the nearby trees, and she kept seeing movement out of the corner of her eye.

  “That doesn’t excite you? Being related to the governor—or the president, maybe?”

  “Not really.”

  Douglas gave her a wry look. “The most powerful job in the world—and you’re not even slightly interested?”

  “I love the work I’m doing here. I have no desire to be involved in politics. Do you?”

  Douglas hesitated, and Win knew her hunch was right. She laughed in disbelief. “You didn’t come here to help Angus or distract me; you came because of my family. Did you think I’d wrangle a job for you in my father’s campaign?”

  “N-no,” he said, trying—and failing—to look affronted.

  “You’re shameless!”

  After a moment Douglas grinned, and his smile was close enough to Angus’s she felt herself beginning to smile back.

  “You’re right, lass. Completely shameless. Politics is just the place for me if someone would give me the chance.”

  “My dad would probably love you.” She turned to the creek. Kicked a pebble into the water and watched the ripples.

  “From your mouth to his ears,” Douglas said and took her hand. “Let’s be friends. What do you say? Do you forgive me for coming?”

  “Sure, I forgive you. Just don’t screw things up for me and Angus.” She turned sharply as a dark shadow shifted from tree to tree in the distance—

  Not a man. Just branches swaying in the wind again.

  “What are you looking at?” Douglas scanned the forest, too.

  “A couple of times lately there’s been a man in the woods. I saw him clear as day once, thought it was Angus…” She broke off as the truth dawned on her. “Oh, my goodness… It was you!”

  Douglas smiled sheepishly. “I’ve actually been in Montana for a few weeks. I was hoping to figure out a way to get on the show. Then I saw Leslie’s ad. It seemed meant to be.”

  “You scared me to death!” Win exclaimed.

  “That was you screaming holy hell the other night?” he asked.

  She nodded, not sure whether to be angry or laugh with relief. Her parents had been wrong; there wasn’t someone out to get her. Or rather, there was—but not in the way they’d thought.

  Douglas rubbed both his hands through his hair until it stood on end. “I’m truly sorry, lass. I felt like a right idiot when that happened. I didn’t come back after that.”

  “Well, at least all’s well that ends well,” Win said. “But you really know how to make trouble, don’t you?”

  His smile slipped. “Never intentionally,” he told her. “I can’t help that I want more than I have. Come on, show me the manor.” He turned the way they’d come, and Win followed him slowly, wondering why his answer left her uneasy.

  Chapter Twelve

  ‡

  “I think you owe me an explanation,” Angus said when he finally cornered Douglas alone before dinner. The bunkhouse was thronged with hungry people, but he’d caught his cousin’s arm and pulled him outside. He figured they had only a minute or two before one of the crew spotted them. “Why are you really here?”

  “Because you’re throwing away a huge chance. We all saw that back home even if you didn’t.”

  It made Angus uncomfortable to think about the Scottish branch of his family gathered around the television analyzing his every step. “What do you even know about it?” he demanded.

  “I know Win’s got powerful connections and that if you were smart, you’d use your brain and figure out what those connections could do for you. Instead, you’re spending time with another woman you don’t give a rat’s ass about so you can win at some silly game. Look at you tying yourself in knots trying to win this stupid show. For what? For a piece of land and few lousy buildings? If you marry Win, go back to California and play whatever game her parents want you to play, you could end up with enough money to buy a hundred ranches like this.”

  “We’re trying to be a model for the rest of the world.”

  “Why not just rule the world?”

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  Douglas blinked at him. “Are you for real, cousin? Don’t you know how much your bride is worth?”

  When Angus didn’t answer him, Douglas shook his head. “Win Lisle, daughter of Vienna Josephine Manners, daughter of Andrew Manners, founder of Manners Corp and the Manners Foundation. And that’s just on her mother’s side. The Lisles aren’t slouches either. From what I found online, Win’s family is worth several hundred million dollars. The Manners Foundation’s endowments exceed that. Julian Lisle is a California representative. Two years from now he’ll be governor. Eight years after that he’ll be running the whole damn show.”

  Angus’s confusion must have shown.

  “President,” Douglas exploded. “Man, have you not an ambitious bone in your body? Win Lisle is going to be the president’s daughter—or she would have been if she hadn’t decided to slum around here with you.”

  Angus could only stare at him. He knew Julian Lisle was a representative, of course, and he’d seen something online about him considering a run for governor. Win had never mentioned president, though. She’d been prepared to give that all up—for him?

  Understanding crashed over him and with it, a horrible clarity. All the time he’d been blaming her for being selfish for going home to help her mother, he’d had no idea what she’d given up to come here in the first place—

  “You seriously didn’t know?” Douglas paced away from him. “I can’t decide if that’s better or worse. Didn’t you bother to get to know the woman you want to marry?”

  “I thought I had.”

  They stared at each other.

  “Does it change anything?” Douglas said witheringly. “Are you going to wake up and see the chance staring you right in the face?”

  “What chance?”

  Douglas rolled his eyes again. “Your bairn is going to be grandson to the president. Wake up, man! You could have any position you wanted in the government if you just star
ted playing your cards right. Win’s family hates Base Camp. They want her home. Take her there, and you’re golden.”

  “I can’t leave. Not until we’ve won at least.” And he wouldn’t go then, either. From what he could tell, Win’s family liked to bully her into doing their bidding. They didn’t respect her for herself. He wanted no part of that.

  “Play your cards right, and maybe you’d be president someday.”

  “I think there’s a rule in the constitution that prevents immigrants from being president,” Angus pointed out.

  “Fine, but you could make a million contacts just hanging around that family. You’re going to waste it all.”

  “And you think you’d do better?”

  “I know I would. I’m not stupid,” Douglas went on. “I know your lass doesn’t want any part of me, and that’s too bad, because I’m damn sure I’m the kind of man her family wants for her, not someone like you. But if you’re going to toss this opportunity to the wind, the least I can do is salvage something for me and the rest of the family. Like I said, I saw that ad Leslie placed. I’m sure a thousand other men saw it, too, and had a similar idea. You’re lucky one of them isn’t here seducing your woman.”

  Angus didn’t know what to say to that. He supposed Douglas was right, but that didn’t make his presence any easier to bear. “Don’t you dare pressure her to get in touch with her family. They’ve hurt her enough already,” he said.

  “I won’t push, but I won’t turn away any opportunities, either, to patch whatever’s gone wrong between them,” Douglas said. “I guess that’s where you and I differ, cousin. I think family is worth fighting for. You just let people walk away.”

  “Thank you for the excuse to get a break from everyone,” Win said to Riley and Boone three days later as they worked together to wash the dinner dishes. They’d kicked out Kai and Addison, telling them to take the night off, and had barred Douglas, Angus and Leslie from joining them, Boone finally shutting the kitchen door in their faces firmly. “I don’t think I could have stood another minute with that crowd.”