by Hannah Reed
“Sweet,” I told him when he proudly showed it off.
“Aboot time,” he replied.
Leith’s Land Rover pulled into the driveway next. Kelly bounded out first as soon as the passenger door opened, followed by Leith’s daughter, Fia. Coco and Pepper bolted to the door, and Sean let them out to play chase with Leith’s border collie. I could see Jasper venturing out through a crack in the barn door. Even the tomcat was feeling snowbound. He needed some torment-the-dogs playtime.
Leith gave me a bear hug, then stepped back to search my eyes with his Scottish blues. “So what’s the occasion?”
I shrugged. “This is Vicki’s party and she’s being very secretive.”
In fact, my friend was fairly bursting with excitement as we waited for the inspector, who was the last to arrive.
“Okay,” Vicki said, the minute we were all seated. “Eden, get your laptop ready. We are going to video-call Ami.”
Soon we had my Chicago friend on the screen. She was beaming, and I couldn’t figure out why everyone was so happy when I felt like I was about to go to my execution.
Ami began, “Last spring I did some research and figured out where your Scottish family lived. You were so bitter and I’d hoped you would discover some of your relatives and reconcile with your past.”
“So the whole idea to set a romance in Scotland really was a ruse?” I couldn’t believe she’d go to that extent.
“Not exactly. The two ideas sort of merged. Once you were there, I quickly found out that you weren’t doing anything about connecting with the Elliotts.”
I glanced at Vicki. Those two had been in this together from the beginning.
“But I could tell how much you loved the Highlands,” Vicki went on. “And so I did my own digging and found out a few things, and that’s how Ami and I started working together.”
My face must have conveyed my puzzlement.
Ami picked up the story. “We used a nationality-checking service, started gathering documents.”
“Like birth and death certificates,” Vicki added. “And marriage certificates.”
“It took over four months,” Ami said, “back and forth, digging through boxes of your mother’s stored items, getting the application filed, and then we waited for the mail to arrive.”
So that explained Vicki’s weird behavior, especially the day I’d beat her to the mail. And Ami had been extremely resourceful as always. “But what have you accomplished?” I asked.
Something. I sensed it in their elation.
Vicki answered, “You have Scottish-born grandparents.”
“I know that.”
“So you are eligible for an ancestry visa.”
I frowned. “I’m not following. Is that different from my tourist visa?”
“You can stay here in the Highlands for five years with these.” Vicki picked up several pieces of paper and waved them in the air. “You’ve been approved!”
Stunned, I took the documents and stared at them, not comprehending until the inspector, who sat next to me, took my free hand. “I believe this means we’re stuck with ye.”
And that was all it took for another round of tears. This time I wasn’t crying alone.
“We’ll take a trip to Applefary next week,” Vicki said, sniffling. “I know just where to find some of your relatives. Gordon Martin wants to join us. He’s having a hard time, but he’s a strong man, and he’ll see his way through. And Bridie Dougal. We can’t forget her.”
Later, after we terminated the call with Ami, after thanking everyone and watching Leith pull away with his daughter and his dog, the inspector walked me to the cottage. I still hadn’t processed all my good news. So much had occurred. Some awful. Some wonderful.
“I’m rehired?” I asked him.
“Aye,” he said with a sigh. “It was inevitable.”
“You need to know up front that I work best alone,” I told him.
He smiled. I could hear what he was thinking, that this hadn’t been Eden Elliott’s finest solo job.
And after that was settled, we butted heads for a few more minutes. And as twilight fell, with the inspector at my side, I thanked my lucky stars. Later, in my cottage with Snookie, I indulged in a little wool gathering.
I was learning that anything was possible in the Scottish Highlands.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hannah Reed is the national bestselling author of the Scottish Highlands Mysteries, including Off Kilter and Hooked on Ewe, and the Queen Bee Mysteries, including Beewitched and Beeline to Trouble. Her own Scottish ancestors were seventeenth-century rabble-rousers who were eventually shipped to the new world, where they settled in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Hannah has happily traveled back to her homeland several times and, in keeping with family tradition, enjoyed causing mayhem in the Highlands. Visit her website at hannahreedbooks.com.
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