As soon as her parents’ funeral was over, she took a job teaching history in a local high school, doing private tutoringon Saturdays to keep the bills paid. All that had matteredwas keeping the family together. So what if her dreams had to be put on hold? If life had taught her anything,it was that it could change in a matter of moments.
“There is nothing wrong with my life.”
“Oh, puh-leeze.” Rachel rolled her eyes and turned down the CD player. “You work, you go home, you grade papers, and you spend Saturday mornings tutoring. In between,you buy groceries and cook supper for your sisters. That is not a life.”
“I won’t be cooking supper for the twins anymore,” Maggie pointed out. “They moved into their apartment last week.”
“And do not tell me that you’re going to allow yourself to sink into some kind of empty-nest depression,” Rachel said.
Maggie looked at her in surprise. “I’m not depressed.”
Her friend snorted. “Right. Just look at yourself.”
She looked back into the mirror. Her slight attempt at makeup had long ago dripped down her face, and her long French braid was gradually coming undone. She’d gotten up late that morning, thrown on a pair of worn jeans and a T-shirt, and rushed into Austin to teach her usual Saturday classes, forgetting she had to leave directly from there to pick up Rachel and meet her sisters.
Rachel didn’t look a whole lot better, thanks to the heat, but her vintage fifties’ skirt in turquoise and white checks and the cute, short-sleeved white blouse she wore gave her the edge over Maggie’s unintended grunge look. The light turned green and she pulled her gaze from the mirror and back to South Congress as she shifted into first gear.
“I always look like this.”
“My point exactly.” Rachel’s voice softened. “Look, Maggie, when your folks died you had to become the parent,and I get that, but now it’s time for you to start taking care of yourself.”
Maggie pushed back sweaty tendrils of hair from her face. The light ahead turned red and she eased to a stop. “We are never going to get there at this rate. What time is it?”
Rachel glanced down at her Mickey Mouse watch. “Six o’clock. Did you hear what I said?”
“Fine. I need to take care of myself. What would you suggest? A facial? A weekend at a spa? Not in the budget.”
“No, I was thinking more along the lines of something like . . . that.”
Maggie turned to see what she was talking about, and her mouth dropped open.
A man sat beside them, one tanned arm dusted in gold and draped over the open window of his sleek black Ferrari convertible. His aquiline nose, carved lips, strong jaw, and chiseled chin created a profile that Maggie had only seen in stone sculptures of ancient gods. But this guy was real. Real and hot. He turned slightly and glanced in their direction,then his dark brown eyes narrowed and focused on Maggie.
She gulped as his smoldering gaze raked over her face and paused at her lips. Of its own volition, her tongue suddenlyrefused to stay in her mouth, and instead darted out to caress her bottom lip. One corner of the man’s sensual lips curved up in what could only be described as a sardonic smile, and Maggie blushed, quickly putting her tongue back where it belonged.
The Ferrari Man closed his eyes and lifted his face to the hot Texas wind, allowing it to toss his sun-bleached brown hair, and she sighed. He was arrogance personified. A smorgasbord of sexy features all rolled up into one beautiful,rugged, manly man package.
Maggie and Rachel heaved a collective sigh.
Then he turned and looked at the two women watching again.
You want me, his smile telegraphed. All women want me.
Maggie swallowed hard. He winked, gunned his motor, and sent his insanely sexy sports car speeding forward. She stared after the disappearing convertible and blinked.
“HEY LADY, WILL YOU MOVE IT?!”
The sound of an angry voice and a horn blaring from behind tumbled Maggie back into the real world. Right, right, the light had changed. It was green. Green meant go, right? She took a deep, cleansing breath and released it slowly, then shoved the little car into first gear and sent it chugging through the light.
It was a few minutes before Rachel broke the silence.
“Now that is exactly what you need.”
Maggie laughed, surprised at how shaky she sounded. “No way. Okay, I admit it’s been a long time since I—uh— since I was in a relationship, but ugh and double ugh! I’d never fall for a guy like that.”
“Ha. I had to wipe your drool off the gearshift knob. You thought he was hot, so don’t even try to say you didn’t.”
Maggie shrugged. “He was hot, and any woman would respond to that kind of primal animal magnetism, but that’s not the kind of guy I want to settle down with.”
“Who said anything about settling down?” Rachel asked. “You aren’t ready to settle down. You need to have some fun first. Go out and sow a few wild oats.”
“Guys sow oats. Women get plowed and they get hurt.”
Rachel grinned at her. “Well put, but c’mon, Mags, you’ve been tied down by responsibility for the last ten years. You’re thirty-two years old today—don’t you want to live a little?”
“Sure, but not with someone like him. Like I need that kind of drama in my life.” She shook her head. “That whole ‘bad boy’ thing. Definitely not for me.”
“He was perfect.”
“Oh, please. He was not perfect.”
“Because he wasn’t Scottish?”
Maggie shot her a startled look, and Rachel smiled and nodded. “Oh, yeah, I know your secret fantasy. You don’t just want a guy who lived a billion years ago, you want a Scotsman who lived a billion years ago. Guess what? They don’t grow them around here. And you do like bad boys.”
“Do not.”
“Colin Farrell and Russell Crowe. Antonio Banderas. Vin Diesel. Shall I go on?”
Maggie blushed. “Sure I love the bad boys in the movies, and in theory that fantasy is definitely hot; but I know myself, Rach, and the reality wouldn’t be what I’m looking for.”
“So what are you looking for?”
She frowned, tightening her hands on the steering wheel as she passed a slow-moving van. “I want a nice man, a man who’s a teddy bear at heart. A bring-you-breakfast-in-bedkind of guy.” She considered again. “A guy who’s loyal, honest, and brave.”
“Sounds like a Boy Scout,” Rachel said.
“So what’s wrong with that?” Maggie demanded. “A Boy Scout, but more manly of course.” She shook her head. “That selfish rogue fantasy doesn’t fit into my plans for the rest of my life.”
“So you want to be bored for the rest of your life.”
Maggie stuck out her tongue, even as she considered her friend’s statement. Was that the choice? A selfish bad boy or a loving boring guy? She turned the volume back up on the CD player and was hit with a fresh wave of Scottish music.
“I know my ultimate dream guy doesn’t exist, so if I have to choose between boring and bad, I’ll take boring, hands down.” She sighed. “They just don’t make heroes anymore.”
“You’re pitiful, kid.”
“I don’t even want a guy in my life right now.”
“Sure you don’t.”
Maggie saw the sign for Fado’s Irish Pub and made a hard right, then managed to snag a parking spot.
“Look,” Rachel said, “I’m sorry I said all of that. I just worry about you. I want you to be happy.”
Maggie forced a smile. “I’m happy, Rach. I’ve just got to figure out my future a little at a time, okay?”
“Okay.” She hesitated. “Happy birthday, kiddo.”
“Thanks.”
It was fashionably dark inside Fado’s, with muted lightingthat gave the place the authentic look of an Irish pub. An Irish band played on a small stage in a far corner of the room and already Maggie felt cheered.
The hostess led them farther into the dimly lit interior, to a table w
here Allie and Ellie sat across from each other, their heads almost touching as they held an intense, whisperedconversation.
“Slainte!” the hostess said as she walked away, but Maggie’s attention was on her sisters, who had stopped talking when they saw her. They were up to something. Their faces lit up as they jumped up and moved to throw their arms around her.
“Maggie!” they cried.
As Maggie felt the familiar warmth of their love encompassher, she knew she’d been telling Rachel the truth. Her life really was just fine.
“So, where’s the stripper?” Rachel asked as she sat down in one of the mismatched chairs that was part of the pub’s ambiance.
Ellie laughed and sat down beside her. “Right.”
“Like we want to watch Maggie dissolve into a pool of embarrassment in public,” Allie added as she took the chair opposite Rachel.
Maggie looked at her sister fondly. Allie was thin and naturally blonde and wore a trendy skirt and blouse and a pair of designer heels, a Louis Vuitton handbag at her side.
“Yeah, I mean, it is her birthday,” Ellie said. “Hey, we ordered drinks for you guys.”
Ellie was curvy and presently black-haired, and her blue eyes, identical to Allie’s except for being outlined in black, were hesitant as she glanced at Maggie. Maggie frowned. Ellie was never hesitant. She met life head-on, without fear.
There were three tall glasses on the table and one short, squat one. Rachel picked up the tall glass in front of her and took a sip. “Yum, an appletini.”
Maggie plopped down across from Ellie. “Where’s my drink?” she asked. Allie pushed the short glass in front of her. She frowned. “Why don’t I get an appletini?”
“We thought you needed something stronger,” Allie said, her eyes sliding away from connecting with Maggie’s. “It’s whiskey. You love whiskey. It’s Scottish.”
“Whiskey?” She frowned more. Whiskey was her drink of choice, but she rarely indulged, and then usually only on New Year’s Eve. “I’m driving.”
“We’ll call you a cab. No one will bother your Bug. That way you can, er, relax, you know, drink as much as you want.”
“Awesome,” Rachel said, lifting her drink to her lips.
Maggie leaned back against her chair as a wave of apprehensionswept over her. “You two know I never drink more than one whiskey.”
The twins exchanged glances.
“Well, that might change tonight,” Allie muttered.
Maggie closed her eyes briefly. “Okay, let’s have it. What’s wrong?”
“Wrong? Nothing’s wrong,” Ellie said, her gaze darting over to Allie. “But we do have something to tell you.” She hesitated. “You tell her, Allie.”
Allie widened her eyes and tilted her head slightly. “El, I thought we agreed that you were going to tell her.”
“You said—” Ellie broke off and glared at her sister. “Fine.” She reached across the table and took Maggie’s hand in hers. “Mags, I have something important to tell you.” She paused again and sighed heavily before her next words came out in a rush. “Allie is pregnant.”
“What?!” Maggie’s voice came out as half shriek, half squeal as she stared first at Ellie and then at Allie. Somehowshe found the whiskey glass and drained it, oblivious to the burn as it traveled down her throat, gasping a little as she set the glass down. Then she reached over and took Allie’s drink out of her hand. “Are you crazy?” she hissed. “You shouldn’t be drinking!”
“Ellie!” Allie glanced around the pub, her face scarlet. “Do you have to say that so loud?” She turned back to Maggie and patted her arm. “She’s kidding, I’m not pregnant.” She turned innocent blue eyes back to her twin. “She’s pregnant.”
“Allie!” Ellie mocked, rolling her eyes. “Takes a preggieto know a preggie.”
Maggie’s mouth fell open as she jerked Ellie’s drink from her hand, slamming it down on the table. “Dear Lord, you’re both pregnant!” she said. A waiter walked by, and without tearing her gaze from her sisters, Maggie thrust her empty glass in front of him. “Whiskey,” she choked out. “A double!”
As her sisters continued to smile at her complacently, Maggie leaned both elbows on the scarred wooden tabletop, closed her eyes, and covered her face with her hands. Visionsof the next ten years of her life spent raising Allie’s and Ellie’s kids danced through her head like evil and demented sugarplums, and for a minute she couldn’t breathe. Then the sound of a giggle made her open her eyes, lower her hands, and inhale hopefully. Rachel sat with a big grin on her face as the twins dissolved into hysterical laughter.
“Good grief, Maggie,” Ellie said, her dark red lips twisted in a rueful grin, “after all these years, you’re still so gullible!”
Maggie drew in a ragged breath and unclenched her fingers.“You mean, you aren’t pregnant? Either one of you?”
It was Allie’s turn to roll her eyes, looking the spitting image of Ellie in spite of her blonde, Barbie-doll beauty. “Of course not,” she said with a sigh. “Come on, Maggie, you know better than that! No kids till the careers are solid and the men of our dreams come along.”
“You only drilled it into us our whole lives,” Ellie said. “We got it, okay?” She nodded at Rachel. “I owe you twenty. I really didn’t think she’d fall for it.”
Rachel raised both brows. “Told ya,” she said.
The waiter returned with her whiskey, and Maggie picked up the short glass and then set it down again. She glared at the three of them. “You know,” she said, “one of these days I’m going to drop dead from a heart attack after one of your ‘practical jokes’ and you guys won’t think it’s so damned funny.”
“Oh, come on, Maggie,” Ellie said, “you’re too uptight.”
“You always think the worst is going to happen,” Allie added.
“When ma-a-ybe the best is just around the corner,” Rachel drawled.
Maggie glanced from grin to grin, her senses once more on alert. “Okay, you guys are really freaking me out now. No more jokes. What’s going on?” She glanced over her shoulder. “Is there a stripper? I swear if there really is a stripper, you are all toast!”
“Relax,” Allie said. She reached beside her and lifted a large, shimmering silver gift bag from the floor, plopping it in the middle of the table. “First present.”
“Open it,” Ellie said, bouncing a little on the bench.
“It’s from all of us,” Rachel added.
The bag was so big Maggie had to stand to open it. First she removed the tissue paper sticking out of the top and then she reached inside, pulling out something large and made of leather. “A backpack?” she frowned. She didn’t hike, didn’t camp, and didn’t go to college. “Uh, gee, thanks, guys. It’s great.”
“Open it,” Ellie said again.
“Oh-kay.” Maggie unzipped the pack and reached inside.Her fingers closed around something furry and her eyes widened as she pulled out a stuffed animal. It was green and looked like a brontosaurus, but wore a T-shirt that said, “I Love Nessie.”
“Nessie? As in the Loch Ness Monster?”
Allie gave her an evil grin. “Push the button on the bottom.”
Maggie turned the toy over and pushed the button. Instantlya loud, raucous rendition of a hundred bagpipes playing “Scotland the Brave” poured from the small animaland filled the pub. Knowing her face was as red as a beet, Maggie punched the button until the noise finally shut off. Everyone in the crowded room immediately burst into applause.
“Sorry,” she said, waving her hand and feeling like an idiot. She glared at Allie. “Very funny.”
“Keep going,” Rachel urged. “There’s lots more stuff in there.”
“Fine,” Maggie said, “but I’m not punching any more buttons.” She began digging around in the pack and pulled out a flashlight, a box of Band Aids, a roll of gauze, adhesivetape, hair barrettes, rubber bands, safety pins, antibioticointment, matches, a lighter, a pair of tiny scissors, a huge package of bubble gu
m, and four chocolate bars.
“Wow,” she said. “I—uh—don’t know what to say.”
“Wait, you missed something,” Rachel said. “Dig around in the bottom, under the envelope.”
“Envelope?” Maggie reached in again and pulled out a large brown envelope. “What’s this?”
“Wait, wait,” Allie said, “first the rest of this present.”
Maggie obediently went back to digging and her hand closed around something long and flat and crinkly. It wasn’t until she had dragged the three-foot-long strip out of the pack and brandished it over their table that she realized it was a strip of condoms. Extra large. She slammed the offending articles back into the pack, her face burning, as laughter exploded from the three at the table.
“You guys are so, so dead,” she said, plopping down in her chair again. “Not to mention insane.”
“Oh, come on, Maggie,” Rachel said as she tried to stop laughing, “you’ve got to admit it was funny!” They dissolvedinto hysteria again while Maggie glared.
“Not that you’ll probably ever need them,” Allie said dryly.
Maggie started to tell her little sister that she was right, she wouldn’t need the condoms because she had started taking birth control pills five months ago. Her gynecologisthad suggested it to regulate her periods, and the birth control was just a bonus. Like it mattered. She hadn’t had a boyfriend in years, and at the ripe old age of thirty-two, she was unlikely to find Mr. Right anytime soon. Maggie sighed. Allie was right. She wouldn’t need them.
“Okay, enough humiliation,” ringleader Allie said. She picked up the large envelope on the table and handed it to Maggie. “Your second gift.”
“What is this?” Maggie took the envelope and held it gingerly between her fingers.
“Open it and find out,” Ellie said.
“I don’t think so.” Maggie hefted the envelope in her hand. “Feels heavy. What is it? Stink bomb? Superglue? C’mon, girls, don’t mess with me. It’s my—”
“Trust us,” Allie murmured.
“Right. When have I heard that before?”
“And don’t even think about saying no,” Rachel said, her gaze suddenly intense as she leaned toward her, glass in hand. “We’ve got it all arranged and it’s a done deal.”
Highland Rogue Page 2