A Highland Home A Contemporary Highland Romance Book Two

by Cali MacKay

  “Wait. Why did Angus want me to speak to him?” She didn’t know what his motivations were anymore. Was he trying to prove something? Or was there more information he hadn’t given her.

  “How would I know? If ye want to know the inner workings of Angus Macleod, then ye’ll have to ask him. Now are ye coming or not?” Behind his scruffy stubble, she could see his lips were pursed with impatience.

  “It’s a wonder you’re still single when you ooze such charm.”

  Conall scoffed. “Aye-and that’s the way I like it.”

  With a quick knock at the door, he didn’t bother waiting, but rather let them in and led them to the sitting room. “Da. This is Rowan Campbell. My father, Gordon Stewart.”

  Gordon got to his feet and took her hand in his, his gold eyes intense as he held her gaze. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet ye, lass. Please, have a seat.”

  Rowan pushed back her nerves and gave him a smile, noticing the similarities between the two men. “I can’t thank you enough for seeing me.”

  She and Conall sat on the sofa across from his father, but she wasn’t quite sure what to do with herself.

  Gordon shook his head, his gaze returning to her time and again. “By the gods, ye look just like her.”

  She suddenly felt guilty, knowing her mother had hurt him. All she could do is hope that time had healed his wounds. “I’m sorry if this is awkward for you.”

  “Dinnae fash, lass. I’m glad ye came.” There was such kindness in his eyes; it had her throat going tight. “How can I help ye?”

  There was no point to delaying the matter, and at least now she felt more comfortable asking him. “It’s my understanding Angus came to see you about my mother?”

  “Aye, lass. He said ye were looking for yer father, and wondered if I might have information on him. Unfortunately, Iona didn’t tell me much, given the circumstances.” He shook his head, his lips pressed together. “Angus wanted to know if she seemed scared, and I’ll admit, Iona was certainly more frightened than I’d ever seen her.”

  Just like Angus had said. “I don’t suppose she said why she was scared?”

  “It had to be related to the pregnancy. Thinking back on it, I believe it had to do with his family. Whether or not that’s who had her frightened or if it was the awkwardness of the situation, I couldn’t say. But for her to not tell the lad she was pregnant… there’d have to be a damn good reason for it. She wasn’t the flighty or frivolous sort, as I’m sure ye know, so she’d have thought the matter through.”

  So Angus had been right-not that it was any justification for what he’d done. But what happened to frighten her mother enough to leave the country without ever telling Rowan’s father she was pregnant? She had to try and find him-now more than ever.

  “I don’t suppose you know any of her friends from college? We saw her roommate, Imogen, but she didn’t have any information. Even a name would be helpful… anything at all.” It was her last hope. She was running out of avenues for information.

  “She was popular enough at university, even if Anne was still her closest friend. There was her roommate, as you said, though I’m not sure how close they were.” He sat back with a sigh. “I hate to admit it, but it was hard to not get jealous when she was so far away and there were so many other lads constantly lingering. Not that I could blame them. She was a pretty thing, with a smile that set everyone at ease. And smart too.”

  He continued with a sigh that left Rowan’s heart aching for the poor man. “I knew she wasn’t truly in love with me, but I asked her to marry me anyway. I don’t think she had it in her to turn me down since we’d been good friends and she loved me in her own way. It was before she’d left for university, and we were both so young.”

  Rowan could see it all unfolding, and heard the pain and longing that still lingered in Gordon’s voice. “It didn’t excuse what she did.”

  “No. It didn’t. But I tried my best to understand.” He shook his head with an exhale. “She loved him, ye know-yer father-and said he was a good man. Which is why I couldn’t fathom her decision to keep the pregnancy a secret. I’m sure she had her reasons, but I couldn’t tell ye what they were.”

  “And there’s no one else who might know?” Her heart was aching, her hope dwindling.

  “I wish I had answers for ye, lass. I truly do.” Gordon picked up a shoebox that was sitting on the side table and handed it to her. “I found some photos from around that time. Thought ye might like them, though I doubt ye’ll find any clues. Still, some of them are of her friends, though I wouldn’t know their names. They were taken the few times I went to visit her in Edinburgh.”

  Knowing now that she might never find her father, a glimmer of hope and wishful thinking blossomed in her chest, as she reached over and touched Gordon’s arm. “I don’t suppose there’s any chance you might be…”

  He covered her hand with hers, his voice gentle and raw with emotion. “There’s nothing I would like more, lass, but I’m afraid not.”

  ***

  Once at Conall’s, Rowan sat on the sofa next to him and watched him type away on his laptop, his gaze locked on the screen. “What are you looking for?”

  “Give me that picture-the one taken the day yer mother graduated from college.” He took it from her and he looked at it again. “I’m thinking that anyone close to her might show up in this picture. There’s her roommate and her family, by the looks of it. But there are also a few others here. If I can track down the list of those who graduated that day, I may be able to place names to the faces for ye.”

  Hope once again flooded her heart, even though she told herself it was a long shot. “Do you really think you can find out who they are?”

  “Aye. Ye’d be surprised at the sorts of pictures people post of themselves online. Seems like everyone wants to reminisce about their past. When they were thin and young and had more hair. They all want to recall better times-not that they remember the reality of it.”

  She had to laugh. “You’re awfully cynical for one so young, Conall.”

  He glared at her for a quick second before returning to his laptop. “Off with ye. Ye’re distracting me, and I like to work alone. I’ll stop by with any information I find.”

  ***

  It had been over a week since Rowan’s argument with Angus, and one would think that with her gallery opening tomorrow, she’d have plenty to keep her busy. Yet somehow, despite her best efforts, Angus kept niggling his way back into her thoughts. Not that she’d seen hide nor hair of him. For someone so in love, he hadn’t bothered to stop by or call to see how she was doing.

  She knew from the start that it’d be a mistake to pursue anything serious with him, and yet he’d been impossible to resist. Even now, the mere thought of him had her heart beating a little faster, her stomach fluttering and her heart aching. Damn it.

  Part of her tried to reason that he’d only been trying to protect her. Yet he’d been dishonest and kept things from her, manipulating things as she searched for her father. She couldn’t trust him. If he’d given her the facts, they could have worked together to figure something out. Instead, he’d treated her like a child and made the decisions for her when they were hers to make.

  Her eyes burned, but she took a deep breath and pushed her emotions to the side. No good would come of thinking about Angus-not when things were a mess between them. Instead, she got back to work putting the finishing touches on the gallery.

  She wanted-needed-everything to be perfect for the opening tomorrow, and could only hope it would help the locals get used to her. Her recent split from Angus, especially after such a short time together, had the townsfolk giving her all sorts of looks, from smug to downright angry-and she could just imagine what they were saying.

  But there was more weighing heavily on her mind-especially given her mother’s past. She was late. Not by a whole lot, but it was enough to have her counting days and replaying the nights she’d spent in Angus’s arms.

 
; There was no way in hell she’d be going to the local pharmacy to pick up a pregnancy test. The rumors would whip through town like stink from a skunk. With luck, it was nothing more than the stress she’d been under. A few more days though, and she’d be trucking it to Glasgow and a pharmacy where no one knew her.

  Doing her best to ignore the feeling of impending doom, she got back to hanging up the last of her photos and printed out the brochure she’d designed for the classes she’d be teaching. With how-to’s on pottery to jewelry, she tried to market it as a fun alternative for a night out with a friend. She’d already set up a website, contacted the local papers, and with the weather warming, she hoped there’d be an increasing amount of tourists.

  It was well past dinnertime, and her stomach rumbled in protest. She could go to the pub, but the thought of dealing with Lara or running into Angus had her quickly dismissing it as an option. Not that going home to cook or reheat leftovers seemed like an appetizing prospect. Angus had spoiled her with his gourmet cooking. Now, it didn’t seem like a proper meal if something wasn’t souffléd, flambéd, or brûléed. She grabbed her purse and flicked off the lights as she wandered towards the door.

  Glass shattered in the darkness as pain rained over her, and she slumped to the ground.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Angus pushed through the crowd, his heart pounding as panic consumed him. Lara hadn’t said much over the phone-only that Rowan had walked into the bar covered in glass and dazed. Where the hell was she?

  He spotted Walter Ramsey, the local constable. There. Behind him in one of the booths.

  As if sensing him, Walter turned and immediately slowed his progress with a hand to his chest, holding onto him so he couldn’t get by. “Easy there, Angus. She should be fine, though ye should still have a look at her. She doesn’t want to bother with the long trip to the doctors or to emergency care. Cut and bump to the head, and a few superficial cuts to her face and hands from the glass. It was a rock through the window of her shop, and if I had to guess, it also hit her in the head. Given the age of the building, the glass hadn’t been replaced with the tempered kind, so when it broke, it shattered into sharp pieces.”

  Processing the information, Angus nodded and shoved past him, his control tenuous. He saw the cuts, the blood, and it had his anger boiling over. He stepped to her side, though she didn’t look at him.

  He took a deep breath and tried to maintain some semblance of calm, not wanting to upset her further. “Rowan… I’ll need to have a look, love.” His voice sounded strained even to his own ears, his body so tense it was vibrating.

  “They shouldn’t have called you.” Her gaze settled everywhere but on him, and it was like a knife to his heart. “I just want to go home.”

  He tried to keep his tone level, but it didn’t help that he was talking through clenched teeth. “You can either let me look at yer wounds here, or I can take ye to my home and examine ye there. But ye’re not staying in yer home alone when someone’s just assaulted ye.”

  When she finally looked at him, his heart jerked to a stop as her eyes locked on his, shimmering ponds of green. “I’m fine.”

  “For fuck’s sake, Rowan. Ye’re bleeding and might have a concussion-and that is not fine.” By the god’s, the girl would drive him to drink. “If ye’d stop being so stubborn, ye’d take the threats seriously. This is the second one, and it’s an obvious escalation from the first. So even if ye’re not ready to acknowledge it, I’m not willing to risk yer safety.”

  “Well, it’s not your choice, Angus.” She got to her feet, but she was still unsteady. “I have to go board up the window and clean up.”

  Lara stepped to her side. “We’ll manage it. Don’t go worrying about that. Just get yerself home-and let the poor man take care of ye. We’ll get to the bottom of this, aye? No one does this to one of our own.” There were sounds of agreement from around the pub. “Now get out of my pub. Ye’re getting glass everywhere and Angus is liable to punch something-or someone. Both of ye-get out.”

  Rowan nodded. “Thank you, Lara.” She then settled her gaze on Angus, as if knowing she couldn’t win this fight. “Could you please take me home?”

  “Aye, love.” He put a gentle arm around her back and took her hand to steady her, should she fall.

  Not wanting to argue that his home would be safer, he took her to her home-not that she’d be staying there alone, if he had any say in the matter. “Which room has the best light? I need to make sure I get all the glass out.”

  “My studio.” Her gaze still refused to fall on him any longer than necessary, and it all but killed him. “I need to get changed first… the glass.”

  “Aye, love. I’ll wait here.” He was desperate to hold her close and comfort her, but he’d gone and ruined that between them. It’d nearly killed him to give her some space after their argument, to not call her or swing by her house or the gallery. But now, after seeing how distant she was with him, he wondered if it’d been the right thing to do. Maybe if he’d stuck around, he could have smoothed things between them, made her see why he’d kept things from her.

  When she returned, dressed in tights and a loose flannel shirt, they headed to the studio. She flicked on the lights, and he put his medical case down on the table, getting out his supplies and laying them out so he’d have easy access. “If ye could sit, that would help. I should be able to take care of most of yer injuries, but if it’s anything serious, I’ll have to take ye to the emergency in Glasgow.”

  She sat down like he asked. “I’m fine. Just a bump and a few cuts.”

  “Which likely have glass in them.” He quickly examined her, relieved to find most of her injuries weren’t terribly bad, and would heal within the week. The cuts to her face were few, but there were more on her hands. “The cut on your head isn’t too deep and won’t need stitches as long as ye’re careful with it. Ye’ll want to ice the bump though.” He flashed a light in her eyes to make sure she wasn’t concussed and then moved on to her cuts. “I’ll numb them up a bit to keep it from hurting if I need to go digging around.”

  She nodded and he got to work, doing his best to ignore that it was Rowan he was working on-to ignore the anger that had his gut in knots and his shoulder tight. He often got called in to handle small injuries, since the closest physician was over an hour away, but this was different. This wasn’t someone accidentally cutting themselves while chopping onions. This was an attack-on the woman he loved.

  He finished up by covering the cuts with an antibiotic ointment and bandages. “Will ye come stay in my guest room or should I go get my things so I can stay here on the sofa?”

  “Angus… I’m fine. You don’t need to babysit me.” She looked away with a ragged sigh. “I appreciate your help, but I think it’s best if you go.”

  Her words stung and made his heart ache. “Do ye hate me that much? I don’t get it, Rowan. I’ve only ever tried to do what’s best.”

  When she looked at him, she was blinking back tears. “I know-but it doesn’t matter. Nothing’s changed-I’m still trying to find my father, and you still want me to stop looking-which means I can’t do this. It was a mistake to get involved in the first place.”

  “Do ye really think that?” He refused to believe she truly felt that way. He brushed her cheek and tilted her chin up so she’d be forced to look at him. “I don’t believe ye, love.”

  He leaned in and brushed her lips with his in a slow, sweet kiss, his heart pounding with hope when she didn’t pull away. Instead, she clung to him, her forehead pressed against his-even if it was just for a moment.

  “Why are you doing this to me, Angus?” She pulled away and got up to pace.

  He stepped in her path and ran his hands down her arm. “It’s the only thing I can think of to make ye see sense-to make ye see that I love ye.”

  “Just go, Angus. I’m begging you to just leave me be.” Her tears rolled down her cheeks, as her eyes pleaded with him.

  “Och, love… I’
m begging ye to forgive me.” He brushed her tears away, his hand still cupping her face as he fought through his own fears and desperation. “Let me help ye find yer father. Let me keep ye safe.”

  “How can I? You knew how important it was to be honest with me after my ex lied and cheated on me. And I trusted you, damn it. You said wouldn’t hurt me-and that’s exactly what you did.” She pulled out of his arms and took a step away from him. “I get that you were trying to keep me safe, but you lied to me and worse-you tried to manipulate the circumstances so that I wouldn’t go looking for my father, despite knowing how important it is that I find him.”

  He clenched his jaw to bite back his response and then took a deep breath to calm himself before speaking. “You were just attacked, love. Do you think I was still wrong to keep things from you?”

  “Yes, I do. Because keeping things from me and keeping me safe are not the same thing, Angus. And if you don’t see that, then there’s no hope for us.” She crossed her arms in front of her chest, disappointment in her eyes.

  “I do get it, love. It’s just the thought of something happening to ye is enough to keep me from thinking straight.” He shook his head, worried she’d never forgive him. “I ne’er said I wasn’t an eejit, love.”

  Unable to let her go, he found himself closing the distance between them. When she didn’t move away, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close, nuzzling her.

  “Tell me there’s still hope, my love. I promise to ne’er keep anything from ye again.” He had to make her see what she meant to him. “I love ye, Rowan Campbell. Don’t be the one to break my heart, love, for I don’t think I’ll e’er recover.”

  She melted in his arms, as his lips found hers and he kissed her as if there would be no tomorrow. Although she eventually pulled away from him, there was a renewed hope in his heart.

  “Will you help me find my father-in earnest?” There was no waver in her gaze, and he knew this was his one chance.