Dand started to clamber over Sadie to get out but Ross put a hand on the boy, stilling him. “Remember now, Aunt Glynnis isn’t well. We’ll not be loud in the house. Understand?”
“Ah, Uncle Ross. Mum and Da already said for me to behave.”
“Quiet and behaving are two different things.” Ross looked as if he didn’t believe the boy could do either. “I need both from ye, Dand. Or else yere mum won’t let me take you on yere own again.”
Nice threat.
Sadie opened her door and Dand scrambled out past her. She started to slip from the truck, her stomach a mess of nerves, when Ross grabbed her hand. “And you, lass, ye better remember to keep it down in the house. Ye’re such a hell-raiser.”
She was grateful for his teasing and smiled back.
Ross grabbed their bags from the bed of the truck. By the time they made it to the door, Ross’s mother was outside hugging Dand.
“Who is this grown man? What have ye done with my wee grandson?”
“Ah, Nan, ye saw me last month.”
She hugged him again. “But ye’ve grown.” She tugged at Dand’s bag. “Did ye stick baby Irene in your knapsack so I can see her, too?”
Dand giggled, shaking his head no. “But I packed a load of books for me and Sadie to read!”
Ross’s mother looked past Dand and smiled at her son; then her gaze fell on Sadie. Her eyes lit up and she pulled Sadie in for a hug as well. “Welcome, Sadie. Ross told me about ye. We’re happy ye’re here. I’m Grace.” She let go.
Sadie was shocked at being hugged so warmly. “Nice to meet you.”
There was such a kindheartedness in Grace that Sadie couldn’t help but like her instantly. She was tall, as Sadie would expect of the mother of the strapping Armstrong brothers. At first Sadie thought Grace and Ross shared the same nose, but there were differences. Grace’s nose was hawk-like in an elegant way. Her motherly manner immediately put Sadie at ease, making her feel more comfortable than she had back in Gandiegow.
Grace held the door wide for her, but she didn’t let Ross in so readily, instead pulling him in for a long hug. “I’ve missed ye. Verra much.”
“Ah, Mum,” Ross said, sounding much like Dand. “I haven’t been here two seconds and ye’re already laying on the guilt.”
Sadie didn’t think it was guilt at all.
Grace squeezed him harder. “It’s been near half a year since I’ve seen ye. Since I was back for Pippa’s wedding.”
Maybe Ross does know his mother.
“I’m a busy man.” He said nothing about Pippa or the wedding. “But I’m here now. Can ye let it go?”
“Come in then. Glynnis is resting.” Grace turned to Sadie. “That’s my sister.”
“They’re twins,” Dand added. But then he stopped short. “They don’t look alike anymore.”
“Because ye’re great-auntie has been sick,” Grace supplied, smiling gently at Dand. “I’ll get the kettle on. Ye made great time, aye?”
Ross stopped his mother with a hand to her arm. “If it’s all the same to you, Mum, Sadie and I are going to pass. She wants to get straight to the shopping.”
Grace shrugged, taking the news well. “Settle in and then get going. Dand and I are going to have a bite to eat. Will ye have something before ye go?”
Ross looked to Sadie as if she’d said something. “Nay. Sadie wanted to check out the pub.”
Grace laughed. “I can see she’s a demanding lass.”
And Sadie had barely said hello.
Ross put his hand to her back. “I’ll show you to yere room first.”
As he guided her to the stairs, his hand unnerved her, heated her up and made her tingle. She stepped away, but tripped on the hall rug. He caught her around the waist and pulled her back into his chest, making everything worse.
“Whoa. Are ye all right?” His breath was on her neck.
She sagged, afraid she might faint . . . dead away. Then he could scoop me into his arms and carry me upstairs like a Scottish Rhett Butler to my Scarlett O’Hara.
Good lands! Her imagination was on overdrive. Sadie should check herself into the Only-in-Your-Dreams Ward.
She moved away from him. Quickly. “I’m fine.” She held on to the banister, concentrating as she climbed the stairs rapidly, making sure to firmly plant one foot in front of the other.
But when she reached the top, she realized she didn’t know which room was hers. The bungalow was small, but there were four doors to choose from.
Ross took the stairs at a normal pace, making her feel even more self-conscious. She was a rational person. Why, then, did she feel so shaken up by the touch of Ross’s breath on her neck? She shivered.
When he joined her at the top, he pointed. “In there.”
She turned the handle and spoke over her shoulder quietly. “Thanks.” She started to escape into the room, alone, but Ross blocked the door with his hand.
He put a finger to his lips. “Shhh. Let me in for a minute.” He didn’t wait for her consent, but stepped in and shut the door behind him. “I want to talk to you about what we’re going to do this afternoon.”
She froze like a rabbit. Except she wasn’t scared of him. She was terrified of where her logical brain had landed and of the images popping up.
“What’s wrong?” He gazed at her for a long moment, like he had done last night. But this time, he wasn’t running away.
She should answer him, but she couldn’t tell him the truth. She hated to admit it even to herself. She was seriously attracted to him, which was utterly ridiculous. Nothing could come of it beyond sitting up late at night, mooning over him, like she’d done last night. What had she been thinking when she’d agreed to come to Glasgow with him in the first place?
The bedroom was small and he took up most of it with his all-male presence. She had to answer him, but what could she say?
He cleared his throat and looked away, staring past her shoulder. “I’ll give ye a minute.” He might as well have said what was really on his mind . . . I’ll give ye a minute to pull yereself together.
She would need more than a minute. She’d need a lifetime.
He spun around and left the room.
She exhaled.
Then collapsed on the small bed, her wound-tight nerves unraveling like thread from a spool.
Ross was no dummy. She’d gone completely mental, and he knew it. Was this just another one of the stages of grief . . . falling for a Highlander?
Well, she better take the next few minutes to get a grip, because they were headed out to shop for books. She glanced in the small mirror on the wall. She was still plain Sadie, but she took a moment to primp her short brown hair anyway. And for fun, she applied some berry-colored lipstick.
Bravely, she opened the door and went in search of Ross. Downstairs, tucked at the back of the house, she found him in the kitchen, leaning against the counter. Dand and Grace were at the dinette table, the three of them chatting quietly.
Grace looked up. “There ye are.” She gave Sadie a brilliant smile. “Ye know, ye’re the first lass Ross has brought home for me to meet.”
Like she was Ross’s girlfriend! Sadie tripped again, this time on thin air.
Chapter Seven
In a flash, Ross caught Sadie, pulling her to him. Chest . . . to . . . chest. Oh, God!
Grace jumped to her feet, too. “Are ye all right?”
Sadie wanted to disappear. “I’m okay. Just clumsy.” She gazed up into Ross’s eyes.
He looked concerned. Sadie hoped he wouldn’t question her about her stumbling.
If he did, what could she say? Midday drunkenness? Uneven floor? Localized earthquake? The truth was she had a serious hormonal imbalance when it came to a certain excessively gorgeous fisherman. Finally she settled on the perfect explanation, one he couldn’t re
fute. She would lie and tell him it was her kidney disease. Sure, it was dishonest to use her illness as a scapegoat, but at least it would prove good for something.
He didn’t ask, fortunately, and she pushed away, trying to act as if she wasn’t falling-in-crush with him, and stood unassisted.
Grace seemed amused. “Let me get you some tea.”
Sadie put her hand up, not looking her in the eye. “No, no. Ross is right. We should get to the store and pick out those books.”
“Aye.” Ross ruffled Dand’s hair. “Remember what I told you. If ye aren’t the perfect sailor while I’m gone, ye’ll be walking the plank when we get home. Ye hear?”
Dand saluted with a biscuit in his hand. “I’ll be good, First Mate. Promise.” Crumbs flew everywhere.
Sadie said a quick good-bye, slipped from the kitchen, and headed toward the front door. She’d have to apologize to Ross for being such an addlebrained klutz.
He was right behind her. Sadie raced for the truck and hopped inside before he could hold the door open for her. She was comfortable around Ross, but she wasn’t comfortable with her crazy feelings. He slid into the other side.
She laid a hand on his arm to get his attention, but glanced away when he turned in her direction. She bit her lip. “Sorry.” She waited a moment before daring to look at him.
He shook his head, seeming confused. “For what?”
Hadn’t he noticed that she had embarrassed him in front of his mom? “For, um . . . for, um . . .”
Ross grinned at her. “We’ll stop and get ye a strong ale. That’ll fix yere stammer.” His gaze dropped to her hand still on his arm.
She scooted back to her side of the vehicle, taking her hand with her, and faced forward. “Yeah. Right. A strong ale should do it.”
Ross surprised her a few minutes later by pulling into a train station. “It’s only a twenty-minute ride into Glasgow.” He patted the steering wheel. “We’d take that long looking for a place to park the truck.”
He bought their tickets as she waited. She couldn’t remember ever being on a real train. The train at the zoo when she was five didn’t count. When they boarded, Ross pointed out a place for them to sit together. She looked out the window as the train pulled away from the station, ignored his warm body next to hers, and concentrated on the scenery until they arrived in the center of Glasgow. Ross took her hand and helped her step down from the train. He needed to stop touching her and taking care of her every need.
He took her straight to the pub as promised, and filled her with delicious food, not teasing her when she passed on the ale because it wasn’t good for her kidneys.
“So what’s the plan?” she said after finishing her last bite. “Which bookstore are we going to first?” She was excited to check out the bookstores in Scotland.
“We have to make a detour first.”
“What kind of detour? I promised Deydie a library for Quilting Central, and Oliver’s credit card is ready for some action.”
“Did ye notice the shop next to the pub?”
She shook her head.
“It’s a little dress shop.”
“Why would you want to go to a dress shop?” Did he want to buy something nice for his mother?
“Ye mentioned you knew nothing about clothes. I thought we could do a little exploring to help ye figure out what you like.”
She stared at him, dumbfounded.
He shrugged. “We don’t have to, if ye don’t want. I kind of like yere brown dress.”
She glanced down at her old standby. It was comfortable. It was modest. It was old. “I guess I could take a look.”
“That’s the spirit.” He put his hand out to help her up. “Come on.”
This is the last time, she told herself as she took his hand. But she vowed to find the right moment to talk to him about being such a gentleman. Did he know that when he touched her, it was too much? Way. Too. Much.
The shop next door turned out to be perfect. The dresses were classically cut with a touch of whimsy. She gravitated to a rack of dresses and began flipping through the hangers. Finally she pulled out a red one and held it to her chest, checking the length while Ross stood back and watched.
Because the sales clerk was busy, Sadie turned to Ross. “What do you think of this one?” She stepped in front of the full-length mirror.
He came closer, standing behind her, but not too close. “The real question is whether ye like it or not.”
“I like the cap sleeves. And it isn’t too short.”
“Do ye like it enough to try it on?”
She did.
He took the red dress from her. “I’ll keep this while you find some more.”
She picked out four dresses, giving them to him one at a time. Ross pointed at another rack.
“Take the green one there. It’ll look nice with your eyes.”
But the green one was fun and flirty, not nearly as conservative as the ones she’d picked out. She started to tell him it wasn’t her style, but he’d been so good to her that she couldn’t say no.
Sadie pulled the green one from the rack and went to the sales clerk for a changing room.
“Follow me.” The woman guided her through an archway. On the other side was a half-circle couch, facing the curtains to two dressing areas.
The sales clerk hung Sadie’s things in one of the rooms. “Ye get started with these while I bring yere boyfriend back to help ye decide.”
“He’s not . . .” Sadie tried, but the woman was already gone. Sadie pulled the curtain and stared in the full-length mirror, getting a good look at herself. If she was honest about her brown dress, she should’ve stopped wearing it two years ago. Maybe three. And burned it. She pulled it over her shoulders and laid it on the lone chair.
The green dress, the one Ross had suggested, called to her first. She took it from the hanger and slipped it on.
She jumped when Ross spoke from the other side of the curtain.
“When ye’re ready, let me take a gander.”
She peeked out. Ross was leaning back on the dainty sofa with his hands behind his head, a man at leisure with his legs sprawled. She pulled the curtain shut. This was stupid. He shouldn’t be here.
“Why don’t you go back to the pub?” she suggested. “I’ll meet up with you in a little while.”
“Why don’t ye stop stalling and get out here?” He laughed as if he was thinking of a joke. “Or do I need to come in after ye?”
“He wouldn’t dare,” she said to the little dressing room.
“Don’t challenge me, luv. I never back down.”
Sadie about melted all over the green dress. He’d called her luv. Not for the first time, and she shouldn’t think anything of it. He’d called no less than three women luv since she’d arrived in Gandiegow. Granted, they were all old enough to be his mother or grandmother.
“I’m coming.” She whipped back the curtain and stepped into the waiting area.
He leaned forward with his elbows on his thighs, taking her in from head to toe. He seemed to be schooling his reaction. “Do you like it?”
“I don’t know.”
He unfolded himself from the sofa and came to her. He laid his hands on her shoulders and spun her toward the full-length mirror. “Take a look and decide.”
He still had his hands resting on her, and it was hard to concentrate on anything except where he touched. She shrugged away, moving closer to the mirror.
What she saw first was how the green dress made her brown eyes stand out. Then she noticed the angle at which the dress hung, flaring at just the right spot, making her look as if she had hips. Which was surprising, considering her boyish figure. The fabric was light, fairylike, and she felt . . . she felt . . . she felt pretty. She gasped.
Ross moved closer, a smile spreading over his face
. “Now you see it, too.”
She wanted to hear what he saw, but was too self-conscious to ask, so she nodded instead.
“I think that one’s a keeper. Now, go try on a dress that ye picked out.”
The red one had looked interesting on the mannequin, but on Sadie, it looked like a Red Cross tent. She didn’t even have to show that one to Ross though he complained that he wanted to see it, too.
As she tried on each dress, her style became clearer—what she liked, what looked good. In the end, she approached the checkout counter with two dresses, a pair of slacks that gave her a shapely butt, and a white sweater that would go with everything. Ross took the green dress from her.
“What are you doing?” She grabbed for it. “I want that.”
He held it out of her reach. “I picked it. I’m paying for it.”
“It won’t fit you.”
“Verra funny.” He stopped and stared at her, as serious as a storm forecast. “Let me do this.” He paused for a second. “With no argument.”
“Fine,” she grumbled. But why would he want to spend his hard-earned money on her?
By the time they were back outside, it was four o’clock.
“Will we have time to get the books and be back at your mother’s for dinner?”
“Nay.”
“I’m sorry.” She lifted the one small sack that he’d allowed her to carry. “I shouldn’t have taken so much time in there.”
“Are ye really in that big of a hurry to get back to Gandiegow?”
She thought about it for a moment. “Well, no. But we are expected.” Oliver was probably tallying every second she was gone.
“My mum will want the extra time anyway.”
“To spend with Dand?”
“No. To interrogate you.” He nudged her. “How about a stroll before heading back to the train station?”
“Sure.” She shifted her sack.
He put out his hand. “Here. I’ll take it.”
“No. I’m fine. But tomorrow, I promise to let you carry as many of the books as you can handle.”
They walked around the city and he shared the sights with her, having an irresistible way of telling a story that kept her completely enthralled. Too soon, they were headed back to the train. But once they took their seats, she realized she was spent, worn out in a good way. She closed her eyes and tried to prop herself against the window. The train jolted forward, making her hit her head.
The Trouble with Scotland Page 11