by Tammy Swoish
“Adan?” Dad asked.
“Yes,” Mom said. “He's the son of Laird Robert McClintogg. Sami has been dating him.”
Dad looked at Mom. “And you like this boy?”
“Oh, aye,” Mom said.
Dad laughed.
We ate. Mom and I both talked a mile a minute, using a tag-team conversational technique.
I don't know how Dad kept up with our stories, but he did, laughing when he was supposed to and asking questions in the right places.
It was good to be together again.
Day 39
Wedding of the Century
Molly and Robert were married in the chapel in McClintogg Castle. Imagine having a church in your own house. So cool.
Bagpipes sound beautiful when played in a church.
I cried when Fiona placed her mother's hand in Robert's. It was a simple ceremony with only immediate family and Fiona's date, Shane.
Samuel Logan MacKensie was there as well. When I saw his shadow sitting in the last pew, he waved and slowly vanished.
Whew.
Molly looked regal and Robert smiled the entire day.
Adan wore a kilt. He has gorgeous knees.
Dad wore a suit with a plaid tie. Mom tried to get him to wear a kilt, but he refused, saying his bony knees would get cold.
When Adan met Dad, he looked Dad in the eye and shook his hand. I saw the flicker of respect in Dad's eyes.
Adan held my hand all day. Well, except when he was standing at the front of the chapel next to his dad.
I danced with him until the early hours of the morning, making promises to e-mail, text, instant-message, and call.
Fiona said she'd e-mail me copies of all the pictures.
Day 40
Plan to Lure Unsuspecting Tourists and Get Them to Work Our Farm Is Still Moving Forward
Robert hired movers to officially move Molly and Fiona into McClintogg Castle the day after the wedding. Fiona's new room is so awesome. It has a girly four-poster bed with heavy curtains, a fireplace, a window seat, and its own bathroom. I wish I lived in a castle.
MacKensie Castle will be renovated using the income from the tourists who visit the working farm.
Fiona wants to continue to work on the farm while she and Molly fulfill their dream of showing the world medieval Scotland through the operation of MacKensie Manor. Adan and Shane have been enlisted to work at the farm on the weekends, showing tourists how to use medieval weapons.
On Fiona's twentieth birthday, she will officially become head of the MacKensie clan, and MacKensie Manor. She will be Lady MacKensie. I plan to be here for the ceremony.
Good-bye, Samuel
Fiona and I sat on the edge of my bed. The loft was dark. The candle on my nightstand gave off a dim light.
“Do ye think he'll come and say good-bye to you?” asked Fiona.
I shrugged. “I don't know.”
We didn't have any of our ghost-hunting gear with us. It was our last night together. I'd be leaving in the morning with my parents.
“I'll miss ye, Sami,” Fiona said.
“We'll e-mail,” I said.
“Aye.” Then I felt Fiona freeze beside me. “Did ye hear that?”
“What?” I whispered.
“Samuel, come out and say farewell to Sami,” Fiona said.
A groan rose from the corner. A light mist swirled. I cracked both my pinky knuckles. There was a flash of light, and standing in front of us was Samuel Logan.
I smiled. Fiona whispered to me, “Say something, Sami.”
“Hello, Samuel,” I said.
He nodded.
Fiona grabbed my arm. “Speak more.”
“Are you at peace, Samuel Logan?”
“Aye,” he said.
“What did he say, Sami?” asked Fiona. “I can't hear him.”
“You can't?”
“No.”
I nodded. “He's at peace.”
“Aye,” Fiona whispered. “Good. Is he with his lovely McClintogg lass?”
Samuel smiled. “Aye, tell her I am. But I've come to say my final good-bye, lass,” he said. “I've waited a century for someone to bring the clans back together, and ye have. Now the families will grow and prosper once again.”
I shook my head. “I didn't do anything.”
“Aye, ye did. Ye helped join the MacKensies and McClintoggs. I was too weak. They're joined now, and I can rest in peace.”
“What's he saying?” Fiona asked.
“Shhh.”
Samuel looked at Fiona. “That lass will lead us into the future along with her new kin, Adan. The clans are at peace and will prosper.”
There was another flash of light, and he was gone.
“What did he say, Sami?” Fiona asked.
I turned and looked at her. “He said that you and Adan will bring the MacKensie and McClintogg clans back, and he can rest now.”
“His spirit has moved on, then?”
“Definitely.”
Day 41
Going Home
Mom has filled a notebook with enough fodder to write a trilogy.
I cried.
Mom cried.
Molly cried.
Fiona cried.
We had a soggy group hug.
Dad shook Laird McClintogg's hand.
Adan hugged and kissed me in front of Mom and Dad. They smiled.
The new McClintogg clan has invited us for the Christmas holidays. Mom and Dad said we'd come.
I'll miss my school's winter formal, but who cares? Mine will be the Christmas Ball at McClintogg Castle.
I don't have to make up a story about some boy-friend in a foreign country because I really have one. And he's one hot Scot.
100 Days to Work on My Entrance
into the McClintogg Christmas Ball
Published by Delacorte Press
an imprint of Random House Children's Books
a division of Random House, Inc.
New York
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidentseither are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2008 by Tammy Swoish
All rights reserved.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Swoish, Tammy.
Hot Scots, castles, and kilts / Tammy Swoish. —1st ed.
p. cm.
Summary: Sixteen-year-old Sami and her romance-writer mother spend a month in Scotland fixing up an old farm as a tourist destination, while Sami and her new friend Fiona hunt for the resident ghost and Sami helps resolve a centuries-old feud.
[1. Clans—Fiction. 2. Families—Fiction. 3. Ghosts—Fiction. 4. Farm life—Scotland—Fiction. 5. Scotland—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.S98254Ho 2008
[Fic]—dc22
2007024312
Random House Children's Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.
eISBN: 978-0-375-84642-7
v3.0