What Lies Between

by Miller, Charlena

  Jim’s eyes widened. “Ran you off the road? Someone tried to run you off the road? And you think it was Bethanne? Did you see her then?”

  “No, but a car was behind me on the loch road in the storm and bumped me. It wasn’t an accident. Whoever it was hit me more than once. I lost control and ran into some trees. I’m fine. Anyway I can say more later when Anna’s not around, or I’ll call you. I don’t want to let her know what I’m thinking because I’m not certain if John had a part in this. I don’t know how far he would go. The entire thing is unnerving.”

  “It would be. I can understand why you would look at John or Bethanne but try not to rush to conclusions. And aye, let’s talk more about it. In the meantime, don’t throw around speculation. People in these parts won’t take to wild accusations too well.”

  I bit my lip to keep from expressing what I thought about other people’s opinions. “Tell me about the booking news you mentioned on the phone.”

  Jim’s face relaxed and he seemed relieved to move on from talking about the accident. “I’ve been getting loads of calls in the past few weeks from the magazine interview you did. You know, I wasn’t keen on you referring enquiries to me in the beginning, but I’m enjoying talking to folk about the area, the river, the fishing. I don’t like being laid up like this, but I can make use of the time to call my connections and round up more interest.” The look on his face told me he wasn’t telling me everything, but whatever he was holding back, it didn’t strike me as ominous. “It’s a kick to reel in new business. I’m currently working on a large group of bookings from a woman from London.”

  “Really? Well, you may have found a secret talent as a salesman.”

  “Aye, could be.” His eyes sparkled with a hint of mischief, as if he had a secret. “Do you know how Ryan is doing with the renovation work here after the storm? Any damage?”

  “I just came from Glenbroch and things look fine. Ryan’s crew has a bit of cleanup to do, but I don’t think anything on the house was damaged. He had planned extra days into the schedule for weather and we should be okay. Let’s get back in and give you a chance to catch up with Anna.”

  “Right.”

  Standing up, I held out my arm, but he didn’t take it. The stubborn man followed me, shuffling slowly but under his own power.

  Jenna far exceeded her duties for Thanksgiving dinner, decorating Glenbroch’s entry, dining room, and the smaller sitting room in shades of crimson, chestnut, gold, and cream. Fresh miniature pumpkins and winter squash adorned the side tables. A large horn of plenty filled with dark chocolate mints sat on a table near the window.

  The blazing fire, along with the beeswax tapers and pillar candles she had placed on the fireplace mantle and around the room, lit the space in a cozy glow. Classical music floated delicately on the air. Aromas of pumpkin pie, warm toffee, and freshly baked cake mixed with the savory scents of toasted breadcrumbs, sage, and thyme to give the house an earthy, distinctly autumn feel, at least to my American sensibilities.

  Only one thing dampened my anticipation of the evening: Bethanne was coming. There wasn’t much I could do to stop her. She was a Glenbroch employee and all were invited.

  The police couldn’t prove her involvement in my accident, yet. They did say there was no damage to her vehicle, but they also said there may not be damage on the other car since they hadn’t found any on the rear of mine. They reminded me I had admitted to losing control and running off the road. It sounded like they were changing their opinion about whether or not it really happened.

  In spite of knowing Bethanne would be sitting at my Thanksgiving table, and the disturbing thought that the person who had tried to harm me was still free, I intended to have a wonderful dinner. When I mentioned to Jenna that I was not happy about Bethanne attending, she took it upon herself to get creative with the seating.

  Jenna pulled Ben aside when he came in. “I will need you to sit on the same side of the table as Ellie, but on the opposite end. And you’re going to make sure Bethanne sits by you.” Her smile warned him not to object.

  She had a pleasant smile for everyone, but I was quick to see the solid steel behind that sweet face. And she had decided to throw her loyalties in with me. No question she had the chef’s job.

  When Jenna headed to the door to greet arriving guests, Ben pulled a paper from his pocket and laid it on the kitchen island. “I want to show you what I’ve worked out. Profit for Glenbroch’s Burns Supper will be a tidy sum.”

  Scanning the sheet, I said, “Impressive. What do you get out of this? The profit goes to my side of the accounting at the present.”

  “I told you I believe you belong here. I’m simply standing behind that.”

  “You know, I almost believe you mean it.”

  He folded up the sheet and stuck it in my hand. “I won’t stop until you believe it without a doubt.”

  I surprised myself by leaning over to plant a spontaneous peck on his cheek. He turned his face in the same second, and my quick kiss landed on his mouth. And then we were gone, locked in a passionate embrace, pent-up feelings running loose.

  Ben suddenly pulled away, and I opened my eyes to see why. His eyes were focused somewhere behind me. I swiveled around to see Jim, Bethanne, Henry, and Ryan standing there.

  No one moved or spoke. I chose to speak first since my mouth was gaping open. “Ben is sponsoring Burns Supper at Glenbroch. It will be our first big event. Ryan, will you have us ready?” I was sure Ryan was biting back a grin.

  “Still finishing bits to do but I’ll have the rooms completed that you’ll need for a dinner like that. We’ll cordon off the parts of the house that are not ready to be opened. It will be fine if somebody wanders off where they’re not meant to be. Safe, just not pretty yet.”

  Jenna popped her head in behind the crowd jamming the doorway. “Dinner is ready. Please head to the dining room.”

  She had no idea she had saved me again.

  Henry lingered in the kitchen, waiting for the others to leave. “Are you daft? Why would you go anywhere near a MacIver?”

  Henry’s raised voice and tone nearly struck me silent, but an indignant anger coursed through me.

  “I didn’t let him kiss me. It happened. It was a mistake.”

  “And he’s sponsoring Burns Supper here as well? You must be joking.” Henry’s voice thundered. “You have no right to let a MacIver waltz into Glenbroch and host a party.”

  “No right?” My anger roared. “I have every right to do what I think is best. You don’t have the right to talk to me the way you are or tell me what I should do.” Embarrassment flamed through me and I forced a deep breath to calm down. Guests were waiting in the dining room. “Listen, it’s not Ben’s party. He’s helping, is all.”

  Henry paced the room. “There is no such thing as simple help from him. Whatever he touches goes wrong. I can’t believe you would be with him.”

  Lately, when anything touched on the subject of Ben MacIver, Henry’s easygoing nature vanished—but this reaction was far more than anticipated.

  “First, I’m not with him! Second, you can leave if you’re going to lose your temper and ruin tonight. Look, it’s simple: you are either my friend or you’re not. If you are, then act like one. I’ve committed to a Burns Supper here with Ben. I want you there, but if you don’t get yourself together, you won’t be. Am I clear?”

  The fire in his eyes flared. He didn’t answer and pressed his palms against the kitchen island. When he turned back to me, I could see the rage in his eyes had softened. He wiped his hands over his face and let out a heavy breath. “Of course I want to be there. No way would I leave you on your own on a night like that with MacIvers climbing all over this place.”

  “It’s settled then. Let’s go have a lovely Thanksgiving dinner and be grateful. You may not approve of Ben’s involvement but it can only benefit Glenbroch, and that’s what matters, right?”

  “Right, okay.” Henry’s shoulders relaxed and he follow
ed me back to the dining room.

  Most of the dinner guests carried on as if they hadn’t heard us yelling. Bethanne’s eyes were filled with daggers, all headed in my direction. I couldn’t have been more grateful for Jenna’s clever seating. Ben’s expression told me he was none too happy about what he had heard, either. I sensed it had little to do with Henry and everything to do with what I’d said about the kiss.

  For the next couple of hours, I focused my attention on the crew and their spouses sitting near me. Time flew by and soon Jenna brought out pumpkin pie with homemade maple whipped cream and sticky toffee pudding, a Scottish classic I’d been eager to try.

  “This is my secret recipe. You all may have had loads of sticky toffee pudding in your life, except for you Ellie, but none of you have had mine.”

  Every crumb of both desserts was picked clean by the time the last fork was laid down. We were definitely making her pudding the main feature of Glenbroch’s dessert menu.

  Bethanne hovered in the foyer, waiting for Ben. She asked him for drinks down at the pub. I was surprised to hear Ben say, “Sure, let’s go.” I peeked out the window to see Bethanne’s arm looped through his. Whatever was between them made me nervous. Bethanne was trouble and Ben knew precisely how much she upset me.

  Jim closed the front door and patted his belly. “I’m thinking we need to have an official Thanksgiving Day here in Scotland or at least at Glenbroch. That was great, just lovely.” He handed an empty platter and stack of plates to Jenna as she loaded the dishwasher. “Jenna, you’ll turn Glenbroch into a destination on its food alone.”

  Jenna gave Jim an embarrassed look, but a pleased smile spread across her face. “I tell you what. You catch fresh trout and salmon and bring me some wild venison and grouse over the season, and I’ll make sure guests dine like kings and queens.”

  I turned to Jim. “Speaking of, when the salmon start to run, I’d like to try my hand at fishing.”

  “I’ll be happy to take you out. If I’m not around on a day you want to go, Henry here would do a fine job. He’s quite the accomplished fisherman.”

  Henry’s face flushed and he kept his focus on the load of dirty dishes he’d brought in from the dining room.

  “Is that so? You’re the resident fly fishing expert?” I asked. “How lucky am I!”

  “I can’t say as I’m an expert exactly, but I’ve done my fair share,” Henry acknowledged.

  “You can’t be ashamed of the truth.” Jim clapped Henry on the back. “This man, Ellie, could catch a pauchle of fish on a day when the rest of us would be coming home with nothing to show for our trouble.”

  “People talk and they value your skills, Henry. I’ve heard about you two villages over. You could do Glenbroch a load of good with those skills, wee man,” Jenna said, scooting past Henry to grab the vacuum cleaner and bopping him playfully on the back of the head with the hose as she scooted by again. “Now move out of my way so I can finish hoovering.”

  Jenna worked as fast as three people and wasn’t interested in having help. In no time the kitchen was spotless.

  “I’m knackered, Ellie, so I’m away.”

  “Of course. Thank you so much, Jenna. It was a lovely evening and I can’t wait to get started working with you.”

  “I’m off myself,” Jim said.

  “Goodnight. Drive careful,” I said, waving them off and shutting the door. Jim wore out faster since his injury.

  When I entered the kitchen, Henry handed me a glass of the tempranillo he had brought and held out his glass for a toast.

  “Here’s to Glenbroch remaining in the MacKinnon family and to you.” He leaned near to clink my glass. “Ellie, I’m sorry about my outburst earlier. I’m an eejit sometimes. I don’t want Ben to take what he wants from you and leave you with nothing. If I can help, with fishing or whatever is needed, I’ll do it. You can count on me.”

  I clinked his glass with mine. I didn’t need any problems and was happy to put it behind us.

  Henry took a long drink of his wine. “I hope what happened earlier won’t change your mind about going to Hogmanay together. It will be fun given it’s your first New Year’s Eve here.”

  “No. I’m looking forward to it. I’m sure it will be a great time.” I stretched. “I’m knackered as well. I think I’ll head to sleep now.”

  After Henry left, I double-checked the locks and slugged through my nightly routine and into bed. In spite of being disturbed by the escalating tension all around me, my body had no energy to stay awake and worry.

  Driving to Inverness to meet with the accountant, I couldn’t stop checking my rearview mirror, but the trip proved uneventful. Jim, Henry, Maggie, Anna, and Ben had all offered to drive with me. Even as I insisted on facing down my fears and making the trip alone, I didn’t understand my need to earn the title of Miss Independent. It was just what I knew best; habit, I guess.

  Katherine Helm gave me the news I’d anticipated—the delay on the renovation had used up any slack I had in the budget. The sheep we’d lost in the storm caused a hit as well. I couldn’t afford any more problems.

  Jim was close to landing the large client out of London, which could catch us up and then some. But Katherine had hoped to see reservations at a higher level by this point and didn’t think it wise to count on a few bookings. I agreed it was prudent to conduct due diligence on all large clients to make sure that none were playing for John’s side. It had occurred to me as well that he could try to tie up my vacancies with bookings he would then pull out from under me after I’d turned away other paying clients.

  Jim offered to review all of the clients, allowing me to focus on other issues . . . and to have more time to worry. If John happened to be behind this London client, it would not bode well for us. We needed that chunk of business, and if this were a ploy, a distraction, it would be difficult to replace such a significant block of bookings. We were hunting bookings as best we could but without repeat business to shore us up, every booking was critical.

  Until Jim could ferret out more about this Londoner Poppy Vanderberg, I had to relax and believe she was legitimate. If she wasn’t, I was in serious danger of losing the fight for Glenbroch on the booking requirement alone. And losing simply was not an acceptable option.

  15

  Standing outside the MacIvers’ door, I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, reviewing my choice of outfit: tailored coat, skinny jeans, silk blouse, and dark brown tall boots. It was nice to get out of my usual wellies and farm clothes. I sported the fingerless gloves Maggie had given me earlier for Christmas. Her sister, Iona, knitted for people each year and Maggie had ordered up these gloves in a deep plum. They were warm and soft and went nicely with my outfit.

  As I lifted my hand to knock, the door opened. I hoped no one had seen how long I’d been standing on the doorstep trying to work up the nerve to come in. The relaxing afternoon of playing cards with Maggie and Iona could have been a week ago—it had been less than an hour—as now my nerves buzzed with trepidation and second thoughts. What was I doing walking into the MacIvers’ cozy little Christmas? And then I remembered: a show of strength in the enemy’s camp. Well, that was one reason. The other had just opened the door.

  Anna ushered me into the house, taking the bag of gifts from my hands and helping me shrug out of my coat. “Wee girl, get yourself in here and warm up. It’s not fit for humans outside.”

  I returned the kiss on each cheek, glad that the cold disguised my nerves as shivers.

  “You shouldn’t have brought us presents.” She looped her arm through mine. “But I’m not going to pretend I don’t love to get them. I have a little something for you too.”

  I still wasn’t at all sure about my decision to come here but her contagious warmth spread through me. I let Anna lead me into the sitting room. At the far end, Ben was part of a foursome playing cards. John sat near the fireplace, engaged in an animated conversation with people I didn’t know. As I entered, everyone’s heads
turned, their eyes focused on me.

  “This is Ellie Jameson from the States,” Anna announced. “She is over at Glenbroch now.”

  “Lovely to join you all.” I forced a smile and friendly wave, feeling shy and out of place. I avoided looking at Ben but could feel his attention on me nonetheless. The unhappy crease in John’s face deepened when our eyes met.

  Anna introduced her family and friends to me one by one. “This is John’s brother Donald and his wife, Kathleen. They’re up from Glasgow. And, of course John. My younger sister, Janet, and her friend, Barry, are in from Inverness. Ben you’ve met. And these are my youngest boys, Andrew and Logan, and Drew’s friend, Caitlin.”

  It had only been my parents and me before they died. There weren’t play dates with other kids or holidays full of brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and grannies. I was always fascinated by any families with more than three people in them.

  Anna bustled me into the kitchen and pulled out a stool at the island, patting its seat. “Let’s get you a drink and food and then you can settle in and tell me how you’re doing in your first winter here. Since it’s been too cold for our weekly lessons with Jazz, I feel I haven’t seen enough of you.”

  I caught her eyes. “It’s lovely to be here with you and your family, Anna.” I was surprised by how much I meant it.

  “Leaving Gerard’s daughter alone on Christmas Day is out of the question. It absolutely wouldn’t do for you not to be with us.” She pointed to a line of various whisky and wine bottles. “What would you like?”

  “Red wine sounds lovely.”

  She poured two glasses, handed one to me, and lifted the other. “To a glorious year, Ellie. I wish you all the best. I mean that.” She touched my arm and leaned in close, her voice conspiratorial. “My money’s on you.”