Secrets of the Highlander

by Janet Chapman

  “I saw you running as if the hounds of hell were on your heels,” Cam said, hanging her coat back on the peg. “You fell, the brats escaped, and then a man stepped out of the shadows and would have squeezed you to death if Robbie hadn’t shown up. Shouldn’t you be writing this down?” she asked, pointing at the notebook sticking out of his pocket.

  “Thanks for your statement, Ms. MacKeage. I see you were just headed out, so don’t let me keep you,” he said, opening the door for her.

  “I’ve changed my mind. I’m staying.”

  “No, you’re not,” Megan said, handing Camry her coat. “Rose is waiting for you.”

  “If you’re helping Rose Brewer clean up,” Jack said, “keep a list of anything else that was taken, would you?”

  “Why, certainly, Officer Stone,” Cam purred, slipping back into her coat. “Anything to help Pine Creek’s finest catch the bad guys.”

  “You’ll be helping Rose more than me,” he growled, clearly nearing the end of his patience. “She’ll need that list for her insurance claim.”

  Cam started another scathing remark, but Megan quickly intervened. “Would you just get going?” She shoved her sister out the door.

  Cam stopped on the porch and turned back to her. “Don’t you dare cook him breakfast. And get dressed,” she hissed in a whisper.

  Megan closed the door, turned to find her unwelcome guest staring at her belly, and promptly blushed. “I—um—I’ll get dressed,” she said, holding her robe closed as she all but ran to her bedroom.

  The moment she shut her bedroom door, Megan slapped her hands to her cheeks with a groan. That short haircut, angular jaw, and smooth, weather-tanned skin made him even more handsome. And God help her, those deep, sexy, intense blue eyes still had the power to turn her mind to mush.

  No, turn her mind to lust.

  He may have been a bit slow leaving the starting gate, but once he’d gotten going, Wayne had certainly brought magic to their lovemaking. He had been so intensely focused on her that the entire world had ceased to exist. They could have been a speck of dust floating through the cosmos, so immersed she’d been in the sensations he elicited.

  She had innocently gone to Wayne’s tent that evening to ask him about something, but when she’d caught him staring intensely at her mouth as she spoke…Well, the next thing she knew, her lips were pressed against his and she was attacking the buttons on his shirt. She’d gotten them both down to their underwear in five minutes. She could have done it in two, but she kept stopping to kiss each spot of his flesh she exposed. He had the most beautiful body…

  Once he recovered from the shock of her attack, he’d lowered her to his sleeping bag, pinned her exploring hands over her head, and proceeded to make maddeningly slow, tender love to her.

  Megan shivered at the image of their naked bodies twined together, jerking herself back to the present. Okay. Even though the man in her living room was a no-good lying heartbreaker, she couldn’t turn away anyone who looked as pathetic as he did. The guy was a battered and obviously tired mess. She dressed in slacks and a sweater, ran her shaking fingers through her hair, and returned to the kitchen to find Jack sprawled on the couch, his right leg resting on the coffee table, and his notebook in his hand.

  “Did you ladies really see anything, or do I get to arrest your sister for lying to a police officer?”

  Megan pulled out the frying pan and set it on a burner. “We heard a god-awful scream come from the back of Rose’s store just as we stepped into Winter’s gallery. We ran to the back window and saw the kids nearly plow you over when they came running out. That’s when the man stepped out of the shadows and grabbed you from behind.” She went to the fridge and took out a carton of eggs, a stick of butter, and a bowl of diced ham. “What did you and Robbie talk about after we left?”

  “You, mostly. After the guy brought me down, what did he do then?”

  “He ran into the woods when Robbie shouted at him.”

  “In which direction?”

  “Up the eastern shoreline of the lake. What specifically did you and Robbie talk about, about me?”

  “I was impressed at how well you and your sister obeyed him. I asked him to teach me how to do that.”

  Megan broke the eggs in the frying pan with a snort. “In your dreams. What else?”

  “I asked him what to expect when you introduce me to your father.”

  “That’s not going to happen, either. What else?”

  When he didn’t immediately answer, she turned to look at him.

  “I’m not going away, Megan. It doesn’t matter how big a family you have to hide behind, or how large your cousins are.”

  She lifted her chin. “I am not hiding behind anyone.”

  “Good,” he said with a nod. “Is it a boy or a girl?”

  “What?”

  “Are we having a son or daughter?” he asked, his gaze dropping to her belly. “Did you have one of those tests that determine the gender?”

  She turned back to the stove and dumped the diced ham over the eggs. “I don’t know what sex it is.”

  “Don’t know? Or aren’t saying?”

  She eyed him over her shoulder. “I want to be surprised.”

  “Good. Me, too.” He looked down at the notebook in his hand. “You said you saw a bunch of kids run out of the store. Did you see how many there were?”

  She shrugged, turned back to the stove, and shut off the burner. “They were in a tight pack, so I couldn’t tell.”

  “Did you see where they went?”

  She frowned, opened her mouth, then shut it again.

  “Or did you hear anything? Maybe an engine starting, like a snowmobile? Or…a small plane? Did you see something flying out over the lake?” he quietly asked.

  “I didn’t hear an engine. But I might have seen something flying.” She looked away, opening a cupboard and taking down a plate. “It might have been a flock of geese.”

  “In the dead of winter?”

  She filled the plate with most of the omelet she’d made, set a fork on it, and carried it over to the couch. “Okay, I have no idea what I saw flying out over the lake. Maybe Camry got a better look.”

  “Not that she’d give me a straight answer,” he muttered, then smiled in gratitude as he took the plate from her. “Thanks. I’m starved.”

  “After you eat, I’ll drive you to the hospital,” she offered as she returned to the stove, resigned to losing her peaceful afternoon.

  “I don’t need a doctor,” he said around a mouthful of food. “Give me a couple of aspirins and a soft bed, and I’ll be good to go by tomorrow morning.”

  Megan scoffed up her own eggs directly out of the pan, the silence stretching awkwardly between them. It was disconcerting having him in her house, talking as if they were old friends.

  Are we having a son or daughter? By God, he’d had his chance to know his child, and he’d tossed it away. She didn’t care if he threatened to hang around until hell froze over, he was not waltzing back into her life.

  She swallowed the last bite of egg. “Why did you really come to Pine Creek?”

  She turned around and saw that he didn’t answer her because he was sound asleep. His empty plate was balanced on his belly, his arms had fallen to the side, and he was softly snoring.

  Megan walked over to the couch, set the plate on the coffee table, then unlaced and took off his boots. Careful not to bang his injured knee, she slid his legs around until he was sprawled lengthwise on the couch, propped a pillow under his head and another one under his knee, then grabbed the blanket off the back and covered him up. She tucked the blanket under his chin, her fingers brushing the rough stubble on his cheek, and without stopping to think, leaned down and kissed his forehead. Her lips somehow decided to linger on his warm skin, and he snuggled deeper into the pillow with a sigh.

  She jerked upright, then stalked back to the kitchen. Damn the man! She didn’t care what wonderful memories his being here evoked, she
was not letting him off the hook that easy. He wanted to be part of her life, he was going to have to earn her love all over again!

  Waking up to whispered conversations was fast becoming a bad habit—though an enlightening one. This time Jack didn’t recognize the male who was speaking. He carefully slit open his eyes and the soft glow of interior lights told him he’d slept the day away. He frowned at the empty house. He was still on Megan’s couch, though he was sprawled lengthwise now; his boots were off, there was a pillow under his swollen knee, and he was snuggled toe to chin under a soft blanket.

  The conversation was coming from outside. He saw two people standing under the porch light, but the sheer curtain covering the door window made it impossible to identify the man. He was another Sasquatch though, towering over Megan as she rested a delicate hand on his arms folded across his chest.

  Something about their postures tickled a memory at the back of Jack’s mind. Where had he seen Megan looking up at a man just like that?

  “Matt told me Jack Stone is the father of your child,” the guy said, his voice menacing as it came through the slightly open door. “And that Wayne Ferris was an alias Stone was using in Canada, when he seduced ye.”

  Jack snorted. He hadn’t seduced anyone; it had been the other way around.

  “And yet ye have him sleeping on your couch, after ye told me ye hoped the bastard rotted in hell,” the Sasquatch finished in a heavily accented growl.

  Jack winced. Megan had actually said that?

  “And just who told Matt about Wayne?” Megan stepped away from the man. “I bet Winter told him, and of course your brother told you. Which means my sister can keep your secret for months, but she blabs mine the first chance she gets.”

  “Husbands and wives don’t keep secrets from each other. You’ll do well to remember that, lass, when ye find yourself married.”

  Jack smiled. No wonder Megan preferred nerds; the men around here were either issuing orders or lecturing her. Wayne Ferris must have seemed like a breath of fresh air. She had both hands on her hips now, and was looking up at the giant as if she could slice him to shreds with her glare.

  “I’m not ever getting married,” she said, the growl in her own voice loud and clear. “I don’t need a man messing up my life or that of my baby’s. All we need is each other.”

  “That’s telling him, sweetheart.” Jack closed his eyes and snuggled back under the blanket with a smile. If Megan didn’t think she wanted to get married, that was okay with him—for now. He would eventually wear her down.

  “As for the favor you want,” she continued, “I still say Elizabeth is your best bet, but if you insist on me, then I’ll do it. The first time you get all macho, though, it’s over.”

  Jack opened his eyes to see the man pull Megan against his chest in a way that was anything but familial. What in hell had she just promised, that the Sasquatch felt compelled to thank her with a hug? And what was his relation to Megan? A brother-in-law? He was Winter’s husband’s brother, if Jack had heard right.

  And that made Megan fair game in anyone’s book.

  He was the man on TarStone Mountain! That’s where Jack had seen him before. He’d love to have the poaching bastard in the crosshairs of his rifle scope again and send him scurrying behind a rock. A rival for Megan’s affection was the last thing he needed right now.

  Maybe his knee wouldn’t be better in the morning. Maybe he’d be so helpless for the next several days, Megan wouldn’t have the heart to send him home.

  He just had to figure out how to get rid of Camry.

  As if conjuring the devil herself, Jack heard a car speed into the driveway and skid to a stop. A door slammed, and a feminine voice called out, “Kenzie! You’ve come for a visit. How nice.”

  So the hugging poacher was Kenzie Gregor. Jack tossed off his blanket, sat up, and gingerly lowered his feet to the floor. Now that he knew whom he was up against, all he had to do was figure out what the bastard was up to.

  “Shhh,” Megan hissed, lifting her finger to her lips as she moved to block the door. “Wayne’s sleeping.”

  Jack rubbed his face with a heavy sigh. Was she ever going to call him Jack, or was he going to have to change his name?

  “Don’t tell me he’s still here,” Camry said, not even trying to lower her voice. “Kenzie, did you bring your sword?”

  Jack froze in the act of standing up. Sword?

  Gregor gave a belly laugh. “Sorry, I left it at home.” He looked down at Megan, and Jack saw the bastard smile. “Should I run up the mountain and fetch it, lass, and rid ye of your troublesome boyfriend once and for all?”

  “He’s not my boyfriend,” Megan snapped. “And he’s only on the couch because I couldn’t carry him home.”

  Time to end this farce, he supposed. “I’m awake,” Jack called out. “And I don’t know which hurts more, my knee or my wounded feelings.”

  Megan swung open the door and stepped inside but was quickly herded out of the way by Camry. “Liars don’t have feelings,” Camry said, walking directly up to the coffee table, presumably so Jack could better see her scowl. “Game’s up, lover boy. Kenzie’s going to help you home.”

  Jack formed a T with his hands. “Truce. I’ve had less than five hours sleep in the last two days, and every damn one of my muscles ache. And since you’re not the sort of woman who kicks a man when he’s down, could we please stop the salvos until I’m back on my feet?”

  “That’s the sign for time-out, not truce,” Camry said, though her face did redden. “You wave a white flag for a truce.” She set her hands on her hips, not unlike the way Megan often did. “And what makes you think I wouldn’t kick a man when he’s down?”

  Jack gave her his sincerest smile. “Because you’re the sister who’s most like Megan, she told me, even more than her twin, Chelsea.”

  Camry opened her mouth but closed it again without uttering a word. She simply turned and walked away.

  “Kenzie?” Megan said, peering out the still open door. She turned to Camry. “Where’d he go?”

  “Who knows,” Camry said with a negligent wave. “Likely back to his hidey-hole in the forest. Have you ever noticed how uncomfortable he gets indoors?”

  Jack perked up. Kenzie Gregor was a forest hermit?

  How interesting.

  Unless he was a warrior like most of the other men around here, and a shell-shocked veteran who couldn’t handle civilized society anymore. Jack had dealt with a few such lost souls growing up in Medicine Lake. Did Gregor have hopes that Megan would help him come in from the cold?

  Not on my watch, she won’t. Jack leaned back on the couch with a moan and rubbed his knee.

  “Oh, no, you don’t,” Camry said, pointing at the door Megan was closing. “You are hobbling home right now.”

  “Those crutches are worse than ice skates on the packed snow. I nearly broke my neck getting up the walkway.” He turned a pleading gaze on Megan. “I’ll be as quiet as a church mouse. You won’t even know I’m here.”

  Megan looked at her sister. “What can it hurt to let him spend the night, Cam? We’d do no less for a complete stranger.”

  “But he’s not a stranger. He’s the bastard who broke your heart.”

  “To keep her safe,” Jack growled.

  Camry spun toward him. “Safe from what?”

  “Megan didn’t tell you? A man was murdered on the tundra a couple of days before your sister told me she was pregnant. Breaking her heart was the only way I could think of to make her leave.”

  Camry turned to a suddenly silent Megan. “Is that true, Meg?” Not waiting for an answer, she spun back to face Jack. “You didn’t have to crush her heart. You only had to explain your concern.”

  Jack arched an eyebrow. “And knowing your sister, you think she would have just packed up and come home?”

  Camry turned to Megan again, holding her arms out in question. “How come this is the first I’m hearing about this?”

  Megan went
to the woodstove and dropped a piece of wood inside. “I didn’t know the man had been murdered. I thought he’d gotten drunk, fallen in a pond, and drowned.” She faced them both, her expression defensive. “And for all we know, that’s exactly what happened. Wayne’s the only one saying he was murdered.”

  Man-o-man, she really wanted him to be Wayne, didn’t she?

  “Jack has proof,” he told Camry. “You can call the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Edmonton and check it out. They investigated, and they shut down the study the very next week.”

  “It was already shutting down when I left,” Megan defended.

  Camry threw up her hands. “Sorry, sis. If what he’s saying is true, you’re not going to find anyone around here who’d be willing to beat him up for you. Hell, Dad will probably give him a pat on the back.”

  Jack found himself torn between wanting to jump for joy that Greylen MacKeage would take his side, and wanting to run over and hug Megan when he saw her shoulders slump in defeat. But he stayed right were he was, not willing to chance being sent home. Maybe he should work on Camry a bit more, since she seemed to be softening.

  “Did Rose Brewer notice if anything else had been stolen?” he asked while looking around for his crutches.

  “Nothing that she could see. But they must have eaten four cases of candy.” Camry shook her head in amazement. “That’s a lot of sugar for a couple of kids to put down.”

  “How many kids did you actually see running out of the store?” Jack asked. “Megan, where are my crutches?”

  “Under the couch,” she said from the sink, where she was suddenly very busy washing dishes.

  Camry walked to the staircase. “I couldn’t really tell. I just saw them running past you toward the lake. They stayed in a tight pack.”

  “And where did they go then?” he asked.

  Camry shrugged. “Beats me. That’s when the guy stepped out of the shadows and grabbed you from behind.”

  “Did you get a look at him?”

  “No, it was too dark. He was big, though.” She eyed him speculatively. “About the size of our cousin, Robbie MacBain.”