by Anna Durand
"Good."
"Hard to believe you're the same woman who let me have my way with you five minutes after we met."
"I want your relatives to like me." I hunched my shoulders. "Especially your mother."
"Relax. She likes you."
"Sure hope so."
He moved his hand up and down my belly. "Once the shock has worn off, my mother will be falling in love with you. She already called you gràidh."
That was true, and Aileen had been much friendlier after she recovered from being told I was eleven years older than Evan.
While he made his way to the bathroom down the hall, I walked to the window and gazed out at the darkening sky and the wooded landscape. I glimpsed the figures of the security men patrolling the property. A different kind of shiver, the cold kind, raised the hairs on my arms whenever I thought about the situation with Evan's blackmailers. Tomorrow, I would talk to Evan more about that and convince him we needed more than a security detail. We needed serious help.
Chapter Thirty
Evan
Three days after introducing Keely to my mother, the three of us drove from Ballachulish to Loch Fairbairn. My mother and Keely had become friends, fortunately, but I still had the rest of my family to deal with. We pulled into the driveway of Iain and Rae's home half an hour later, and I expected to see only Iain, Rae, Malina, and the baby. Instead, we walked into a full family reunion with seven of my cousins, their spouses, and their children along with my uncles Angus and Niall and their wives. My extended family had, of course, turned this into a bloody family reunion.
Iain was behind this. I was certain of that.
My plans for easing Keely into the MacTaggart clan evaporated the instant we stepped out of the car.
First, Aidan whooped and shouted, "Evan's finally caught a girl!"
"She caught him is more like it," Iain shouted in response. "Must've needed a bear trap to hold him down."
The crowd descended on us, an army of well-meaning but loud and boisterous Scots determined to welcome another American to the family. Keely wasn't quite family, not yet, but my cousins and aunts and uncles treated her like she was. Somehow, Keely managed to avoid being trampled or suffocated by too many fierce hugs. The rapid-fire introductions must've left her confused, but she kept up a calm and composed demeanor throughout the assault of the MacTaggarts.
I loved my family, but honestly, they all needed tranquilizers.
My thirteen-year-old cousin Malina stayed behind the others, shy as always when meeting new people. Malina was relatively new to the family since Iain hadn't known he had a daughter until last year. When I'd first met the lassie, she'd stared at me with eyes so large I thought they'd pop out of her head. Since then, she'd gotten used to me and I had trouble stopping her from blethering at me about my lack of a girlfriend.
Sometimes I swore Iain was a closet sadist and left me alone with his inquisitive daughter purely to torture me.
When Malina finally approached us, after the others had retreated, she bit her lip and stared at Keely the way she'd stared at me on our first meeting.
"Hi," Keely said, offering Malina her hand. "I'm Keely O'Shea. Evan tells me you're Malina. It's very nice to meet you."
Malina hesitated, then took Keely's hand. "Nice to meet you too."
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"No need to be shy," I told her. "Keely doesn't bite."
She wouldn't bite Malina, at least. As for me, I enjoyed the occasional nip from Keely.
"It's okay," Keely said. "I know how overwhelming it can be to meet new people. Malina and I can chat later when it's quieter."
My cousin nodded.
Keely touched Malina's arm. "I hear there's a big kitchen. Maybe us girls can whip up something gooey and delicious later with your mom's help. I love chocolate. How about you?"
"I love chocolate too."
"Bet your kitchen has all the coolest gadgets."
"Yeah, it does." Malina grinned. "We have the hugest mixer you've ever seen. Dad says it's a MacTaggart-size model."
"Can't wait to see it." She glanced my way. "Is the mixer as tall as Evan?"
Malina pretended to size me up. "Not quite, but it is pretty huge."
I half listened while Malina and Keely discussed what type of "gooey" dessert they would bake later, but I had trouble concentrating on their words. I couldn't stop looking at Keely, marveling at the way she had charmed my entire family including the shyest member. I'd fallen under her spell in Paris, but today she had my cousins and my mother enthralled too.
Keely put an arm around Malina, and they followed the group into the backyard. I trailed behind them, partly so I could admire Keely's erse and partly to give the two lasses time and space to get acquainted. I wanted my family to love Keely. I'd never introduced a woman to any of them, never talked about the women in my life because all I did was have sex with them. I had a real woman in my life, and I planned to keep her.
Malina said something that made Keely laugh. Her eyes sparkled in the sunshine like brilliant green jewels, their brightness matching her expression. When she tipped her head back, laughing harder, her hair spilled down her back.
She was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.
I rubbed at my chest with the heel of my hand. My chest felt tight, constricted by an emotion I'd never experienced before. I rubbed harder, struggling to name this alien feeling. I went stone still when I realized what it was.
Joy.
Most people smiled when they felt this way, but I couldn't move any of my muscles, not even the ones in my face. I stayed paralyzed, watching Malina and Keely walk away, until a large hand landed on my shoulder.
"Evan, laddie, you look stunned," Iain said. "Never been in love before, have you?"
"Is that any of your business?"
"Aye, it is. My daughter says I'm to be your fairy god-cousin who helps you find your happily ever after."
"I don't need any kind of fairy god-thing."
He clapped my shoulder. "No, you've found your true love all on your own."
True love? I had told Keely I believed fate brought us together. I supposed true love wasn't out of the question either.
"Rae was right," Iain said. "She told me you'd find your woman soon enough, and you did."
Yes, I remembered what Rae had said several months ago. One day you'll fall in love and then everything will make sense. I'd fallen for Keely, but I was still waiting for the moment when everything would make sense.
I also remembered what Iain had once told me. When you meet the right woman, you'll gladly do anything to make her smile. That was true. I loved making Keely smile. If my cousin had been right, his wife might've been right too. How "everything" would become clear, I had no idea.
"We'd best catch up," Iain said, "or we'll miss the big moment."
"I don't want a big moment, Iain. This was supposed to be a quiet meeting."
"Ah, but you know the MacTaggarts." He winked. "We never do anything small or quiet."
His reminder of that fact triggered a sinking feeling in my gut. "What have you lot been plotting?"
"Come and see."
Iain kept his hand on my shoulder while we trudged behind the house to the expansive yard and flower garden. My cousin had bought this overly large house last year when he decided to hire a private investigator to find Rae, his lost love. She loved the house. I'd bought Keely a house and she wouldn't accept it. My cousin Rory had given up his medieval castle and bought a smaller home for his wife. Which was it, then? Large house or smaller house? Maybe I shouldn't look to my cousins for all the answers, but I had no bloody idea how to manage a relationship with a woman.
"Stop thinking," Iain said. "This is a party."
"Where are the bairns? I see their parents, but not the burping, drooling babies."
"You'll like babies when you have one." Iain tilted his head to indicate the house. "Mrs. Darroch and
Tavish are caring for them inside with the help of the aunts and my mother. They're taking turns."
"How did you convince Tavish the gardener to play nursemaid to bairns?"
Iain smiled knowingly. "If Mrs. Darroch is there, Tavish will be too. She's a widow, you know, and very bonnie."
And Tavish Brody was a bachelor. I supposed that solved the mystery.
I surveyed the area until I spotted Keely. She and my mother stood near the flower-covered arbor in the garden talking to the American Wives Club—otherwise known as the wives of Lachlan, Rory, Aidan, and Iain. Jamie's husband, Gavin Douglas, had been named an honorary member of the club and the Original American Husband. So far, he was the only American husband in the family. The husbands of the American Wives Club loitered a short distance away talking to my cousins Catriona and Fiona while my uncles Angus and Niall talked to Matthew Buchanan and his two brothers.
Buchanan? I threw Iain a sideways glance. "Why are the Buchanans here?"
"For shinty," Iain said as if I'd asked a ridiculous question.
"Shinty? Iain, you know I hate sports."
"This isn't a competition. It's a friendly match."
Yes, I knew how friendly matches between the MacTaggarts and the Buchanans went. Lachlan would end up wrestling with Matthew, and they'd both be reprimanded for violating the rules. Rory and Aidan would join in along with Matthew's brothers, and soon the friendly match would become a friendly brawl.
I had to talk Iain out of this nonsense. "You need twelve men for a shinty match. I count four of you, five if you count Gavin Douglas. I can't play since I'm bloody awful at it."
My cousin squeezed my shoulder. "Friendly match. Do try to grasp the concept, Evan. This is for fun and to impress our lasses."
I doubted Keely would be impressed by watching me fall on my erse repeatedly and whack myself in the shin several times.
"Even if you drag me onto the field," I said, "we still don't have enough men."
"The official rules say we need at least eight but not more than twelve."
"You have six if you're conscripting me."
"Oh ye of little faith." Iain gave me a light push, urging me to approach the crowd. "Have you forgotten how many cousins we've got? It was easy to find a few more who are willing to show up simply to watch Evan MacTaggart play his first shinty match in nine years."
I didn't play because I hated the game. All that running and swinging the caman. The MacTaggarts and the Buchanans played dirty too. If I were going to play dirty at anything, it would be in the bedroom with Keely.
My gaze traveled to her like a magnetic pull had drawn it there.
She spotted me and waved, smiling broadly. The expression lit up her entire face, her entire being, and my chest tightened again. I waved to her, though my smile wasn't as bright or as broad as hers. At least that was what I thought.
Iain chuckled. "You're grinning at Keely like a laddie who's just seen his first naked lass. Told you one day you'd meet a woman who would make you want to do anything to see her smile."
She had made me smile, apparently like a euphoric idiot.
But I would do anything to see that glorious smile on her face again.
"All right," I said, half groaning the words. "I'll join your friendly match. Donnae blame me if we lose. You know how awful I am at sports."
"Relax. Have fun."
Aidan threw his arms up and shouted, "They're here! The game is on!"
Four more of my cousins, ones I hadn't seen since Iain's wedding last year, jogged around the end of the house toward us. Among them, I spotted Logan, but his sisters had not arrived yet. They hated shinty as much as I did, so they might not come at all.
Aye, Logan and the others gave us plenty of men for a shinty match.
Was that a good thing?
Keely sashayed up to me, her hips swaying and her breasts bouncing just enough to make me smile. Through a miracle of willpower, I resisted the impulse to throw her over my shoulder and cart her into the house to find the nearest private room where I could make her come.
"Your laddie's worried," Iain said to her. "He thinks he can't handle a shinty match. I'm sure all he needs is a wee bit of womanly inspiration."
My cousin walked away, heading for his wife and the other American Wives.
Keely sidled up to me, slipping her arm around mine. "Do you need womanly inspiration?"
"That sounds like a sexist comment. You'd better file a harassment claim against Iain."
"Uh-uh-uh. You can't quip your way out of this one." She raised my arm and ducked under it, placing my arm around her shoulders. "Come on, you're a tough guy. You can handle a piddly little game of…whatever it is."
"Shinty. I told you about it before. We have sticks called camans that we use to bash the ball around."
"Erica told me these matches usually end in a brawl, but nobody gets hurt."
Lachlan's wife had been the first American in the family, but she'd only seen a few shinty matches. The MacTaggarts had been busy with other things and hadn't pulled together a team in quite a while. I'd hoped my cousins had given up on the idea of getting me into the sport again.
"Why don't you like shinty?" Keely asked.
"I told you I'm terrible at sports."
"But this is for fun, to spend time with your cousins."
"The last time I played shinty, I wound up with more bruises than the entire opposing team combined. I fell repeatedly." I winced, remembering the doomed match. "We lost, and it was my fault."
"Baloney." She reached up to lay a hand on my cheek. "You like to blame yourself for everything, but you are not responsible for every wrong thing that goes down in the entire universe. Your cousins want to hang out with you."
"They'll lose the match if I'm in it."
"What happened to the man who takes big risks without knowing whether they'll pan out?" She moved in front of me and linked her hands behind my neck. "Take a risk, Evan. Have fun with your cousins, win or lose, and make them happy."
"Better write my name on my shirt in case I'm battered beyond recognition after this."
Keely rose onto her toes to peer at me. "That won't be so bad. You'll have me to tend your wounds. I'll kiss them and lick them and make sure you feel all better."
My cock liked the idea, but I wasn't sure an erection was appropriate during a shinty match.
I cupped her erse. "All right, you've convinced me."
"Good." She waved to Iain. "Evan's in."
My cousin grinned. "Good show, Keely. You're an angel and a miracle worker."
I tried to frown at Keely but couldn't manage to be annoyed. "Did Iain get you to talk me into this?"
"He mentioned they wanted to play shinty today and that you haven't been willing to participate for nine years." She clucked her tongue. "Really, Evan, you need to take more risks."
"Cheeky woman." I peeled her away from my body reluctantly and walked toward my cousins. "If we lose the match, don't blame me. I warned you."
Lachlan punched my arm. "Take it easy, laddie. We haven't hanged anyone for losing a match in at least fifteen years."
"And Rory survived it," Aidan said with a smirk.
Rory rolled his eyes. "Don't listen to them. My brothers are bloody liars."
I looked back at Keely.
Surrounded by the American Wives Club, she pumped her fists in the air. "Go, Evan!"
I could hardly believe she was the same woman who had walked into my office dressed like a librarian and behaving like a proper businesswoman, the woman who had reprimanded me for flirting and told me to behave. Pumping her fists and grinning at me, she looked younger and more beautiful than ever.
"Blame Emery for that," Rory said. "My wife insisted on initiating Keely into the American Wives Club, which means agreeing to be silly and loudly supportive of their men."
"Keely is not my wife."
"Not yet." Rory's smile was enigmatic as if he
knew the future.
Aidan smacked my arm. "Donnae worry. If ye marry her and she leaves you, Rory can handle the divorce. Maybe you should get him on retainer today."
"I haven't even proposed to her. It's rather early to be hiring a solicitor."
Fortunately, my cousins left to set up the playing field in the open area beyond the garden, and I was left alone. Keely had won over all my relatives—and the Buchanans too, considering the way they kept smiling and waving at her. Were they being overly friendly? Maybe I should go over there and remind them Keely belonged to me.
What sort of jealous eejit had I become?
I forced myself to look away from the friendly Buchanans, instead gazing out across the fields that surrounded Iain and Rae's home. Sheep grazed in one of several fenced areas. I turned around to look past the house toward the drive where everyone had parked their cars.
A beige sedan was parked among the throng.
The security detail. I'd forgotten about them for a while. The men would be patrolling the area, discreetly enough not to disturb our family gathering but carefully enough to keep Keely and my mother safe. I hated that they needed protection. I hated that I was the reason they needed it.
Fifteen minutes later, after talking to my uncles and Gavin Douglas, I followed the crowd out to the makeshift shinty field.
Iain handed me a blue sash. "Suit up, Evan."
"We used to have blue shirts."
He chuckled. "It's shirts off for this match. Ladies' choice."
"The women want us to play without shirts? Why?"
"If you think about it, I'm sure you can figure out why."
My cousin left to give instructions to our goalie, who was another of my cousins.
Keely rushed up to me and kissed my cheek. "Good luck."
I held up the blue sash. "I'm meant to take off my shirt and wear this."
"Yes, I know. Emery suggested the idea, and the rest of us agreed wholeheartedly."
"Why would you do that?"
"Sweaty, shirtless men on display. What red-blooded woman can say no to that?" She took hold of my shirt's hem and slid it up, her fingers grazing my skin. "Don't worry. The only shirtless man I'll be drooling over is you."