Highland Fling (4 page)

“There you go again! You presume to know me and my family, yet you know nothing. You weren't even here at the time. You were down in Glasgow at your posh school!”

“And every time I was home, you were holidaying with your mother in Glasgow, allowing her to tell you what an evil man your dad was. He was only trying to earn a living. She made you hate the very place where you grew up and the man who would have laid his life on the line to protect you. What kind of mother does that to her daughter?”

“Would you stop having a go at my mum? It's none of your damned business.”

“It is when I see my friend suffering for something that his ex-wife did. And then his daughter comes home after five years and looks as if she is going to give him a hard time for trying to find a bit of happiness.”

“Since when were you and my dad so chummy, anyway?”

“Since I was practically his apprentice for a year after agricultural college. He trained me in all aspects of croft life, something which academic study could never have taught me. He was a hard task master but he was fair, and I learned more after my first two weeks on this croft than I did in four years of college in Edinburgh.”

Brodie rose from his seat and walked over to Fiona.

“He didn't have an affair with my mum and he thinks you hate him. Give the guy a break.”

Fiona stood up and glared at Brodie. When he also stood up, he caught her around the waist and pulled her towards him. His lips were on hers before she had the chance to protest. His mouth was soft and wet and his stubbly chin scratched against her cheek.

After what had happened in the barn, it would have been easy to allow the kiss to continue and take him up to her bed. But she was mad. He had no place interfering in her affairs like this. She placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed him away.

Fiona fled from the kitchen, running up the stairs and into her bedroom. She had just pulled down the zip of her dress as far as her waist when she remembered that she had not told Brodie where he would be sleeping. Grabbing her dressing gown and throwing it over her shoulders, she marched out into the hall, tying the robe just in time to see Brodie plodding dejectedly up the stairs.

“Your room is just...”

He was beside her now and leaning close.

“I know. I've slept here many more times than you have in the past 10 years.” Fiona bit her lip. He wasn't going to let her lack of visits go. She sighed and turned to go back into her bedroom, but he followed her.

“Please, Brodie, I don't want any more arguments.”

Brodie moved behind her and slipped his arms around her waist. He touched his lips lightly to her neck.

“Neither do I. I wanted to wish you goodnight properly.”

“I think this has been a terrible mistake. We need to stop it.” But Brodie had already slipped his hand inside her dressing gown and found one erect nipple through the lace of her bra. His touch sent shards of desire down to her core and she wanted to surrender to him, but she would not allow herself. Despite the fact her body was screaming for her to whirl around and kiss the Laird's son, she petulantly pulled his hand away and faced him. “Good night, Brodie.”

He raised his hands in surrender and backed away.

“Your call. I'll see you tomorrow. Besides, I have the barn to think about. That will give me sweet dreams.”

“Please just stay away from me while I'm here. I don't want to see you again.”

“Is this because I was honest with you? Are you incapable of dealing with the truth, Fee?”

“Just get out.”

Brodie turned around and left without a word or a backward glance. She sat down on her bed and pulled her dressing gown tighter at the chest. Her mind strayed back to the barn. It had been amazing. Her body responded to the memories. Groaning, she shook her head to erase the thoughts and got ready for bed.

Chapter 3

When Fiona awoke the next morning, it took a few seconds for her to remember where she was. Instead of the noise of city traffic, she heard the bleating of sheep and the lowing of cows. As the sun blazed in the window, she stretched and rubbed her eyes.

The clock showed her that it was just after eight in the morning, and while that was early for a city dweller, she knew the rest of the household would have been up and working at five o'clock. She grimaced slightly as she rolled out of bed. Bella and her dad would tease her mercilessly for being a lazy city girl.

Twenty minutes later, Fiona entered the kitchen wearing shorts and a t-shirt, her hair still wet from her hasty shower.

“Morning, sleepy head,” Bella said cheerily. “Would you like some breakfast?”

“I'll get it. I just want some toast anyway.”

“You should have some sausages, bacon, eggs and potato scone. It'll put some meat on your bones.”

“Oh Bella, believe me, there is plenty of meat on my bones. If anything, I need to lose some weight.”

“Nonsense. Young Brodie seems to think you're perfect just as you are. He couldn't take his eyes off you last night.”

Fiona scowled but didn't say anything. She sat down with her buttered toast and a cup of coffee. As she took a few bites, the dark-haired matronly woman bustled around, removing scones from the oven and stirring a big pot of soup on the stove.

“Bella? Are you and my dad happy?”

Bella turned and looked at her, the older woman's blue eyes wide with surprise.

“Of course we are. We wouldn't be together if we weren’t happy.”

Fiona nodded and took another bite of her toast. Bella started to load the dishwasher. By the time she was finished, Fiona was standing next to the machine, holding out her plate and mug for Bella to load.

“Do you know where my dad is now?”

“He's up at the top field. He'll be back in about an hour.”

“I want to speak to him. The walk will do me good.”

Bella simply nodded and smiled.

~* * *~

Fiona crested the hill close to the top field. She spotted her dad kneeling over a ewe inspecting its leg. He turned his head as she approached.

“Dad, did you have an affair with the Lady Laird when I was twelve?” She had seen no reason to skip round the issue—she needed to know.

Her father turned his attention back to the sheep and soothed the obviously distressed animal. He was silent and his daughter was unsure whether he was formulating an answer or refusing to answer her question.

“Morag MacNeil and I have never had sexual intercourse,” he stated firmly.

“Mum said you did and that was the reason she left you. Why would she say that if it was not true?”

Her dad sighed and stared out over the fields to the sea in the distance.

“That's something you'll have to take up with your mother.”

“Did you tell her you would kill both of us if she took me to Glasgow?”

Her dad jerked, a look of horror on his face.

“Kill you? Why on earth would I kill you, or even threaten to kill you? She told me she was not taking you. Something to do with not having a big enough flat and education being better in rural schools. She even used to tell me she couldn't take you for six weeks in the summer holidays but I insisted on it so that you could have a proper relationship. A girl needs her mother. You were growing up. I didn't know how to explain periods to you and I sure knew nothing about buying bras.”

“Bella told me about periods. And Bella took me to Inverness on a shopping trip to get me fitted for my first bra. Mum never asked about these things.” Fee's head was buzzing. All the things she had taken for granted and believed about her father and mother had been turned upside down. She had given him such a hard time during her teenage years and had practically ignored him for the past ten years, though she had never stopped loving him.

“I think this poor ewe is going to have to be put down,” her dad said, changing the subject suddenly. Fiona looked down at the animal, which was still clearly distressed.

“Her leg seems to be broken.”

Fiona knelt down beside her father and inspected the animal's limb. It was definitely broken and the fracture needed to be reduced. She heard footsteps behind her.

“I can't get hold of the vet. I went down to the house and Bella told me that Fee was up here and she gave me these. She thought we might need them.”

Brodie was standing holding out a small piece of wood and a couple of bandages.

“Bella is obviously a mind reader. OK, Brodie, get around the other side and hold her down. Dad, you need to speak soothingly to her and hold her down too. This is going to really hurt her, but it has to be done.”

The men did their appointed jobs and Fiona quickly pulled on the sheep's leg, reducing the fracture and putting the two parts of the bone back together. The ewe made a terrible noise as the bones clicked back. Fiona hadn’t even realised that sheep were able to make such a noise. She may have grown up in a farming community but the bulk of her work with animals had been with the household pets she tended at her Glasgow practice. She quickly splinted and bandaged the leg, checking it was fully secure before petting the injured animal.

“You need to get her down to the croft house. Keep her in a small enclosed area with plenty to eat and drink so she doesn't need to get up. I'll fix it more permanently later. That'll have been really traumatic for her,” said Fiona.

“Good job,” said Brodie, smiling genuinely at her.

“I need to pay you,” said her father.

“Dad!” she chastised. “I wouldn't hear of it. Anyway, free bed and board for two weeks should easily cover it. I'd better get back. See you later, Brodie.”

She had been able to put all she had just learned out of her head while dealing with the sheep and having her 'vet's head' on, but now just looking at her father and Brodie made her feel shame and anger at her mother. As she hurried away, she heard her father talking to Brodie.

“Don't worry, lad. She'll come round. I have a feeling she'll be visiting more often now. Not that I wanted her to know but I guess it was time.”

She didn't hear Brodie's reply and could see nothing through the tears that now blurred her vision. Her concern for the ewe had stopped her from feeling the hurt of her mother's betrayal and lies, but now that she could think about it, it was like a knife to her heart. She had wasted years blaming her father for something he had not done.

She ran as fast as she could down the path to the croft house, bursting through the door and straight into Bella's waiting arms.

Chapter 4

The vestibule of Kilrigh church was cool and dark after the warmth of the bright summer day. The old hallway smelled slightly damp and caused Fiona to shiver as she stood next to Sarah, who looked like she was about to throw up.

“It's only the rehearsal. If you’re this nervous now, I worry about how you’ll be on Saturday.”

Sarah just glared at her bridesmaid. It was two days since she had tended to the broken leg of the sheep on the croft – two days since she had watched Brodie MacNeil’s tight buns encased in a pair of jeans when he had moved to help her father restrain the animal. They both turned as the door to the church opened and Brodie rushed through the door.

“Sorry, Sarah,” he breathed. “I had an emergency at Home Farm. It's fine now and I promise I won't be late on Saturday.”

Sarah laughed. “You know I'll chop your bits off if you are,” she warned.

“That would be a disaster for the women of Kilrigh.” He winked at Sarah before giving Fiona a meaningful look. Then he opened the door into the main sanctuary and went inside.

“What's he doing here?” the bridesmaid hissed to the bride.

“He's the best man.”

“What? But that means at the reception I have to dance with him.”

“You were dancing extremely well with him the night of the Highland Games. It was quite a show the pair of you put on. What happened after?”

“Nothing.”

“I doubt that. Did you and he do the naked rumba?”

“More like the semi-naked salsa,” she admitted, “but I'm not talking about it or describing it to you inside a church, if you don't mind.”

“Fine by me. He's nice. You should grab him while you can.” It seemed that everyone had an opinion about whether she and Brodie should get together. It was something she had always detested about living in a small community. Everyone was in everyone else’s business. If she wasn’t careful, she could find herself pressured into a relationship.

At that moment, Sarah's father stepped through the door of the church and Fiona breathed a sigh of relief at being interrupted before Sarah could give her any more advice.

“Ready?” he asked. Fiona smiled at the pride that she could see painted on the older man's face. Sarah nodded and the wedding rehearsal began.

~* * *~

The sun was getting lower in the sky and Fiona had to shade her eyes to see the road ahead. Earlier she had chosen to walk down to the church in the village. The exercise and fresh air she’d gotten since arriving on Kilrigh had been like a balm to her wounded soul. Now she strolled home in the late afternoon sun, looking at the craggy hills in the distance and considering the idea of packing a lunch sometime next week and going for a hill walk.

The rehearsal had gone well and she was quite certain nothing would go wrong on Saturday. She was wondering what entertainment Wednesday evening TV would provide, when a vehicle ground to a halt behind her. She jumped off the road, up onto the grass verge to allow the large Land Rover to go by her. But it came alongside her and stopped. Brodie climbed out of the driver's seat and grinned at her.

“Hop in and I'll give you a lift home.”

“I don't need a lift.”

“I know, but I'm being polite. Besides, I want to resume our fling.”

“Well, I don't. Leave me alone, Brodie.”

“No. Get in now or I'll pick you up and put you in. We need to talk.”

“I'd like to see you try.”

Brodie caught her arm, lowered his shoulder and picked her up in a fireman's lift.

“Put me down, you brute!” she cried out, attempting to thump him on the back. She found herself deposited on the passenger's seat and the door shut. As he got back into the driver's seat, Fiona turned to her unwanted companion. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”