The Army Doctor's New Year's Baby (4 page)

"Daniel,
shall I show you to your room so you can clean up before dinner?"

"Yes. That'll
be great. Thanks."

With quick
strides, Megan headed to the foot of the stairs and slung the strap of Daniel's
snowboard case over her shoulder, leaving him to carry his other two bags. She
led him up the wide stairs, trying to see the place through the eyes of a
stranger.

Discolored
old family portraits lined the walls and the ancient wooden paneling was carved
with Celtic symbols from antiquity.

"That's
the Mackenzie coat of arms, isn't it?" Daniel pointed at a shield above
the front door.

"That's
right. How did you know?"

"You
showed me your brooch last weekend."

Her heart
skipped then jigged at the thought he had remembered such a thing. She silently
reprimanded herself for being silly. It would be so easy to fall into the trap
of reading hidden meaning into things Daniel said and did. That way lay
heartbreak.

Turning onto
the landing that overlooked the entrance hall, she trod along the creaky
floorboards to the end bedroom. She had given him a large room with views from
two sides: over Loch Kinder, and towards the mountains.

She opened
the door and led him in, placing his snowboard case across the wooden arms of a
chair. "I hope you like the room."

"Fantastic."
He dropped his bags and glanced around, his gaze pausing on the four-poster
bed.

Megan's eyes
strayed to the bed she had made up for him with the loving care no normal guest
received. Her cheeks heated, remembering some of her thoughts as she'd smoothed
the sheets.

He wandered
across to check the view of the snowy peaks through the window. "Wow. I
can't wait to get out there on my snowboard."

"Snow
is one thing we have plenty of up here at this time of year."

"Perhaps
you can show me the best slopes sometime? I'll let you try out my
snowboard."

"I
prefer skis." The truth was she had never used a snowboard. Her father
thought that snowboarding was for tearaways. A stupid prejudice, really, since
snowboarding was an Olympic sport. She shrugged. "Maybe I'll give
snowboarding a try. Are you free next weekend?"

Daniel
grinned, his blue eyes glinting with happiness that she felt right down to her
toes. "Absolutely. It's a date!"

The sound of
noisy dogs woke Daniel. He lay staring up at the red fabric canopy of the old
four-poster bed, listening to the commotion outside his window. Voices mingled
with the excited barking. He was certain he heard Megan.

He climbed
out of bed, goose bumps streaking over his bare chest in the chill. Rubbing his
arms, he padded barefoot across the wooden floorboards to the window. A gap
between the curtains gave him a view of the yard below.

Five dogs
frolicked: Duncan's two Westies, a couple of cairn terriers, and a Jack
Russell. Young Fergus dashed around with the dogs while the boy's father stood
chatting with a grizzled old guy and a policeman who leaned back against a
four-wheel drive police vehicle.

To start
with, Daniel couldn't see Megan, although he was certain he'd heard her. Then
she strode into view carrying a tray of steaming mugs that she passed out to
the men. They chatted and laughed, Megan cheerful and relaxed.

This morning
she wore a knee-length tartan skirt and black leather boots, her hair pinned up
with a shiny clip. She waved her expressive hands while she talked, frequently
laughing, angling her head to listen in a way somehow both cute and elegant.
Daniel leaned forward and pressed his nose to the glass. Megan Mackenzie was a
beautiful, unique woman.

It looked as
though the policeman thought so too. The man watched her, especially when she
wasn't looking.

Daniel
shifted, irritated, wishing he could go down there and tell the guy to leave
her alone.

A sigh of
relief whispered between Daniel's lips when the policeman opened his car door.
"That's right, buddy, off you go."

Megan
carried the mugs away on the tray and returned a few moments later wearing a
jacket, her handbag over her arm. She climbed in the passenger seat of the
police cruiser.

"No
way. You're kidding me." Daniel slapped a palm against the window frame in
frustration as the vehicle pulled off. He dashed across his room to the other
window to see the police car take the road around the lake.

Where was
she going with the guy?

Daniel raked
back his hair and blew out a breath. "It doesn't matter. She's out of
bounds."

Yeah, right.
He needed to keep telling himself because it wasn't sinking in.

He was so
deep in thought, a knock on his bedroom door made him jump. Striding across the
room, he wrenched the door open, still irritated.

Duncan stood there already dressed in uniform.

"Huh?"
Daniel had been so busy watching Megan he hadn't thought to check the time.
"Sorry, am I late?" A fine start to his first day working at the army
institute.

"Don't
worry. I'm not planning to leave for another hour. I have a few things to sort
out here. Megan's left your breakfast in the warming oven, but first I need to
show you how the bathroom works."

Still
distracted by what he'd seen, Daniel slung his towel around his neck, grabbed
his wash bag, and followed Duncan along the corridor.

"I saw
a policeman outside."

"That'd
be Lyall. He's police liaison for the Kindrogan Mountain Rescue Team. He's
around here a lot."

"Megan
got in his car." A hint of annoyance crept into Daniel voice.

Duncan cast him a curious look, a slight smile on his lips. "He gives her a lift into
work sometimes. Does it bother you?"

Clenching
his teeth, Daniel shook his head and pushed aside the battery of questions he
wanted to ask. He needed to let this go and concentrate on why he was here.

Duncan opened the bathroom door. An old claw-foot tub sat near the wall, a shower coming
off the faucet. An ancient sink stood under the window. The room reminded him
of his days at boarding school.

"Gosh,
it's cold in here." Duncan thumped the cast iron radiator that looked like
it belonged in a museum. He twisted the taps on the bath. The pipes knocked,
but no water appeared.

"Damn
plumbing is so unreliable. We probably need the whole system upgraded."

Daniel
agreed wholeheartedly, yet refrained from commenting.

"I was
worried this might happen. You'll have to use Meg's bathroom. She won't
mind."

Duncan led Daniel back past his room to the other end of the corridor and down some steps.
Two doors faced each other in this more modern part of the castle. "That's
Meg's bedroom," Duncan said with a gesture, "and this is her
bathroom."

He pushed
open the door and a blissful cloud of fragrant, steamy heat enveloped Daniel.

"The
shower definitely works in here," Duncan said. "I'll see you
downstairs in a minute."

The welcome
warmth seeped into Daniel's chilled body as he glanced around. With a sink,
bath, and shower that had been fitted sometime in living memory, this was a lot
more comfortable.

A bathmat
draped over the side of the bath, a net bag of child's bath toys hung over the
faucet. Megan's toiletries and towels were all neatly arranged. She must be a
tidy person. He loved discovering such details like puzzle pieces he could fit
together to learn who she was.

A small
makeup bag sat on the shelf. He touched his fingertips to the silky fabric,
then picked up a perfume bottle and sniffed. With almost guilty pleasure, he
inhaled the sweet fragrance of Megan.

After the
ball, his jacket had smelled of her perfume. Every time he opened his wardrobe,
he caught a whiff. This last week he had found numerous excuses to look inside
his wardrobe, just so he could breathe in Megan's fragrance.

He draped
his towel over the radiator, stripped off his pajama pants, and stepped into
the shower. The smell of her toiletries lingered. He stood beneath the hot
spray, loath to soap himself with his own shower gel and wipe out her delicate
fragrance.

This was
crazy. He should be focusing on his new posting at the army institute, but he
just wanted the week to be over so he could go skiing with Megan. He had been
here for less than a day and the woman was already taking over his psyche.

***

The crisp
snow crunched beneath Megan's boots as she walked around the Land Rover to take
her skis off the back of the vehicle.

Daniel
joined her to grab his snowboard case. "This is a fantastic spot. I can't
wait to get going." Flashing a grin, he unclipped the molded plastic and
pulled the snowboard out.

He stowed
the case back in the vehicle and wandered away, fitting his goggles over his
hat and zipping up his jacket.

Angus
Stewart, who had worked for Megan's father on Kindrogan Estate since he was
sixteen, handed over her ski poles before slamming the back of the Land Rover
closed.

"You go
careful now, lass. Call me if you get into trouble." He patted the pocket
of his Barbour jacket that contained his phone.

"We'll
be fine, Angus. You know me. I'm always careful."

The old
man's gaze flicked to Daniel, then back. He leaned closer and lowered his
voice. "Just make sure you dinnae let that one lead you astray."

Megan
suppressed a smile as she glanced at Daniel in his frameless mirror goggles and
brightly colored designer ski wear that screamed tourist. Of course, the
snowboard alone was enough to put Angus's back up.

"Text
me if the weather forecast changes," she told him. "If conditions
stay like this, meet us at the bottom in three hours."

"Will
do, lass." Angus touched his cap. With a last suspicious glance at Daniel,
he limped back to the driver's door and climbed in. He backed the vehicle up
and crunched through the snow down the track to Kindrogan.

Megan
snapped her boots into the bindings on her skis and skied over to Daniel. He
stood with his arms akimbo, staring out across the countryside.

"This
is awe-inspiring. I can see why you like it here. Living in London, one tends
to forget we have places like this in the UK."

Megan drew
in a breath of clean mountain air, the cold bite in her lungs giving her a
thrill. Her heart thumped, blood surging, excitement bubbling at the prospect
of a fast downhill run.

Snowy peaks
stretched into the distance as far as the eye could see. She pointed and named
a few of the well-known mountains. "You can see some of the runs at
Glenshee from here."

Daniel
nodded. "Glad we're not there with the crowd. I love off-piste boarding.
The farther out in the backwoods, the better."

Pristine,
unbroken snow lay before them with a fine powder coat. It was a perfect day for
skiing, the sky slightly overcast with patches of blue, and no wind.

"Okay,
you ready?" She glanced at Daniel. She had to discipline herself not to
gaze at him too much. He was so gorgeous, she could happily stare at him all
day. He'd wiped some white sun block over his lips. It shouldn't be sexy, but
it was.

He strapped
his back boot into the binding on his snowboard and skated forward to the lip
of the plateau and stared down the fall line while he buckled in his front
foot. She had no doubt he'd give her a run for her money if they raced, but
that wasn't safe off-piste.

"I know
the country, so I'll lead."

He gave her
a teasing look, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "You afraid I'll beat
you if we race?"

"No.
I'm afraid you'll smack into a rock or go over the edge of a precipice."

"Don't
worry. I have no intention of smacking anything. I'll follow wherever you lead,
sweetheart." The teasing note in his voice brought a flush to her cheeks.
She might believe he was flirting with her if she didn't know better.

She pulled
down her goggles and Daniel did the same. Then she poled forward and dropped
over the lip, quickly picking up speed down the slope. Cold air whipped her
face, stealing her breath until she acclimatized. She flew through the air,
rocks and trees a blur as she passed, a heady rush of excitement mixed with a
hint of danger.

This was
when she felt truly alive, in the countryside she loved, the cold air in her
face, the snow singing beneath her as she zigzagged down the hill, carving out
a path with her skis. Sharing this experience with Daniel was wonderful. From
the corner of her eye she saw him streaking along beside her, jumping over
bumps, as good on his board as she was on her skis.

She rolled
her knees into a sweeping turn and pulled up. Daniel slewed around, spraying
her with snow that rattled off her jacket and trousers as he came to a dramatic
halt at her side.

Such a
show-off!

"Looking
good, Meg." Daniel raised his eyebrows and nodded with approval.
"You're right at home on those skis."

She blushed
under his praise. Wintry sun broke through the clouds, beaming down on them.
Everything seemed brighter, the pines greener, the snow whiter, the smell of
the air cleaner as if being with Daniel sharpened her senses.

"You're
not too shabby yourself."

He gave a
theatrical bow and she laughed.

"I
stopped to show you the view." Megan pointed at the vista of Kindrogan
Castle below, the river a gleaming ribbon of silver meandering along the valley
between rolling hills to the small village of Kinder Vale in the distance.

"Wow!
That's so cool." Daniel pulled his phone from his pocket and snapped some
photos. "I must send a picture to my brother."

They skied
on, slaloming between stands of trees and rocky outcrops. Daniel jumped off a
small drop, whooping with excitement as he flew through the air to land in a
burst of snow. The next time they reached a plateau Daniel shot past her,
angling the side of his board into the snow, to circle to a halt. She pulled up
as well.

"Why've
we stopped?" she asked.

"This
is the perfect place for your snowboarding lesson."

"Oh."
Megan wasn't sure she wanted to fall over in front of him.

He
unfastened his bindings and Megan did the same, upending her skis in the snow
so they didn't slide away.

He beckoned
her closer, a mischievous smile on his lips. "Now, Miss Mackenzie, tell me
what you know about snowboarding?"

"Nothing,
really."

"Ah, a
snowboarding virgin. My favorite kind."

Megan's
embarrassed laugh burst across the hushed mountainside.

He gave her
some basic instruction and crouched to strap her boots into the bindings.
"The stance won't be quite right for you as you're shorter than me, but
it's okay for a start."

Balance
wasn't a problem for her, but it was so weird having both feet fixed to one
thing. The principle of changing direction was the same as for skis, carving
the edge of the board in the snow, but she had to tilt her body differently to
achieve that. She glided forward, angled her hips for a turn, and landed on her
backside in the snow.

"I know
why men like snowboards. They're the motorbikes of the snow sports world,"
she said with a hint of sarcasm in her tone.

Daniel
laughed. "Good analogy." He gave her his arm and helped her back on
her feet.

He placed a
hand on either side of her waist to steady her. "Bend your knees and angle
your hips, like this," he said, demonstrating the movement. Megan
attempted to copy him and he nodded.

"Okay,
move off and try again."

Megan angled
across the gentle slope, shifting her weight to tilt the board.

"Lean
left," Daniel shouted. Megan tried, but she felt herself falling, then
Daniel's arm swept under her back, breaking her fall. Laughing, they landed in
a heap together in the soft snow. Pulse racing, Megan grabbed a breath as tiny
cold ice crystals stung her hot cheeks.

"Don't
you know your left from your right?" Daniel said. "You leaned the
wrong way."

Daniel was
so close, lying in the snow at her side. He boosted himself on an elbow and
stared down at her. Her normally sharp brain seemed to be full of cotton wool.
It was highly possible she had muddled up left and right. She couldn't seem to
think with him this close.