What Lies Between (32 page)

She nodded. “You go with him. He’ll need you there.”

“Okay, then. I’ll call you as soon as they tell me how he is.”

Anna took my hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “It will be fine. It will all be fine.”

Her calm demeanor steadied my nerves. If she could be this calm and sure about her son, things must be all right.

A doctor and nurse met the emergency transport at the MacKinnon Memorial Hospital near Broadford. They whisked Ben away. Another nurse pointed me to the waiting room.

I chugged down cup after cup of instant coffee and paced the linoleum floor, jittery from the caffeine and dawning clarity that my world lay in shambles. I hoped it was some kind of good omen that Ben was brought to a hospital named for a MacKinnon. I prayed for him to be okay, having no idea who I was talking to.

The doctor’s voice woke me from my dazed thoughts. “We’ve stitched him up and he’s conscious and responsive now. I want to keep him overnight, but if all goes well—and we expect it will—you can take him home in the morning.”

“In the morning? That’s great. He’s going to be okay.” I let out a long exhale of relief. “Can I see him?”

“Of course, follow me.”

I entered Ben’s room and he tried to offer a smile, but it only appeared tortured. He looked like he’d been in a brutal fight; one side of his face was swollen and mottled; he would have some hefty bruises.

“How are you feeling?” I asked.

“I’m fine. What a way to get out of singing in front of all those people.” His eyes twinkled at his own lame humor.

I couldn’t help but laugh in relief. “Pretty crazy night.”

“People will definitely talk about it. Glenbroch will get lots of publicity.”

“Right. All the kind it doesn’t need.” My mind seized with trepidation at the magnitude of the loss waiting for me back home. “They say you can go home in the morning.”

“Yes, but how? The doctor said you came with me in the ambulance.”

“Your mother and father are coming in the morning. They’ll take us back.”

He smiled then let out a moan of pain. “That should be a lovely time for all.”

My worry about his recovery eased up. “You’re clearly going to be fine.”

“Aye, fine enough to annoy you, as usual.”

“I’ll be right back, need to use the restroom,” I said, closing myself in. I needed to be out of his sight for a moment. I ran the hot and cold on high and covered my mouth to smother the sobs escaping my exhausted and relieved body. In one night, I’d nearly lost everything. And I hadn’t known I had everything.

Until now.

“Ben, you’re staying with us until you are fully recovered,” Anna said, turning in the passenger seat to face her son.

“Mum, I am most definitely not. I am fine and I’m staying in my own cottage.”

“You should be taking it easy for a few days. That’s what the doctor said, and that’s what is going to happen.”

“Leave him be, Anna,” John said, not taking his attention from the road as he drove back from Broadford.

“I will not have him over in that cottage with no one to look after him,” Anna insisted. “You’re staying at the house, Ben. Ellie, you probably would welcome your privacy. You will stay at Ben’s cottage.”

“What does she need to stay at Ben’s cottage for?” John asked.

“John MacIver, keep your mind on the road and not on other people’s business,” Anna said. “Ellie, we’ll sort out the cottage so you’ll be comfortable. I expect you to stay until Glenbroch is repaired. Ben, you’ll have your old room at the house.”

Ben and I looked at each other. His eyes sparkled with silent laughter. No use fighting Anna MacIver. She was the quietest and most pleasant dictator I’d ever been happy to give in to.

“She’s right, Ellie. The cottage is the perfect place for you to stay until you can move back home,” Ben said.

“Yes, I suppose that makes sense,” I said, surprised to hear words of agreement spring from my mouth.

John’s eyes flicked up to the rearview mirror and caught mine. We both looked away. An awkward silence fell across the car.

Anna broke it about a mile later. “Ben, when you get to the house, you get straight in bed.”

Ben’s eyes rolled. “I’ll do what I want. I’m nae five years old anymore, Mum.”

“Ben, respect your mother.” John’s eyes were stern in the mirror.

Ben lowered his voice, leaned over to whisper to me. “I’ll be mad before this is over. I may have to break out of jail and get myself down to the cottage for a kip at least once a day.”

We both laughed as we leaned against each other on the bench seat. “Besides grabbing some actual rest, it will help my recovery to see you as well, therapy, like,” he said.

“Right, therapy, like,” I teased, and then mumbled to myself, “Everything has an upside.”

Ben had hearing like Jazz, could pick up the slightest sound.

“You think so? What would the upside of a tree crashing into your house be just now?”

I grimaced, my heart heavy once again at the thought of Glenbroch. “I’ll have to get back to you on that.”

Four days later, I parked the Beast in front of the steading, steeling myself for my meeting with Ryan. He would have the news I’d been waiting for but probably didn’t want to hear.

“Ryan. How is it going?” I asked, trying to sound casual, but desperately hoping for positive news.

“Not looking good. The tree took out the roof and the second level, which collapsed onto the main level. When the tree came down, it took out a relatively small section but more of the house gave way from the structural damage. Our repairs need to be thorough and we’ll have to rebuild a larger portion of the house than anticipated. Fortunately, in the renovation, we’d updated the systems. It will be new to new.”

“Can you do it then?” I held my breath, having a feeling it wasn’t going to be the answer I needed.

“Overall the amount of work is more than my crew can manage given I was down to a skeleton team finishing the renovation. My guys are committed to other jobs, Ellie. I can’t pull all of them to come back here.” He fidgeted with the hat he held in his hand. “Repairs will be extensive. I don’t see how we can get you open in time for high season even if we doubled up. I’m guessing you would have to run three full crews around the clock to come close. And then I’m not sure if you would get through the inspections in time.”

I pressed my hand against the mantle to steady myself. “Ryan, Glenbroch has to open on time.”

He glanced down at his boots. “I know, and I’m sorry. I wish I could help you. I’ll have my guys clean up the debris and do as much as they can while I can spare them.”

“Thanks, Ryan.”

“No bother. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, me too.” I waited until he closed the door of the steading, then laid my body across the leather ottoman and stared at the dwindling fire until it grew as gray and lifeless as my heart. I could not see a way through, only a hard, painful end to my fight for Glenbroch.

The building inspector wouldn’t let me, or anyone, occupy Glenbroch until the engineer gave it a clean bill of health. I argued the damage was nowhere near my living quarters, but the inspector refused to be swayed. The engineer confirmed the structural beams were compromised, and he wouldn’t say it was safe to live in until the repairs were completed.

Each conversation with a contractor fell heavier than the last. Word had gotten around—it would take weeks and a fortune to get Glenbroch repaired in time for the start of the season. The estimates that were anywhere close to the insurance coverage had completion dates in August. To get the work completed by April was estimated at more than three times the insurance reimbursement, and would destroy my budget and first season profitability. That tree had pretty much ensured John MacIver would own Glenbroch by summer. No wonder he was buoyant that night in the steading, so eager to offer people help. He’d already won.

Katherine didn’t have good news for me, either. If I borrowed money, it would show as a liability and wouldn’t help my financials.

“What if I find the money off the books to fund the repairs?”

“Only if it’s a gift or your own money,” Katherine said.

I rekindled the fire, pulling the leather chair close until the heat nearly burned my legs through my jeans. I stared at the flames and watched the logs turn to ash, scarcely believing one of the old trees I loved had brought down my dreams.

An unwelcome vision of me packing and leaving Glenbroch and my home falling into John’s hands filled my mind, and the mere imagining crushed my heart. It couldn’t happen. I had promised myself that I would do whatever it took to keep Glenbroch. I needed to keep that promise. My mind searched wider, farther than it had before. There must be a place to get the money.

Then I remembered. The solution had been sitting in my email all along. No one—not Ben, Maggie, Jim, no one—could know. Even though Maggie knew I would do whatever it took to win, she wouldn’t understand this decision. And she wouldn’t keep information like this to herself. I couldn’t risk John or Ben, or anyone, getting in my way until it was too late for them to do anything about it.

I have to lie to everyone.

I had no choice. At least until what I was going to do was already done.

A knock sounded on the cottage door.

When I opened it, Ben was leaning against the doorjamb, a pitiful look creasing his face. “Can I come in? I have to get away from the parents before I kill someone.”

“You don’t need to knock. This is your house.” I observed him closely, trying to assess the state of his recovery. “You’re getting around pretty well, nearly good as new, instead of mucking about like the old man you have been,” I teased.

“You just wait. I’ll beat you up the hills in less than a week.”

“You could beat me running up a hill now. I’ll stand at the bottom and watch, thank you. That hill running is mad, is what it is. These people coming out here to train for the Highland games act as if they’re training for the Olympics. They run up those hills faster than I can run down the lane. Crazy!”

“You know where the games come from, right?”

“Tests of strength and speed, stuff like that?”

“Aye, in the clan days, these events were used to identify the best men for each position. If you were fast, you’d spy on the enemy and carry messages back. If you were strong, you’d go into battle. We carry on the tradition and women take part now, too. You could do it next season. How about it?”

“I won’t be doing any hill running, I assure you of that.”

“Would a tug-of-war suit you?” A playful smirk curved Ben’s mouth.

“Very funny. But I would win.”

“So you would. Any good news on a contractor for the repairs on the house? I wish you would let me help with that.”

I didn’t want to talk about it, didn’t want to lie to his face. I strode through to the kitchen and flipped on the kettle. “Yes, I did hear from someone. I think I’ve sorted the repairs.”

“That’s grand! Who is it?” he asked, following me.

“Can’t think of the name.” I opened the cupboard and took out two teacups and a box of biscuits, retrieved the milk from the fridge, spoons from the drawer. I wanted to confide in him, or Maggie, who I was also pushing away. It was do-or-die time for my ownership of Glenbroch and I worked better on my own. They wouldn’t understand and would probably get in my way. For now the less they knew, the better.

“You can’t think of the name? Are you feeling okay this morning?”

“A little tired.” I turned to face him and forced a reassuring smile. “It’s you that needs to get better. You gave us all a scare.”

“Now you know how I felt when I saw the Land Rover crashed into that tree and you were nowhere nearby.”

“I just know I’ll be happy for spring to arrive and leave this winter far behind me. No more snowstorms. No accidents. I’ll never forget my first winter here, that’s for certain.” I bit into a biscuit, hoping my cagey feeling wasn’t noticeable.

“No, you won’t, but at least we don’t have to worry that someone did this to you. It was an accident and that’s good. Not great, but a relief in my book.”

“Mine too,” I said, my sense of relief clouded with apprehension. In three days’ time, where I got the money for the repairs would be obvious—but no one need know the deal I’d made to get it.

18

The sun shimmered on the loch as I drove to Glenbroch, frustrating me. Dreich, misty, and gray would be more appropriate weather. I parked in front of the house, turned off the engine, and waited.

As another Land Rover came into view, I reminded myself that what I’d done was necessary. Whatever it took to keep Glenbroch—that was my promise to myself. It was time to prove I meant it.

I strode over to the man who emerged from the other vehicle. As he grabbed me in a long hug, a cloud rolled overhead, graying out the sun, shadowing the ground. Yes, nature, that’s the way you acknowledge this man’s arrival. I pushed myself away as politely as possible under the circumstances.

“Ellie Jameson, you look fantastic! Lady of the manor now.”

He beamed a high wattage smile and for a microsecond, all I registered was his charm. Grateful he had come to help, I nearly forgot everything I knew about him.

“Jason Marks, welcome to Scotland and the Highlands. I wish I could be more hospitable and invite you in for tea, but the reason I can’t is why you’re here.” I forced a welcoming expression, scarcely believing that only three days ago I’d emailed him and now here he was standing in Glenbroch’s drive.

“Ell, it was inevitable, that’s the part you’re missing. We were always going to end up together, one way or another.”

It took all my willpower not to show revulsion. I loathed his proprietary tone but had no choice but to bury my true feelings.

“Brrr.” I rubbed my arms, brushing his hand away in the process. “It’s aching cold out here. Let’s walk around to the back of the house where the damage is and I can give you more details.”

An hour later Jason and I settled into a booth at Maggie’s pub. She caught up to me as I headed to the restroom.