: Chapter 12

Lia

The last of our luggage trundled towards us on the conveyor belt. Linc hauled the three cases onto our trolley while I wrestled my cranky daughter, trying to keep her in my arms and not toddling towards disaster in the small airport.

She hadn’t slept on the flight, and missing naptime always spelled disaster. The plan now was for Max to pick us up and take us home and, one-handed, I sent the text to tell him we’d landed.

Ever since Dad’s conversation with Max, I’d carried huge guilt. I hadn’t expected him to be so harsh, or to make the offer he had, but I’d allowed it all the same. I loved my father, but that had made me feel powerless. I couldn’t blindly follow everything he preached.

The words he’d spoken on that call had shocked me.

All week, I’d been a mess of churned-up emotions. Resentful of the even trickier situation I now had to navigate, trying to be grateful that Dad had my back, however misguided, and added to that a whole heap of shifting thoughts that amended two years of confusion.

If the recent revelations had taught me anything, it was to do my research and fact-finding myself.

Never trust in others again.

Before we went to the McRae estate today, I needed one avenue explored. An answer given.

I had to get to the bottom of the relative who seemed to have lied. If I could find her, and speak to her, I’d work out where it had all gone wrong.

But I’d need help to do it.

I turned to Linc, the question on my lips. Then my words dried.

The nanny stared at his phone, his face pale under his blond hair.

“Is something the matter?” I asked.

Lincoln tore his gaze from the screen. “While we were in the air, I had a message from Trent’s sergeant. He’s been injured.”

“Oh God, is he okay?”

Trent was Lincoln’s long-term boyfriend. He served in the military and was working his way up through the ranks. I’d met him a couple of times, and he was the polar opposite to Lincoln, fiercely determined and more of an alpha guy. Together, they made the sweetest couple.

He continued, tears filling his eyes. “I need to go to him. I don’t think your father will allow me the time off right now. He was very clear—”

“Forget what Dad said.” I interrupted. My heart panged for Linc’s pain. “You have to go. Did they tell you where he is?”

“An Army hospital. In intensive care.” Lincoln’s voice cracked.

I reached out and gave him a one-armed hug, Evie in the middle.

No matter that Lincoln worked for us, but he was my friend, too. I hated seeing him hurting like this.

“What can I do?” I asked. “Can I buy you a plane ticket?”

He pulled away and dabbed his eyes. “No, no. I’ll do that. Are you sure I can go? I can’t lose this job.”

“Dad never has to know. Go to Trent. He needs you. We’ll be fine.”

With a small amount of further persuasion, Linc collected his bag from our stack and hustled away to book himself on the next flight out to wherever Trent was being cared for.

Evie snuggled into me, no longer interested in escape, and I held her close. “Don’t worry about Linc. He’ll be okay. We’re going to have such fun on this trip. Ready to meet your dada again?”

Outside the airport, we waited in the collection area, and Max pulled up in a large black car. He stared at me for a moment before his gaze leapt to our daughter.

Then he climbed out in all his tall, muscular glory, sunglasses in his auburn hair and bringing that same dangerous magnetism that had once sucked me in. I’d had no idea how to feel about this meeting, but I wasn’t anticipating stomach flutters.

Those butterflies hit hard.

Last time I was in Scotland, I’d spent too long mapping the differences in Max, as well as reeling from the giving of news I’d believed long-known. Now felt different. A new starting place.

Yet there was only caution in how he looked at me. We hadn’t spoken beyond text messages. He wouldn’t accept my calls.

“There ye are, sweetheart.” Max arrived in front of us, addressing Evie.

“Do you want to take her? I’ll load our luggage,” I said.

Max reached and collected Evie in his arms, simultaneously aiming an amused smirk at me. “I’ll handle the luggage. Get comfortable in the car.”

I did as he asked, peeking at him as he wheeled the trolley around the car, and catching snatches of the chat he was having with Evie with every case he slid into the boot.

“Aye, this must be yours. Doesn’t weigh a thing, so it must be wee dresses and romper suits. Looks like you’ve come prepared. Did ye pack it all yourself?”

In the crook of his arm, Evie gazed up at him. Then one tiny hand reached for his hair. Max stopped what he was doing and ducked his head for her.

“No chance you’re going to forget me, now we’ve met. We match, baby girl.”

Previously, Evie had made a sound when interacting with Max. I strained to listen over the rumble of cars and background noise. But no words were forthcoming today.

When they were done with the luggage, Max carried Evie to a car seat and strapped her in.

He lifted his chin at me. “Borrowed it from my boss. She has an eight-month-old.”

“I didn’t think to bring one,” I admitted. “Evie sat on my lap on the plane, or Lincoln’s.”

Max furrowed his brow. “Where is your boyfriend? Do we need to wait for him?”

Oh yeah. That was another piece of truth we needed settled. There and then, I committed to a fresh start with Max. Over the course of our stay, we’d reset everything.

Yet somehow, those words were hard to say. I gave up a different truth.

“Linc had a family emergency. He won’t be joining us.”

Max nodded and got us moving, and I twisted in my seat to watch Evie. Car travel usually sent her to sleep, and within minutes, her eyes were rolling.

A yawn took me by surprise, and I covered my mouth.

“Tired?” Max kept his gaze on the road.

“A little. I had a disturbed night.”

More nightmares. They were coming with greater frequency.

“If ye want, take a nap.”

“Oh no. I’ve been waiting to speak to you all week.” A final peek at Evie showed me she was now under, and I swallowed down my nerves. “Let me just say this. I didn’t know what Dad was going to say in that phone call. I’m sorry it went so far. I’m sorry I let it.”

Max pressed his lips together but didn’t reply.

“I want to start over. No matter what you think about me, we have Evie in common. I know we have lots of unanswered questions, but I came to the conclusion that we weren’t the ones hiding answers. I don’t know if I said it, but I believe you.” I dropped my gaze to where I tangled my hands together on my lap. “I hope you believe me, too.”

Max gripped the steering wheel hard, something flashing over his expression. “Believing ye is the easy part.”

“Then you do?”

He slid a quick glance my way. “Aye. We might not know each other well, but I cannae see why you’d lie about any of this.” He gave a hard shake of his head. “Which is a massive turnaround from every other thought I’ve had about ye for the past two years.”

I shrank in on myself, not liking the reminder he’d summoned.

“Shite. I didn’t mean to say it like that.”

Briefly, he reached out and pressed his fingertips to my forearm. The tiny act of reassurance sent a shiver through me.

Max replaced his hand on the wheel and continued. “I want what ye want. We can start over. What’s your favourite food?”

I blinked at the change in subject. “Evie is crazy about pasta. She’ll eat a whole bowl by herself, just cooked pasta with a bit of grated cheese. I slice up carrot sticks for the side, and she’ll eat it all.”

“I asked about ye, but good to know. I can do that. It’ll be close to her dinnertime when we get home, I think? I bought a few things for tonight, then we can go shopping to get everything else ye like.”

“Can you tell me where we’re staying?”

The only request I’d made of Max was that our accommodation was secure. Dad had ranted about it, feeding that through both Linc and Felix, too, so I’d had it from all sides.

Max only smiled. “Wait and see.”

He drove on, through the damp Scottish countryside, and soon we were taking the route that I’d driven myself. On the road that led alongside the loch, I cringed.

“I’m also sorry for running you over. Has your arm healed?”

He rotated his hand on his wrist. “It has. That was definitely my fault, though. I could have moved.”

“Why didn’t you?”

To this, he gave no reply. I switched my gaze to the imposing castle sitting on the other side of the banks. Last time, I’d barely noticed it, so caught up had I been on finding and challenging Max, but maybe on this trip we could have a look around the outside. Take a few pictures.

Max drove right up to the place, circling until he brought us to a halt at the back.

He regarded me, a tiny smile quirking his lips. “What do ye think, secure enough?”

I goggled at the huge stone wall and to the set of steps that led up to a door. “Here? This is where we’re staying?”

His smirk turned to a full grin, but he exited the car, hiding his reaction.

I climbed out after and stared up at the fortress. “Who owns this?”

“My uncle. My family owns all of the land around here from the mountain to the loch and the village.” Max joined me and held out a key. “There are only two copies of this. I have one, and my uncle has the other locked in a safe. He willnae use his unless it’s an emergency. I will only come in if ye invite me. So go ahead, climb the steps and explore. I’ll wait here.”

He rested against the car where Evie slept on.

I ascended the metal stairs and let myself in the front door, entering a kitchen. Drifting through, I brushed my fingers over a stone counter and admired the new fittings. Down a hall, I found a living room then three bedrooms. The family bathroom had been newly installed. The whole place looked like it had been finished days ago with a faint paint smell in two of the bedrooms.

Throughout, sparse furniture decorated the place. A single sofa and TV in the living room, a big bed on its own in the master bedroom with a white cot next to it, a highchair in the kitchen set up at a table with two chairs. But no paintings, no clutter.

Typically, whenever we arrived anywhere new, all the furnishings had been long established. Probably used by multiple other residents who had the need of a serviced apartment.

But here… It felt freeing not to have the burden of someone else’s stuff. The lack of distraction put my focus on other things. The view. The fact that, for the first time ever, I had my own place. Even if it was just for a few days, I couldn’t get over it.

Strange emotion clogged my throat.

Footsteps at the door had me returning to the kitchen.

In the entranceway, Max paused, Evie on his hip. “There she is,” he said to our daughter. “I promised she wouldn’t be far. Now check out your new digs.”

Evie kicked and wriggled to be set free, and Max set her down on her feet. Arms out, she toddled over to me, stopping midway to examine a drawer under the kitchen counter.

With typical curiosity, she yanked it open, falling on her backside as the drawer rolled out.

Max jerked forwards but then switched his gaze to me. “Can I come in?”

“Are you kidding?”

“No. I said this place was yours. Secure as possible. Ye lock the door, and no one will enter if ye dinna want it.”

The emotion strengthened, but I waved Max inside with a muttered comment on how he was always welcome. He scooped up Evie then gave us both the tour, telling Evie all the things he’d done to babyproof the place to protect her.

A door at the end of the hall, bolted shut from the inside, led inside the castle, he told us.

“My uncle and aunt live upstairs. They left this door unbarred with the understanding that family would live here, so they wouldnae mind bumping into familiar faces downstairs in the great hall. In fact, I’m pretty sure Uncle Callum wants that. A born clan leader, loves knowing everyone else’s business.”

“I won’t go in there,” I said in a rush. “I’m a stranger. That will be weird for them.”

Max tilted his head. “Actually, they’re excited about meeting ye both. Everyone I’ve told my news to is the same. My sister particularly is dying to say hi.”

Perched happily on his arm, Evie yanked on his collar, exposing the top edge of a tattoo. Her eyes widened at the revealed skin beneath.

“What have ye found, baby girl?” he asked her.

Leading us back down the corridor, he entered the living room and sat on the sofa, Evie now on his lap. Max pulled the T-shirt at his neck to give Evie a better look.

She instantly poked at his ink work. I wished I could examine it, too, but this was where I’d have to back off. Evie and Max needed to form their own relationship, one where I was only on the edge looking in.

The same applied to Max’s family, which sounded huge. I wanted this for her. The sense of belonging and an unchanging home to visit. It was something I alone couldn’t give her.

And yet here I was, just staring at them as they bonded. And feeling… Envious.

Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I turned away. “I’ll go fetch our bags, then I’ll make her some food. She’ll be hungry soon.”

Footsteps sounded behind me, and Max was on his feet, flying Evie through the air. “I’ll get the bags. I’ll cook. Ye relax. I’ve got this.”

In short order, he’d ran up and down the steps, bringing a case each time and making Evie smile with the activity. I took our luggage into the master bedroom and unpacked, listening out as they played. With all our clothes stowed in the wardrobe and chest of drawers, I sat on the bed, my feet digging into the soft rug underneath.

What did I do with myself now? I didn’t want to interrupt them or do my staring act again. I wasn’t tired enough to sleep. If I was home, I’d grab my laptop and start studying, but I definitely wasn’t in the mood for that. Here, I was all out of sorts. Maybe I could take myself for a walk.

The other avenue open to me was research. I’d already tried finding my great-aunt online but drew a blank. I needed to talk to the person who’d coordinated with her—Dad’s old assistant, Stephen.

Maybe I could call Felix, though I suspected I’d get nothing from him. Linc was my other option, but I didn’t want to bother him until he knew more about Trent.

A tap came at the open door. Max gazed in at me, Evie standing between his knees. “Lia? Are ye hungry?”

I was, but I could wait. “Oh no, don’t worry about me.”

“We’ve made pasta and grated cheese. I know it’s early for grown-up dinner time, but I could make a sauce while Evie eats hers.”

I hesitated. “Are you going to have some?”

Max shrugged. “I’m pretty much always hungry.”

This was so awkward. Neither of us knew how to be around the other.

Right. Then that’s what we needed to do next. Set some ground rules, or just talk about how this was going to work.

I stood and brushed over the comfortable long skirt I’d worn on the flight. “You feed Evie, or sit with her while she eats. I’ll make the other half of dinner for us. Sound good?”

The answering grin told me I’d got this right.