by Jennae Vale
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Ross
Jennae Vale
Jennae Vale
Ross Copyright © 2018 by Jennae Vale
The Ghosts of Culloden Moor Copyright © 2018 L. Lytle
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
A Note From Jennae
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by Jennae Vale
Chapter 1
"Number thirty-eight." Soni gazed directly into his eyes as she spoke. It was his turn to go. He had no idea what to expect, but he'd happily face it to get his boon. Bonnie Prince Charlie, the Young Pretender, the Young Chevalier. Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart was the reason he was dead and that was exactly why he sought revenge. Flashes of that fateful day so many years ago brought back unwanted memories. Memories of anger and fear. Memories of the Bonnie Prince riding off, deserting them. Memories of Lord Elcho calling after the receding back of the prince. Memories of his noble steed, Ronan, falling beneath him. Jumping from his back, rage in his heart, he’d taken on the nearest Englishman only to be cut down from behind. His final memory was collapsing to the ground, his head resting on Ronan's neck.
He would no longer be number thirty-eight. No one had called him by his name in over two hundred years. It was a wonder he remembered it at all. "Ross Seton," he said, approaching her. Just like that, the flashbacks stopped. He straightened his shoulders, standing tall and proud, "I'm ready."
"Isn't there someone you'd like to take along with ye?" she asked. Standing there in a hooded cloak, her face was serious, but then her lips slowly curved upwards and a sparkle of mischief could be seen in her eyes.
Ross glanced around at the others, not understanding. "Nae. The only one I'd want by my side is my horse, but I've nae seen him since I've been here."
"Call him," she said.
A small flicker of hope burned in his heart.
"Go on. Call him," Soni repeated.
He vaguely recalled a special whistle. Two short and one long. Would it work? He gave it a try and far off in the distance he heard a whinny. He whistled again and this time the ghostly figure of a horse galloped towards him. The horse who'd been his trusted companion on that fateful day would be with him again.
Soni smiled and stroked Ronan's nose as he came to a halt before her. "There. Now yer ready."
This had to be one of the worst days of her life. Well, the day she had found out Jason was cheating on her with her best friend was the worst. This one was definitely coming in a close second.
“Cassie, please listen to me. We need to sell the house,” Jason pleaded.
“No.” She was adamant. There was no need for discussion.
“Is that all you have to say? Just ‘no’?” She could see Jason’s calm exterior giving way as his voice went from pleading to angry.
“That’s it. You can’t sell it. I live there.” Her eyes narrowed and anger sparked her voice. He wasn’t going to kick her out of her home.
He took a deep breath before lowering his voice and speaking. “I can’t afford that place and the apartment.”
“Do you really think I care about your little problem?” Why should she after what he’d done?
“Obviously you don’t. Cassie, it’s too big for you and you can’t afford it either.” If he thought logic was going to work on her, he was dead wrong.
She tapped her fingers impatiently on the store counter. “Who says?”
“The electric company for one. When was the last time you paid the bill?” He was pointing a finger at her now and obviously fighting for control. “They called me looking for payment, Cassie. They’re going to send the bill to collections.”
“That’s neither here nor there. I won’t let you sell it.” She knew she was being unreasonable, but he deserved it.
“Think about it. We need to move on with our lives, it’s what’s best for both of us,” he barked, his eye twitching.
“I don’t really care about what’s best for you,” anger set her blood to boiling. He had humiliated her and she’d be damned if he got his way. If she had to, she’d spend the whole winter without heat before doing him any favors. Her embarrassment and shame seemed to have no end. Delight was a small town and no matter how hard she tried to avoid him and Jenny, she seemed to constantly run into them. It couldn’t be helped, of course, with only one small grocery store and gas station in town. She’d been worried at first that everyone in town would see her as a loser, but they’d surprised her and taken her side over Jason and Jenny’s. Still, in her eyes she had lost and selling the house would be one more thing to add to the list of ways her life had been destroyed by Jason’s infidelity.
Seeing him now, his anger directed at her and her own anger near the boiling point, she couldn’t believe she had ever loved him. They’d been college sweethearts who spent every spare moment together. He’d been the cutest guy in school and all the other girls envied her. But what had that gotten her? A year and a half of marriage that ended when she found out he was sleeping with her best friend. Her ex-best friend. Jason’s twitching eye should have been the thing that gave him away. It had been twitching for months before she found out about his little secret. Now she understood why.
“I know and I get it. I’ve done the unforgivable, but Cassie please be reasonable.” He was back to pleading. He tugged at his eye to no avail. The twitching continued.
She turned her back on him, refusing to continue this ridiculous conversation. “I’ve got work to do.”
“You know,” she heard the change in his voice, “you ought to think about selling this place, too. It’s been a loser from day one.” And now he was being hurtful on purpose.
She felt her hackles rising and counted to ten and then twenty. She wouldn’t let him get to her. A moment later the door closed. She peeked over her shoulder and he was gone. She blew out her breath and felt all the fight go out of her. The sad part was he was right about the shop. Business had been bad lately. Heck, it had been bad for months – ever since the new resort opened. She kept ordering new books but, aside from a few of her neighbors, no one ever came into the shop. In fact, they didn’t really stop anywhere in Delight. She’d hoped ski season would change things, but the cars barely slowed down on their way through town. Nearly every penny she made went to keeping the lights on here at the store. There was enough to buy food for her and Sammy, usually, but that was it. She went home to a cold, dark house every night. She honestly had no idea what she had done to deserve this.
Throwing her hands up in the air, she decided to go home. What difference did it make if she spent the entire day there or not? No one was coming into the shop. She flipped the sign on the door to “Closed” and locked it behind her. Heading to her truck, she took note of the cold, white sky above. There would be s
now tonight, and lots of it. Ugh, she and Sammy were going to need every blanket in the house.
“Brrr…” She shivered and pulled her scarf up over her nose and zipped her jacket trying to fend off the gust of cold air that hit her as a wintery wind blew through the deserted village of Delight. “Not so delightful today, is it?” Cassie muttered to herself.
She seemed to be the only one on the street. Everyone else had the good sense to stay indoors where it was warm. With hurried steps, she made it to her truck, climbed in, fumbled with her gloves, and finally got the key in the ignition. It would take a while for the engine to heat up, but at least she could listen to some music while she waited.
Turning the key did not have the desired effect. The engine refused to turn over, instead it sputtered and coughed and eventually died. She dropped her head to the steering wheel. “Not now! I really don’t need this day to get any worse.” She unlatched the hood and got out of the truck. With hands on hips, Cassie peered into the engine hoping that the problem would be obvious. Seriously, she had no idea what she would be looking for, but wasn’t that what you were supposed to do?
“Everything okay?” Mrs. Santos asked, coming out of the bakery next door.
“My truck won’t start.” She could hear the whininess in her own voice and she hated it.
“Walt’s shop is open. Why don’t you give him a call? He’ll be able to fix it.” Mrs. Santos was a sweetheart. The bakery was right next door to the bookshop and she often brought Cassie coffee and treats. Cassie owed her a lot. Mrs. Santos had kept her from going hungry on many an occasion by dropping off her extra muffins and cookies and other deliciousness. Cassie always offered to pay, but she just waved her hand and said, Better in you than in the garbage.
Cassie didn’t want to be the helpless woman. She felt bad enough about herself as it was. She thought about her wallet, the till in the store, her bank account. Between them there wouldn’t be enough to cover the repair work. This extra burden only added to the list of things she couldn’t fix. Mrs. Santos was smiling at her, waiting for her to move. Apparently this day was not done with her yet. She closed her eyes and admitted her shame, “I don’t have the money to pay him.” How could she possibly ask these good people to bail her out once again? They’d done more than enough for her. “He’ll let you put it on a tab if he knows what’s good for him. Better yet, why don’t you come into the bakery, have a cup of coffee and I’ll call him.” She turned back to the bakery obviously expecting Cassie to follow.
Cassie hated having to rely on other people, but in this case, it was either go along with Mrs. Santos or freeze to death out here on the sidewalk. “Okay.”
Inside the bakery Mrs Santos brought her some coffee and a warm ham and cheese croissant. She hadn’t eaten since last night and her mouth was salivating. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll go call Walt.”
The warmth of the bakery along with the delicious food and coffee, calmed her rattled nerves. She really had to think about what she was going to do. She was a fly-by-the-seat-of your pants kind of girl and that simply wasn’t working for her. She needed a plan.
Cassie thought about Delight. Everyone in town had chosen sides when they found out what had happened. It was Cassie’s side they were on and while it was really sweet, it was also embarrassing that they knew all the details of her divorce. Her friends and neighbors had gone out of their way to make sure she was alright, even going so far as to come into the shop on the pretense of buying a book, just so they could check on her. They’d even made Jason and Jenny feel unwelcome in their shops to the point where Jason couldn’t wait to move away from Delight.
Dear, sweet Mrs. Santos had listened to her sad story so many times and never once had she turned her away when she needed a shoulder to cry on. They’d all been so good to her, but in her mind they all knew she was a mess that couldn’t even pay her bills. She really needed to get her act together and stand on her own two feet, but that was hard when life kept throwing curve balls her way.
“Walt said you should leave the keys with me and he’ll come get it later.” Mrs. Santos returned to the table with an extra large chocolate chip cookie.
“How am I going to get home?” She put her hands in her pocket and pulled out her keychain.
“Maybe you can borrow Jason’s car,” Mrs. Santos gave her a meaningful look. “I’ll put this in a bag so you can take it with you.”
“Good idea.” She had the key to his car. She’d just borrow it and bring it back tomorrow. Popping the last bite into her mouth, she gave Mrs. Santos a grin, “That was delicious and just what I needed.”
“I’m happy to be of service,” Mrs. Santos did a little bow and chuckled at her own silliness. “I’m putting some dog treats I made for Sammy in with your cookie. Walt will get your truck all fixed up for you. No worries.”
“You’re too good to us.” Maybe today wasn’t the second to worst day of her life after all. She hugged Mrs. Santos and headed across the street to Jason’s car which was parked in front of the hardware store. He had been living above it with Jenny since she kicked him out almost a year and a half ago. She really should ask him before taking it, but he owed her big time after all the heartache he’d put her through and she just didn’t want to talk to him anymore today.
The car started right up. But of course it did. It was brand new when Jason bought it right after they got married. It had been their car, but now it was his and she’d been relegated to using that old clunker of a truck that used to belong to her Dad. “Grrr…” Every time she thought about it, she saw red.
“I need the more reliable vehicle, Cassie. I have to get back and forth to work,” he’d said. His argument was a good one. He had a lot further to drive, but she wasn’t ready to concede that point today. Today she needed the reliable car and she was going to take it.
Cassie pulled out and headed out of town, enjoying the heated seats and warm air blasting her through the vents. The road that would bring her home wasn’t well-traveled in the winter, so getting there before the snow fell was important. The only people who used it were the ones who lived up here and the houses were pretty far apart. That had been the appeal of buying the place, a quiet neighborhood with a beautiful view and hiking trails all around. Of course, those were closed for the season. Truth be told, she really didn’t like living in that big house all alone. If it wouldn’t make Jason so incredibly happy, she’d sell it in a heartbeat. It had become her life’s mission to stymie him and his ambitions in any way she could.
She felt the anger rise in her again. Taking a deep breath she did her best to calm her nerves and clear her head of all the jumbled thoughts vying for attention. It was all she could do to focus on the road in front of her. The heated seat was getting a little too hot. She had to turn it down, but where was that button. Finding it just under the radio, she set it on low and then looked up to find a stag jumping into the road in front of her.
The next few seconds happened in slow motion. She turned the steering wheel to avoid hitting him and slammed on the breaks. Instead of slowing down, the car careened through the trees toward the ravine that ran alongside the road. She saw the edge approaching and turned the steering wheel this way and that, trying regain control. She prayed she’d stop before going over. Cassie didn’t realize she had closed her eyes until the moment she felt the car stop. She was breathing hard, her heart was racing, but she had stopped.
She must be right at the edge because she could clearly see the far side of the ravine. She rested her head on the airbag and took stock of her body. Hands and feet were in tact, legs were capable of movement, thank God. She just needed to get out.
She pushed the release on the seatbelt but nothing happened. It was locked tight against her body so maneuvering in her big jacket was a challenge. A large tree outside of the driver’s side door meant there was no escaping that way. If she could get the window open maybe she could crawl out, but it only rolled down a couple
of inches before refusing to go any further. She wondered if Jason knew his window was broken and then realized she was going to be in a whole heap of trouble when he discovered his car gone and that she had wrecked it. She would deal with that later. Right now, she needed to focus on getting out of the car.
There wasn’t a tree blocking the passenger side door, so there was still hope. If she could get to the other door and open it, she’d be free. Step one, get out of the seatbelt. She tried to climb sideways through it and felt the car tip precariously. She froze, then settled back into the driver’s seat. Maybe she should just stay still and hope someone would come by and find her before it was too late.
Chapter 2
He sat atop his chestnut stallion observing the comings and goings of those who lived in this small mountain village as he got his bearings. The white sky above announced the arrival of a winter storm in the very near future. It would be best for him to hurry about the business he was sent here to accomplish. The sooner he did, the sooner he would have his boon.
No one paid him any mind dressed as he was in his kilted battle attire, jacket and tam o’shanter. From his perch atop his horse, Ross Seton had a perfect view to scout for someone in need of his services. An elderly woman walked out of a nearby shop carrying what seemed to him to be a very heavy bag. There it is. My ticket to the Bonnie Prince! He urged his horse forward, trotting up behind the woman who appeared quite startled to see him.
“May I help ye with yer bags?” he asked.
She shook her head and clutched the bags more closely to her person. “No!” She seemed angry he had asked. He watched as she hurried to her car, her head constantly swiveling in his direction.
