Rocky Ground

by Kaylea Cross

  “No.” He bent to set his mug down, then straightened to take her by the upper arms, his gaze firm on hers. “You’re not to blame for what that piece of shite did.”

  “Yes, I am.” Her voice caught slightly. She tormented herself with it daily. Hourly.

  “Nae, lass.” He squeezed her shoulders, his touch warm and comforting, and she was even sorrier that she’d treated him so poorly before. “You couldn’t have known if Ella didn’t say anything.”

  She inhaled a deep breath. “The trial is pending. If he won’t take the plea deal the State offered, then it means Ella will have to testify in a trial. And there are other victims. He’s done it before. Noah told me last week. They were even younger than Ella.”

  Aidan shook his head. “Christ, I had no idea any of this was going on.”

  “I’m actually glad about that. It’s not a pretty story. And now Ella’s father has suddenly decided he wants to have visitation rights. Ella wants to meet him this coming weekend and I don’t have a choice in the matter, so that’s another thing we’re dealing with right now.” The silver lining was that the visits would probably be few and far between, since Evan lived in another state.

  “I’m so sorry. No wonder you hated my guts.”

  Her eyes darted up to meet his, and she caught the teasing light there. She smiled weakly. “Well, now you know the worst of it. But I was wrong to be a bitch to you, and I’m sorry. You’ve been nothing but wonderful to Ella.” He still hadn’t let go of her, and she had the strongest urge to curl up against his broad, muscled chest. To hide there while his powerful arms came around her and shut the rest of the world out for just a few minutes.

  “Stop apologizing. I’ve already forgiven you, so let that go now.”

  She relaxed and stayed silent for a long moment. “Any chance your story’s going to make me feel better after all that?”

  His warm brown eyes lit with the edge of a smile. “It might, but compared to that it’s not so terrible after all.”

  “Yeah. Perspective’s a bitch sometimes, isn’t it?”

  “’Tis.” He released her arms, leaving cold spots where his hands had just been, and bent to retrieve his mug. “Do you want to keep walking?”

  She glanced out at the expansive view of the sea, feeling as though a slight weight had been lifted from her shoulders. “Yes.”

  “Then let’s crack on. And I hope Brian enjoys being molested in prison once he gets there.”

  She smiled at his savage tone, liking him more and more with each passing minute. Good thing he was leaving soon.

  “Also, I think you should brace yourself for the onslaught of begging that’s about to happen.” He slanted her a look. “Ella has her heart set on taking that black-and-white kitten home once it’s old enough.”

  That made her laugh, and it felt so damn good. “Oh, God, I knew it.”

  His answering smile captivated her and she had to tear her gaze away. If she hadn’t sworn to herself to avoid getting involved with anyone, she might have been sorely tempted to try Aidan MacIntyre on for size.

  As predicted, Ella pounced on her the moment they hit the lane on the walk home. “Pleeeease, Mama? I’ve already named him Bruce. Mac and I were trying to think up names, and he said Robert the Bruce was the first king of Scotland.”

  “Did he?” She’d have to thank Aidan for his “help” next time she saw him. And actually, she was kind of looking forward to seeing him again.

  “Yes, and cats are way less work than dogs. We don’t have to walk him or even let him outside to do his business, because he’ll use a litter box.”

  “And who’s going to clean that?”

  “I will.”

  Uh huh. For the first day or two, then it would fall to Tiana. “Ella, we’ve got a lot going on right now without adding a kitten to the mix.” She sighed at the look on Ella’s face. She’d have to have a heart of stone not to be moved by her daughter’s devastated expression. “I’ll think about it, okay?”

  “But he needs a home. You don’t want him winding up at the shelter like Walter did, do you?”

  Ah, the old guilt trip routine. Tiana exchanged a secret grin with Lizzie. “Sweetie, I promise to think about it. In the meantime, I want to see you taking care of all the kittens whenever you have free time. Miss Sierra’s got her hands full with them and a full time job, and needs the help. If you put in the work, that will help your cause when it comes time to find the kittens homes.”

  Her face lit up and her bright blue eyes widened, probably because it was the first time Tiana hadn’t shut the whole pet campaign effort down flat, and had set out a specific task Ella could do to help earn her right to be a cat owner. “Oh, I will!” She practically skipped on the rest of the walk back.

  After bath time Ella asked Lizzie to read to her a story. Tiana cleaned up the kitchen, thinking about Aidan. What did he think of her now that he knew? She wouldn’t blame him if it changed his opinion of her. It had certainly made her think less of herself.

  “Okay, she’s ready,” Lizzie announced as she came down the hallway in one of Tiana’s robes. “I’ll make the popcorn and have the movie ready to go when you’re done tucking her in.”

  This was their last night together, and Tiana couldn’t help but be sad about that. Being around Lizzie was like being bathed in sunshine. When she left, their world would be a little colder and grayer. “Great, thanks. Mint chocolate chip’s in the freezer, by the way.”

  “This is why you’re my favorite niece.”

  Ella was waiting for her when she walked into her daughter’s bedroom, her damp blond hair fanning out across her pillow. “You ready for bed?” Tiana asked with a smile, sitting on the edge of the mattress to stroke a lock of hair back from Ella’s soft cheek.

  Ella nodded, but the silent way her daughter watched her set off warning bells in Tiana’s head. “Something wrong?” she asked.

  Ella looked away, fidgeting with her hands.

  Crap, what was it? Had something else bad happened? “Baby, if something’s wrong, you can tell me.”

  Those summer sky eyes slowly came back to hers. “Are you mad at me?”

  She blinked, taken aback. “What? Why would I be mad at you?”

  “For wanting to meet my dad.”

  Her insides stilled and her heart twisted. Ohhh…“No, honey, I’m not mad.”

  Ella searched her eyes, as if unconvinced. And Tiana realized her daughter felt guilty. Guilty for wanting to meet Evan.

  That wasn’t okay.

  “Ella, I’m not mad, I promise. If you want to see your dad and get to know him, it’s okay. Really.”

  “It’s just… I’ve wondered about him. What he’s like. All the other kids in my class have dads. Except for one, who has two moms. They think it’s weird that I don’t even know mine.”

  A swift pain hit her in the chest. She’d known Ella was missing a father figure in her life. But she’d never realized how deep it was. How big a wound it had made in her daughter’s soul to never have a father around. It explained why she was so attached to Beckett and Aidan, however. “Do they make fun of you?”

  She shrugged, the motion stiff. “A few of them. But I don’t care, because they’re stupid for being mean and I don’t want to be their friend anyway.”

  Tiana wanted to cheer. “I’d say that’s a good decision. You’re so wise for your age, you know that?” She took Ella’s hand, laced their fingers together and put on a smile to hide her own insecurities, the deeply buried fear that Ella would fall in love with Evan and find Tiana lacking thereafter.

  Or that one day, Tiana might lose her because of it.

  Those were her issues, however. They should never touch Ella. She had to make sure they didn’t.

  “You’ll meet your dad on Saturday with the lady from the court, and you can decide what you want to do after that.” She paused. “He’s matured a lot since I knew him, and become a much better person. I think you’ll like him,” she added, the wor
ds burning her throat and putting a quiver in the center of her gut. “I’m not going to love you any less for wanting to spend time with him. There’s nothing you could ever do that would make me stop loving you.”

  A pleased smile spread over Ella’s face. “I know.”

  The answer squeezed Tiana’s heart. That Ella felt secure in the knowledge that she would always have unconditional love from her. That was a gift beyond measure.

  “Love you,” Tiana murmured, bending to kiss Ella’s forehead before snapping off the light. “Sleep tight.”

  “Don’t let the bedbugs bite.”

  “I won’t.”

  She shut the door and walked down the hall to join Lizzie on the couch for a movie, determined to enjoy their remaining time together, but her mind was already racing ahead to what would happen in the future with Evan and the possible trial with Brian. Even though all of that was mostly outside of her control, she couldn’t help but worry.

  All the men in their lives had hurt them by leaving, or worse. Ella had suffered the most.

  Tiana had vowed to protect her against any more pain, but that was impossible. And there was nothing she could do to protect her daughter from the hurt she’d suffer if Aidan left Crimson Point for good and never returned from Scotland.

  Chapter Seven

  After finishing up the final inspection of a newly remodeled craftsman-style house the company had just completed, Aidan drove to the dune buggy rental place that afternoon to meet up with the guys. He still hadn’t told Beckett the news that he might not be able to return at the end of his upcoming contracting stint. He’d tried twice over the past two days and both times Beckett had been busy with something else.

  Aidan couldn’t put it off any longer. He had to tell him today.

  All that aside, he called his mum back home in Edinburgh and talked to her for a bit before walking into the garage feeling pretty pleased with himself.

  “Your father’s driving me crazy being underfoot all the time. I tidy something up, turn around, and he’s made another mess. It’s like having a child in the house again, I swear. I wish he’d take up golf again,” his mum said over the phone. It was almost eleven at night back in Edinburgh, so his dad was fast asleep. Aidan and his mum were the nighthawks in the family.

  “Best give him a list of things to do before you both drive each other mad,” Aidan advised.

  “Aye. And it had best be a long one.”

  “Good luck.” Jase was already inside the rental place. He burst out laughing when he saw Aidan, it confirmed that he’d made the right decision about the face paint. “Listen, mum, I’m here now. Gotta go.”

  “All right, dear. Have a good time. Love you.”

  “Love you too. Say hi to dad.”

  “What the hell is that?” Jase demanded with a grin as Aidan ended the call.

  “My war paint,” he replied, sauntering past him to the counter to get a helmet and goggles. Before heading here he’d painted his face blue and added a white St. Andrew’s cross over it for good measure. Scottish pride was never out of style, even here in Oregon.

  Beckett walked out of the back with Noah and stopped dead, his mouth twitching as he fought a smile. “Gone Braveheart on us, huh, Mac?”

  “Aye. You bastards can shoot me full of paintballs, but you’ll never take my freedom.”

  The other three all snickered. Then something moved behind Beckett’s ankles, drawing Aidan’s attention. He started laughing. “You brought Walter?”

  “Walter is a dune buggy maniac. I couldn’t leave him at home, and besides, he needs a break. Those kittens have been crawling all over him for days and he just puts up with it. They even keep trying to nurse from him. Poor guy.”

  Aidan winced in sympathy. “That’s just wrong.”

  “Yeah, I owe him big time.” Beckett bent to scratch the dog’s long ears.

  Aidan shook his head at the dog’s outfit. “You got him a helmet and goggles?” The helmet had a dog skull on the front, and the crossbones beneath it looked like they were made of doggy biscuits.

  “Doggles. He loves ‘em. Wait ‘til you hear him when we start ripping around out there.” His hard face split into a proud smile. It was almost startling, to see Beckett smile. He did it more frequently now. Sierra was a godsend for him.

  Aidan shook his head again then clapped his hands together once. “Awright, big man. Show me to my war machine.”

  Four dune buggies were all lined up outside waiting for them. The owner came over to give his standard safety speech, took one look at their bored expressions and stopped. “I’m totally wasting my breath here, aren’t I?”

  “Totally,” Beckett agreed, slapping him on the back. “We promise not to roll them. Right, boys?”

  Everyone answered in the affirmative. But Aidan had his fingers crossed behind his back. He was here to win, plain and simple. If a little roll over was required now and then to accomplish that, then so be it.

  After a few pictures together, they all chose their weapons, gathered ammo and strapped into their vehicles. “Fair warning, I’m not taking it easy on any of you bastards,” Aidan warned. “Except for you, Walter. I’ll abide by the Geneva Convention and consider you a non-combatant for this.”

  The dog was already strapped into the back of Beckett’s buggy with a special harness, his mouth open in a kind of grin, his long tongue lolling out of the side of his toothless mouth.

  “I’m coming for you, Mac,” Jase warned from his right. He’d healed up well from his surgery after losing part of his liver and small intestine to a bullet back in the fall. Right now he had his war face on.

  “I’ll be waiting, wee man,” Aidan said, and fired up his engine. He pumped a fist in the air and let out a whoop as he hit the accelerator, tearing down the trail after Beckett. The wind whipped through the edges of his helmet, the ceaseless roar of the ocean growing louder as they approached the dunes.

  God, it was breathtaking. The sun was out, making the endless expanse of sandy hills sparkle like mounds of brown sugar. Nearer the water it was a darker, damp strip.

  Beckett led the way across the ocean of sand, presumably knowing where he was going. They reached the top of a steep dune and spread out all in a row, their front wheels resting on the crest, with a steep drop before them.

  “You boys ready?” Beckett yelled over the wind and noise of the engines.

  Aidan grinned at him, then looked to his right, pointing a warning at Jase, and Noah beyond him. “Prepare to die.”

  Jase held up a middle finger, his grin visible from behind the face shield on his helmet.

  “You wish, you wee bastard,” Aidan called back.

  Beckett shot down the hill. Aidan hit the gas and followed, plunging down the back side of the tall dune. A piercing howl sounded, startling him, and it took him a second to realize it was Walter. Grinning, he chased after Beckett, just Walter’s nose visible over the back of the seat because he had his head tipped back, still howling away like a lunatic.

  Laughing, Aidan cut to the left and shot up the next dune, angling to cut Beckett off. But Beckett was ready for it and veered away at the last moment. Aidan tried again, caught the faintest flash of movement as Beckett raised his arm, weapon in his grip.

  Pop, pop, pop.

  Aidan ducked as three paintballs slammed into his windscreen. “Oh, it’s like that, is it? Awright, big man.” He swung to the right, reached for his own weapon and cut hard right again to swerve around in front of Beckett to return fire.

  Pop, pop.

  One round hit Beckett’s hood, but the other hit the doorframe, splattering Beckett’s shoulder with paint.

  Aidan cackled and let out a war whoop. “First blood!”

  Pop, pop, pop, pop.

  Paintballs slammed into his buggy, seemingly out of nowhere. Christ, he was taking fire from all sides now.

  He ducked, barely missed being hit in the side of the head as a ball zinged past and splatted on the inside of the roll bar
. “Weaver, you wee bastard!” he yelled at Jase and cranked the wheel to the side, unwilling to let that go unanswered.

  Damn, it was fun.

  They chased each other all over the dunes for the better part of an hour, shooting until they ran out of ammo. By the end of the battle Aidan had two shots to the body, Beckett had one, and Noah and Jase were shot to hell.

  “I’ll lie and tell Molly you died bravely,” Aidan shouted to Jase when they paused near the base of a dune to grin at one another.

  “Screw you, Mac.” He took off, spraying up a tall rooster tail of sand with his back tires, right through Aidan’s open door.

  Laughing, Aidan followed, heading for the ocean. Together all four of them played a wet and sandy version of aggressive bumper buggy, dipping in and out of the waterline as they raced down the damp, compact sand, cutting each other off, crashing into each other and generally acting like lunatics.

  Aidan hadn’t had this much fun in forever.

  By the time they brought the buggies back to the rental garage, the owner was waiting out front. He shook his head, his shoulders heaving with a sigh when he saw the state of the vehicles. But they hadn’t rolled any of them, and all the buggies were still in one piece, so no real harm done.

  Beckett collected extra money to cover the cost of fixing the dents and paint, then gave it to the owner, a buddy of his. On the way back to Crimson Point they stopped at a nearby bar for a beer, then drove back to Beckett and Sierra’s for a cookout. Walter was out cold by the time they arrived, exhausted from his dune buggy excursion, so Beckett carried him inside.

  “Oh my God, what did you do to him?” Sierra asked when she met them at the door.

  “I’ve never seen an animal have that much fun,” Aidan told her. “The kittens can all nurse on him at once now and he won’t feel a blessed thing.”

  Poppy was there too, along with Molly and the baby. Aidan took Savannah while Molly filled her plate, tucking her into the crook of his arm.

  Sierra smiled at him and shook her head. “I can’t believe how comfortable you are with her. Most men I know freak if you wave a baby in their direction.”