Niall

by Diane Darcy

  He found himself watching Jenny once more, and tore his gaze away to look down at his dinner plate.

  Wanting her for himself would get him nowhere. He was there to help her brother.

  He glanced at Logan, his stomach burning. What if he was supposed to help Jenny find her own romance, as well?

  His jaw tightened and for the first time he longed to be upon the moor once again.

  There had been stretches of boredom, yearning, rage, and regrets.

  But at least he’d never felt jealousy.

  He supposed he ought to work harder at building his own character, rather than giving advice to others.

  After dinner was over, Jenny sat on the couch, hoping Niall would join her. She checked her phone again, but there were no messages from Zach or Tina, threatening or otherwise.

  To her relief, Logan excused himself and they all said their goodbyes. She had the impression Niall didn’t like the man and with everything going on, she didn’t need the added stress.

  While on her phone, she did a quick upload of the video she had taken of Niall, labeling it More Scottish Wisdom, from Dr. Niall Salazar.

  She checked her account and her eyes about bugged out. “Niall, come over here! You’ve got to see this!”

  Niall hurried over and sank down beside her. “What is it?”

  “You know those other two videos I put up?”

  Looking confused, he shook his head.

  “The videos I made of you talking to Zach? You said I could put them up online, right?”

  He shrugged. “Aye, lass. I remember ye saying such.”

  “Anyway, it’s blowing up! We’ve had over 100,000 views on it already!”

  When he still looked confused, she pulled up one of the videos and played it for him.

  “Ye put me on your phone? ’Tis amazing!”

  She chuckled. “Not much into social media, are you? Maybe I’ll make you a fan of it yet.”

  Jenny started to scroll through the many messages, and coldness rushed through her as she realized most of them were from women. Women interested in Niall. Some had even left email addresses, and personal websites for him to visit.

  She noted some, mostly men, calling him out for the fact that he wasn’t politically correct. Some mocked him. Others asked for advice.

  Her chest tightened. She swallowed and put on a fake smile.

  “I could market these, you know. That’s what I do, internet marketing. I could teach you how to do this yourself, and you could possibly get a stream of income off these.”

  “What do ye mean, lass?”

  She ignored the girls coming on to him, and latched onto some of the innocuous questions.

  “Well, to start, you could answer some the questions that are posted here. Like why do I eat too much? Or how do I get a better job? Or how do I find the girlfriend of my dreams?”

  Again, he was looking at her like she was crazy and he snorted in obvious disbelief.

  She lifted her phone and started to film.

  “Someone who eats too much, should eat less and train more. If they wish a better job, they must needs work hard and learn new skills. And if a lad wishes to court a lass, he ought to clean himself up, act the gentleman, and call upon her father to beg his permission for the courtship.”

  Pandora giggled in the background, and raised her own phone. “Here’s another one. How can I get a girl to sleep with me?”

  “Court her and marry her first, of course.” He looked suddenly pensive. “Tis always the males responsibility to naysay, and protect the lass.”

  Jenny couldn’t help but grin. He really was an adorable mixture of common sense and confusion. His confusion seemed to stem from the fact that everybody should know the answers to these questions.

  She stopped filming and uploaded the new video. Already they’d gotten more viewers since the last time she’d checked. The videos must be flying around Facebook.

  They stayed and chatted with Pandora and Andrew for a while longer, until finally Jenny stood up, ready to leave. Her nerves over what was happening with Zach and Tina had set her on edge, and she was ready to go.

  “Thanks for inviting us over.” She grabbed her purse of the table and slipped on her shoes.

  Pandora hugged her. “We will talk soon.”

  Andrew shook Niall’s hand. “I hope to see you again.”

  Niall nodded, but didn’t comment, which sort of depressed Jenny. Almost like he knew he wouldn’t be dating her, so there’d be no chance to see this couple again.

  With another smile and a wave, they left.

  By the time the two of them returned home, they weren’t really talking anymore.

  They went inside and Bones came running to greet Jenny but only gave her a slight sniff before jumping excitedly at Niall.

  He could see it hurt her feelings, and tried to nudge the dog in her direction, but it did no good, and the animal continued to jump against him.

  Jenny headed for the kitchen and he slowly followed. “Are ye all right, lass?”

  She retrieved a cup and filled it with water from the door of the refrigerator. “I’m fine. Just thinking about Zach and Tina, hoping it works out.”

  “Doonae worry about them. They are grown, married, with a babe on the way. All will be well.”

  She turned to look at him. “What would you do in similar circumstances?”

  He thought back to Fiona, and once again could only bestir a vague impression of her. So he thought of Jenny instead. If she were his wife, would he leave her and go live with his sister?

  Not for all the riches in the world.

  “If I’d a wife, I’d never leave her. And if she left me, I’d follow and climb into her bed, wherever she was.”

  Jenny’s face colored and he wondered if he’d spoken too vehemently, if he’d given himself, or rather, his feelings away.

  She gave him a faint smile and turned away. “It’s been a long day. I guess I’ll go to bed.”

  “I wish ye wouldnae.” The words were out before he knew he was going to speak them.

  Jenny met his gaze, her eyes soft and startled. “All right.” She glanced around the room and seemed to struggle to find something to say. “We could play cards, or watch a movie.”

  He considered a movie, but knew he’d not be able to resist sitting next to her, perhaps wrapping an arm around her, and pulling her close.

  The thought of doing it filled his heart with an intense yearning like nothing he’d ever felt before.

  Best not to go there.

  “Aye, lass. Cards would be fine then.”

  Sitting across the table from her would surely be less compromising for the both of them.

  Chapter 12

  The card game was an easy one without a ton of complicated rules and Niall caught on quickly.

  Jenny picked up the three of clubs he’d just discarded, then spread her cards on the table and won the round.

  “Ye do realize,” Niall grumbled and laid his cards out, “there’s no’much skill to this game? Tis mostly a game of luck.”

  She wrote down his points, her lips curving. “Says the man losing.”

  Niall, enjoying her amusement, bit back a chuckle and tried to sound surly. “I’m just sayin’, tis no’ a game of skill.”

  “And you’re looking for one? Would you like to step outside on the basketball court?”

  He couldn’t help it; he laughed. “It seems I’ve not had the chance to win at anythin’ since I’ve arrived.”

  “You’re winning at life.”

  “What do ye mean?”

  She picked up her phone again and looked at it, something she’d been doing on and off all night. “You are now up to 117,000 views on your first video. The others are catching up fast.”

  “And that’s winning, is it?”

  She glanced up to study him. “I would think in your profession —”

  “Blast my profession!” the words came out harsher than he’d intended, but he w
as tired of playing the good doctor.

  Her eyebrows rose and she grinned. “Uncomfortable with all of the attention? Do you want me to review some more of the comments?” She picked up her phone again and grinned. “Dr. Salazar, you can get inside my head anytime.”

  “What does that even mean? Is she asking for an ax to a scull?”

  Jenny laughed. “Oooh, bloodthirsty! I think she had something rather more intimate in mind. Heh. Mind, get it?”

  He rolled his eyes.

  She glanced down again. “Dr. Salazar, would you like to tell me how I feel? Hmm. I think she meant—”

  Niall snorted. “I know what she meant, lass.”

  Jenny chuckled.

  Niall calmly shuffled the cards.

  “Okay, here’s another —”

  “No’ one more word!”

  Jenny laughed. “All right. Just giving you a taste of what your future clients are like.”

  “I’ll stick with the ones I have.”

  “Speaking of which, how do you think Zach and Tina are doing?”

  Another subject he was tired of. He started to deal. “We’ll be seeing them soon enough.”

  He wanted to ask a question that had been bothering him, wasn’t sure how tactful it was, but decided to ask anyway. “Lass, why do ye nae have a man?”

  Her mouth dropped.

  “A girl such as yourself should be inundated with males.”

  She made a scoffing noise. “I’ve never really dated much.”

  “Why?”

  Niall could tell that she didn’t want to confide in him, but something within him compelled to push for more. “Tell me.”

  Jenny looked away, and then back at Niall, and then finally shrugged. “According to Pandora, it’s all Michael Smith’s fault.”

  Protectiveness welled up within him. “Who is he, and what did he do?”

  “It’s really nothing. It’s stupid.”

  “I’m listening.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Fine. When I was a sophomore, a boy asked me to a school dance. It was the first time I’d ever been asked out. Later, I overheard some of the girls from his group laughing about it.”

  She shrugged. “I guess it was a setup, and they were going to let me buy the gown and wait for the guy and then he wasn’t going to show. So I sent the boy a note and told him I wouldn’t be able to attend after all.”

  She shrugged again. “He still tried to talk me into going, but at that point, I was on to him, and held my ground. Frankly, he was lucky. My brother was only two years ahead of me in school and would have beaten the guy silly if he’d humiliated me that way.”

  Another lift of her shoulder. “Anyway, I’ve dated a bit, here and there, but for some reason I just end up being awkward, or bored, or embarrassed. Nothing ever seems to work out.” She chuckled, a forced sound. “So, what do you think, Doc? Do I need therapy?”

  Niall's teeth clenched, and he continued to look at the table. He wanted to get control of himself before he did anything foolish. “Nae, lass. Ye just havenae met the right male.”

  She picked up her cards and arranged them. “That’s what I think too. You know, other than Pandora, I’ve never told anyone that story.”

  Finally he glanced up at her. “Whatever happened to the male?”

  She shrugged. “Michael? I have no idea. Last I heard, he lived across the country, I think on the East Coast somewhere.”

  He knew he wouldn’t be around long enough to exact any revenge against the man, nor to court in in the way she deserved. “Perhaps I can avenge ye in the next life,” he said, aching to be her champion.

  She tilted up one corner of her mouth. “All right, I’ll hold you to that.”

  They finished up the card game, which Jenny won handily before announcing she was going to bed.

  She paused awkwardly at the bottom of the stairs. “Thanks for everything today. I hope things work out the way we want them to, but even if they don’t, just … thank you.”

  Niall nodded and watched her go with a heavy heart. The girl was a gem. He’d not known there was someone like her out in the world—the thought of it never crossed his mind.

  Now that he knew, wherever he went in the future, he’d carry her with him. Her face, her smile, her kindhearted nature.

  Had he ever felt this for Fiona?

  With a sigh, he turned away. If he had, he’d forgotten long ago. Which said what about him? That he was fickle? That feelings such as these didn’t last? He wished he knew the answer.

  With nowhere else to go, he headed to the room allotted him and forced himself to lie on the bed.

  No use fretting over what he couldn’t have.

  That’s what he told himself, anyway. But when he closed his eyes, all he could see was Jenny.

  Jenny looked at the coffee and donuts on the seat beside her and hoped the treats would be enough of a peace offering.

  She’d barely slept, and when she had, she’d dreamed of Zach and Tina, yelling and upset. She hoped it wasn’t an omen.

  Niall looked out at the countryside, seeming to enjoy the breeze coming in the window, a look of contentment on his handsome face.

  “You like this area?”

  “I like the countryside, the trees. ’Tis nice to move about.”

  She shot him an amused glance. “In prison were you?”

  “You’re not far wrong.” He swung his gaze her way. “And before ye misunderstand me, nae, I was not in prison. My life in Scotland was simply … stifled.”

  She glanced at him, waiting for more, then decided if he wanted to explain that cryptic remark, he would. “I don’t get out here often, living in the city like I do, but I do love the woods. If we weren’t about to face Zach and Tina, I’d be enjoying this even more.”

  And she did enjoy it. The breeze, the fresh air, the man sitting beside her. Even the smell of coffee just added a feeling of happiness to the situation.

  Or maybe it was the man beside her.

  If Zach and Tina were back together, would she see him again? “Have you been here long? In the states, I mean?”

  “Nae, I have not.”

  Normally she would consider herself in the running for such an attractive man, but he certainly didn’t look at her like a man and uninterested. In fact, quite the opposite.

  She had to work up the guts to say it, but she finally blurted out, “Do you have a girlfriend?”

  She could see him glance at her out of the corner of her eye, but didn’t dare look at him. She simply kept her eyes on the dirt road in front of her, and her hands gripped on the wheel.

  “Not anymore.”

  That sounded … not good. Like maybe he was still grieving for someone? Perhaps recovering from a bad breakup? Perhaps in need of someone to help him through it? The positive voice in her head insisted.

  “I’m sorry. Did you have a recent breakup?”

  “Nae, it happened a long time ago. So long, I’m having trouble remembering her face.”

  She tried to look sympathetic, she really did, but that sounded positive, didn’t it? Well, for her anyway.

  She wished she had the nerve to reach out and take his hand. “Do you miss your family?”

  He seemed to consider for a moment, and then nodded. “My family’s been gone for a long time, but I do miss my brothers-in-arms.”

  “Did you enjoy being in the army?”

  “I didnae at first, as it was not my choice, but aye, I did enjoy the sense of purpose and the camaraderie. When that purpose proved to be false, it hurt. But by then it was too late.”

  “How did you get interested in helping people?”

  “I’ve had time to think over the years, to consider my own regrets, and the way I would’ve acted differently. It isn’t hard to understand someone like your brother. No man wants to give up his wife, and most especially an expecting one. Pride can get in the way, and I understand pride far more than I care to. Sometimes it’s all ye have.”

  “I think you ca
n include women in that. It seems as if they’re both having a hard time apologizing and moving on from past hurts.”

  “That is the truth of it.”

  She recognized the turn up ahead. “We’re almost there. Do you think you’re ready for this?”

  “I’m ready. Though I suspect your brother and his wife have already worked out their differences.”

  Her hands gripped the steering wheel as she wished for his confidence.

  “What if they’re not there?”

  “They will be.”

  They’d find out soon enough.

  They rounded another corner, and then the cabin was before them.

  Jenny pulled to a stop on the dirt driveway, half expecting her brother to burst from the house.

  When he didn’t, she picked up the plastic bag containing the telephones she’d removed earlier and slung it over her arm. She picked up the donuts and coffee, and got out of the car. Still watching the house, she nudged the door shut with her hip. Setting everything on the top of the car, she shoved her car keys deep into her front pocket, so they wouldn’t be visible to either Zach or Tina.

  Gathering everything again, she moved to the front of the car and waited for Niall to join her. “Ready?”

  He smiled at her. “Of course.”

  They walked to the front door and knocked.

  Niall waited about thirty seconds, knocked again, and just when Jenny was starting to fear Zach and Tina had hoofed it out of there, she heard someone coming to the door.

  It opened, and Zach and Tina both stood there, expressions neutral, giving nothing away.

  “Hi,” Jenny lifted the donuts and coffee in front of her. “We come bearing gifts.”

  Zach and Tina look at her, stone cold.

  Yikes! Heart twisting with guilt, Jenny shook the bag. “I’ve got sprinkles and chocolate glazed.”

  Tina’s gaze flickered to the bag, and Jenny felt a small spurt of triumph. She knew her friend well.

  “Can we come in?” Niall asked.

  Jenny was suddenly very, very glad he was at her side.

  Zach looked like he was going to deny them entrance for a moment, and then finally took a step back. “By all means.” He swept his arm in a grand gesture of welcome.