Take Me Now

by Nancy Jardine

  Nairn exited, his grin exultant, his kiss a fierce plunder. “I’m not often wrong, Aela, but I was about this little beauty. It’s small, though I did specify Mhari had to make sure it could take a proper wheelchair. There’s no way I will be so ill-prepared again.”

  Her enquiry lacked punch when he ushered her towards the door. “Food?”

  “Got to go, Aela. Can’t wait over this one.”

  She was unclear of what couldn’t be postponed, but got on with her job.

  Dinner was marvellous although Ruaridh had cancelled. Nairn seemed annoyed about it but Aela wasn’t fussed since there was a strumming tension building between them. She couldn’t wait to get back to the castle, though it was no great surprise when Ruaridh joined them in the bar as they were having a nightcap before returning home.

  “Aela!” Ruaridh’s bear hug of welcome almost crushed her. “It’s good to see you back.”

  “You too.” She gave him a little peck on the cheek.

  “Don’t even think of hugging me, Father.” Nairn’s sarcastic quip blasted, phony emphasis being put on their relationship as he glowered at Ruaridh. “I’ve a bone to pick with you.”

  Ruaridh’s answering grin gained the laugh he’d intended from Aela. “Only one? You must be slipping, my lad!”

  “What was in your mind, old man, foisting your ex-wife on me in Barcelona?”

  Ruaridh’s grin was even wider. “That’s no way to refer to your dear mother, Nairn.”

  She accepted Ruaridh’s hand-patting before he continued. “I hope it wasn’t too much of an ordeal, Aela, meeting Caitlinn?”

  She polished her tact. “Caitlinn was very nice and very keen to find out lots about me. Thank you very much, Ruaridh.”

  “Nosy was she?” Ruaridh’s chuckle reverberated across the room.

  “Mother was her usual domineering self, driving the conversation where she wanted it to go.” Nairn’s gaze remained on her as he added, “It was very enlightening, Aela, to find out both my parents seem to know much more about you than I do.”

  Ruaridh shook his head. “You just don’t ask the right questions, lad. When you learn to do that you won’t be left behind.”

  “Well, tell me, then?” Nairn pinned her gaze, seemingly refusing to rise to Ruaridh’s bait. “Have you got lots of family skeletons you’re hiding from me?”

  “I don’t think so, but I won’t know till I meet them.” She truly found the situation amusing though the dissent between father and son was still unfathomable.

  “Fancy coming out with me tomorrow, Aela, if Nairn can spare you for a while?” Ruaridh’s tone was mirthful as he turned to include Nairn in his innocent gaze. “I’ve hunted down your great-grandfather’s nephew on Mull. There’s also a cousin of his still alive, and they’d both love to meet you.” Ruaridh then quoted the names of the people he’d located.

  “I found records for those names on the internet,” Aela cried, now sure they were the correct Camerons, since Cameron was a fairly common name in the surrounding area.

  ***

  Nairn couldn’t refuse to give her the time off to go sailing with his father; how could he deny her anything when she was so enthusiastic?

  He felt such an idiot.

  He’d been blind jealous of Ruaridh, but the phone calls and meetings made good sense now. Ruaridh definitely liked Aela, but now the jealous haze had cleared a little – just a little – he could see that his father’s regard for Aela was that of a concerned friend, and nothing more. Relief washed through him because he no longer had to suppress the concept of alienating his father over a relationship with her.

  Of course, he still had to make her stay longer than the four weeks of their contract.

  They spent another while chatting to people who came by to get an update on his health, though at the same time it was clear that Aela was being checked out.

  To his total chagrin she told everyone that her visit to Lanera was temporary, emphasizing her short-term contract, and was so enthusiastic when relating her plans to do her Masters course back in Vancouver. An added bonus, she said, was Ruaridh helping her contact long lost relatives.

  Though she wasn’t ignoring him, he found sitting beside her unbearable.

  As Aela drove him back to the castle, he reviewed his own plans. Her contract was still extant, but for how long? Rapid calculations made, there was a handful of days left to convince her she could be his lover for more than a fling.

  Light and friendly, putting no immediate pressure on her was the tactic he decided on. Definitely for the best since he wasn’t fit enough yet.

  When they reached the castle hallway, he kept his invitation cajoling. “Would you care to try out my new lift with me, to make sure I reach my huge bed?”

  Aela knew how to parry teasing. “Not happening tonight, thank you, sir. How about I take a rain check …this time?” Before he could kiss her again, she sped away to her own quarters.

  Running after her was not yet in his repertoire. Cheeky wench! The reference to a rain check he filed away as a very positive step forward.

  ***

  Aela found the next day dawning clear and hot, perfect for the floatplane flight to Glasgow for Nairn’s early hospital appointment. Once again he was chameleon-like, back to being just friendly. She determined to be the same. What else could she do?

  The consultant gave the green light for weight bearing on Nairn’s broken leg as everything was healing nicely, and his cast was redone with a proper walking cradle. The new lighter-weight plaster stretched from below the knee to his toes since the patella hairline crack was not thought to be an issue any longer. Nairn needed to bend the knee again and gradually get the muscles flexing properly. A different lightweight walking aid replaced the heavy crutch he’d been using. Nairn was over the moon when he hobbled out to her, his limp fast and furious.

  His arm cast had also been changed to a lighter weight support, freeing his fingers. When he reached her, regardless of the watching consultant, the kiss he gave her almost knocked her for six. A discreet cough behind them reminded her where they were.

  She couldn’t miss the twinkle in the doctor’s eye when he, quite loudly, stated, “Give the ribs a chance, Mr. Malcolm. Or perhaps I should book you both into a recovery room?”

  Nairn made a new appointment for a few weeks hence when the plaster casts would be removed and set off for the car at a jaunty pace.

  An interview at Glasgow City Centre Police Office was their next venue. Minutes after their arrival, she found herself sitting alongside Nairn in front of a bank of monitors – one of which displayed the hotel car park security tape for the day of his motorbike accident. The detectives had included her in the showing explaining that although they’d no expectations of her recognizing anyone, they felt she should view since she’d also been targeted as a victim.

  The grainy images were hard to discern; careful viewing being advised. Nairn concentrated on the freeze-framed images of a man and woman who had exited a car in the bay adjacent to his motorbike.

  “Do you recognize either of these two people?”

  She heard Nairn’s breath exhale as he answered the detective. She recognized the tone already – Nairn was frustrated with himself. “The man I don’t recognize at all, but there’s something familiar about the woman, though I can’t pin-point it.”

  Nairn was bothered even more when the footage continued because the man did seem to be tampering with the bike. The car had been parked cunningly close, the back passenger door left open deliberately. The woman partially obscured the view of the camera, but the opinion of the detectives was that the man was maliciously interfering with the bike front wheel.

  Nairn’s disappointment grew even more acute by the end of the interview. The woman, he’d repeated, was elusively familiar. The detectives concluded the tapes could be used as evidence later to prove malicious intent to harm, if further evidence was uncovered. Since no motive for the bike-tampering had been uncovered, the poli
ce warning them to continue to be on their guard sent shivers down Aela’s back.

  It was easy for her to sympathize with Nairn’s impatience since it was clear that the threats to both of them had been spitefully intended. Calming Nairn’s rants was a challenge because he was again berating himself for putting her in the firing line.

  Thorough checks were undertaken before the floatplane took off; there was no way she was going to fly an aircraft that had been fiddled with. Yet the extra time she took didn’t seem to matter to Nairn since he was preoccupied, intensely frustrated and disappointed. At times during the flight his introspection was unbearable, and her advances to lighten his mood were either met with gruff answers or stony silences. What she knew she could do, however, was be a competent pilot and the short flight was accomplished smoothly with none of the drama of the previous day.

  Ruaridh phoned after they ate a late lunch at Garvald Castle. Was she free go to Craignure, on the island of Mull, that afternoon? Nairn readily agreed. She felt too readily. She didn’t know whether to be peeved or joyful about getting out of his range as he grunted his afternoon work could be done without her. She whipped out her USB stick and made print-outs of her collection of family photographs, then fled. Her ancestry quest was what she’d come to Scotland for, not to get embroiled with a moody man who ran hot and cold.

  The visit was a revelation because she found the old man bore physical characteristics akin to her Uncle Harris. The tone of voice, and the deep rumble of his laugh were uncannily alike, but the man’s lilting accent was a big difference. She was saddened to realize her own father might have looked just the same if he hadn’t died while still a young man. On the positive side, her elderly relative was able to identify and name a few of the people in her photographs, telling her his female cousin on another small island nearby would be much better at remembering the family stuff. The visit ended with Aela promising to return soon to meet up with other family members. She hoped she’d be able to keep her promise, but her days as Nairn’s general factotum were diminishing.

  On their return journey, Ruaridh relinquished the wheel for her to pilot them back to Lanera. Her spirits were buoyant by the time she reached the castle.

  “Back down to London tomorrow,” Nairn informed her as she entered the office. “Just a quick hop though. I’m going to my corporate lawyers to sign the agreements with Prince Hasson.”

  “Will he be there?” She wasn’t sure she wanted to be there if he was.

  “Don’t expect so. His legal team should arrive with his signatures already in place.”

  The rest of their interaction was polite.

  Except for the many times Nairn seemed to bump into her…or touch her hand. The speculative looks were the worst before he turned away and hirpled off.

  Chapter Twenty

  “Can’t do the floatplane today, Nairn.”

  The cloud levels and wind conditions the next morning weren’t in their favour.

  “How do you feel about piloting the catamaran?” Nairn didn’t sound too confident but Aela was.

  “It’s no problem. Ruaridh let me have a shot of his. It’ll be longer to get you to Glasgow, though, so we’d best get going right now, if you’re to make your meeting. I’ll need to dump you down in Mariskay first.”

  Nairn muttered and mumbled as he picked up his briefcase – the cove staircase was still impossible for him.

  It was an exhilarating sail even if the journey south took more time than flying by floatplane.

  The day was successful, thankfully without the presence of Prince Hassan. Aela cherished transporting Nairn, and mentally patted herself on the back because she felt she’d been competent in her PA duties as well.

  But for the rest she wasn’t so sure. Their interaction wasn’t unpleasant, merely tepid. Now, on their return journey she was desperate for some sort of compromise. There were hardly any days of her contract left.

  As one colleague to another, Nairn coolly applauded her expertise on landing at Glasgow airport, having encountered some unexpected turbulence over the Scottish borders. During the sea trip back to Lanera he melted into a friendly companion, jabbering away like a bubblyjock. Aela could hardly credit him but wasn’t going to literally rock the boat. She was coming to understand how Nairn’s fevered brain worked. Problems were thrashed out in brooding silence; followed by some conclusion he personally could live with; and then the sun appeared from behind his black clouds. His mercurial moods infuriated her, but at least she now felt she had an inkling of what drove him. The spectre of the sabotage still sat heavily on him as they discussed it, and she accordingly cut him some slack.

  “We’re here, Nairn.” Her declaration came on arrival at Mariskay harbour in the almost dark. They couldn’t possibly have made such a long day trip if it hadn’t been the month of June. Daylight was at its longest, full dark not descending till well after eleven p.m.

  Exhausted, she piled them into the awaiting Range Rover. Bed. What a lovely concept she thought as she switched on the car headlights, having berthed the catamaran next to the boatyard.

  ***

  Nairn wasn’t prepared to wait any longer to get closer to Aela, really close, but first he needed to touch base with developments. He’d not looked at his computer, or checked his phone for hours.

  Deliberately.

  The last hours of their travel time on the catamaran he’d spent asking Aela everything under the sun he could think about. Her childhood; living with her Uncle Harris after she’d been orphaned when her mother suddenly died when she was thirteen; her favourite things; her schooling; her time at university. Anything, and everything, that occurred to him. In turn, he’d fed her with any answers she’d requested. It had been a magical time of discovery. They’d laughed and shared, and bonded in a way they hadn’t before.

  He stopped at the office while Aela carried on to the apartment telling him she’d dump her jacket and make a bedtime drink for them. Minutes later he tracked her down in her bedroom to tell her they had to fly off to the Caribbean the following day. She was flopped down on the bed, her discarded jacket hanging off the edge.

  “The Caribbean? Jeeze Nairn, you don’t piss around do you?” Aela groaned as he watched her eyes open again.

  “Hey! I’m paying you for twenty-four hours-a-day.” Grabbing her hand he prized her off the duvet cover.

  “Yeah! I know, body and bloody soul.”

  Nairn grinned at her phrasing since it really was what he wanted from her.

  “Okay. You got me. Where should I book, and for how long?”

  Guilt crept in as he heard the fatigue in her voice, struggling as she was to rise from the bed. “Is it so urgent you go tomorrow, Nairn?”

  “Aela.” He grasped her hand as she passed him and pulled her to him, loosely sliding his arms around her waist. “I know you’re bushed but think about it. We’ve already worked out this possible contract is now the most likely reason my company – and both of us by the way – has been targeted for bleeding mayhem.”

  “Are you trying to flush them out?”

  He meant his answer to be evasive. He didn’t want to alarm Aela in any way. “You know I contacted the consortium last weekend for details of the meeting. They were the ones who postponed it, and now their confirmatory e-mail has come. The meeting is definitely on for this Friday.” She’d pencilled in the consortium’s two future possibilities. The first opportunity was for the Friday coming, now only two days away. “We are going to this meeting, and we aren’t going to arrive too late for it. We leave tomorrow morning.”

  Aela slipped out of his arms to get things organized, yawning her head off. “Where do you suggest staying?”

  He rattled off the hotel where the client meeting was being held, unable to suggest any others as he’d never been to the Caribbean before. He left the booking choice to her for a stay of three nights while he volunteered to make them a hot bedtime drink.

  He appeared back at the office, two mugs precariousl
y propped on his right cast, to find Aela flopped across her desk, her head cradled on her arms, her eyes closed. He only just managed to decipher her mumble. “Okay. Weather’s good. Leave early.”

  He closed down her computer, hobbled to the apartment where he placed the two mugs on the table in the small sitting room, then returned for her. “Come on wonder-woman-who-ain’t-quite any more. Time for bed.” He hauled her up from the seat in a one-arm hug and wobbled her unresisting body down the hall and into the apartment sitting room. Once there, he gathered her into his arms and kissed her. “Thank you, Aela. You are one highly competent woman. All day long you’ve done my bidding and haven’t complained once.”

  “I haven’t?” Aela muttered into his shirt.

  “Well, nothing that really mattered.” He stretched for a mug and presented it to her. “Drink your hot chocolate.”

  Picking up his own drink he urged a salutation. “Slainthe, Aela!”

  Clanking their mugs together, eyes closing, she sipped.

  “Come on,” he declared a few silent minutes later, even before they had finished drinking. He stumbled Aela into her bedroom and started to unbutton her shirt, fumbling one-handed with the fiddly fastenings. “That clause again, Aela, my proficient woman? Get rid of these clothes for us.”

  “Nairn?”

  She clearly wasn’t going to deny him anything as she unbuttoned his shirt first and slid it off his shoulders.

  “I can’t wait any longer to lie next to you, Aela, even though we’re not going to have mind blowing sex.”

  “We’re not?” She looked ready to capitulate even though she was beyond shattered.

  “No. Tonight we need to sleep together in the proper sense. Please don’t say no because I need to wrap myself around you.”

  “I’m saying nothing, Nairn.”

  They crept into bed naked, Nairn cuddled around her, sort of, as much as his lighter leg cast would allow. “Aela?”