by Donna Fasano
Daniel sucked in a breath and blew it out. He'd stayed in some amazing places over the years, but nothing this spectacular. He tried to imagine Megan standing in that scene, on the lawn by the lake, and found he could. Megan belonged here among this natural grandeur in a way no other woman of his acquaintance would.
This last week he'd thought of her often, remembered the soft sound of her melodic accent, the way she angled her head as she listened, how she lowered her lashes to hide her eyes when he caught her staring at him.
There was something old-fashioned and noble about her, as if she had stepped out of an historical novel. She didn't belong in the same world he lived in. Sure, he had mixed with the rich and famous in fashionable hot spots around the world, but that existence seemed so superficial and fleeting compared to this place.
"Spectacular, isn't it?" Duncan prompted.
"Amazing. How old is the castle?"
"There's been Mackenzies living here since the fourteenth century. They were declared rebels in 1584. Then in the 1700s, they were ardent Jacobites. The family has a turbulent history."
Daniel's gaze strayed past the castle to the snowy peaks. The clear, crisp air brought back memories of racing over fresh powder, his heart pounding. He couldn't wait to get out on his snowboard.
"Do you ski?" he asked Duncan.
"As soon as I learned to walk. We all can. Meg's the best. She had a shot at being on the Olympic team a few years ago."
"No kidding." There was a lot more to Megan than Daniel had thought. "Does she snowboard?"
"No. Perhaps you can teach her." Duncan glanced at him, his eyebrows raised.
"Maybe." He'd have to be careful not to spend too much time alone with her. That woman would get under his skin if he didn't watch out. In fact, she already had. Perhaps staying with the Mackenzies had been a bad idea. "Are you sure you don't mind putting me up?"
"Heck, no. Megan and I rattle around in that huge place on our own. Blair's usually posted overseas and our younger brother, Hew, lives in one of the estate cottages."
"What about Brigadier Mackenzie, or does he prefer to be called Sir Robert?"
"Dad spends most of his time in London these days and my mother lives in Barbados. She and Dad are only still married because they never see each other."
"Yeah, my parents have just split up. Marriages don't seem to last."
"Tell me about it." Duncan slammed the vehicle into gear with feeling and it bumped and jolted down the hill. They followed the track along the river and rounded the loch, halting outside the front of the castle.
Daniel wiped his damp palms on his thighs. His gaze went to the door, but there was no sign of Megan. His pulse raced at the thought of meeting her again. Crazy, he didn't get nervous about seeing women, or he never had before.
He climbed out and stretched the kinks in his neck and back, eyeing the turrets and old stone walls coated in lichen. Staying here was going to be an interesting experience.
Duncan passed across his bags and grabbed his laptop from the vehicle.
A cold wind whistled down the valley, rippling the water on the loch. Daniel drew in a deep breath of air that smelled of pine trees and heather. It was so quiet here, the silence almost a living presence.
Two West Highland white terriers scampered around the side of the castle and dashed towards Duncan, their tails wagging like mad.
"Have you been good boys?" Duncan crouched to pat them and they wiggled around him, nuzzling his hands.
"You like animals?" he asked Daniel.
"I grew up with dogs."
"That's good. Meet Bruce and Torrie."
Daniel bent and petted the excited Westies, smiling at their antics as they vied for his attention.
"Better go and tell Meg we've arrived." Duncan headed for the castle, held open the heavy oak door, and stood aside for Daniel to pass into the high-ceilinged, wood-paneled entrance hall.
Daniel cocked his head and took in the ancient tapestries, shields, and weapons hanging on the walls. This really was like stepping back into the past.
A child's laughter caught his attention. A small boy scampered through a door, naked from the waist down.
With a gurgling laugh he headed for Duncan, who put down his bag and scooped the child into his arms. "How are you, Gus, laddie?"
"Fergus Mackenzie, you come back here and sit on your potty." Megan's voice came from close by, then she hurried through the door after the boy with a packet of wet wipes in her hand.
At the sight of them she halted, eyes wide, like a deer caught in headlights.
All week, Daniel had told himself he was imagining how he felt about Megan. It had been the glamour of the occasion and the fact it was his first time at the RAMC ball that made him see her through rose-colored spectacles.
But even though she looked less than elegant, wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, with her hair in a messy ponytail, his heart gave that same strange bump.
How inconvenient that just when he'd given up women, he found one he really liked.
~*~
Pleasure burned through Megan at the sight of Daniel's warm smile and blue eyes. During the last week, she'd tried to kid herself she didn't care about him. Now she had to admit the truth—he lit a fire inside her like no man she'd ever met.
"You're early," Megan blurted. What a fright she must look. She tugged to straighten her ponytail, pulled askew by small, sticky fingers, and resisted the temptation to glance at her front, certain those same sticky fingers had left their mark on her sweatshirt.
She'd thought she had an hour to tidy up, fix her hair and makeup, and change clothes before they arrived.
Pasting on a grin she stepped forward, hand extended, trying to recover her composure. "Welcome to Kindrogan Castle, Daniel. It's lovely to see you again."
"Hello, Megan. You have an amazing home here." He gripped her fingers and drew her close, pressing a kiss to her cheek.
Time slowed as she touched her lips to the roughness of his jaw and inhaled the smell of his skin. The days collapsed back a week to the New Year's Ball—to the heaven of dancing in his arms. With a conscious effort she retreated, putting some distance between them, stowing away this new precious experience of him to enjoy in private.
"Come through to the kitchen. I'll make you both a cup of tea." She gave Daniel a glance she hoped appeared casual. "I'm sure you could do with one after your journey. I know the plane and train up from London can be rather tiresome."
As she walked through the gloomy hall to the kitchen, her back tingled, hyperaware of Daniel behind her.
"Sit down and make yourself at home."
She put the kettle on the range and set the biscuit tin in front of him. "There's home-baked Scottish shortbread if you'd like some."
He lifted the lid and his lips quirked in a smile as he took a piece. Her heart danced with pleasure as he bit into the crumbly shortbread with a groan of appreciation. She had made them especially for him, but she would never tell.
Megan lifted her mischievous nephew from Duncan's arms. "Now, you wee rascal, back to the cloakroom with you."
After carrying Fergus to the small room off the hall, she sat him on his blue potty and stood over him while he finished. Then she pulled on his trainer pants and washed her hands before taking him back to the kitchen.
The kettle whistled and she passed Fergus to Duncan, then poured hot water into the teapot and covered it with a tartan tea cozy that had belonged to her grandmother. She set the pot on the table with the cups, milk jug, and sugar bowl.
When she sat down, Fergus reached for her. She took him back into her arms, cuddling the darling little boy close while he squirmed, reaching to tangle his fingers in her hair.
"Meg, Meg, Meg," he chanted, pulling her ponytail off-center again. She stopped resisting the inevitable and let him stroke her hair. Touching hair was his comforter when he was tired.
"I hope Daddy picks you up soon, precious, or you'll be asleep." Her younger brother,
Hew, enjoyed spending time with his son and she hated for him to miss out. She rubbed noses with her nephew, then settled him in her arms while he sucked his thumb.
A glance up from beneath her lashes found Daniel watching her. Part of her would love to know what he was thinking, but if she did it would probably hurt her feelings. If he hadn't been attracted to her when she was all primped for the ball, he certainly wasn't going to be interested in her when she looked like this.
After she arrived home from London, she'd googled his name. Hundreds of images filled the computer screen of him with beautiful women at fashionable social events. Romantic relationships were obviously not a problem for him per se, so she had to assume the problem was her.
When he'd claimed her company at the ball, he was being pragmatic. After all, Duncan had asked him to escort her. Daniel had to bid on a woman or eat dinner with a vacant seat beside him. He'd simply tried to impress his new commanding officer by keeping the wallflower sister happy.
During the next six weeks while he stayed, she would have to keep her feelings hidden, but she'd rather spend time with him as friends than not at all.
Her youngest brother, Hew, arrived and took his sleepy son home. Much as Megan loved babysitting Fergus, she was not sorry when Hew collected him. Their housekeeper, Mrs. Stewart, was away caring for her sick sister, leaving Megan to hold the fort. She was so busy keeping house, babysitting Fergus, and working, she hardly had time to sleep at the moment.
Megan checked the venison casserole in the oven and sipped her tea between peeling potatoes. She let the pleasant timbre of Daniel's voice wash over her as he and Duncan discussed work at the army institute. Once the potatoes were in the pot to boil, she turned back to the men.
"Daniel, shall I show you to your room so you can clean up before dinner?"
"Yes. That'll be great. Thanks."
With quick strides, Megan headed to the foot of the stairs and slung the strap of Daniel's snowboard case over her shoulder, leaving him to carry his other two bags. She led him up the wide stairs, trying to see the place through the eyes of a stranger.
Discolored old family portraits lined the walls and the ancient wooden paneling was carved with Celtic symbols from antiquity.
"That's the Mackenzie coat of arms, isn't it?" Daniel pointed at a shield above the front door.
"That's right. How did you know?"
"You showed me your brooch last weekend."
Her heart skipped then jigged at the thought he had remembered such a thing. She silently reprimanded herself for being silly. It would be so easy to fall into the trap of reading hidden meaning into things Daniel said and did. That way lay heartbreak.
Turning onto the landing that overlooked the entrance hall, she trod along the creaky floorboards to the end bedroom. She had given him a large room with views from two sides: over Loch Kinder, and towards the mountains.
She opened the door and led him in, placing his snowboard case across the wooden arms of a chair. "I hope you like the room."
"Fantastic." He dropped his bags and glanced around, his gaze pausing on the four-poster bed.
Megan's eyes strayed to the bed she had made up for him with the loving care no normal guest received. Her cheeks heated, remembering some of her thoughts as she'd smoothed the sheets.
He wandered across to check the view of the snowy peaks through the window. "Wow. I can't wait to get out there on my snowboard."
"Snow is one thing we have plenty of up here at this time of year."
"Perhaps you can show me the best slopes sometime? I'll let you try out my snowboard."
"I prefer skis." The truth was she had never used a snowboard. Her father thought that snowboarding was for tearaways. A stupid prejudice, really, since snowboarding was an Olympic sport. She shrugged. "Maybe I'll give snowboarding a try. Are you free next weekend?"
Daniel grinned, his blue eyes glinting with happiness that she felt right down to her toes. "Absolutely. It's a date!"
Chapter 4
The sound of noisy dogs woke Daniel. He lay staring up at the red fabric canopy of the old four-poster bed, listening to the commotion outside his window. Voices mingled with the excited barking. He was certain he heard Megan.
He climbed out of bed, goose bumps streaking over his bare chest in the chill. Rubbing his arms, he padded barefoot across the wooden floorboards to the window. A gap between the curtains gave him a view of the yard below.
Five dogs frolicked: Duncan's two Westies, a couple of cairn terriers, and a Jack Russell. Young Fergus dashed around with the dogs while the boy's father stood chatting with a grizzled old guy and a policeman who leaned back against a four-wheel drive police vehicle.
To start with, Daniel couldn't see Megan, although he was certain he'd heard her. Then she strode into view carrying a tray of steaming mugs that she passed out to the men. They chatted and laughed, Megan cheerful and relaxed.
This morning she wore a knee-length tartan skirt and black leather boots, her hair pinned up with a shiny clip. She waved her expressive hands while she talked, frequently laughing, angling her head to listen in a way somehow both cute and elegant. Daniel leaned forward and pressed his nose to the glass. Megan Mackenzie was a beautiful, unique woman.
It looked as though the policeman thought so too. The man watched her, especially when she wasn't looking.
Daniel shifted, irritated, wishing he could go down there and tell the guy to leave her alone.
A sigh of relief whispered between Daniel's lips when the policeman opened his car door. "That's right, buddy, off you go."
Megan carried the mugs away on the tray and returned a few moments later wearing a jacket, her handbag over her arm. She climbed in the passenger seat of the police cruiser.
"No way. You're kidding me." Daniel slapped a palm against the window frame in frustration as the vehicle pulled off. He dashed across his room to the other window to see the police car take the road around the loch.
Where was she going with the guy?
Daniel raked back his hair and blew out a breath. "It doesn't matter. She's out of bounds."
Yeah, right. He needed to keep telling himself because it wasn't sinking in.
He was so deep in thought, a knock on his bedroom door made him jump. Striding across the room, he wrenched the door open, still irritated.
Duncan stood there already dressed in uniform.
"Huh?" Daniel had been so busy watching Megan he hadn't thought to check the time. "Sorry, am I late?" A fine start to his first day working at the army institute.
"Don't worry. I'm not planning to leave for another hour. I have a few things to sort out here. Megan's left your breakfast in the warming oven, but first I need to show you how the bathroom works."
Still distracted by what he'd seen, Daniel slung his towel around his neck, grabbed his wash bag, and followed Duncan along the corridor.
"I saw a policeman outside."
"That'd be Lyall. He's police liaison for the Kindrogan Mountain Rescue Team. He's around here a lot."
"Megan got in his car." A hint of annoyance crept into Daniel voice.
Duncan cast him a curious look, a slight smile on his lips. "He gives her a lift into work sometimes. Does it bother you?"
Clenching his teeth, Daniel shook his head and pushed aside the battery of questions he wanted to ask. He needed to let this go and concentrate on why he was here.
Duncan opened the bathroom door. An old claw-foot tub sat near the wall, a shower coming off the faucet. An ancient sink stood under the window. The room reminded him of his days at boarding school.
"Gosh, it's cold in here." Duncan thumped the cast iron radiator that looked like it belonged in a museum. He twisted the taps on the bath. The pipes knocked, but no water appeared.
"Damn plumbing is so unreliable. We probably need the whole system upgraded."
Daniel agreed wholeheartedly, yet refrained from commenting.
"I was worried this might happen. You'll have
to use Meg's bathroom. She won't mind."
Duncan led Daniel back past his room to the other end of the corridor and down some steps. Two doors faced each other in this more modern part of the castle. "That's Meg's bedroom," Duncan said with a gesture, "and this is her bathroom."
He pushed open the door and a blissful cloud of fragrant, steamy heat enveloped Daniel.
"The shower definitely works in here," Duncan said. "I'll see you downstairs in a minute."
The welcome warmth seeped into Daniel's chilled body as he glanced around. With a sink, bath, and shower that had been fitted sometime in living memory, this was a lot more comfortable.
A bathmat draped over the side of the bath, a net bag of child's bath toys hung over the faucet. Megan's toiletries and towels were all neatly arranged. She must be a tidy person. He loved discovering such details like puzzle pieces he could fit together to learn who she was.
A small makeup bag sat on the shelf. He touched his fingertips to the silky fabric, then picked up a perfume bottle and sniffed. With almost guilty pleasure, he inhaled the sweet fragrance of Megan.
After the ball, his jacket had smelled of her perfume. Every time he opened his wardrobe, he caught a whiff. This last week he had found numerous excuses to look inside his wardrobe, just so he could breathe in Megan's fragrance.
He draped his towel over the radiator, stripped off his pajama pants, and stepped into the shower. The smell of her toiletries lingered. He stood beneath the hot spray, loath to soap himself with his own shower gel and wipe out her delicate fragrance.
This was crazy. He should be focusing on his new posting at the army institute, but he just wanted the week to be over so he could go skiing with Megan. He had been here for less than a day and the woman was already taking over his psyche.
~*~
The crisp snow crunched beneath Megan's boots as she walked around the Land Rover to take her skis off the back of the vehicle.
Daniel joined her to grab his snowboard case. "This is a fantastic spot. I can't wait to get going." Flashing a grin, he unclipped the molded plastic and pulled the snowboard out.
