by Donna Fasano
The sound of a door shutting upstairs carried into the kitchen, followed by the faint thump of footfalls on the stairs.
Lyall put his cup on the counter. "Think I'll be on my way. I've just remembered something I want to do."
"What about your breakfast?" Megan nodded towards the pan.
"I've lost my appetite." With an unreadable glance, Lyall stomped out the back door.
What was eating him? Megan stared after him for a moment, puzzled, then turned as Daniel strolled through the door, his usual grin in place.
The dogs jumped up, tails wagging, and wriggled around his feet, vying for attention. "Hey there, Bruce, hey, Torrie. Are you good boys?" Daniel patted them and stroked behind their ears.
Megan's heart did a happy jig, her pulse rate increasing at the sight of him.
The dogs went back to their beds in the corner and Daniel turned his attention to Megan. "Good morning, stranger. I've missed you this week."
"I had to cover evening surgery at short notice. A bit of a pain."
Fergus bounced in his high chair, slapping his palms on his tray, squealing with excitement.
"How are you, Gussy? Wearing your breakfast, I see," Daniel said.
"Dan, build. Dan, build." Gus pointed at the wooden bricks on the floor.
Daniel picked up a few and built a tower on the table.
"Gus wants." Fergus bounced some more.
"I think Auntie Meg would like to wipe those dirty fingers before you touch anything, bud."
To distract him, Daniel grabbed a toy dog and bounded it around the table, making it snuffle and bark. Fergus giggled while Bruce and Torrie jumped up from their spot in the corner and joined in the racket.
It seemed her nephew and the dogs had also fallen under Daniel's spell. Everyone seemed to like him except for Lyall and Angus, but then Angus didn't like anyone much.
Megan laughed, the atmosphere in the room lighter now Daniel had arrived to lift Lyall's gloomy cloud.
"I hope you're hungry. There's lots to eat."
"Ravenous. Can't beat a Kindrogan Scottish breakfast, cooked by the fair hand of the laird's daughter."
Megan blushed, more at his intonation than his words, and the way his eyes twinkled with memories of their kiss. She had thought about that kiss a lot. Lyall was no doubt right; Daniel was only passing through. She already knew that in three weeks he would fly to Norway for cold weather training with the army. He might then return to the institute, or he might be posted overseas.
If she wanted to spend time with Daniel, she must take her chance while he was here. With two brothers and a father in the army, she knew that army doctors had to go where they were sent. Wives and girlfriends came in second place.
Daniel sat beside Fergus, seemingly unconcerned by the sticky fingers waving dangerously close to his oatmeal-colored cable-knit sweater.
He was not the shallow pleasure-seeker that the news reports and pictures suggested. There was so much more to Daniel than that. She was certain.
Megan set a huge plate of breakfast before him of fried eggs, haggis, sausages, bacon, potato scones, fried tomatoes, and mushrooms.
"Wonderful. You cook the best breakfasts." He tucked in with relish, giving a little groan of appreciation that made her knees weak.
"Lyall's mother taught me. She's our housekeeper. She's a lovely woman. It's a shame she's not here at the moment." Megan set her own plate on the table and sat down.
"I thought I might go on a tour of the local area today. Maybe have lunch out. Would you like to join me?" Daniel said.
If Mrs. Stewart were here to look after Fergus, Megan would jump at the chance. "I'm babysitting all day, I'm afraid."
"Bring Fergus." Daniel tapped the end of the baby's nose, making him giggle. "You'll enjoy a day out, won't you, Gus?"
Daniel's gaze moved back to Megan and her heart skipped a beat as their eyes met. What was it about this man that arrowed right to the core of her being? She'd never felt anything like it before.
"Sean and Kelly have baby carriers to go on their backs. Does Hew have something like that?" he asked.
"Yes. It's at his cottage."
"Can we pick it up on the way out? I don't mind carrying Gus."
Megan would take lots of photos of Daniel hiking with a baby on his back and post them on her Facebook page. This kind, friendly man was the real Daniel, not the Romeo who had dated so many glamorous women. If she wished hard enough, she would make that true.
Chapter 7
Daniel turned the Kindrogan Estate's pickup into the lane where Megan pointed and stopped beside Hew's stone cottage on the banks of Loch Kinder. He leaned forward, hands resting on top of the steering wheel, and took in the view.
A vast expanse of water lay in front of them, as smooth and shiny as polished steel. Mist draped the pine-clad slopes of the mountains on the other side, drifting in ragged wisps like something from a fantasy novel. "What an amazing view," he said softly, more to himself than Megan.
"I'll just run in and find the baby carrier," Megan said. "Won't be long." She jumped out of the passenger's seat and headed for the door on the side of the cottage, her ponytail bouncing, her slender, denim-clad legs striding purposefully.
Daniel glanced over his shoulder to see Fergus asleep in his car seat. Climbing out, Daniel pushed the door closed softly and wandered to the edge of the water. He drew in a breath of the peaty air and let it out on a satisfied sigh.
Hew's cottage appealed to him, with its amazing position right on the banks of the loch. He could imagine living here. He'd always thought of himself as a city boy, yet there was a freedom and space in the Scottish Highlands that gave him room to breathe, room to think.
Up here in the wilds of Scotland, he liked the man he was far more than who he'd been in London. Peace settled inside him as deep and still as the waters of the loch. He felt happier and more settled than he had in a long time. With the company of the right woman, he could grow to love this wild place.
A massive bird with a wingspan of at least six feet angled down out of the heavy gray sky to skim the water's surface, snatching up a fish in its talons. Daniel gasped, fumbling for his phone to snap a picture. By the time he tapped in his password and activated the camera, the bird was a dot in the sky.
Megan stepped out of the cottage, shut the door, and put the baby carrier in the back of the pickup.
"I saw a big bird over the lake. It swooped down and caught a fish." Daniel heard the childish wonder in his voice, but didn't care if he sounded uncool.
Megan walked over and took his arm, staring out across the lake. "That'll be a white-tailed sea eagle."
"This isn't the sea."
Megan laughed as if Daniel had cracked a joke. She leaned her head against his shoulder and he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. He was so ignorant of her world yet he wanted to learn.
"Tell me about the bird."
"White-tailed eagles have been extinct up here since about 1900. Hew's working on a program to reintroduce them to Kindrogan."
"Wow." Hew was such a quiet guy, Daniel had almost overlooked him.
"Shall we get going? We can take a scenic drive through the village and over the mountain towards Braemar. There's a nice pub there."
They climbed in the pickup and Daniel drove through the village of Kinder Vale. Megan pointed out the doctor's surgery where she worked, with the police station right beside it. The small gathering of cottages was pretty in a natural way that blended into the landscape.
Following Megan's directions, Daniel took the narrow mountain pass, grateful that a snowplow had been that way before them. Rocky valleys clothed in pines and cloud-topped snowy mountains stretched away in every direction. A man could lose himself up here and never be found again. Or maybe a man could find out who he really was.
Daniel had planned to sweet-talk Megan; instead he fell quiet, awed by the surroundings, comfortable with the silence between them.
They stopped in t
he village of Braemar at the heart of the Cairngorms National Park, took Fergus out of his car seat, and wandered along the street looking in the shop windows at the traditional Scottish goods until they reached the Thistle Pub. Sitting in front of a roaring log fire, they ate thick vegetable soup and crusty bread, followed by hot chocolate with Scottish shortbread.
Fergus sat on the floor, chewing a crust of chocolate-dipped bread and picking bark off the logs piled next to the fireplace, making a mess on the carpet. Daniel watched the curious little boy with a warm glow of pleasure that had more to do with the company than the fire. A few months ago, he would never have guessed he'd enjoy a day out like this.
Fergus tossed his crusts in the fire and a smell like burning toast filled the room.
"Oops," Megan said, glancing over her shoulder. "Perhaps we should leave before we get told off."
"Come here, bud. I think we'd better clean you up." Daniel helped Fergus to his feet, brushed the bits off his front, and tidied the mess on the floor.
"You're very domesticated," Megan said.
Daniel laughed. Most of the people he knew would not call him that. He normally left the tidying up to someone else.
They left the pub and headed back to the car.
"It's too snowy up here. Let's go back to Kinder Valley and walk beside the loch," Megan said. "You might catch another glimpse of the white-tailed eagle."
After an uneventful drive back, Daniel parked on the outskirts of Kinder Vale. With much laughing and fumbling, they managed to put Fergus in the baby carrier, then Megan helped Daniel fix it on his back like a backpack.
They wandered along a path beside the loch. Daniel held out his hand and Megan slipped her fingers into his. He squeezed, something inside him clicking into place with a sense of rightness he'd never felt before. It was as if he'd suddenly discovered a new side of himself and it took a little getting used to.
After a while, they sat on a rock side by side staring out over the water. Megan pulled some binoculars from her coat pocket and scanned the loch, then passed them to him, pointing out various landmarks.
Megan was so easy to be with, so relaxing. He could be himself with her and not worry what she thought of him. This must be how it felt to have a wife you knew well and trusted. Marriage and children had never been high on his to-do list, but as he sat there with Megan's hand in his and Fergus warm against his back, the possibility took shape in his mind.
Daniel's search for a more meaningful life had driven him to change his career. Had he been looking in the wrong place for fulfillment? Was he really just missing a family of his own?
~*~
Megan carried a tray bearing three mugs of cocoa out of the kitchen and headed for the office along the corridor. She shouldered the door open and smiled at Duncan as he glanced up.
"Ready for a hot drink?"
"I'm ready for the whiskey you've laced it with." He scraped his fingers through his dark hair and leaned back, taking his cup off the tray and placing it on his desk.
They'd had a quiet Sunday at home. The weather had closed in, bringing a snowstorm, subfreezing temperatures, and a bitter wind. After an early dinner, Duncan retreated to his office, while Daniel helped her clear up in the kitchen and load the dishwasher.
"Dan and I are going to sit in front of the fire in the drawing room. Why don't you join us?"
"I can't. I have things to do."
Megan rested a hand on Duncan's shoulder and glanced at the papers spread over his desk. "What's all this?"
"Hew wants me to look over the grant application for the eagle project."
Poor Duncan worked so hard, with both his role at the army institute and helping Hew manage Kindrogan Estate. He never had a minute to himself. If Megan ever had the opportunity to marry and settle down, she didn't know how she would leave him to cope here. He needed a wife.
"Come on, you can take a break," she encouraged.
"You don't want me cramping your style."
Megan's eyebrows shot up. "What on earth do you think we're planning to do in there?"
"As your brother, I'd rather not know."
"Duncan!"
"Well, you like Daniel, don't you?"
"Yes."
"Good. He's a nice chap and one heck of a surgeon. I leave all the surgery to him nowadays." He patted her hand where it rested on his shoulder. "I hoped you two would hit it off when I introduced you."
"Duncan Mackenzie. Have you been playing matchmaker?"
"I want my baby sister to be happy. Is that a sin?"
Had Duncan really set her up on purpose? Was that why he always backed out of escorting her to the ball each year at the last moment and palmed her off on some poor man who couldn't say no? Megan pressed a hand over her heart, unsure if she should be annoyed or grateful. In the end, gratitude won out. He was only trying to do what was best for her. She looped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. He obviously didn't share Lyall's concern that Daniel was the wrong sort of man for her, and she trusted Duncan's judgment.
"Thank you," she whispered. "I do like Dan. I'm not sure I'm quite in his league, though."
"Pfft. You always put yourself down, Meg. You deserve someone to love you."
She hugged him tighter. He could do with a dose of his own advice. She couldn't remember the last time he'd had a date.
She picked up the tray and wandered towards the drawing room with a hint of trepidation. Ever since they'd visited Hew's cottage, Daniel had been quiet and thoughtful. She didn't know what to make of his unusual mood.
Lounging on the sofa, his feet stretched towards the fire, Daniel had his hands linked over his belly. He smiled as she entered and set the tray on a side table.
"Here you are." She passed across a mug of cocoa and claimed her own.
He patted the seat at his side. "Sit with me."
Her heart gave a little bump as she slid onto the sofa beside him, wanting to snuggle up close, yet not confident enough to do so. She couldn't judge where she was with him. Although he seemed affectionate and friendly, he hadn't kissed her yesterday while they were out, or today, even though they'd been alone together and he'd had the chance.
He drew in a breath and blew it out. "I want you to forget what I said after the New Year's ball. I've changed my mind."
For a moment, Megan couldn't draw breath. She wanted so badly to believe he was referring to his relationship comment. "You said you wanted to concentrate on your work."
He shook his head. "I don't think I knew what I wanted."
"And you do now?"
He laughed wryly. "Not really. But I do know I like being with you. I want us to spend more time together."
Turning to face her, he folded a leg between them on the sofa and rested an elbow on the back. "Can we do that, Meg, spend more time together?"
Was the man crazy? Didn't he know how much she liked him? Megan opened her mouth but nothing came out. She had to clear her throat and try again. "Yes."
A smile burst across his face like the sun breaking over a mountain. A sudden bright energy filled the room. "Wonderful." He lifted a hand and cupped her cheek. "I want to be with you, sweetheart. There's something about you that… Let's just say I've never met a woman like you before."
He set his mug on the floor, took hers from her hand, and put it down. Then he leaned close, tenderly stroking strands of hair away from her face.
Instinct took over. Megan reached for him, sliding her arms around his neck to pull him close. He wrapped her in his embrace and their lips met. She sank into the dreamy kiss, her body warm and melting against him. Being with Daniel felt so right, as if he were the man she had been waiting for all her life.
He cuddled her close, stroking her hair. "Oh, Megan, sweetheart."
She loved the feel of him, the smell of him, the sound of his voice. She loved him.
Chapter 8
Daniel changed into his scrubs, then paused, a hand against the wall, and tried to focus on the operation h
e was about to perform. Thoughts of Megan filled his head, making it almost impossible to concentrate on work.
She had become the most important thing in his life, pushing work into a distant second place. Every day, he woke early to walk the dogs with her. As dawn broke and the wintry sun cast its rays across the loch, they wandered hand in hand. Then they laughed together as they cooked breakfast. He couldn't bear to be apart from her a minute longer than necessary. He drove her to work and picked her up when his schedule allowed.
All day he looked forward to seeing her again. He escaped from work as early as possible and spent every minute of the evening in her company, helped her prepare dinner, played with Fergus if she were babysitting. He wanted to be with her, hear her soft Scottish accent, smell her floral fragrance, hold her hand, or have his arm around her. If he wasn't in physical contact with her, he ached a little inside.
The rush of pleasure when he saw her face was like nothing he'd ever experienced before. He struggled to make it through the day without her, texting her every spare moment like a teenager, then staring at his phone, barely able to breathe until she replied.
He was going crazy and he didn't know how to handle it.
Gazing at the mirror, he pulled a scrub cap over his hair, noting the dark rings under his eyes from disturbed sleep spent dreaming of Megan.
They had one more weekend together before he left for cold weather training in Norway. He wasn't sure how he would cope spending eight weeks away from her, when he struggled to manage a few hours.
A knock sounded, making him jump.
"Yes," he said.
One of the nurses popped her head around the door. "Kieran Smyth is prepped for surgery, sir."
"Thank you. I'll be right there."
When the door closed, Daniel pressed a hand over his eyes and strove for equanimity. This was only a minor operation. He could do it in his sleep, but he mustn't. For Kieran it was deadly serious. Daniel owed his patient absolute concentration.
