by L. L. Muir
She took a deep breath, hoping it would help her relax, and unfolded the paper square.
Get on the plane.
Get off the plane.
Stop making lists.
Sophie laughed at herself. After making packing lists, lists of contact numbers, photo copies of her drivers’ license and passport, and lists for the house-sitter, she’d started making lists of every step she needed to take until she met up with the tour guide. Now, she vaguely remembered tearing up the last one and replacing it with the simple one in her hand.
She hadn’t come to Scotland to follow instructions and tick boxes. She’d come to amuse herself, to see if a little “unplugged” time might help her figure out the next move in her life.
The man ahead of her picked up his bag and shuffled away from the counter. It was her turn. She smiled at the sober officer on the other side of the glass. “Hello.”
He stared her down for a second, then held out his hand for her passport, glanced at it, then stared her down again. “State the nature of yer visit.”
Her mouth dropped open, but she didn’t know what to say, so she flushed with embarrassment. Did she have to give him details?
His nostrils flared like he wasn’t pleased to have to explain, but he was far too disciplined to roll his eyes. “Business or pleasure?”
She inhaled sharply. “Oh! Business—no! I mean pleasure. Sorry. Just a habit. I never do anything for pleasure…”
He coughed and ran a hand down his face. When his hand dropped away, his expression was perfectly sober, but she suspected he’d been laughing at her. “And where will ye be stayin’ tonight?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know, really.”
His eyes narrowed. “Ye don’t know?”
“I booked a tour. They’re picking me up. I think we’re staying somewhere in the Highlands, then on to Skye in the morning.” She took another deep breath. She didn’t like sounding like an idiot. And she didn’t appreciate the guy trying to make her nervous. “No one told me I had to memorize my itinerary—”
He stopped listening, set a big stamp on top of her open passport, and slammed it down. He gestured for her to come around to the side of the desk where he handed her the passport and gave her a stiff smile. “Enjoy Scotland, Miss.” It was an order, not an invitation.
She felt like she’d narrowly escaped a jail sentence, and his final words and slight brogue did little to erase the feeling. She bit her tongue and moved along, suspecting that any smart remark would get her into real trouble. And suddenly, the TSA agents in New York seemed downright friendly.
Another officer glanced at the passport in her hand, gave her the same cold stare-down, then pointed his arm toward a doorway to his right.
Boy. If the Scottish man-on-the-street doesn’t turn out to be any friendlier, I might just take my vacation somewhere else.
With her wounded ego clutched to her chest along with her stamped passport, Sophie headed for the baggage claim, allowing herself to mope only until she found her luggage. After that, she was going to paste one smile on her face and another one on her heart, and try to find a sign with her name on it.
As it turned out, Sofie didn’t need to go looking for her ride after all. When she pulled the last strap over her shoulder, a young Scottish kid, far too young to drive, came up to her wearing a white t-shirt and jeans.
“Ye wouldn’t happen to be Sophie Pennel, would ye?” He bit his lip and waited hopefully.
“That depends. Who are you?”
He brightened, obviously taking her words as a yes. “I be Percy Ross, at yer service. I’ve been sent to collect ye and take ye to the car.” He reached for her last bag, but she shook her head.
“And? Who sent you?”
He grinned, realizing she was testing him. “That would be The Enchanted Tea Cup, or rather, the two old women who run the place.” He suddenly glanced to the left, then the right, then lowered his voice. “They willnae appreciate me calling them old.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t tell them.”
“Ye won’t need to,” he muttered.
To read the rest, get your copy of Sophie and BRAM’s story here: http://amzn.to/2AYx7Qc
Notes from the author…
(Contains spoilers! Read the LAD book before looking here.)
I hope you’ve enjoyed our reunion story. If you were hoping to see other characters, there just wasn’t any room left. LOL
I was pretty happy when Percy tapped me on the shoulder and said he wanted the world to know what the tunnel had taken away from him. I tell ya, after raising four teenaged boys myself, I shouldn’t have been surprised that a fourteen-year-old was putting his foot down.
A lot of foots got put down around here, year after year, four years in a row. I only wish my boys could have gone from 14 to 20 in the blink of an eye.
In the original version that came to me, Emmie found Percy just as he’d been summoning up the courage to step into the tunnel. She saved him by begging him not to go. But I didn’t want a three-year-old wandering around the cellars with so many magical exits around. Who knows where she could have ended up?
Of course, this leads to the question of what powers Emmie might have. And the answer, for those of you still reading, is one you’ve already guessed at. Emmie and Lucy, born of twins, are twins of the heart. This gets them around the usual rules of Muir powers. So yes, their pronouncements will come true; they’ll both get a set of wee brothers to boss about. And for those of you who have recently read NOT WITHOUT JULIET, you may recall that the chief of that Muir clan did promise to offer sanctuary to those sons…
A few more notes about Percy’s story—it has always bothered me that I left William Gordon in that dungeon cell, unburied. And this gave me a chance to finally see him taken care of by the brother who loved him.
Also…Shona Marr.
I did not plan on Percy’s story having a romance in it. In fact, I was just bracing myself for the backlash, and will probably still get some. But Shona walked onto the set and I realized, with that name and that mane, she couldn’t just walk off again. And then Percy made it clear he wasn’t about to let her get away from him a second time.
Men…
Just so you won’t have to look it up, here is how Wikipedia defines Helgafjell.
Helgafjell, the “holy mountain” was one idea of the afterlife which appears in West Norse sources. This mountain could be a mountain formation in the vicinity, and it was so sacred that people could not look in its direction without washing their face first. In the holy mountain, the members of the Norse clans would lead lives similar to the ones they had lived in the world of the living. Some psychic people could look into the mountain and what they saw was not intimidating, but instead it was a scene with a warm hearth, drinking and talking.[8]
Sounds intriguing, huh?
You still here?
Well, thank you so much for reading! And don’t forget to give our LAD a review here: http://amzn.to/2kDH8ah
All my best,
~Lesli
CURRENT BOOKS by L.L. Muir
*The Ghosts of Culloden Moor
1. The Gathering
2. Lachlan
3. Jamie
4. Payton
5. Gareth (Diane Darcy)
6. Fraser
7. Rabby
8. Duncan (Jo Jones)
9. Aiden (Diane Darcy)
10. Macbeth
11. Adam (Cathie MacRae)
12. Dougal
13. Kennedy
14. Liam (Diane Darcy)
15. Gerard
16. Malcolm (Cathie MacRae)
18. Watson
19. Iain (Melissa Mayhue)
20. Connor
21. MacLeod (Cathie MacRae)
22. Murdoch (Diane Darcy)
23. Brodrick
24. The Bugler
25. Kenrick (Diane Darcy)
26. Patrick (Cathie MacRae)
27. Finlay
28. Hamish
29. Rory (Jo Jones)
30. McBean (Diane Darcy)
31. Tristan
32. Niall (Diane Darcy)
33. Fergus (Bess McBride)
34. Angus (Jo Jones)
35. Bram
*Scottish Time Travel Romance
The Curse of Clan Ross Series…
Going Back for Romeo
Not Without Juliet
Collecting Isobelle
What About Wickham
Unraveling James
The Lad That Time Forgot
The Curse of Clan Ross Series (bundle of the first 3)
Christmas Kiss
Kiss This
*New Urban Fantasy
Coming Soon
*Scottish Historical Romance
Kilt Trip: Part 1
Kilt Trip: Part 2
Kilt Trip: Part 3
Kilt Trip: Part 4
Kilt Trip: Part 5
Kilt Trip: Part 6
Kilt Trip Complete
Under the Kissing Tree
*Regency Historical Romance
Blood for Ink
Bones for Bread
Body and Soul
Breath of Laughter(coming in 2017)
Lord Fool to the Rescue
*Romantic Suspense
Gone Duck
*Young Adult Paranormal Romance
Somewhere Over the Freaking Rainbow
Freaking Off the Grid
*Middle Grade Children’s Books
Where to Pee on a Pirate Ship
*Western Romance
under the pen name Bella Bowen
BRIDE SCHOOL Series
Book One: GEN
Book Two: LIZZY
Book Three: MOLLY
Book Four: MARY
Book Five: NADIA (coming soon)
The Infamous Mrs. Wiggs Series
PICKLESFORK
American Mail-Order Brides Series
(50 books by various authors)
DARBY: Bride of Oregon
About the Author
L.L. Muir lives in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains with her husband and family. She appreciates funny friends, a well-fed campfire, and rocking sleepy children.
If you like Lesli’s books, be a sport and leave a review on the book’s Amazon page. You can reach her personally through her website— www.llmuir.weebly.com , or on Facebook at L.L. Muir.
Thank you for playing!
