Callum

by Melissa Schroeder

  “I call that his ‘Lord of the Dead’ look,” Phoebe said. The moment she said it, she regretted it. Anice stared at her for a second, her expression so serious. Then, in the next instant, she burst into giggles herself.

  “Och. That is definitely Callum.”

  Anice’s amusement relaxed Phoebe.

  “He’s always one for telling us what to do.”

  She wanted to move away from that conversation. It could only lead to things she didn’t want to talk about.

  “So you said you wanted my opinion?” she asked as she took a sip of her tea.

  “Oh, yes. Have you ever been involved with a man you worked with?”

  She choked.

  “Are you alright?”

  She nodded as she patted her mouth with her napkin.

  “Did I shock you?” Anice asked. She sounded worried so Phoebe shook her head.

  “Oh, no. Like I said, I met my husband on the site, and well…the archeology set is a rather randy group. This type of thing goes on all the time in my career field.”

  “Don’t you have a meeting this afternoon?” Callum’s ominous tone filtered over the room. Phoebe immediately stiffened, but Anice tossed him an annoyed look and stood to face him.

  “I do, but I wanted to talk to Phoebe about something.”

  “She has got work to do, Anice.”

  The ominous tone didn’t faze his cousin. She settled her hands on her hips. “Is she not allowed a break now and then?”

  The rising tension in the room was almost overwhelming. She didn’t understand it. All of the cousins argued with each other, but this was something else. There seemed to be another layer of irritation between them. Really between everyone and Callum. What little she saw of him. Each day, tension within the household had risen, and she hated that she might have been the reason for it.

  Anice stepped closer to Callum, and Phoebe’s stomach churned. It wasn’t something she was used to. Her family might disapprove, but they did so in stony silence.

  “I think you need to mind your business.”

  Callum’s frown turned darker. “Watch yourself.”

  Anice opened her mouth to argue, but Phoebe had had enough. “Stop, please.”

  Both cousins whipped their heads around to look at her.

  “I really don’t like being tossed around like that.”

  Anice’s expression softened, but Callum’s, of course, did not. He stared at her as if she were being rude. Stupid man.

  “No need to worry, Phoebe. We’re always arguing,” Anice said.

  “I won’t have it. It’s too much to take. All this drama and arguing, how is a person supposed to work?”

  She realized then that she had overreacted. The irritated look Callum had been giving her was now one of confusion, and perhaps a bit of worry. She pulled her emotions back under control, pushing aside her agitation.

  “Anice was just asking me a question about the diary.”

  Anice tossed her a grateful glance. Phoebe realized then that Anice did not want her cousin knowing about her romantic troubles. Which, dammit, tugged at Phoebe’s interest. Anice was apparently keeping this under wraps.

  “I’m sure Dr. Chilton has more work to do, and you are keeping her from it.”

  Anice rolled her eyes. “I’ll chat you up later, Phoebe.”

  She left them alone as she sauntered out of the room, giving her a cousin a look that Phoebe knew meant she wasn’t done with Callum.

  The door shut with a definite click and silence descended.

  Phoebe turned around to face her desk and tried to get back to work. But she couldn’t. Not then, not while Callum stood behind her as silent as a tomb. She read the same line three times before Callum cleared his throat. She glanced over her shoulder and found him looking at her.

  “Did you want something?”

  Then the most amazing thing happened. His cheeks turned ruddy as if he was embarrassed.

  “No.”

  But he said nothing else. “Are you sure? I understand if you need to get back to work.”

  And he had been busy with work, or had made himself busy enough to stay out of his office. Now, he didn’t seem to know what to do.

  “I need to work at my desk.”

  “Okay.” Not wanting to stare at him anymore, she turned back around to her desk.

  He paused and then he moved to his desk. She could feel him walking past her, then the squeak of his chair. It took a few moments, but she finally concentrated on the Old English passage she was trying to translate.

  “I wanted to apologize.”

  Her heart stuttered almost to a stop. “Please don’t.”

  Another pause. “But I feel that I have made a mistake.”

  Her stomach churned, and the surge of anger caught her off guard. She counted backwards from ten.

  “I would really rather not speak of it.”

  “I feel that I must. After a little discussion with my cousins about this, I believe that it would be best to clear the air.”

  Mortification mixed with her anger and had her turning around and standing to face him. “You discussed it with your cousins? How dare you?”

  For a moment, the confusion was easy to read in his expression. Then it cleared. “I’m talking about keeping the diary in the office.”

  “Oh.” Embarrassment filled her. “Well. No worries. I would rather keep it here.”

  He opened his mouth to argue with her, but she shook her head. “No. I would rather not. There will be no question on the integrity of my study if we keep it in here.”

  “Phoebe—”

  “No, I said I would rather just keep it the way it is.”

  He didn’t appear to be happy with her announcement, but he nodded.

  “If you will excuse me, I need to grab a bite to eat.”

  He looked like he didn’t believe her. Why should he? She was taking the coward’s way out and running to her room with her tail between her legs.

  Without another word, she practically ran to her room. She couldn’t be near him just then. She hadn’t had time to prepare herself for the onslaught of emotion. When she reached her room, Phoebe closed the door and leaned back against it. Before she could catch her breath, her mobile buzzed on her nightstand. She walked over and was relieved when she saw Izzy’s number.

  “It’s about damned time. You are out of the country, off running amuck in the Highlands.”

  The sound of her best friend’s voice soothed some of Phoebe’s anxiety, and she could afford herself a little smile. “I’m not running amuck. I’m working.”

  “You were supposed to check with me every few days.”

  It was true. But their last talk had been before her night with Callum. Phoebe had been avoiding this. Even across the miles, over a mobile phone, Izzy would ferret out something had happened.

  “I’ve been busy.”

  “Well, I have been trying to get a hold of you. I had Roberto look up your laird.”

  That gave her pause. Roberto was a little overprotective of Phoebe because she was Izzy’s best friend. “I thought he knew Callum.”

  There was a pause. “I was talking about McWalton.”

  Her face felt hot, and she was glad they were talking over the phone. “Oh.”

  “We’ll return to the fact that you sounded very territorial over a man for whom you are working.”

  “I didn’t sound territorial.”

  “And defensive. But first, we have to talk about this other man. Roberto did a check.”

  “Personally?”

  She couldn’t keep the irritation out of her voice.

  “We have to. We know those parents of yours won’t take care of you.”

  “Give me the phone,” Roberto said in the background.

  “I can tell her what you told me.”

  “And you are ready for a fight. Let me have it,” Roberto said with his usual patience.

  There were sounds of the phone being struggled over and a
string of Spanish that would have made a sailor blush.

  “Hello, Phoebe. How are you doing?”

  She couldn’t help but smile. Her best friend had found the perfect man. Izzy was all drama all the time. Roberto was the calm she needed to be balanced.

  “According to your wife, I’m running amuck through the Highlands.”

  He snorted. “Isabella has no room to talk. I did some checking, and you can be mad at me later, but we wanted to protect you. I’ve heard some grumblings about McWalton.”

  She settled on the bed. “Grumblings?”

  “The man doesn’t have the best reputation. Backed out of a few contracts, and he’s known for some shady deals. In fact, I would say that he skirts the law on a few things. Interpol keeps an eye on him.”

  Her head started to pound. “And what does this have to do with me?”

  “Not much, but I wanted you to know that this man is a con artist.”

  “Okay.”

  “And apparently, there is no grant.”

  For a moment, she wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly. Then she had to swallow the bile that rose in her throat.

  “No grant?” She barely got the words out of her mouth.

  “No. I’m very sorry, love.”

  “But, why? Why would he make up something like that?”

  “I’m not sure what the angle is. There has to be a reason. McWalton does nothing without some kind of motive. From what I found, he’s a predator. Is there anything he’s said that would explain that?”

  She thought back to their conversations. “No. He seems very interested in what I am doing, but benefactors do that from time to time. Makes them feel like they are participating in the research.”

  “Makes them feel smarter than they really are.”

  She would normally smile at Roberto’s quick catch, but she couldn’t. The feeling of dread now settling in the pit of her stomach wouldn’t allow her any levity. The ramifications of what the bastard had done to her were starting to hit.

  “But apparently, I am not the smartest person in the room.”

  Roberto sighed. “We’ll find out just what he’s after. You’re sure you can’t think of anything? There was a little rumor that there was some animosity between Lennon and McWalton a few years back over a broken engagement.”

  “Callum was engaged?”

  There was a pause. “No. McWalton. Not sure what it was, but it was apparently ugly enough to linger several years later. I think you should leave.”

  A spat of Spanish followed that statement, and even if she couldn’t speak the language, she knew Izzy wasn’t singing a lullaby. She opened her mouth to agree, but something held her back. Something was telling her to stay there.

  “No. I can’t.”

  “Phoebe, darling, you need to come see us. There is something else going on, and I don’t think you should stay. It might be too dangerous.” Roberto said.

  Part of her agreed. McWalton was playing a deep game, and now she knew for sure he couldn’t be trusted. She’d known from the beginning there was something very odd about his story and the grant. Now, though, she was too entrenched. She wanted to stay. Partly because of the work…and partly because of Callum. It was idiotic, but she wasn’t ready to leave him just yet.

  “No. I need to stay. This diary…it’s something special. But you find out everything you can about this bastard.”

  “Okay, but if you do not check in daily with us, I will show up there.”

  She smiled. “Put your wife back on the line.”

  Her friend didn’t waste her time. “We will be there tomorrow. You will come home with us, and Roberto will put you in his dungeon.”

  “Roberto has a dungeon?” she asked, her tongue in her cheek. Her friend’s husband owned a castle in Spain, but she was pretty sure the dungeon wasn’t something still used. “Amazing, I never knew you were into bondage.”

  “Stop that. I am not going to be sidetracked. I want you here. I want you safe.”

  The worry in her friend’s voice was strangely comforting. Until Izzy, no one had really worried about her before. “You’re being ridiculous. I am in no danger. I’ll just not answer any phone calls from McWalton. I will cut off all contact. I’ll finish my job here and head back to England in a few weeks. Why don’t we get together after I’m done? I’ll pop over to the continent, and we’ll spend Roberto’s money.”

  Izzy sighed. “You’re not leaving.”

  “Nope.”

  “Are you going to tell me what’s going on with you and this Lennon character?”

  “Which one? I mean, there are so many of them, I can’t keep up.”

  “If I thought you would do it, I would cheer you on and encourage you to have an affair with four men.”

  “You’re the only one I know who’d think I could actually handle that.”

  “Just be careful. Please.”

  “I will. In fact, I think I’ll head out tonight, have something to eat. I need to get away and think.”

  “Call me tomorrow.”

  “I will. Love you, Izzy. Thanks.”

  “Don’t make me come get you.”

  After ringing off, Phoebe sat on her bed and took stock of the room. This was a right bloody mess, and she knew she was partly to blame. She would finish her work, and she would go home. No more contact with McWalton. The need to shove it in her parents’ face wasn’t as important as staying away from a man who could not be trusted.

  Maybe she needed to do more than just ignore him. Maybe she needed to cut off their association. Just thinking about the fact he had encouraged her study of the diary made her sick. And angry. The fact that McWalton had used her for some kind of odd vendetta against the Lennons…it was just not right.

  She dialed his number before she could give it a second thought. When his voicemail picked up, she wanted to scream. At the beep she said, “Mr. McWalton, this is Dr. Chilton. I am sorry to say that our association is over. I see no reason to go for the grant, and what I have will probably not work out anyway. Thanks so much for including me.”

  She said nothing else before ringing off. She wanted to throw her bloody phone across the room, but what would that solve? Nothing. It would only leave her without a way to communicate and then Izzy would show up to find out what had happened to her.

  With a sigh, she glanced outside and knew she had a few hours until dinnertime, but she decided she needed some time alone. A hot bath and then dinner out would clear her head and help her decide just what the hell she would and would not tell the Lennons.

  And she would pretend for the second time in a week she hadn’t been such an idiot.

  * * * *

  “So, McWalton has disappeared?” Callum asked.

  Fletcher smiled. “More like gone into his crumbling mansion to lick his wounds. I’m not sure what the bastard is up to, but I think you might have scared him.”

  “How do we even know he’s up to something?” Angus asked. “He’s a prick, so there’s a very good chance he just wanted to mess with you, Callum.”

  Callum nodded as he looked out the window. “That’s the truth. He bears watching, but since there doesn’t seem to be any contact between him and Dr. Chilton, I guess she’s okay.”

  There was a beat of silence that had him glancing over his shoulder. “What?”

  Fletcher shrugged. “Nothing. Just something in your voice.”

  “Something in my voice?”

  “He’s been attracted to her since the beginning. It makes sense that he’d be happy she wasn’t involved with that jackass,” Angus offered. The smile he was sporting told Callum they were fucking with him. Normally, he would put up with it. But he wasn’t in the mood. For days now, he’d felt as if he had been inside out. He hadn’t had a good night’s sleep, and he spent most days thinking about the woman who was keeping him up at night. In more ways than one.

  “So, we have nothing. I’m off. I’ve a date in Edinburgh.” Callum said.

&nbs
p; Fletcher gave him a look that told Callum he knew he was lying. He knew his cousins wanted to discuss his odd behavior, but he wasn’t in the mood, didn’t know if he would ever be in the mood.

  “Make sure you behave yourself,” Fletcher said as Callum headed for the door.

  “One of us has to, Fletcher.”

  With that, he slipped away, happy to be free of their study. He grabbed his coat and his keys. Before long, he was driving down the long path away from the house, away from the inquiring glances all four of his cousins had given him over the last few days. He knew he had them worried if they were tiptoeing around him—other than the argument with Anice. Maybe, if he rung up Calista, she would give him another chance. She hadn’t called him since the embarrassment a few weeks ago, although she had left it opened. But even the thought of calling her had him sick to his stomach.

  Phoebe. One time and he was hooked. Every day he battled his good sense with his need to be near her. Being in the same room was killing him. Hell, being in the same massive house was killing him. Every night his body told him to go to her room, be with her, be near her. Working on little to no sleep was going to be the death of him.

  Maybe a night away, a meal, some sleep, and he would feel better. He turned his car in the direction of The Witchery and hoped he could fetch a table.

  A half hour later, he was following the maître d’ down the stairs into The Secret Garden room. When he reached the bottom, he saw her, sitting in the corner alone. Phoebe always seemed so alone, even in a crowded room. She was reading a book and completely oblivious to everything around her. Unable to help himself, he stopped the waiter and walked over to her table. It took her a moment to realize he was standing there. When she looked up at him, he almost laughed. Her expression told him that she wasn’t happy to see him there.

  “I didn’t know you’d left tonight.”

  She looked behind him, then back to him. “I didn’t know I had to clear my comings and goings.”

  He hated to hear the defensive tone in her voice. “I didn’t mean it that way. I just didn’t expect to see you here. Are you eating alone?”

  She nodded. When he raised his eyebrows, she sighed. “Would you like to join me?”

  He smiled. “I would love to join you, Dr. Chilton.”