Ghosts of Culloden Moor 25 - Kenrick (Diane Darcy) Page 4

  To be perfectly honest, she wasn’t quite used to the place and felt safe with the man in her house. She grinned. A big, strong, handsome man who kissed like a dream.

  She’d talk to him about her proposition in the morning.

  She smiled smugly as she pictured the looks on her family’s faces when she showed up with a man who looked like him! She stifled a giggle. Just the thought of it made her giddy.

  Everyone would stare, whisper, ask questions, while she smiled like she didn’t have a care in the world.

  Lips curving, she snuggled into her pillow.

  She’d talk to him in the morning, and hopefully, he’d say yes.

  She knew what her friend would say about all this. Tara would say she’d made a wish, and the man of her dreams had appeared.

  Maybe he had! Who was she to say otherwise?

  Maybe, for once, the upside of fate was shining serenely down on her.

  Maybe shooting stars really did have magic.

  Kenrick woke early the next morning. In truth, he hadn’t slept much at all anyway. Being here, alive again, filled him with wonder. He’d lain in bed but a short while, then gotten up to walk the property, to assess the needed repairs.

  He checked for safety as was his custom when he’d been alive.

  How readily he fell back into old habits.

  Trees, water, and land aside, the place was far different from his village. Dryer, less green, yet with a humidity to the air he wasn’t accustomed to. And though there was a distinct lack of animals about, everything was fenced in. Room for horses, pigs, and a cow would be nice. When he’d first brought his young wife to his village to live with him, she’d declared the place a hovel overrun with animals. She’d have considered Allison’s house, and the neatly compartmentalized fences, a palace in comparison.

  He shook the fence on the property line and found it lacking, the posts loose and poorly buried.

  He hadn’t thought about his wife this much in many a year, but when he looked into his heart, he found the pain of losing her gone.

  The sting of rejection, well, that was another story.

  When his son died, and his wife left him for another, he’d thought the grief would kill him. Little had he known the wait for death was but months away.

  As the sun glowed on the horizon, he wondered about Allison. Why was she in this house by herself? Why did a lass so lovely and caring lack a man to care for her?

  Were he able, he’d be quick to claim her as his own.

  He wanted to help Allison. In truth, he was more than glad to do it. But for two days? It didn’t seem like enough. The roof on the shed sagged, the door hung askew. It was mid-summer and her garden had yet to be planted. She’d no iron over the door.

  If he had more time, he could do all that and more.

  See to her safety.

  See to the vulnerable heart that peeked out of those pretty blue eyes.

  What she had, a bit of land to call her own, was all he’d ever wanted in the world. But he wouldn’t have wanted it alone.

  She needed a man. Some children.

  He’d once planned to raise his family, have more children with his wife, and persuade her to fall in love with him.

  Aye. He knew of grand plans.

  His had all ended on a bloody field in Scotland.

  His dreams might never have come true, but, if only for a day or two, he would help Allison reach hers.

  He glanced at the house as he waited for the lass to wake. Mayhap he’d make breakfast in appreciation for her care and the comfortable bed.

  He didn’t know how to use the kitchen, but no doubt could figure it out. The pots and pans cleverly hung from hooks on the ceiling, and he could use a stove, surely. There’d been food in the big box she called a refrigerator and in the cupboard last night.

  He went inside and easily found eggs.

  There was bread on the counter, wrapped in a see-through covering.

  Eggs, toast, mayhap he’d find oats. He’d gladly make breakfast in thanks for the hospitality.

  How hard could it be?

  Chapter 5

  Allison woke with a start. Had she heard something? She lay in her bed for a long while and waited for the sound to come again.

  Billy, lying at the foot of her bed, lifted his head and stared at the door where Rory stood at attention. Neither dog seemed disturbed, so she slowly relaxed onto her pillow.

  A crash had her bolting upright and, with a bark, Billy jumped off the bed to join Rory at the door. Both looked at her and everything came rushing back.

  Her Highlander.

  She smiled. When had she started to think of him as hers?

  Another noise sounded from somewhere else in the house, so she jumped out of bed and threw on a robe. When she entered the kitchen she had to bite back a smile at the smell of burnt eggs. “Good morning.”

  Kenrick, brows drawn, glanced up from the egg-encrusted pan in hand, as she opened the dining room window.

  He was even better looking than she remembered.

  “Hello, lass. A good morrow to ye.” His deep voice and sexy accent made her want to melt into a puddle. She wished that she could wake up to this every day. He glanced at the mess on the counter; the broken shells and dripping eggs, and blood rushed to his cheeks, which was pretty much adorable.

  She raised a brow and bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. “Making breakfast?”

  He looked at the pan in confusion. “I’d thought to. I did determine how to make this contraption heat.” He pointed at the stove. “But no matter my speed, it insists upon burning the eggs.”

  She reached forward and turned the heat down to medium. “Maybe if you cooked it at a lower heat?”

  He looked to the stove and back again, his expression sheepish. “I’d not thought on that. I was pleased to figure the method of heating, and didnae question another possibility.”

  “Don’t you have stoves where you come from?” She teased gently, glad he was there.

  He shook his head, expression serious. “No’ such as this.”

  She glanced in the corner to see Bonnie curled up, her dark brown eyes moving between them. She couldn’t believe the dog’s transformation. “It looks like she has given you her complete and utter allegiance. Want to tell me your secret?”

  Just then the phone rang and Kenrick spun around.

  She grabbed it from the counter where she’d plugged it in the night before. It was her mother. “Hi, Mama.”

  “Hey, sweetie, I’m just calling to remind you about the family reunion tomorrow. You’re going to be there, right?”

  “Of course. I wouldn’t miss it.” Her gaze slid to the man standing in her kitchen, now trying to clean up egg from the counter and floor. With a hot pad.

  Her mother hesitated on the other end of the line. “So, are you …” More hesitation. “Are you bringing a friend? I mean besides Tara?”

  She knew what her mother meant.

  Her gaze slid to Kenrick as he picked up an egg and cracked it into a bowl. “I might.”

  “You’re bringing someone?” Her mother sounded both shocked and hopeful.

  “I’m thinking about it.”

  “Male or female?”

  “Why do you ask?”

  Another hesitation.

  She really shouldn’t torture her mother. None of this was her fault.

  “Honey, I know it’s likely to hurt you, but Isaac’s going to be there. He’s engaged to your sister and going to be part of the family. It would go a long way toward letting everybody get to know and like him if you were accepting of the situation.”

  She’d known he’d be there. Her sister Linnie had already informed her in a text message.

  “If you brought another man … even if he’s just a friend, well, that would really help matters out, wouldn’t it? For both you and your sister.”

  Resentment burned in her chest. Why did she have to be the one to make everybody feel more comfortable?
She’d like to skip the whole thing but knew that would only cause more problems, more drama, as her relatives came by with casseroles and advice.

  Linnie would throw a fit.

  Better to just go.

  She glanced at Kenrick once again, her plans from the previous night sliding through her mind.

  “Honey? Are you still there?”

  “I’m here.”

  “I was just wondering; did you remember I asked you to bring a homemade potato salad? None of that store bought stuff.”

  The potato salad was to make her commit. Give her a solid reason to go. She continued to watch Kenrick. What girl wouldn’t like to stroll into the park with that sort of eye-candy on her arm? He’d be perfect. “Sure, Mama, I’ll bring a potato salad.”

  “Great!” Her mother’s voice was artificially bright.

  She could hear her father in the background giving advice.

  They worried about her.

  She glanced at her Highlander again as he poured more eggs into a pan.

  Maybe, just maybe, she could save face and put their minds at ease.

  Allison got off the phone and hurried to her room to change into jeans, a T-shirt, and boots. She rushed back for breakfast, her mind going a mile a minute.

  She eyed Kenrick and tried to think of a way to ask him, a perfect stranger, to do her yet another favor.

  Of course he was staying at her house. He probably felt at least a little bit beholden to her, but she didn’t want to guilt him into it. Uh, huh. She’d just keep telling herself that.

  She leaned against the counter and Kenrick glanced at her, smiled shyly, and bam, her heart started to thump. The guy was gorgeous.

  Just thinking about making her sister and Isaac believe she’d captured the attention of someone so fabulous filled her with a smug glee.

  She tried to push that thought aside. She wasn’t actually that shallow, was she? She did want her parents to stop worrying. Sure, that was it; that was her ultimate goal. If she showed up with a man—scratch that—if she showed up with a fake fiancé, then her parents would be able to stop worrying so much.

  She was simply being altruistic. This had nothing to do with the hope that she could get to know this man better. Maybe see if he liked wishing on stars and believed in happily ever after.

  “Kenrick.”

  When he turned and flashed her another smile she could actually feel her heart race.

  “Aye, lassie?”

  How did she ask a guy like this a question like that?

  “Saturday, I mean, tomorrow, I’m going to a …” She didn’t want to say a reunion, because what kind of a guy would be willing to go to a family reunion with a girl he barely met? Talk about meeting the parents. And the aunts, uncles, and cousins. Yikes. Besides, most people didn’t want to go to their own family reunions, let alone a stranger’s.

  At least that’s how she felt. But maybe he wouldn’t mind?

  “Ye’re going to a …what?”

  She wanted to say a party, but he’d find out the truth the moment they arrived. And if he was going to do her a favor, it was only fair she laid all her cards on the table. “Look, I’m going to a family reunion on Saturday. Would you like to be my date?”

  There. She couldn’t say it any plainer. She held her breath as she waited for him to answer. Surely he’d laugh, tell her not in a million years, and maybe run screaming from her house like his hair was on fire.

  Instead of doing any of those things, he looked at her quizzically and asked, “What is a date?”

  “Uh …” Not exactly the response she’d expected. His wording was sometimes off, but they didn’t exactly have a language barrier. Her face warmed. “You know. When you go with a friend to an event. It’s called a date.”

  “Ah. A family reunion, then? That sounds like a fine time.” He gave a slight shrug. “Aye, if I’m still here, why not?”

  Why not, indeed. She breathed in slowly trying to process that he’d so easily said yes. She wondered if she had the nerve to ask him for more. She licked her lips. “The thing is, I …” Oh my gosh, how was she going to say this? Just say it! The worst he could do was say no, and then she’d be no worse off than she’d been before. Well, other than the fact a guy she was very attracted to would think she was a complete and utter weirdo. She inhaled, trying to work up her nerve. She was going to do it. She was going to ask. “The thing is, I wondered if you might … if you might be willing … what I mean is …”

  “Spit it out, lass.”

  “Would you be my fiancé?”

  He stilled, his hand frozen around a wooden spoon. After a moment he set the spoon on the counter and turned to face her. Actually, he gaped at her, which made the heat rushing into her face flame hot.

  He swallowed. “Ye wish to marry me?”

  “No.” She shook her head quickly. “I…I mean, no of course not. I’m sorry, I’m not explaining myself very well. I just … I was just hoping … see, the thing is …” She quickly closed her eyes and waved her hand in the air, humiliated. “I meant fake fiancé, but forget it, just forget I said anything.”

  “Nae, I’ll not forget such a thing. ’Tis the first time I’ve ever had a beautiful girl propose.”

  She looked at him, taking in the absolute perfection of him. “I doubt that.”

  He laughed. “Nae, ’tis true. I’ve never in my life had a girl ask for my hand, let alone one so lovely as ye.”

  She groaned. “Let’s just eat breakfast.”

  “Perhaps ye could explain the situation a bit better to me.” He turned back to cook the eggs, and with him in profile, she could relax a bit. He hadn’t outright said no, and without his gaze directly on her, she could think more clearly.

  “The thing is, I was engaged to be married.”

  He made a sound in his throat, one of encouragement, and so she continued. “My fiancé left me for my sister.”

  He turned to look at her, his expression growing slack. “Yer own sister?” He turned back to the eggs and made a tsking noise deep in his throat and it made her smile.

  “Well, it did happen. And now they’re engaged to be married.”

  “Were I yer sister, I’d insist upon a short engagement.”

  That made her chuckle. “Yeah. She might want to do that. Any way, it’s all very Jerry Springer and sort of confusing—”

  “I’d say there’s not much to be confused about. Yer sister should have had the good sense to keep her hands to herself. As for yer fiancé, well, a man who plays with the emotions of two lasses at the same time, sisters even, should have his head handed to him on a platter.”

  “His something anyway,” she said darkly.

  Kenrick laughed. “Aye, I’d have said harsher, but for delicate company.”

  “Oh, don’t hold back for my sake. Believe me, I’ve thought of a hundred different sorts of petty revenges against him. But in the end, it looks as if he will marry my sister. He will be part of my family, and in the meantime, my entire family feels sorry for me.”

  He made that tsking noise again, reminding her of an old maiden aunt, and she was glad he focused on the eggs again, because it made her grin widen.

  “So, if I see the way of it, ye find yerself in need someone to stand at yer side. Ye said a fake fiancé? Well, I’ve a couple of days to burn, and wouldnae mind putting such a man in his place. I’d be honored.”

  She pushed off the counter. “Seriously? You’ll do it?”

  “Of course, eventually I’ll have to leave. What will ye do then?”

  “Well, if you’ll be gone anyway, and if you don’t mind, perhaps I’ll say I dumped you.”

  He laughed. “And left me heartbroken? Ye have my permission. Make it gruesome, say I cried, leave none in any doubt over the fact that, though ye could have had my fine self for the taking, ye chose to discard me in a heartless manner. It’ll be a warning to the other lads in yer life.”

  She laughed, happiness flooding her. He was actually going along
with it. She almost hadn’t been able to bring herself to ask, but the man was some kind of a savior.

  First the dog, and now her. “Thank you. This really means a lot to me.”

  He turned and winked at her. “Consider it done.”

  She’d thrown out to the universe that she wanted fiancé. As her friend had pointed out, she hadn’t asked for a fake one, though that’s what she was getting here.

  But hey, why not keep an open mind? The guy was easy-going, funny, really good-looking, and great with dogs. She could do a whole heck of a lot worse.

  And she was already crushing on him. He was, after all, a really great kisser.

  She watched him finish up the eggs, dish them onto plates, and walk toward the table. He set out bread and butter and retrieved a couple of glasses of water from the faucet, which he exclaimed over for a moment before returning to the table to pull out a chair.

  “Well, come then. I’m accounted quite a cook by my brothers in arms.”

  She finally moved from the trance she was in. A moment later she took a bite, groaned her approval, and nodded her head. “It’s good.”

  “Ah, well, good, then. Finish yer food, and then I’m at yer disposal.”

  He was, was he? Well, all right then. No time like the present to get to know her fiancé a little bit better.

  As they finished breakfast, Kenrick could not believe his good fortune. Allison wanted him to play the role of her fiancé? For his part he hoped it would include more kisses.

  Mayhap this was what Soni wanted of him. When he next saw the witch, he’d have to thank her for the task.

  After they’d done the dishes together, she dried her hands and hung the towel. “Would you like a tour of the property?”

  He didn’t tell her he’d already taken one. “I would.”

  When they went outside the screen door squeaked. As she walked down the three wooden steps she threw over her shoulder, “I know I should probably fix that, oil the hinges or something, but I actually like the sound of it. It’s homey, you know?”

  He took fixing the door off his mental list. “Aye, it does have that feel about it.” He glanced up. “I note ye’ve no’ a horseshoe over the back door. Nor any bits of iron. We’ll have to fix that.”