Her Highland Boss: The Earl's Convenient Wife / In the Boss's Castle / Her Hot Highland Doc

There were no more dishes. He could see her dilemma. She needed to stop scrubbing, but that would mean turning—to face him?

He lifted the pan from her hands, set it down and took her wet hands in his.

‘Jeanie...’

‘Don’t,’ she managed and tugged back but he didn’t let her go.

‘Jeanie, I’ve just been on the phone to Maggie.’

She stilled. ‘Why?’

‘To talk to her about you. You didn’t tell her you were coming back here. She thought you’d gone to the ferry.’

He didn’t tell her what a heart-sink moment that had been. She didn’t need emotion getting in the way of what he had to say now.

‘I thought I’d ring her this morning.’ She sounded defensive. ‘I thought... To be honest, when I left Maggie’s I wasn’t sure where I was going. I headed out near the ferry terminal and sat and looked over the cliffs for a while. I wasn’t sure if I should change my mind.’ She looked down at their linked hands. ‘I’m still not sure if I should.’

‘You promised me you’d come back.’

‘I stood in the kirk and wed you, too,’ she said sharply. ‘Somewhere along my life I’ve learned that promises are made to be broken.’

‘I won’t break mine.’

‘Till death do us part?’

‘I’ll rethink that in a year.’

‘You have to be kidding.’ She wrenched her hands back with a jerk. ‘It’s rethought now. Promises mean nothing. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have beds to make, a castle to dust, dogs to walk, then the forecourt to mow. You go back to sorting your electrics.’

‘Jeanie, it’s the first day of our honeymoon.’

‘Do you not realise I’m over honeymoons?’ She grabbed the pan he’d just taken from her and slammed it down on the bottom shelf so hard it bounced. ‘What were you thinking? A jaunt to a six-star hotel with a casino on the side? Been there, done that.’

‘I thought I’d take you out to see the puffins.’

And that shocked her. She straightened. Stared at him. Stared at him some more. ‘Sorry?’

‘Have you seen the puffins this year?’

‘I... No.’

‘Neither have I. I haven’t seen the puffins since my grandfather died, and I miss them. According to Dougal, they’re still there, but only just. You know they take off midsummer? Their breeding season’s almost done so they’ll be leaving any minute. The sea’s so calm today it’s like a lake. You have all the ingredients for a picnic right here and Dougal says we can use his Mary-Jane.’

‘Dougal will lend you his boat?’

‘It’s not his fishing boat. It’s just a runabout.’

‘I know that, but still...he won’t even trust Maggie with his boat.’

‘Maybe I come with better insurance than Maggie.’

‘Do you even know how to handle a boat?’

‘I know how to handle a boat.’

She stared at him, incredulous, and then shook her head. ‘It’s a crazy idea. As I said, I have beds—’

‘Beds to make. And dusting and dog-walking and grass to mow.’ He raised his fingers and started ticking things off. ‘First, beds and general housework. Maggie’s mam is already on her way here, bringing a friend for company. They’ll clean and cook a storm. They’re bringing Maggie’s dog, too, who Maggie assures me keeps Abbot and Costello from fretting. They’ll walk all the dogs. Maggie’s uncle is bringing up the rear. He’ll do the mowing, help Mac check the cattle, do anything on the list you leave him. He’ll be here in an hour but we should be gone by then. Our boat’s waiting. Now, can I help you pack lunch?’

‘No! This is crazy.’

‘It’s the day after your wedding. It’s not crazy at all.’

‘The wedding was a formality. I told you, I don’t do honeymoons.’

‘Or six-star hotels, or casinos. I suspected not. I also thought that if I whisked you off the island you might never come back. But, Jeanie, you do need a holiday. Three years without a break. I don’t know what Eileen was thinking.’

‘She knew I wouldn’t take one.’

‘Because you’re afraid?’ he said gently. He didn’t move to touch her. In truth, he badly wanted to but she was so close to running... ‘Because you’ve ventured forth twice and been burned both times? I know you agreed to marry so I could inherit, but there’s also a part of you that wants another year of safe. Jeanie, don’t you want to see the puffins?’

‘I...’

‘Come with me, Jeanie,’ he said and he couldn’t help himself then, he did reach out to her. He touched her cheek, a feather-light touch, a trace of finger against skin, and why it had the power to make him feel...make him feel...

As if the next two minutes were important. Really important. Would she pull away and tell him to get lost, or would she finally cut herself some slack? Come play with him...

‘I shouldn’t,’ she whispered, but she didn’t pull back.

‘When did you last see puffins?’

She didn’t reply. He let his hand fall, though it took effort. He wanted to keep touching. He wanted to take that look of fear from her face.

What had they done to her? he wondered. Nice, safe Rory, and low-life Alan...

There was spirit in this woman and somehow it had been crushed.

And then he thought of the slap and he thought, No, it hadn’t quite been crushed. Jeanie was still under there.

‘Not since I was a little girl,’ she admitted. ‘With my mam. Rory’s uncle took us out to see them.’

‘Just the once?’

‘I... Yes. He took tourists, you see. There were never places—or time—to take us.’

What about your own dad? he wanted to ask. Jeanie’s father was a fisherman. He’d had his own boat. Yes, it was almost two hours out to the isolated isles, the massive crags where the puffins nested, but people came from all over the world to see them. To live here and not see...

His own grandparents had taken him out every summer. When he’d turned sixteen they’d given him a boat, made sure he had the best instruction, and then they’d trusted him. When his grandfather had died he’d taken Eileen out there to scatter his ashes.