A Scot Like You (The MacLarens of Balmorie, 2) (5 page)

And sometimes they came in the light of day, like a bloody freight train, fast and clear as day, without warning. He'd have to sit down where he stood. His body would shake and break into a sweat. And Hildie, beautiful brave Hildie—who'd walked in front of his unit sniffing out bombs, looking for trouble, doing her job without fail—would sit down beside him, lean into him, and lick his face until his arm went around her and he calmed down.

She knew. She sensed his distress and she cared. And it burned him that now, when she was obviously in need, he didn't know how to return the favor.

"We're a mess, aren't we, girl?" She glanced up at him, tongue lolling as he scrubbed the fur on her head. "So what'd ya say? You want to work? Give this a try? Maybe we'll find you a friend, too, huh? A brother or sister." She looked at him with such belief and loyalty. "We'll figure it out. You and me."

Chapter 5

Kate spent the rest of the day at the cottage. She took a nap on the terrace lounge chair, made lunch, dipped her toes into the loch, and refilled the Scottish Terrier's plate. 'Terry' had been lurking around her cottage all day, always on the outskirts, seeming like he desperately wanted to enter her realm, but didn't dare. She called to him a few times, set out the plate so he could see it, and waited.

By early afternoon, success.

The plate was on the stone threshold, the door wide open, so the dog could see her inside of the kitchen. As he ate, she sat down on the floor, to appear as un-threatening as possible, and waited. After he finished his meal, she was rewarded with a paw over the threshold and a whine. She knew he wanted to be friends. "Come on, boy. I won't hurt you."

It took a few minutes, but Terry finally came inside, sniffed her hand and knee, and then put his head against her chest. Kate was a goner. She returned his show of affection and was once again reminded of why she loved dogs and why she so often chose animals over people.

"You need a bath, mister." He was thin and matted and stunk to high heaven. "Thank goodness that's my specialty, eh?"

Soon, Terry was bathed, dried, combed, and trimmed. He was thin, but she could remedy that. "And you're gonna have a new friend. A pretty German Shepherd. Her name is Hildie. And she needs a pal. Okay, bud? How does that sound?" She gave him a good scratch behind the ears and decided now was as good a time as any to introduce them.

Terry didn't stray from her side as she closed up the cottage and began walking toward Devin's house. She only made it a few feet down the road before Hamish's old truck rumbled up beside her.

"I see you've made a new friend," he called, leaning his elbow out the window.

"Do you know him?"

"Haven't seen him before."

"He doesn't have a collar. Looks like he's been lost or abandoned. Was a mess before I bathed him."

Hamish regarded the dog for a long moment. "Where ye headed?"

"I'm taking him to Devin's. Another dog, a friend, might help Hildie I think."

"Ah. Fine idea, Kate." He scrubbed his beard, thinking. "But ye willna be finding Dev that way. He's clear across the estate, at the lodge. It's a ways… I can take ye."

Kate smiled. "That'd be great. Thanks, Hamish."

Hamish wasn't kidding.

The lodge was farther than she thought it'd be, and nestled deep in the wooded hills alongside a rushing creek. During the drive, Kate learned all about the estate, the glory days when the lodge was used by "The" MacLaren and his aristocratic friends. As the building came into view, Kate sucked in a breath. "Wow. It's gorgeous. Much bigger than I thought. It looks like Balmorie, the Victorian part of it. Just on a smaller scale."

"She'll be a fine sight when Dev's finished restoring her." Hamish parked out front. "Off ye go, lass. Dev'll be inside. I'm needed back at the main house."

Kate got out and Terry followed. "Thanks for the ride."

He laughed, his eyes flashing with pleasure and something else that looked a lot like mischief. "Anytime, lass."

Kate stepped back and waited for him to pull away, but he shooed her toward the house, content to wait and watch her go inside. With a wave, she called to Terry, and stepped through the lodge's open door. The smell of fresh sawdust hit her first. Flood lights lit the large hall. The floor was covered with canvas tarps and stacks of lumber sat in piles. Despite the construction chaos, Kate could see the lodge was something special.

It was quiet inside. Warm, too. No air conditioning in yet. Eventually, she made her way out back where the land rose into a steep hill covered in dense woods. A waterfall streamed down from the hillside and into a pool before continuing on.

Hildie was on a rock by the pool, resting next to a towel and a pile of discarded clothes.

Devin was in the water.

And all Kate could think about was
payback is a bitch
.

As she moved closer, Hildie raised her head and looked her way. Immediately, the dog stood and her tail started wagging. It was the most animated Kate had seen her so far. Terry shot forward. The two dogs met as though they were long lost friends. And it was clear to Kate, they'd met before. And that they'd bonded.

After watching them a moment, she turned back toward the water, taking a few steps but stopping dead in her tracks as Dev rose from the water. Water slid down his shoulders. He ran his hands back over his wet head. Kate's eyes widened. Her mouth went dry. Oh, momma. All that hard muscle, moving and flexing, those bad-ass military tattoos on his biceps… She felt a little dumbstruck. And a whole lot interested.

He so wasn't her type. She went for refined city boys, not this blatant, in-your-face display of maleness.

He dropped his hands back into the water, his attention fixed on Hildie and Terry playing. A confused frown knit his features, and Kate wondered if he'd ever seen Hildie play like that with another dog, or maybe it had just been a while since he'd seen her so happy.

Then, his quiet focus shifted to her, causing warmth to surge in. Her feet became rooted to the spot. The way her body responded to him was nothing short of ridiculous. And annoying. Kate gritted her teeth and forced herself to move forward. His I'm-a-wet-Celtic-god routine wouldn't work on her. No. She didn't have the time or inclination… Okay, she had an inclination and some free time on her hands. But she wasn't going to act on it.

She stopped by the rock Hildie had vacated. "Brought a friend."

"I see." He stared at the dogs some more, a range of emotion crossing his face.

"Seems like they've already met though," she added, watching him, not the dogs. "You know… Maybe that's part of her issue."

He moved closer. Kate held her breath, watching the water recede to his stomach.

"What do you mean?"

She cleared her throat and decided looking at the dogs was a better choice. "She's loyal to you. I'm just wondering if she thinks she's supposed to stay by your side at all times, ready for any command. But maybe once she met Terry—I don't know . . . maybe they met when you were working or mowing a hay field or something. Anyway, she obviously wants to play, to run, to be with other dogs. But she's conflicted you know? Not sure what to do. If it's okay to
not
worry about you."

Devin seemed to chew that over. The frown on his face remained. "You think she's worried about me?"

Kate shrugged. Honestly, she wasn't sure of anything. "Just a thought. I tend to talk things out…" She turned back to the rock, eyes going to his clothes, thoughts moving to something else, something daring.

"Payback's a bitch," Devin said at length. "Is that it?"

Her gaze flew to his. Heat filled her cheeks. She was so terrible at hiding her thoughts. "Fair's fair," she said slowly, heart pounding as they locked eyes. A long, heated moment passed. Then Dev moved through the water, never taking his attention off her. The look he was giving her lit a fire in her belly. The water made it to just above his hips. He really was fit. Perfect, really. As he made it to the rock, her hand slowly pulled his clothes back, out of his reach.

A dark eyebrow lifted at that. His mouth twitched. "Might want to give those back, lass."

"Mmm. Why's that?" she asked, entranced by the attraction zinging between them and not really sure if she was in control of her actions.

"Water's cold. Freezing." He glanced down the length of his body and Kate's gaze followed. She swallowed. And then she understood. When she lifted her gaze, Dev was smiling openly at her. The smile went all the way to his eyes, crinkling their corners. It was a lop-sided, bad boy grin that made her knees weak.

She was already pushing his clothes back toward him before she could gather a coherent thought.

What was she doing? Going crazy. Losing her goddamn mind. She blinked, turned around, and tried to shake the carnal cobwebs from her brain. Water splashed and she attempted to block the mental image of Devin wrapping that towel around his naked waist.

Then, he padded by her. His back was just as nice as the front.

"Hey," she croaked. "What about your clothes?"

"Been working all day. I brought clean ones." Dev stopped at the back door. "While I get dressed, there's food in the cooler in the kitchen, and a blanket if you want to set it out."

He didn't wait for her reply, just disappeared into the lodge.

Chapter 6

Dev dressed quickly in the bathroom. Normally, he'd drop towel and pull on shorts in the main room and then have a bite to eat before driving back to the farm house. Sometimes, if he worked late, he'd just spend the night here.

As he zipped his fly and pulled on a clean T-shirt, he thought about Kate's suspicions about Hildie and the way Hildie behaved when she saw the terrier. She was happy. And it made him feel strangely inadequate. He couldn't shake the feeling he was losing her. And maybe that was the problem. Maybe they'd grown too attached. Kate might be right. His need to cling to Hildie, to not let go of the past, could be a huge burden on the dog, one he hadn't meant to create. God knew she was a sensitive creature. Very tuned into his emotions...

"Now you're losing it," he muttered to his reflection in the old mirror. Psychobabble wasn't his thing. He shoved the worries aside. Everything would be fine.

Fine, damn it. Just fine.

He swiped his fingers through his wet hair, and decided to focus on the present. On a pretty girl wound up so tight, he wanted to unwind her one hot inch at a time. The attraction between them was undeniable. Powerful and potent. The way her eyes followed him, hungry and thoughtful. The way she licked and then bit her lip and didn't even realize she was doing it.

He walked out of the bathroom with his blood pounding through his ears. Christ. He had it bad. So bad, he was considering putting her in his truck and driving her back to the cottage before things got out of hand. Because things would get out of hand.

"You've got a pretty nice spread here," Kate commented on the food as he entered the kitchen.

She was sitting on the plaid quilt by the windows, cross legged. The sides of her black hair were pinned behind her head, the rest falling over her shoulder in waves. Her blue eyes were big and welcoming. He wished they weren't. From the window, he saw the dogs were laying flat out on the patio outside, their bodies heaving, tongues lolling. The slight pang in his chest made him grit his teeth and refocus. He sat on the blanket.

"You make all this yourself?" she asked.

Dev eyed the cold smoked salmon, roast beef, fresh bread and cheese. "Fran makes it. I stock up in the morning. Made the bread, though."

She looked surprised. "Really? You bake?"

He wanted to squirm. He shouldn't have said anything. Of course, the first thing she did was break off a chunk and shove it into her mouth, smiling at his discomfort as she chewed. "Very good. You're an interesting guy."

Dev filled a paper plate.

"Military man, carpenter, farmer, baker…" she went on.

"Just carpenter," he said. "Farming is Jamie's thing. I'm just doing what I can until he gets home."

She digested that and then asked, "So what else can you bake?"

Her challenging look and the small smile on her lips made him turn the tables. "What can you bake?"

Her smile went wider. "Not a damn thing."

Dev laughed. "We all have our strengths I guess."

"True," she said, continuing to eat. She wasn't shy about it either, and he liked that about her. If he had to guess Kate did everything wholeheartedly. She spoke her mind. And wasn't put off by the fact that he wasn't much of a talker. Probably because she was just as good at reading people as she was at reading dogs.

"You always been interested in dogs?"

She nodded. "Pretty much. Always was drawn to them. Always felt like I—" she glanced down.