A Highland Home A Contemporary Highland Romance Book Two (6 page)

“Aye, I suppose I can tell ye what I know, though it’s not much.” With a sigh, he gave the chicken a quick stir, added a few more ingredients, and then dropped some pasta into the boiling water. “It’s my understanding that yer mother and Conall’s father were engaged to be married when yer ma called it off. I’m not sure under what circumstances they split up, but I’m sure that’s what’s fueling the whispers from the locals. Back then, anything at all was fodder for gossip and a big scandal.”

Maybe that’s all it was, though her mother had never mentioned any sort of engagement-or anything else for that matter. “I guess that could be it.”

“Aye, love. No point in getting yer knickers in a twist o’er nothing at all-especially by today’s standards.” He tilted his head towards a cabinet. “Mind getting out a few dishes?”

She set two plates on the counter and then dug around for some silverware as Angus plated something that smelled absolutely incredible. Good looking, smart, sweet-
and
he could cook. He must have dead bodies in the basement or something.

“Hope ye like chicken marsala. Grab yer plate and wine, and we’ll eat by the fire in the sitting room.”

Astro was quick to his feet at the first sign the food would be moving locations, and followed after them. The sitting room left her impressed once more, with its cathedral ceilings, a massive stone fireplace flanked by a bay of windows, while exposed wood beams lined the roofline. 

Once they settled in on the sofa, she took a bite of her meal and was blown away by the flavors. Rich and creamy, the mushrooms and wine played off the chicken and roasted garlic, while the pasta balanced out the dish. “Damn, this is good, Angus. Is there anything you can’t do?”

“Well, I do try my hardest.” He gave her a wink and a smile, before twirling some linguine onto his fork. “Just don’t ask me to do any gardening. My Da’s the gardener in our family. He could make anything grow, no matter what the conditions. I, on the other hand, couldn’t manage to grow weeds if my life depended on it. And forget dancing. Having me as yer dance partner could easily land ye in a wheelchair. How about yerself? What are ye absolutely miserable at doing?”

“Do you really have time for that sort of list?” She had to laugh as she thought of the things she always managed to muck up. “I think of myself as being very good at a handful of things, and horrible at the rest.”

He sat back and gave her a teasing smile. “I don’t believe ye. Not one bit.”

“All right, maybe it’s not that bad, as long as you don’t ask me to sing or play an instrument-despite the collection I’ve managed to accumulate. And I can’t garden either. Or knit, no matter how many classes I take.”

“Och, well, if ye can’t garden, sing and knit while here in the highlands, then ye’ll ne’er manage to find yerself a husband. Good thing I’m willing to overlook those tragic faults.” He tilted his head towards her with a wink.

She burst out laughing. “You know, one of these days some woman’s going to take your offer seriously, and you’ll find yourself in a pickle.”

“Och, love, ye don’t think I’d proposition just anyone, do ye?” He feigned mock horror. “I have standards, my dear.”

“You’re trouble, Angus-and I know better. But you’re also sweet, smart and funny. I’ll give you that.”

He gave her hand a squeeze. “It’s only because ye bring out the best in me.”

Maybe now would be a good time to ask for his help. She could put it off a bit longer, but she suspected she wouldn’t get far without him. Better to not waste any time.

“Angus, I have a huge favor to ask, and I feel horrible that I’m bugging you again after all you’ve done.” She took a deep breath and tried to ignore her racing heart and the twist of her stomach. “The truth is it’s the reason I came to Scotland, and I really don’t think I can do this without you.”

“What is it, love? Ye have me worried.” His brow furrowed as he shifted towards her, his eyes locked on hers.

            She let out a weary sigh. “I want to find out who my father is.”

Chapter Six

Angus wasn’t sure what she was going to ask, but her request caught him off guard. “I don’t understand-do ye not know yer father?”

She shook her head, her eyes shimmering in the firelight. “No. Nothing. No photos. No letters. Not even a name.”

He heard the catch in her voice and it left his heart aching for her. As close as his family was, he couldn’t imagine what she was going through. It’d be bad enough to grow up without a father in her life, but to not even know who he is… Angus couldn’t imagine what that would be like. 

“Did yer mother not leave ye any information before passing?” When she shook her head no, he felt her despair. “Do ye have any clue as to who he may be? Any place to start looking?”

“There’s a bank account in my name that’s had deposits made into it annually-and generous amounts at that. I tried to get information on who’s making the deposits, but it’s listed as a law firm, and they won’t give me any information.” She sat back with a sigh. “The firm-it’s here in Scotland, but I have nothing else to go on.”

“Do ye think ye’re ma was pregnant when she called off her engagement?” Angus didn’t like bringing it up, but skirting around the issue because it might be rude certainly wouldn’t help her any. “It might be the reason they split. I hate to say it, love, but if they weren’t rushed off to the altar, then it’s doubtful he was the father.”

“I didn’t know about the engagement and she never said why she left Scotland, but it sort of makes sense. If she’d been engaged to Conall’s father and ended up pregnant by another guy, it’d be a good enough reason to fuel the bad blood between the families. It would also explain why she moved away. It’d have to be something pretty significant since my grandmother had already passed when my mom was young, and she’d be leaving my grandfather all alone.”

He could just imagine. “Don’t forget, things were a bit different back then. This was what? Twenty-six years ago, right? Out of wedlock pregnancies-and worse, pregnancies that didn’t end with a wedding-weren’t exactly looked upon too kindly.”

“That would probably account for the whispers and stares, not to mention the woman behind the counter-she said something about not being the only one
familiar
with my mother. It was the way she said it-like there was some sort of innuendo.” Rowan shook her head and scoffed. “Makes sense now.”

“Listen, love. Ye can’t pay them any heed.” His chest was tight with a brewing anger, his muscles tense. She’d barely been here more than a few days, and already she’d been made to feel uncomfortable. “Don’t let them get to ye.”

“Oh, I won’t.” For a moment, she looked like she was mulling something over, but then a sly smile tugged at her lips as if she’d come to some sort of decision. “And I want to make sure they know that they can’t get rid of me so easily. I’m not going to be intimidated or run out of town.”

A smile like that looked far too mischievous to be any good. “What are ye up to, Rowan?”

“I’m taking your advice.” She beamed at him, and though he was happy to see her worries fade, the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach made him nervous.

“What advice would that be?” He ran through all the things he’d said to her, wondering what she’d latched onto, and what she could possibly be thinking.

“I’m going to open a gallery in town.” Her grin was now joined by a sparkle in her eyes. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and it’ll give people a chance to get to know me.”

“Och, aye. They’ll get to know ye, all right.” He laughed, relieved it was nothing so troublesome. She was going to take the town by storm, and they wouldn’t know what hit them. “So what will ye do about yer father?”

“I guess that’s where I could use some help.” She bit her bottom lip, her eyes locked on his. “Since my mom never spoke about her past, I don’t really know where to start. And after today? I’m wondering if anyone will talk to me, even if they have information I could use.”

She was right to worry. Angus knew they wouldn’t give up any information to someone they didn’t know-not that they wouldn’t gossip to each other, given half the chance. “Let me see if my Ma knows what happened. She might be able to help.”

In her excitement, she grabbed his arm, her touch making his heart pound all the harder. “Do you really think she would?”

“Aye, love. I do.”

***

Angus kept himself busy with work throughout the morning, though his mind kept wandering back to Rowan.  Unfortunately, he had quite a bit of travelling to do, and driving did nothing to distract him.

He’d thought of asking her to join him, but didn’t want to suffocate the poor girl with his attentions. She’d made it quite clear that she didn’t have any desire to start any sort of romantic involvement, and though he hadn’t given up hope of changing her mind, he did understand that she had a lot going on in her life, and a relationship would only complicate matters.

That was fine. He was fairly patient, and happy to give her all the space she needed. It’s not like he was going anywhere.

Not far from his parents’ home, he decided to swing by to see if his mother was in. If Rowan was going to go digging into her mother’s past, then he thought he should give his Ma a head’s up. Not that his mother wouldn’t help any way she could, but the issue might be a touchy one and he didn’t want her to be caught off guard.

He let himself in and wandered towards the kitchen, knowing he’d find his parents there at this time of the day. “Hey, Ma.”

“Now there’s a pleasant surprise. Hadn’t been expecting ye.” She wiped her hands on a dish towel, and leaned in so he could kiss her cheek. “The kettle’s boiled if ye want a cuppa.”

“Aye. Can I get ye one?”

“May as well.” She smiled over her shoulder at him, while throwing some spices into a pot she had simmering on the stove, the smell of it heavenly. Some sort of meat stew if he had to guess, the scent of wine, thyme and bay leaf heady in the air, the heat from the pot fogging the windows.

He poured them each a cup of tea and doctored them both with milk and sugar, before grabbing the biscuits. “Where’s Da?”

“Out with Callum MacCraigh, though he’ll be back in time for dinner. Will ye be staying?” She sat at the table and took her tea from him.

He should stay, if only to keep him from wandering over to Rowan’s. “Nae… I’ve got some work I need to get done.”

“So how is the lass? Have ye gotten her settled in?” Her eyes lingered on her youngest, but they were always too knowing, despite being kind, and they missed nothing, especially where her children were concerned.

“Aye, she seems to be adjusting just fine, though I’m not sure how others are adjusting to her.” He let out a weary sigh, before taking a sip of his tea. “I know ye warned me they’d be hard on her, but bloody hell. I don’t know what happened with her Ma, but people are giving her looks and whispering behind her back. I worry things will only get worse.”

His mother frowned, her gaze on her tea. “After so many years, ye’d think they’d leave it be. I was hoping they’d have forgotten, but people have a hard time letting things go.” When she swore under her breath in Gaelic, Angus knew just how angry she was.

“There’s more, Ma. She’s looking for her father. She doesn’t know who he is, and wants to speak to ye about what happened.”

His mother looked away with a shake of her head. “Och, Angus. She can’t go looking for him. I mean it. I don’t know who her father is, but I can tell ye now, she can’t go looking for him. It just won’t do.”

It was like he’d been punched in the gut. It was the last thing he’d expected her to say. “Ma… ye can’t mean that. It’s the reason she’s come all this way. It feels like she’s got her entire life on hold. She won’t ever be able to move forward until she has some answers.”

What the hell had happened all those years ago? He dunked a few biscuits into his tea and ate them in two bites. Repeating it a few more times, the ritual of sitting there in the kitchen with a cuppa, slowly calmed his nerves. “She’s already run into Conall Stewart, and I don’t know what the hell’s up with him, but his normally cantankerous mood has suddenly turned chipper in her presence.”

“Perhaps he’s putting their family’s issues to the side. If the girl looks anything like her mother, then I could see why he might be smiling, aye?”

Her gaze held his as if looking to see if he’d fallen under the same spell. It had him pursing his lips and trying not to blush. “Still… I don’t like that he’s done such an abrupt turnaround. Makes me wonder what he’s up to.”

“Och, Angus. He’s not a bad lad, so don’t let him bother ye. And I’ll tell ye now, he’s the least of our problems if Rowan’s going to go looking for her father.” Her lips pursed into a thin line, her brow furrowed. Angus had never seen her looking so worried.

“Ma… she needs to do this.”

“Aye, son. I know. But I swear, I’ll ne’er forget how shaken Iona was after coming home from university. She made me promise to not go digging into who the father was. Said it was for my own good-and I believed her, scared as she looked. I don’t know who she got involved with, but if Rowan’s going to go looking for the man, then it leaves me worried. There was a reason Iona never returned home and left her father on his own. And to not tell Rowan who her father is, even when she was sick… there had to be a reason, Angus.” She let out a weary sigh, her brow furrowed and her jaw tight. “It could put her in danger, son-and though I don’t have any answers for ye, I can tell ye that Iona’s fear was real.”