Shades of Doon (18 page)
Feeling increasingly uncomfortable, I mumbled something about checking on Vee and bolted down the hall. If I didn’t hurry her along, Janet would con Jamie into taking her back to Doon with us. And I was not about to let that troll manipulate her way into my best friend’s happily-ever-after.
E
nveloped in a cocoon of steam and hot water, my tears mixed with the shower spray. Jamie’s sweet brogue had echoed through my dreams all night.
“Verranica . . . I will find you. I will find you . . .”
I’d woken up sobbing.
When had I become so dependent? I leaned my forehead against the slick tiles. I’d pretty much been on my own since the age of twelve. After dad split, and then Kenna moved, I’d learned to take care of myself. Now I felt weak . . . like a part of my soul was missing without Jamie. Without his strength and his humor . . . without that look he gave me that said I was his whole world.
Ridiculous.
I’m a queen.
Thousands of people depended on me. I needed to stop bawling like a love sick baby and find a way to get back to my kingdom.
A pounding on the door made me jump. I stuck my head outside the curtain and swiped at my leaky eyes. “Yes?”
“Get out here,” Kenna called. “I’ve got a surrprriise for you.”
I suppressed a groan, but turned off the water and grabbed a towel, drying off anyway. Kenna’s
surrprriises
always straddled the line between joy and pain. Like the time she wanted to cheer me up after my first heartbreak, and coerced a cute older boy into dressing like Santa Claus and jumping out of a box on my front porch. He serenaded me with a creative Christmas rap and then sprinted back to his car and took off with a squeal of tires. The residual humiliation had lasted for weeks. My BFF always meant well, but as I pulled on my old robe I’d found stuffed in the back of the linen closet, I wondered what she’d planned this time — a Rogers and Hammerstein serenade with her old drama pals? Or maybe some fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies burnt to a crisp?
I combed my wet hair off my face. Neither one of us could cook worth a darn. Good thing we had Mags. I set the comb down and gripped the sink. Did the old chef miss us? Did the people wonder where I’d gone? Did they even know, or had Jamie made up an excuse to protect them from the truth — that their queen had disappeared and may never return? I stared at my reflection. My throat was already so raw that when I swallowed it felt like I’d eaten glass. I refused to give into tears again.
A knock jerked me out of my morose thoughts.
“Just a sec!” I called, praying a full marching band wasn’t about to see me in my fuzzy pink robe.
I pulled open the door and my world stopped spinning. My prince, beautiful and larger than life, filled the doorway. A tiny smile played around his mouth, his eyes speaking a hundred silent words.
I couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak. Afraid to even blink, in case the vision evaporated.
His lips tilted, pulling out a dimple in one stubble-covered
cheek. “I’ve seen a lot o’
interesting
fashions in the modern world, but this is by far the most enticin’.”
His deep honeyed voice snapped me out of my stupor, the provocative nature of his words proof that Jamie stood before me in truth. In my dreams, he was perfect. But seeing him in a heather-gray hoodie and jeans, he was more than perfect — he was real.
My knees shook, and my heart rose into my throat, but I forced myself to lean a hip against the bathroom counter. Crossing my arms in front of my chest, I arched a brow. “What took you so long?”
He stepped closer and leaned against the doorframe, mirroring my casual posture. He was almost a foot taller than me, but in this tiny house, he appeared Thor-like. “There were complications, of a sort.” His dark eyes sparkled like a sky blanketed with stars, but they didn’t release me for a moment. “This being my first time out o’ Doon, many modern inventions captured my attention.” He shrugged a broad shoulder. “Automobiles, ice cream, television, chili dogs . . . ye couldna blame me for wantin’ to try them all. I figured ye wouldna mind waiting.”
“Is that so?” I took a step closer, so only a foot separated us.
His lids lowered a fraction, his gaze devouring me. “Aye.”
A gravitational pull tugged us toward one another, and we both stepped forward. I wound my arms around his neck, threading my fingers into the silken hair resting against his neck and rose on my toes. “Then perhaps I should remind you what you were missing.”
“Verranica
. . .”
The deep timbre of my name on his lips reverberated through me as he lowered his mouth to mine.
So much for Ms. Independent. When his arms encircled me, electricity shot through me from my tingling scalp to my curling toes like magic, and I never wanted to let him go.
“Hey.” A voice grumbled behind us. “I need to use it.”
All the magic came to a grinding halt. I clenched my teeth as I glanced past Jamie’s shoulder to see Bob the Slob, or
Blob
as Kenna had aptly named him, wearing nothing but his tighty-whities and a frown.
Bob’s eyes focused, and he stumbled back a step. “Who the heck are
you
?”
Jamie released me, but as he turned, his hand slid down my arm and he linked his fingers through mine. “Sir, I’m — ” His words cut off and his entire body tensed as he stepped in front of me. “Yer attire is highly inappropriate, sir. There is a lady present.”
As expected, Bob threw his head back and laughed. “A lady? That’s funny. Vee’s
far
from a lady! Where’d you dig this guy up? Benny Hill?” Bob chuckled as he scratched his head.
Jamie met my gaze, his face like granite, his eyes blazing. “I’ll be right back, love.” He released my hand and stalked forward, shutting the bathroom door behind him.
I heard a startled, “Hey! Who’d you . . .”
Unable to resist, I cracked open the door and peeked through. Jamie, growling in Bob’s face, backed him down the hallway. “. . . owe her respect. And dinna show yourself until you are properly clothed.”
I bit my lip against a giggle.
“This is
my
house, and I’ll dress any way I want.” Bob jammed a finger into Jamie’s shoulder. “That girl is trash, just like her mother. She should be respecting
me
!”
I tensed just before Jamie’s fist connected with the Slob’s jaw with a loud crack, followed by a crash as Bob’s significant weight hit the floor. Jamie turned and met my wide-eyed gaze. He shrugged as if in apology, but there was no need. In fact, I had to suppress the urge to cheer. I flew out the door and threw myself into his arms. “You’re my hero, you know that?”
“And you are my heroine.” I felt his lips against the top of
my head. “Now, can ye get dressed so we can go? I dinna think I’ll be welcome here much longer.”
In confirmation to his words, Janet came running down the hall. “What on earth happened?”
Jamie set me on my feet and stepped to one side as I pointed. “Bob had a little accident.”
“Sugar Dumplin’!” She shrieked when she spotted him crumpled on the floor moaning.
“Shall I stand guard while ye change?” Jamie asked.
“No, I’ll be fine. I think Bob got the message.” I held his gaze, my mind switching gears like a racecar driver. “But I have a million questions about Adam and the rings and Doon — ”
“Vee . . .” He rubbed my shoulder. “We need to get back to the airport. Change and then we can talk. I’ll be waitin’ outside.”
“’Kay. Just give me a few minutes. I need to say good-bye to my mom.”
Jamie searched my face, and seeming satisfied with what he found there, kissed my mouth and headed outside. I threw on my thrift-store outfit, and then wove my wet hair into a loose braid. With no other clothes to pack, I stared at my old room and then shut the door. There was nothing left of me here.
Janet waited in the living room, curled on the sofa, black mascara streaking her face. “So you’re leaving with
His Lordship
?”
I glanced out the window above her head and my jaw almost dropped at the gleaming Mercedes limo parked outside. It looked like something the president of the United States would ride in, all bulletproof and beautiful. The windows were dark, but I had to assume Kenna and Duncan were waiting inside. Then something Janet said struck a chord. “His Lordship?”
Janet waved a hand toward the window. “You know tall, blond, and gorgeous out there?”
I smiled. I’d used the same three words to describe him myself not so long ago. Now he was so much more. But the similarity in our thought process made me pause, when all I wanted to do was dash out the door.
Perching on the edge of the sofa, I took Janet’s hand. “Mom, what happened to your car?”
She sniffled and rubbed her nose. “When Bob’s brother, Randy, stayed with us for a while . . . When I came home from work one day, my car was gone, and so was Randy. The worst part is, I don’t know if Randy took it or if Bob sold it to pay his gambling debts.”
“I’m sorry.” The Slob was worse than I thought.
Janet turned, her red-rimmed eyes meeting mine. “Do you love that boy, Ronnie? Clearly, he loves you, but do you want to go with him? ’Cause if not, you and me, we could start over somewhere together.”
My eyes began to burn. A part of me wanted to take her with us, but I knew that wasn’t how it worked. “I do love Jamie, more than I ever thought possible. And I want to go back with him. I’m sorry, but where we’re going, there’s no way you can come.” Her mouth crumbled. “But Mom, you don’t have to stay here. You can do better than Blob . . . I mean — ”
Her giggle cut me off. “That’s actually kinda perfect.” Then her laughter dissolved into sobs. “I don’t . . . know how . . . to be alone.”
I took her other hand and squeezed her fingers tight. “Yes, you do! You took care of me when . . . when Dad took off. You’re stronger than you know.”
She wiped under her eyes. “You’ve changed. You’re not my little Ronnie anymore.”
I hadn’t been for a long time, but I didn’t need to say that. “Tell me you’ll try, Mom. Try to make it on your own. Then,
down the road, you can be with someone because you want to — not because you’re afraid of the alternative.”
“I will.” She sniffled and wiped her nose. “I’ll try.”
“Good.” I gave her an encouraging nod and decided right then, I’d send her some money before returning to Doon. The MacCrae coffers could handle it. I just prayed she’d keep it to herself and really use it to make a fresh start. I released her hands and stood. “I need to go.”
Janet rose and wrapped me in a tight hug.
“Mom, do you have any idea where Dad is?”
She stiffened in my arms.
“I’d like to try and speak with him. Maybe see him before I go back to Do — I mean Scotland.”
“Last I heard he was shacking up with some bimbo in Indianapolis. He’s not going to want to see you.”
I pulled away. Despite all the time that had passed, she still hated him for abandoning us. For the first time I saw how that hatred kept her frozen in time, never able to move on with her life. “How could you possibly know that?”
“When are you going to get it through your head that he doesn’t care about us anymore?”
It was an argument we’d had over and over. I’d insist Dad needed us and might be too ashamed to reach out, while Mom would argue he didn’t give a fig.
“Stay away from him, Veronica. For your own good.”
“And you don’t think he’d want to see his only daughter before she leaves the country, maybe forever?”
Her face hardened. “No. I don’t. All that selfish jerk cares about is his freedom.”
This coming from the woman who’d treated me more like a roommate than a daughter. I couldn’t hear any more. “I have to go.”
“Vee, wait.” She touched my upper arm. “I’m . . . I’m sorry. About your daddy. About me. Everything.”
She hadn’t really been a parent to me for years, but she was still my mom. I turned into her arms and we held each other for a long time. Until we heard a groan. “Janet . . .”
I disentangled myself from her arms and looked into her watery eyes. “Remember what I said. You can make it on your own.”
She nodded, the muscles in her throat contracting. My own chest tight with emotion, I turned and walked out, shutting the door on my past.
W
hizzing along the Indiana highway, I was experiencing a
My Fair Lady
moment: homeless, bus station girl taken under the patronage of a Scottish prince, who buys her sparkly flip-flops that fit. It was
loverly
riding in the back of a modern limo with no impending Doonian disasters to spoil the moment.
Stevens lowered the tinted window that separated us from him. “Your pilot called, sir. There’s a hurricane shutting down the eastern seaboard. It’s doubtful you’ll be able to fly out before Sunday.”
Vee, who was seated backwards next to Jamie, angled her body to better see the driver. “So we’re stuck here for the weekend?”
“Yes, miss.”
A sensation much like relief blossomed in my chest. I wouldn’t be quitting the modern world just yet. But the news that brought me respite had the opposite effect on Vee. Her brows lowered as her eyes sparked with concern.
With a gentle touch to her cheek, Jamie murmured, “It’ll be all right, love.” Then to Stevens he replied, “We’ll need accommodations at the finest inn in Indianapolis.”
“Very well, sir. I’ll arrange for it.”
The driver raised the partition between us. I had to hand it to Stevens, he hadn’t batted an eyelash when Jamie said the word
inn
. Knowing the MacCraes, the man was being well paid for his discretion.
Vee swiveled around to regard both MacCrae brothers. “What about Adam?”
Gruffly, Jamie answered, “Adam is under guard in the dungeon.”
“Aye.” Duncan gently squeezed my hand. “He’ll no’ be causin’ any more mischief in Doon.”
Still unsettled, Vee chewed anxiously at her lip. “We think he’s working for Addie.”
