A Highlander in Her Past Read Free

under the tapestry. Nothing appeared but the clean gray slab of stone flooring stretching beneath the arch. Good boy. Stay out of sight until I can get rid of your mom and we can talk. Tossing her jacket onto an ornately carved wooden bench, Trish ignored the particulars of Nessa’s question. “You know me. I always travel light.” Maybe if she didn’t acknowledge the part about Dougal, Nessa would move on to another subject.
    Nessa didn’t. “Oh, Trish.” Nessa threw her hands up in the air. “I thought you and Dougal were serious. I already had a spring wedding envisioned for the private garden.”
    Well dammit . Nessa never did know when to butt out. Trish snorted a silent laugh. That’s one trait she and Nessa shared. They both enjoyed meddling in each other’s business. “ Dougal was serious. Not me. You know settling down in one spot for a cozy family life isn’t my thing. There’s still a lot of world I want to see.”
    “But the way you love kids.” Nessa waved toward the staircase. “Don’t you want to settle down and have a few dozen of your own?”
    Trish swallowed hard against a sudden bitter lump rising in the back of her throat. She didn’t have the heart to tell Nessa the cold hard facts: long ago doctors had dashed her dream of having children and refused to give the slightest hope. Forcing a grin to her lips, Trish waved a hand toward the staircase. “Why should I go through the pain and aggravation of having my own kids when I’ve got the best of both worlds with yours?” Trish backed against the forest scene tapestry covering the archway and nudged against the child-sized lump protruding from the woven reddish brown buttocks of a slightly threadbare stag. Damn, the boy is stubborn…and reckless. She smiled wider and nodded toward Nessa’s stomach. “Besides, you look like the poster child for exhaustion. Think about it. I’ve got the best part of this deal. I get to play with the feisty munchkins while you have to be the mean old mom and make sure they’re properly trained to charm the world.”
    Nessa’s brows knotted over narrowed eyes squinted into a pair of irritated slits. “You’ve got such a way with words. With a friend like you—”
    “Now, Nessa.” Trish rushed over and wrapped an arm around her friend’s slumping shoulders, pulling her into a hug. “You know how much I love you. You’re the sis I never had.”
    Nessa huffed and grudgingly returned the hug. “So, out with it. What happened between you and Dougal?”
    “Nope.” Trish shook her head. She wasn’t about to get sucked into a relationship tell-all session until she found out what the boys had done to enact such a strict punishment. Besides, there wasn’t much to tell. Dougal had been a nice enough guy but that was it. After the initial excitement of the first meet wore off, any time spent with Dougal grated on her nerves. The man had revealed himself to be an insufferable bore. If she needed a path to unbearable yawndom, she’d bury herself in the college computer lab and code all her archeology notes for filing. Yuck. That thought triggered an involuntary shudder.
    Trish rubbed an elbow against the tapestry at her back. Good. Ramsay had finally retreated. Meeting Nessa’s gaze, she crossed her arms and patted a foot against the stone. The clicking tap of the toe of her boot echoed with a sharp report through the high-ceilinged hallway. “We’re not talking about my failed relationship with Dougal until you tell me what the marauding curtain climbers of Clan MacKay did to incur your wrath.”
    “Magic.” Nessa spit out the word as though it burnt her tongue.
    “Magic? Is that all?” Trish leaned against the doorframe, teetering back and forth while she peeled away the uncomfortable leather boot. She wiggled her toes and stretched out the uncomfortable seam of the tortuous sock that had embedded itself into her flesh. Trish groaned aloud at the instant relief her poor toes transmitted to her