Chapter 4
CHAPTER 4
PARKER
I had a job.
At least for the next two weeks.
Alex and Finley hadn’t seemed nearly as desperate as Callum for me to take it. Not that they’d been unwelcoming, but I gathered finding an office manager hadn’t yet been on their radar. Finley was a natural-born flirt, and Alex seemed perfectly at ease with people. It wasn’t hard to guess that Callum didn’t share those skills. He didn’t strike me as a patient man. Definitely not one who had any tolerance for bullshit. I suspected that had been true even before whatever accident had taken his eye. The scar that bisected his brow and trailed down to the top of his left cheek was still pink. Not brand new, but not old, either. He was still adjusting to his new normal.
I understood what it was like to have the normal world altered forever in a second. Being forced to find a new way to live. I’d been doing that for a decade now, and there were still days I struggled. Maybe that was part of why I’d been so quick to say yes, even though I hadn’t seen nearly enough of the country to decide where I wanted to ultimately land. Because I thought I could help him. Maybe not with the deeper issues. I wasn’t a therapist, after all. But maybe I could take some of the burden off, so he had more bandwidth to focus on himself and whatever changes he needed to make. And, if nothing else, maybe he could just use a friend.
A friend? Come on, Parker. The man isn’t a stray puppy.
But he pulled at my heartstrings just the same.
My head spun as I walked back through the village of Glenlaig from the Out of Bounds Scotland headquarters. Office? What did they even call the place? I’d have to ask.
On the way there, I’d casually strolled down the high street, glancing in shop windows and being generally charmed by the look of the place. But I looked at it through fresh eyes on the return trip, because visiting was one thing. Living here was another.
I knew a little about the village from my research prior to the trip. There were two estates in the area. Ardinmuir Castle, which had been a seat of the MacKean clan for some stupid long hundreds of years. It had been converted into an event venue, though I understood part of the family still lived there. The other, Lochmara, was newer—though that was relative. It, too, was several hundred years old. They were both the kinds of places I’d have expected to have huge tourist draw, but instead, I found the village proper to be off the beaten tourist path, geared far more toward the locals, though there were, of course, a handful of shops with the expected kitschy souvenirs highlighting Highland coos, wooly sheep, and tartans. Other than that, I spotted a small grocery store, a newsagent, a couple of takeaways, a charity shop, a bakery, and a tearoom. I’d only seen one pub, The Stag’s Head, at the far end of the street. I hadn’t yet ventured off the main drag, but what I could spot from here looked more residential.
The dramatic Highland hills rose behind the village, their slopes thick with pines. The late afternoon sun painted them in shades of gold and deep green. Even from here, I could smell someone baking bread—probably from that little bakery I’d passed. Everything about Glenlaig felt cozy and intimate, like stepping into a snow globe version of a Scottish village. One on the verge of what they called spring. I’d already spotted half a dozen locals who’d given me warm, welcoming smiles as I’d walked past. One woman had even stopped sweeping her front stoop to ask if I needed directions, her accent so thick I’d had to ask her to repeat herself twice.
This place was teeny.
I was from Nashville, albeit one of the suburbs. At home, I had access to anything I could want within an hour’s drive or less. Nothing here would be about convenience. I had no idea what the UK’s version of Walmart was or where the nearest one was located. And I suspected the shipping of internet orders wouldn’t be fast either up here in the Highlands. That would be an adjustment. But those were all first-world problems. I hadn’t gone to such great lengths to get here because I was looking for more of the same as home.
I liked the idea of a close-knit community, where I knew the shopkeepers and my neighbors. As a people, the Scots seemed to be friendly and helpful. That was a great trait, considering I was here with no support system whatsoever. By my own choice. Too many of the supports in my life felt like chains. I’d elected to go solo or bust on this adventure. Reckless? Maybe. But I needed to prove to myself that I could stand on my own two feet.
Back at the B&B, I found my hostess had left a plate of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies out with the makings for tea. Snagging two, I carried them back to my room. I’d have a snack and a little lie down before going out to find something for supper.
As I toed off my Chelsea boots, my phone vibrated with a text.
Paisley
Get settled in okay?
Parker
I did. And I have news.
Paisley
I’ve just emerged from the writing cave. Time for a video call?
I flopped onto the bed and toggled over to the proper app.
After only one ring, her face filled the screen. “What’s the news? Is everything okay?”
I bit into a cookie, humming with pleasure as the salty, sweet flavor melted on my tongue. “Yeah, everything is fine. I already have a job offer.”
Paisley blinked. “Well, that was fast. How did that happen?”
As she took me into her kitchen and began putting together food, I gave her the rundown. “Honestly, I can’t really believe I just did it. It was kind of rude in its own right, but it paid off.”
“Sounds like kismet. Tell me more about the broody hottie.”
Paisley Parish was not only a friend, she was the romance author I worked for. She habitually saw the potential for love everywhere. Some might have thought it an occupational hazard, but she’d been a romantic all her life, despite two divorces before Fate landed her back with the first love who’d broken her heart at eighteen. Now she was living her best life with the former Army Ranger husband who adored her and the world’s most adorable and friendly mutt. And when she wasn’t matchmaking people on the page, she tested out her skills in real life, which I found generally amusing until it was aimed in my direction.
“Slow your roll. That broody hottie is now one of my bosses. A relationship is not on my itinerary.”
With an exasperated huff, she leaned closer to the screen. “Come on! The grumpy-sunshine workplace romance practically writes itself.”
Given how Paisley’s brain worked, that was probably true. By the end of the phone call, she’d have the entire plot mapped out, down to the bonus epilogue with braw little Scottish bairns. Did they still call babies that here, or had I read one too many historical romances?
“This is my life, Pais—not one of your books.”
“Exactly. All the more reason for you to leap in head first. That’s the entire point of this adventure of yours and all the hoops you’ve jumped through to take it.”
She wasn’t wrong. I’d come here because I wanted to live my life, not just go through the motions. And that was going to upset a lot of people in my world.
“Speaking of those hoops… have you heard from Jade?”
It was part redirect, part legitimate concern.
Paisley settled at the kitchen table with her sandwich. “Oh yeah, and she’s pissed you gave her the slip. I’d say 50% is that you would dare and the other 50% was that you pulled it off.”
I winced. I wasn’t especially proud of any of this. “I knew she would be. I’m sorry you’re catching the flak for it.”
Paisley waved that away. “Hey, I volunteered to be the go-between, so she didn’t lose her shit and think you’d been kidnapped. I stand by that decision.”
“Are you sure?”
“I mean, she’s not going to hop on a plane to fly back to the States to interrogate me. That may only be because it would mean leaving you alone over there, but I’ll take the reprieve. Either way, she’s definitely on the hunt to track you down.”
My heart squeezed. “Did you let anything slip?”
Paisley snorted. “What do you take me for, an amateur? We set up all new accounts she doesn’t know about. You already got a new phone under my name, and the lodging and travel that’s already been booked was paid for through pre-paid credit cards. I’ve made it clear that we’re in contact, and that she can consider that proof of life, and that you’re safe.”
“Thanks for that.”
“How long do you plan to wait before you tell her where you are?”
I considered as I started in on the second cookie. It was a good thing I was currently without a vehicle, because the walking was the only thing that would save me from the consequences of indulging in my temporary landlady’s cooking. “I’m at least taking the two weeks to see if I want to stay here. Probably longer. I need time—as much as you can buy me.” God, I hated to do this to Paisley, but as she’d said, she’d volunteered for this.
“You know I’m on your side. How long do you think she’ll wait before telling your parents?”
This was the riskiest part of my whole plan. If my very over-protective parents had any clue what I was actually doing, they’d promptly lose their shit and send out the National Guard—or whatever the international version of that looked like. And my father had the resources to do it.
“The blowback on Jade would be significant—” Something else I wasn’t proud of. “—so I’m hoping she’ll hold off. She’s always been overprotective and just a little paranoid about theoretical threats that turn out to be nothing. Part of the job, I guess. So long as she’s reassured that I’m in no legitimate danger, I should be fine.” That was what I was telling myself, anyway.
“Well, I hope you know her as well as you think you do.”
A furry head popped into the frame, offering some much-needed levity to the conversation.
I grinned. “Hey, Duke. Who’s the best boy?”
He barked and wagged hard enough it shook his whole body.
Paisley draped an arm across his back and pressed a noisy kiss to his head. “This one says it’s time for one of those things.”
Duke glanced back at her with a look that said he knew perfectly well she was talking about a walk, whether she said the word or not.
“Go do the thing. I’m gonna get a nap.”
“Keep me posted, and good luck, sugar.”
“Thanks. I’m gonna need all of it I can get.”
I ended the call and pulled out my planner and a legal pad to start making notes for everything I thought I’d need to learn for the job. I suspected I had a lot of work to do, and I couldn’t wait.