Chapter 12
The Arrival
Deja
“All I need is for ya to explain to me why yer brother believes he should be trying to arrange a marriage for me. I’m not going to meet any of the melters he’s lining up,” I say to Uncle Ewan and Uncle Ken then roll my eyes.
We’re walking back to the castle after one of our weekly sessions. My mum said to let them help me. I’ve been doing so for the last eleven years.
My uncles are serious about my training. When I had to give up softball, I was devastated, but I didn’t complain. The message my mum left for me gave me the feeling it wasn’t wise for me to be on the world stage of softball, out in the open.
Training became an outlet for all my anger and rage. I lost my home, my parents, my friends, and my softball career all in the blink of an eye. I haven’t spoken to Kate since that last call when she told me about Jameson.
“At some point, ye will learn we all humor Duncan. Not a one of us listens to him or takes his hairbrained ideas seriously,” Uncle Ewan murmurs and snorts a laugh to himself.
“He does not tell a fib. Ignore our dear brother. Duncan has it in his head that since Mum is ill, we should help ye find a husband.
“Dinnae fash yersel. He’ll find something else to go on about soon enough,” Uncle Ken says.
“I’m twenty-nine years old. I can find my own husband, I can,” I mutter. “Maybe I should just move to America and get out of all ye hair.”
I don’t miss that all the blood drains from Uncle Ken’s face as it always does when I mention leaving and moving to America.
I still don’t know what that’s about. I’ve been trying to head there since I turned twenty-one, but there’s always an excuse from one of my uncles or my great-gran for me to stay.
If my instincts didn’t tell me to listen to them all, I would be gone. However, I don’t want to jump out of the pan into the fire. For now, I’ll stay put.
Uncle Ken snaps out of it and begins to brush his hand over his hair as if trying to knock something from it. “Does it look like I have something in my hair?”
I laugh and bump him with my hip. He wraps his arm around me and gives a squeeze. I’m glad I still feel safe around these two.
“If ye take off, what will yer buddies do without ye?”
I smile as I think of Callum and Blair. They are brother and sister, twins. Ewan has been training them since they were thirteen.
They arrived around the time I did. I trusted them because they needed me and trusted me first.
They were afraid and skittish when they arrived. The two have since become my little buddies. I chuckle all the time because sometimes they behave as if they’re my personal bodyguards even though I’m five years older than they are.
I still don’t know how Ewan became their guardian. I learned to stop asking questions when it comes to Uncle Ewan. Uncle Ken and Uncle Duncan are the easiest to get along with.
Someone killed Uncle Archie just before I arrived here in Scotland, so I never had to deal with him while living here. I used to steer clear of him when I was younger.
However, Uncle Duncan is becoming a pain in the arse. My great-gran dying isn’t going to change a damn thing. I’m not marrying anyone.
I haven’t trusted anyone enough to even date. I don’t need a man, so taking that risk is unnecessary. My great-uncles may not know why, but they all know I don’t date. I don’t know how my uncle thinks I’m miraculously going to marry someone I don’t know.
“They’re twenty-four now. Maybe it’s time the three of us hit the road,” I say with a cheeky smile.
“Ye will not be walking off with my assets. Ye can forget that idea right now, lassie,” Uncle Ewan says.
I burst into laughter. To the outside world, my uncles might seem like three scary, grumpy old men. I know better.
All three have been fiercely protective and they show their love and humor in their own ways. I want to say they have earned my trust, but I’m always cautious with the lot. However, with these men, I don’t play.
I will take your head off over all three of them. Even Uncle Duncan with his matchmaking arse. I know he’s doing it out of love. My uncles are getting older, and they wish to see me taken care of.
I sigh as my laughter dies down, and we arrive at the castle. “I know he means well. Maybe the two of ye can make him understand I’m not interested in finding a husband.”
“We love ye, Deja. Ye know ye could come out and tell us if ye seek a female’s companionship instead,” Uncle Ewan murmurs as he blushes.
I burst into more laughter. This time, I’m wiping at tears as I hold my stomach. I’ve never seen the brooding man look cuter.
“I assure ya I’m into the lads. I just … the one I had my heart set on when I finally did begin to think about boys … he disappointed me.
“Then I came here. After all this time, he’s probably forgotten all about me. I’m sure he’s married with bairns of his own.
“I’m not marrying anyone until I find that spark again. Maybe it is time I leave to see the world. My lad might not be here in Scotland,” I say as I muse.
Since my uncle has been trying to set me up, I have been thinking a lot about what I plan to do once my grandmother is gone. It’s not looking too good. I don’t know how much more time she has.
It’s been breaking my heart to see her like this. Eleven years ago, she was as fit and fierce as she was when I was little. In the last few years, I’ve been watching her health slowly decline with her age.
Orla McDougal is a fighter though. I know she will fight until the very end. However, I don’t know what that end looks like for me.
I have no idea if it’s safe to leave Scotland now after all these years. I haven’t heard from my mum after that recording that day, eleven years ago. I’ve come to grips with the fact that my mother is never coming back for me.
I had held out hope for the first four or five years. I never asked for answers because I didn’t think anyone around me had them. Even if they did, I didn’t know who I could trust to ask.
“We would miss ye if ye left. I think Duncan is trying to find a way to keep ye here in his own way,” Uncle Ken says.
“I would miss ye guys too. I think that’s why, for now, ye be stuck with me.”
I don’t mention that once my great-grandmother is gone, I believe I will be too. I’ve been watching videos to learn fashion and to learn to hide my accent. This is nothing new.
I’ve been doing it since I was sixteen, when Kate and I used to talk about visiting her brothers in America. However, in the last eleven years, I’ve learned to style my own hair, and I’ve watched a ton of videos about New York City.
The dream is to one day see the place for myself. When Gran Orla is gone, I don’t think I’ll be able to live in that house in the village all by myself. I do get lonely sometimes.
“Well, ye don’t have to make any decisions today. Ye be safe and take care of the auld dear,” Uncle Ken says as he opens my car door for me.
“See ya,” I sing as I hug him.
“See ye later, love.”
“Come here,” Uncle Ewan croons. He tugs me into his embrace then whispers into my ear. “Ye are welcome here in Scotland for as long as ye want. When Mum is gone, that doesn’t mean ye have to leave.”
“I know,” I reply as I give him a squeeze.
Releasing him, I then turn and climb into my car to head home. I need a shower and something to eat. I’m sure Rhona is ready to get home to her family.
I appreciate that she comes to sit with Gran while I come to the castle to train. She’s the daughter of Gran’s old best friend. They were really close and now that her mother has passed, she comes by to help Gran whenever she can.
As I drive home, my mind goes to all the people here I would be leaving behind if I did take off for America. I will miss them all, but I want to go. It feels like there’s something there waiting for me. I’ve given up on my daydreams of that being Cole.
I’m sure he’s forgotten all about me. I can’t help but wonder if Kate ever made her way there. I miss her often.
I’m lost in my rambling thoughts as I turn onto the road that leads to Gran’s house. We don’t live far from the village, but we’re not in the center of it either.
No one comes out here much, so imagine my surprise as a fancy car comes into view in front of the cottage. A fancy car with a tall figure standing beside it.
I groan and roll my eyes. “This better not be one of Duncan’s prospects,” I mumble under my breath.
Then something about the guy’s posture grabs my attention and throws me back in time. I’m back at that birthday bonfire. I pull up behind the vehicle and stop, blinking as I stare out of the windscreen.
The guy lifts his head from staring down at his mobile and turns toward me. My mouth falls open as the handsome lad stands up straighter. He’s tall, big, and thick.
A fit one indeed. He looks like something out of a movie. The beard, the height, the stance—he was made for the screen.
He has on a gray newsboy hat with a gray waistcoat and slacks. The hat is low, but there’s no mistaking his handsome looks. Beneath the fitted waistcoat that looks like a tailored piece to a three-piece suit, he has on a crisp white shirt that’s rolled up to his elbows.
On his feet are a pair of suede-looking gray loafers. Everything about him screams he has a style of his own. With a smile on his lips, he removes his hat and runs a hand through his thick, dark locks of hair.
A gasp leaves my lips. No fucking way. It’s him, this is him in the flesh. Cole O’Brien is standing in front of my home.
I sit frozen, wondering what in the world he’s doing here. Shaking myself out of shock, I put the car in park and climb out almost in slow motion. My brain still hasn’t registered that he’s real. I feel like I’m in a dream.
“Hello, DJ.”
“Cole?”
He opens his arms as the smile on his lips grows. My brows are furrowed as I stand staring at him. Cole has always been a fit lad, but my mouth is watering as I look him over.