Kilted All the Way (Kilted Hearts)
Chapter 1
Chapter One
Pippa
“ A re you sure you don’t mind stopping by to feed my ladies tonight?”
There was a rustling on the other end of the phone, along with a distinct canine chuff, before Saoirse answered. “It is absolutely fine.”
Despite the fact that we’d been through this before I left Glenlaig last night, I couldn’t quite stop myself from nibbling at my thumbnail. “Are you sure? It’s not going to interfere with your rounds?”
Saoirse was one of only two vets in the area of our wee village in the highlands of Scotland. Given the other was her aging grandfather, she was more than a little busy trying to make sure he didn’t overdo. I hated to put anything else on her plate.
“Pippa, love, I’m more than happy to take care of your ladies for as long as you need me to, just in case this turns into more than a day-long road trip.” There was no mistaking the implied eyebrow waggle in her tone.
I rolled my eyes. “It’s no’ like that. I’m just helping him navigate UK roads because he’s never driven a horsebox on the left side of the road.”
“Mmmhmm. Sure.”
I could hear her tongue tucked firmly in cheek. It made me unnecessarily defensive.
“I’m just doing a favor for a friend.”
“Mmmhmm. Sure.”
“What?” I demanded, though I knew what.
Saoirse and our other friends had been teasing me for months over my feelings—my alleged feelings—for one Zeke Shaw. I say alleged because I certainly hadn’t admitted anything to the three of them. I’d barely even admitted them to myself.
“Darling—” She pulled out the posh London boarding school tone she used when clients were being unreasonable. “I may not have been around for the wedding to meet this man or see how you were with him that night, but I’ve definitely seen how you look when you mention him. You like him.”
I started to protest—because protesting was my default stance whenever this subject got brought up. But who was I kidding? They all knew. Our friend Ciara had given me a T-shirt last year reading Save a horse, ride a cowboy. Which I’d never worn and was hidden somewhere at the bottom of a drawer. But if I couldn’t talk about this with one of my closest friends, well, what kind of friends did that make us?
“Even if I did feel something more than friendship for him, it disnae matter. He lives in Texas, and I live in Scotland, and neither of us is planning to move.”
After a long moment of silence, Saoirse finally conceded, “Well, that does pose a problem. Though, I’d wager Skye wasn’t actually planning on moving here when she came to meet Jason.”
I didn’t need her mentioning one of our other friends, an American who’d been pen pals with local bartender Jason McKinnon for years, who’d finally come to Scotland to see if the chemistry she’d imagined was real. It had been, and the next thing any of us knew, she’d uprooted her whole life to move in with Jason. If the two of them weren’t so bloody adorable, I might’ve hated them. Just a wee bit. Because they represented a possibility that I couldn’t allow myself to consider.
When I didn’t answer, Saoirse continued, “You know, nobody is saying you have to go for the whole marriage and babies and forever thing. You could just have a great shag.”
See also: Things I’d been imagining in far too great a detail since the dance I’d shared with Zeke at a wedding reception three years ago.
“I am no’ going to ruin a perfectly good friendship by pursuing that.”
“That’s not a denial that you’d like a good shag.”
“I’m human, not dead.” And I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d had a decent shag, let alone a good one.
A voice over the train’s PA system announced our imminent arrival at King’s Cross.
“I’m done talking about this. My train’s about to pull into the station. Thank you for taking care of my ladies while I’m away.” I’d be a little easier knowing my herd of Highland coos would be in capable hands.
Saoirse blew me a kiss over the line. “Have a fabulous trip, love. We’ll see you when you get back.”
I hung up the phone and began gathering up my things. My hands shook a little from nerves, and I cursed Saoirse for putting any of these thoughts in my head. I’d been nervous enough to begin with. Now, when I saw Zeke, I’d be imagining him naked. Damn it.
I’d seen Ezekiel Shaw all of four times over the past three years. First at the wedding reception for his best mate, Raleigh Beaumont, the Texas cowboy who was the current Baron of Lochmara—and technically my landlord—and then each time he’d been back to Scotland to visit Raleigh. Zeke had been absolutely besotted with my cheese from the moment we’d met.
Not a euphemism. Artisan cheese was my absolute passion. Raleigh’s wife, Kyla MacKean, had included some of it at their reception, which had been the start of real growth and awareness of my product. It wasn’t quite big enough that I could set aside the computer coding I did for a living, but I had a prospective investor that could change all that. It was something I looked forward to discussing with Zeke on the drive, because somehow it was easier to discuss all this with him.
It was easier to talk to him about almost anything. Maybe because I didn’t actually have to see him. Most of our communication happened through email and chat. Though, sometime last year, we’d added voice messaging into the mix. It was easier to manage with the significant time difference between our countries. I’d never admit what the sound of that deep Southern drawl did to me or how often I’d re-listened to those messages.
The long and the short if it was that we’d become good friends. And if I wished for far more, well, that didn’t hurt anyone.
The train pulled into the station with a squeal of brakes, coming to a stop. Everyone around me rose and moved toward one of the doors. I grabbed my backpack and joined the queue.
Zeke was meant to meet me here before we went to collect the horsebox I’d be driving back to Glenlaig. Bracing myself, I stepped off the train and onto the busy platform, instinctively looking around. People were everywhere, despite the early hour. Signs of the impending holiday were likewise visible all over the station. Greenery and fairy lights. Passengers juggling prettily wrapped packages. And the faint strains of Christmas carols being played by buskers somewhere else in the station.
And suddenly, there he was, planted like a tree amid the crowd that flowed around him. He should’ve looked ridiculous. A fish out of water. The tall, rangy, sexy-as-hell cowboy, complete with a gray Stetson, well-worn cowboy boots, and a grin that made my heart melt like a thick slice of buffalo mozzarella.
I found myself returning his grin. Then he was closing the distance between us with that long-legged stride, and my brain short-circuited, trying to analyze what the appropriate greeting was. I was still processing when he pulled me straight into a massive bear-hug.
“Damn, it’s good to see you!”
After only a moment’s hesitation, I let myself relax into it, because Ezekiel Shaw gave really great hugs. “Likewise.”
Was it my imagination, or did he linger a little longer than necessary before he stepped back? Or maybe that was just me because I was holding onto him longer than I should’ve. Heat rose in my cheeks at the prospect.
If Zeke noticed, he said nothing, simply nudging me into motion with a hand at the small of my back as we began navigating toward the exit. “Man, I can’t thank you enough for coming down to help me out with this. I’ve sort of gotten okay with driving on the left side of the road with a car when I’ve come over to visit Raleigh, but driving a horse trailer is a whole other kettle of fish on these narrow-ass roads.”
“Of course, it’s no problem.”
I spotted him eying my backpack.
“Is there anything in there for me?” His too innocent tone didn’t fool me for a minute.
“Could be,” I hedged.
That hopeful little boy expression had me laughing. “I just finished aging a fresh batch. Of course, I brought you some.”
Zeke pumped his fist. “We should absolutely stop to get some bread and apples to go with that, so we can nibble on the road.”
Delighted, as always, with his enthusiasm over the thing I so loved making, I laughed again. “We can absolutely make that happen. In the meantime, why don’t you introduce me to Zodiac?”