Chapter 6 Arran
ARRAN
“Did you get my email?” My contractor, Bill, approached me as soon as I stepped into the Gloaming.
My mind, as per usual, was preoccupied with Eredine. This morning on our run, she’d been distracted again. She’d barely looked at me. I tried to recall if I’d said or done anything to upset her, but I’d been my usual self.
Frowning, I shook my head. “Problem?”
“Aye, you could say that. Follow me.”
Bill led me past the bar and into the ground-floor great room used for events.
This very room had hosted Ardnoch village’s anniversary ceilidh every year for as long as I could remember.
The village’s anniversary of becoming a royal burgh was much celebrated, and this year was our 393rd.
Scheduled for a few weeks’ time from now, the ceilidh had been relocated to our town hall, just for this year.
To say the locals weren’t happy was an understatement.
However, they’d show up, even if they whined about the venue change.
Stopping at the entrance to the event room, Bill pointed upward where we’d exposed the building’s structure. “Joints are rotten. It’s a wonder this bloody thing hasn’t collapsed.”
My stomach twisted at the thought. “What does this mean?”
“I had the engineer come out early this morning, and he says it all needs replaced.”
Looking at how spectacular the space looked with the ceiling removed, I frowned as I studied it. “If we’re having to replace these, could we just vault the ceiling? Leave it open.”
“Oh, aye, we could do that. That would look grand.”
“Right. Well, if you can get me the added cost of replacing these, that’d be great. I’ll talk with Lachlan, make sure he’s on board with the vaulting, and then I’ll let you know.”
“Perfect.”
I strode back out into the bar area, untouched for the moment with renovations focused elsewhere, and I pulled out my phone to call Lachlan. The email banner notifications on my screen alerted me to Bill’s email but also to another that froze me on the spot.
Indignation churned in my gut as I tapped on the notification.
The email from blackwidow0101@ opened up to one line: Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you.
Deleting the email, I ground my teeth and took a breath before hitting Lachlan’s number.
For a few years now, I’d received these ominous one-line emails that all said roughly the same thing, about not forgetting me or about watching me.
Since nothing had come of them, I’d decided it was just some bored crazy on the internet sending random emails.
After everything that happened with my family, however, there was a moment when I paused to think about the emails.
One came every few months. But if I mentioned it, my family would overreact, and, quite rightly, considering what they’d been through.
I didn’t want to worry them over something I was ninety-nine percent sure was a prank.
“Morning,” Lachlan answered on the fifth ring.
“Do you want the good news or the bad news first?”
He sighed. “Please do not tell me people are picketing outside the Gloaming about the anniversary ceilidh?”
I snorted. “Please don’t tell me that’s been a threat.”
“I wouldn’t put it past them. You’d think they’d be happy.
I offered to pay for the whole bloody thing this year as recompense for the change of venue.
Do they care? No. We changed their precious routine, and I am fielding calls every fucking day asking me if this or that will still happen this year or how not to use the fucking caterer Gordon used every year because no one really liked the food. Fuck.”
I covered another snort because I could hear how stressed he was, and it shouldn’t be funny.
“I can hear you smiling,” he snapped. “Aye, you wouldn’t be smiling if you were the one dealing with this shite.”
A chuckle escaped before I could stop it. “If it makes you feel any better, I can’t walk through the village without someone stopping to lecture me about what we should and shouldn’t be doing to the Gloaming.”
“No one likes change, apparently.” My big brother sighed, sounding exhausted.
At once feeling like a shit for making light of his stress, I asked, “Everything else okay?”
“Och, I’m just a bit knackered. I can’t seem to sleep.”
“Worrying about Robyn?” I guessed.
Lachlan hesitated, but then confessed, “Every minute of the day.”
Our mother, Vivien, died when I was barely three years old, after giving birth to Arro.
A blood clot killed her. I didn’t remember her, but Lachlan and Thane, being the eldest, did.
Even Brodan had memories of our mother. I remembered our aunt Imogen more.
She was our dad’s sister, and I remember her stepping in to help because Dad checked out after Mum died.
However, tragically, Aunt Imogen died in a hiking accident when I was seven.
The Adair men had an awful family history of losing the women they loved, and I knew from Thane the so-called curse had badly affected Lachlan in particular. He’d almost lost Robyn and pushed her away because of his fear of eventually losing her, anyway.
Maybe her pregnancy was bringing up some of that old trauma.
“She’ll be fine, Lachlan. She’s young and healthy.”
“I know.” His voice was hoarse. “Logically, I know that.”
“You know I’m here, aye? If you ever need me or need to talk … I know I haven’t been around in the past, but I’m here now.”
“I know. I know that, Arran,” he promised. “Thank you.”
I didn’t know what to say after that, emotion thickening my throat.
“So,” Lachlan broke the moment of silence, “bad news first?”
“Ah, yes, that. About the great room ceiling …”
I sauntered into Thane’s laundry room, hearing the bustle of his family in the main living area beyond. Since I’d taken up residence in my brother’s annex, Thane and Regan made it clear I always had an open invitation for dinner. So I followed my growling stomach into their place.
Unfortunately, when I stepped into the kitchen, it was to find Thane helping Regan into a jacket. They looked dressed up. Beyond them, Eredine played a board game with Eilidh and Lewis at the dining table.
Dirty dishes on the kitchen counter suggested they’d already eaten.
Thane frowned at me. “I thought you were out tonight.” He glanced questioningly at Regan.
Regan shrugged, face a perfect mask of innocence. “I thought that’s what he said.” She looked at me, still guileless. “Didn’t you say you were going out tonight?”
Confused, I shook my head. “Not that I recall.”
“Oh, I must have gotten mixed up.”
“But …” Thane sighed. “If I’d known Arran was here, we could have asked him to watch the kids instead of dragging Ery out.”
“Watch the kids? Where are you going?”
“Date night.” Thane slid an arm around Regan’s waist. “We’ve got a table booked at North Star.”
I raised an eyebrow. That was a pretty fancy restaurant and one of Arro’s favorites. “Occasion?”
Regan shrugged. “We haven’t had time alone in a while.”
“Reason enough.” I flicked another look at Eredine, anticipating an evening with her. “Well, I haven’t eaten, so I’ll just stick around if you don’t mind. Any leftovers?”
Regan nodded to a tray covered in foil. “Left some behind just in case. Pop it in to reheat.” She beamed. “Enjoy your night.”
“Will do, thanks. Enjoy yours.”
Thane eyed Regan with an expression that bordered on suspicious, but when she wrinkled her nose at him, he shook his head and turned to call out to the kids. “We’re leaving.”
“Bye!” They waved them away with barely a look, too engrossed in their game.
“Love you too,” Thane said dryly before he led Regan toward the exit. “We’ll be back by eleven.”
“Have fun, kiddies,” I said quietly. “No pulling over for car sex on the way home.”
The immediate bloom of red on Regan’s face revealed that was exactly what they were planning on doing. I howled with laughter.
Lucky buggers.
Thane cut me a mock glare over his shoulder before they walked out of sight. I heard the front door open and shut a few seconds later and turned to Ery and the kids.
Eredine gave me a small smile. “You staying? Regan said you were out for the night.”
“Regan was mistaken,” I answered, quite chuffed with how the evening was panning out, and even more so that Ery was making eye contact. After her bizarre behavior this morning, I’d worried all day that maybe I’d fucked up unknowingly. “Let me heat this up and then I’ll come over to play.”
“You’ll be on my team, Uncle Arran,” Eilidh decided.
“You got it, cutie.”
My niece beamed, and fuck, my heart … Seriously, the kid could ask for the last penny in my bank account, and I’d hand it over with no qualms. She had me wrapped around her tiny pinkie finger.
Not long later, I approached the dining table, plate of reheated steak pie and mash in hand, and slid into the seat beside Ery.
Her hair was loose tonight, tumbling in long, shining waves down her back.
I’d never paid much attention to a woman’s hair beyond if it was nice, but Ery’s played a pivotal role in my fantasies about her.
Mostly just seeing it sprawled across my bedsheets, but also wrapped around my fist as we fucked.
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. “Changed your hair?”
Ery glanced at me in surprise. “Yeah.”
“I like it!” Eilidh announced. “Why don’t you wear it like that more?”
“One: because I feel lucky to have curls like mine and I like my hair curly. Two: it takes forever,” Ery replied with a wry twist to her lips. “First, I have to straighten my hair and then put this wave in it.”
“That doesn’t seem like much work.” Eilidh frowned. “Maybe we could do that to my hair!”
My niece was also blessed with natural dark curls, but I had a feeling her father might not be amused by anyone taking a straightener to them.
Eredine agreed apparently. “Um, maybe when you’re older.”
“Can we get back to the game?” Lewis frowned at us, especially me, as if I’d somehow betrayed the brotherhood by mentioning hair in the first place. “Bloody Nora.”