Truly, Fiercely (Return to Culloden Moor #2)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

A iden and Liam, watched from the couch with varying degrees of amusement.

“She’ll be here next week,” Gareth announced for perhaps the fifth time that morning. “Everything’s arranged—the teaching position, the apartment above the bookstore.” He ran a hand through his hair, anticipation making him practically vibrate with energy. “Tis still hard to believe that after all these years, a piece of Tavia lives on.”

Liam lounged deeper into the couch cushions, a roguish grin playing on his lips. “Aye, brother, we heard you the first dozen times. Though I still say hiring a private investigator was a bit much.”

“You didnae have to trace her lineage back five generations,” Aiden added quietly, his dark eyes thoughtful. “The DNA test alone?—”

“O’course I did!” Gareth’s Scottish brogue deepened with emotion. “Tis Tavia we’re talking about. Our sister. We thought her line ended centuries ago, but here’s living proof it didnae.” He pulled out his phone, pulling up the family tree he’d pieced together. “Someone survived. Had a family. And now, after all these years, we’ve found her descendant.”

“Who thinks you’re completely mad,” Liam pointed out helpfully. “What was it she said in that email? ‘Please cease contact’?”

Gareth glared at his brother. “Don’t ye have a vacation to plan? A father-in-law tae bother? Somewhere else tae be?”

Liam grinned. “Oh, I’m no’ going anywhere. This looks to be too much fun.”

“Gareth?” Lissa’s voice cut through the conversation. She stood in the doorway, one hand resting on her pregnant belly, her blue eyes sharp with suspicion. “What exactly have you done?”

The brothers exchanged guilty looks as Lissa entered, followed by Amber and Zoey. The wives had clearly been comparing notes.

The MacGregor children tumbled into the room behind their mothers - Norah, Gareth and Lissa’s two-year-old daughter, leading the charge with her honey-blonde curls flying. She made a beeline for Gareth, and he scooped her up with practiced ease. Kiernan, Aiden and Zoey’s serious-eyed toddler, followed more cautiously, clutching his toy hammer - a miniature version of the ones in his father’s workshop. Duncan, Liam and Amber’s black-haired son, brought up the rear, already eyeing the highest climbable surface in the room. The cousins were inseparable, with Norah trying to organize their chaos while Duncan led them into mischief and Kiernan attempted to be the voice of reason - even at not quite two years old.

Gareth watched his wife settle onto the couch, her hand resting protectively over her growing belly. As always, the sight of her took his breath away - her honey-blonde hair catching the morning light, her blue eyes sharp with intelligence and love. Norah wiggled down and ran to cuddle into her mother’s side, her small hand resting on her mother’s stomach, already showing signs of the same fierce protectiveness toward her unborn brother. The sight of his family made his heart swell, reminding him why finding Ella was so important. Everyone in his family deserved to know this kind of belonging.

“My love,” Gareth started, but Lissa held up a hand.

“Don’t ‘my love’ me. What’s this about you orchestrating the new teacher’s arrival?” Her voice softened slightly. “I know how much finding Tavia’s descendant means to you, but you can’t manipulate people’s lives.”

“Tis no’ manipulation,” Gareth protested. “Tis... guidance. Protection. Ella Kingsley is family, whether she knows it or no’. She’s alone in the world, widowed these two years. She needs us.”

Amber’s brows furrowed. “I thought you said she had parents?”

Gareth made a noise of disgust. “They are off living their lives. The mother newly remarried, the father stared a new family years ago.”

Lissa shook her head. “It worries me that you know this much about her.”

“We need to respect her boundaries,” Zoey interjected gently. Her copper hair caught the sunlight as she settled beside Aiden. “I imagine her aura will be... complicated when she arrives.”

Amber snorted, perching on the arm of Liam’s chair. “That’s one way to put it. Finding out your distant relatives are Highland ghosts isn’t exactly an easy pill to swallow.”

“We’re no’ telling her that part,” Gareth said quickly. “No’ yet. First, we help her feel at home here. Show her she has family who cares.”

“Because that’s not manipulative at all,” Lissa muttered, but there was fondness in her exasperation. She knew how deeply they felt the loss of their sister, even after all these centuries.

“Don’t forget the pendant,” Aiden spoke up suddenly. “In the photos from the investigator—she wears Tavia’s pendant.”

A heavy silence fell over the room. They all remembered the delicate silver piece, passed down through Tavia’s line without anyone knowing its original owner.

“Aye,” Gareth said softly. “Another sign. She belongs here, with us. Tavia would want us to watch over her family.”

Lissa held out her hand and Gareth crossed to her, taking her soft hand in his. “Just... promise me you’ll be careful. Don’t overwhelm her. Let her find her own way here.”

Gareth squeezed her hand, his expression softening. “I promise, mo chridhe. Small steps.” He glanced at his brothers, his jaw tightening with determination. “But she’s family. And family takes care of its own.”

Liam grinned. “Even if they don’t know they’re family yet?”

“Especially then,” Gareth replied firmly.

Ella Kingsley pulled her Subaru into a parking spot in front of Pages & Perennials, the local bookstore whose upstairs apartment would be her new home. The small U-Haul she’d been towing for the past twenty-three hundred miles was a testament to how much she’d pared down her life before the move. Through her windshield, Harmony Falls looked like something out of a Hallmark movie—complete with hanging flower baskets on old-fashioned lampposts and hand-painted shop signs swaying in the afternoon breeze.

“Well,” she muttered to herself, “at least Bella will get a kick out of this.”

She eased out of the driver’s seat, wincing as her muscles protested the movement. The twenty-three-hundred-mile journey from Ohio had been broken up by countless coffee stops at small-town diners, hurried meals at highway rest areas, and fitful nights in budget motels where the air conditioners rattled too loudly to sleep. She arched her back, hearing it crack, and thought longingly of her old bed at home. She hoped the people she sold it to were enjoying it. At least the trip was finally over.

The late summer air carried the scent of pine and something sweetly floral, so different from the urban landscape she’d left behind. Her hand automatically went to the silver pendant at her throat, a habit that had only grown stronger since Jacob’s death. Somehow it gave her comfort.

A man in his sixties appeared on the porch, key ring jangling. “Ms. Kingsley? I’m Frank Henderson, the property manager. Let me help you with those boxes.”

“Thank you, but I’ve got it.” Ella unlocked the U-Haul, revealing a tetris-game of cardboard boxes and suitcases. “I packed light.”

Frank’s eyebrows rose skeptically at her definition of ‘light,’ but he handed over the keys without argument. “Well, holler if you need anything. Though I suspect you’ll have plenty of volunteers if you want them.”

She was about to ask what he meant when she caught sight of movement in her peripheral vision. Across the street, three men stood at the window of what appeared to be a pub, watching her with unconcealed interest. They were strikingly similar—all tall and broad-shouldered, with dark hair and the kind of presence that seemed to fill more space than their physical bodies should allow.

One of them—the tallest—raised his hand in what might have been a wave. Before she could reach for her first box, all three men emerged from the pub and strode purposefully across the street.

“Welcome to Harmony Falls!” the tallest one called out. “Let us help you with those boxes.”

“No thank you,” Ella said firmly, reaching for the first box. “I need the exercise after that long drive.”

She turned away deliberately, hoping they’d take the hint. After a brief, whispered argument among themselves, they retreated back to the pub, though she could still feel their eyes watching from the window.

She grabbed the first box, labeled ‘Kitchen - FRAGILE’ in Bella’s looping handwriting, and headed for the side entrance that led to her apartment. As she climbed the wooden stairs, she noticed a small porch at the top, complete with a wrought-iron bistro table and chair. The perfect spot for morning coffee or grading papers in the fresh air, she thought with a smile. The wooden stairs creaked under her feet and as she made her way up, she bounced a few times to test their stability. The last thing she needed was to face-plant down a full flight of steps in front of her new neighbors.

Inside, the apartment was smaller than it had appeared in the photos, but clean and bright with afternoon sunlight streaming through gauzy curtains. The hardwood floors showed signs of age but had been well-maintained, and the furnished space was decorated in soothing neutral tones. A comfortable-looking couch and armchair dominated the living area, while a small dining set occupied the sunny breakfast nook. The landlord had left everything immaculate, from the well-worn but charming furniture to the vintage brass lamps that cast warm pools of light in the corners.

“Home sweet home,” she whispered, setting down the box. The words echoed slightly in the empty space.

Forty minutes and several trips later, Ella was sweating and seriously reconsidering her “I can do it myself” stance. She wrestled with a particularly heavy box of books, trying to maintain her grip as she navigated the steps.

The heavy box shifted treacherously, and she had a split second to think well, this is going to hurt before strong hands steadied both her and her cargo.

“Careful there, lass,” a deep voice said, the words carried on a Scottish burr. “These steps can be tricky.”

Ella looked up to find one of the men from the pub window—the youngest-looking one, with dancing blue eyes and an easy smile. “Thank you, but I’m fine. Really.”

“Oh, aye, you’re managing splendidly.” His grin widened. “That’s why that box was about to introduce your face to the stairs.”

She squared her shoulders, adjusting her grip. “I appreciate the save, but I’ve got it from here.”

“Course you do.” He didn’t move. “I’m Liam, by the way. Liam MacGregor. My brothers and I own the pub across the street.”

“How nice,” Ella said neutrally, trying to step around him.

“We’ve been looking forward to meeting you,” he continued, either missing or ignoring her attempt at escape. “The whole town’s been buzzing about the new teacher.”

Something in his tone made her pause. There was an undercurrent there, like he was enjoying a private joke. Before she could analyze it further, two more shadows fell across the landing.

“Liam,” one of the newcomers said, his accent matching his brother’s, “are ye bothering the lass already?”

“Me? Never.” Liam’s innocent expression wouldn’t have fooled a kindergartener. As a third-grade teacher, Ella was all too familiar with that particular look. “Just being neighborly.”

Ella looked between the three men, noting their matching expressions of barely contained interest. Their intensity was unsettling - there was something odd about the way they watched her, like they knew something she didn’t.

“Well, this has been... interesting,” she said firmly, “but I have a lot of unpacking to do.”

The tallest brother—the one who had waved earlier—stepped forward. “Gareth MacGregor,” he introduced himself, then gestured to the third brother. “And this is Aiden. We just wanted to welcome you to Harmony Falls.”

“Thank you.” Ella shifted the box higher in her arms. “That’s very kind.”

Gareth’s eyes fixed on her neck and something flickered across his face. “That’s a lovely necklace,” he said carefully. “Family heirloom?”

“Yes.” Ella took a step back, unnerved by his intensity. “If you’ll excuse me...”

“O’ course.” Gareth’s smile was warm, but there was something else in his expression—something unexpectedly invested, like her arrival mattered more than it should. “We’ll let ye get settled. But if ye need anything at all...”

“I know where to find you,” she finished pointedly. “Right across the street.”

Liam chuckled. “She’s got spirit, this one.”

“Goodbye, gentlemen.” Ella managed to open her door one-handed and slipped back inside, closing it firmly on their amused faces.

Through the window, she watched them cross back to the pub, heads bent in conversation. There was something odd about them—something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. The way they moved, maybe, or the antiquated formality in their speech. Like they had stepped out of another time entirely.

“You’re being ridiculous,” she told herself, turning to survey her boxes. “They’re just eccentric locals. Every small town has them.”

Still, as she began unpacking, she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to the MacGregor brothers than met the eye. Her hand went to her pendant again, remembering Gareth’s strange reaction to it.

“Focus, Ella,” she muttered. “You’re here for a fresh start, not to solve small-town mysteries.”