Chapter 25
TWENTY-FIVE
HEART ATTACK
Scarlet
After an evening of adventure, we crashed hard.
Ally had admitted he hadn’t slept the night before and told me why.
His new job—driving for Storm Force—nearly gave me a heart attack.
My report on the distillery and the alcohol label had recommended changing up the way they stored and transported their produce.
The number of deliveries was high because they had a small warehouse.
Increase the size of the warehouse, and boom: fewer deliveries needed.
Which would’ve put Ally out of a job.
Thank God I hadn’t submitted that part of the report.
We’d had the most amazing night otherwise.
We’d eaten at Sawney’s bar, and I’d met Ailsa, Sawney’s wife, and their two children.
Then Ally let me row him back across the lake but had me stop halfway.
He’d told me the boat was mine—I couldn’t believe that he’d remembered how much I loved being out on the water—then he’d stowed the oars and pulled me into his arms. Above us, the gorgeous night sky, full of constellations and a thick, distinct band of the Milky Way, had paid witness to one hot kiss.
Getting busy in a boat, however, was not on my radar, so we’d scooted home and gone to bed to finish the job there.
Just as I’d been dozing off, Ally had fished in his drawer and produced a key. He’d handed it to me without ceremony, muttering something about date four. It was to his home. For me to use whenever I wanted.
I’d dreamed of living with him and going to bed every night with him holding me tight.
A perfect, happy existence with a perfect, happy man.
I woke to a cup of hot coffee delivered to my bedside and a kiss pressed to my cheek.
“Hey, sleeping beauty.”
“I could get used to this.”
“I want ye to.”
We grinned at each other, and I sat up, drawing the blankets around me and hugging my knees. “Tomorrow, we’ll have Cait in here with us. That’s scary.”
“Are ye kidding? I spent half my time last weekend on the phone to Cal and Mattie. Each new face she made or any change sent me into a panic.”
Aw. “Neither of us are going to sleep, are we?”
“Nope.” He dove onto the bed, rolling me with him so I was under him. “Last weekend, she slept from seven in the evening until ten, then not much after.”
“We’ll take shifts. That’s what new parents do, isn’t it? Hey, why don’t we get her today and have two nights? Is that allowed?”
Ally gazed down at me, emotion clear in his eyes. I realised what I’d said—making a huge presumption and comparing myself to a parent—but I didn’t take it back.
“Ye want that?”
“Yes.”
He got on the phone, making the request, moving so fast he took my breath away.
A thudding came from downstairs, and Ally pointed. “Door,” he mouthed before going back to his call.
I slipped on his t-shirt, which fell almost to my knees, then trotted down the stairs to see who’d come calling. Wasp and Taylor waited outside, a number of packages in their hands.
“It’s so weird seeing you answering Ally’s door. That is going to take some getting used to.” Wasp grinned at me, raising his eyebrows. “Nice outfit. Looks familiar, but I can’t think why.”
“These got delivered to the castle,” Taylor said, ignoring her teasing husband. She handed over two parcels. “Our mail goes there, too, so we thought we’d drop it down.”
I examined the labels. “It’s the baby clothes I ordered! Oh, you guys, you should see them. I went nuts ordering because they are so cute. Want to come in?”
Both grinned but shook their heads.
Wasp palmed his beard. “Right now, we have somewhere to be, but another time, we’ll have dinner as two couples, rather than Ally just coming to ours begging to be fed. Aye?”
“I heard that.” Ally bounded up behind me, bare-chested, and wound his arms around me. “Thanks for stopping by with these. Go away now. See ye around.”
His twin laughed, Taylor waved, and Ally slammed the door.
“Rude boy,” I said, rounding on him.
“They’re being nosy. If you weren’t here, both would have waltzed straight in. I told all my family to stay away for a while. I want ye all to myself.” He pawed at the parcels in my hands. “What are these?”
“Come see.”
I darted back upstairs and into Cait’s nursery, then I opened the wardrobe door and sat in front of it, planning to hang up each outfit after we’d admired them.
Though my sister told me we should launder them first. Then something caught my eye.
A large book lying flat on the bottom of the wardrobe.
“What’s this?”
Ally squatted next to me, his expression losing its humour. He reached out and picked up the book. “Something that I either need to burn or get over.”
Then he opened it, rotating it to face me.
Ah. It was pictures of him as a model.
The first shot was of his face, straight on. Undamaged. I turned a page, revealing a shot of him in a suit, his body long and lean and his scowl scorching.
“I brought it in here as I had this idea the bairn might find it interesting one day.”
“She might. Does it bother you looking at old photos?”
His gaze touched mine. “Not as much as it did. Does it bother ye seeing them side by side with my bashed-up face?”
“You’re the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen.” I closed the book. “More now than before the accident. Your scars are a part of you, along with all the other pieces I adore. Your heart, your courage. I’ll get all fierce on your ass any and every time this makes you sad.”
“Oh yeah?” He paused as if he was about to say something important, but then his phone rang. “Hold those exact thoughts,” he said, his voice rough, and he laid back on the rug and extracted his phone from his jeans pocket.
“Speak of the devil.” Ally smirked. Then his brow furrowed, and he jerked up. “No, they didn’t call me. Tell me exactly what they said.”
I sat taller, putting the book and the unopened packages aside.
He listened intently, his expression dropping further and his shoulder muscles bunching. Finally, he muttered a farewell and killed the call.
“Fuck. The solicitor called my brother. A few days ago, they said the court was worried about my ownership of this house. Callum sent them the agreement we made, and this morning they’ve said it’s not legally binding.”
“No! Does that affect your case?”
“Aye. I need to prove I have a secure home for Cait. I think this says I can’t.”
He stared at his phone for a second then pressed something and spoke into it. “Solicitor.”
It repeated the word back then rang a number.
Ally leapt and paced the nursery. A sinking feeling took over me as he requested a callback.
Then he swore, putting the phone away. “I’ve worried about this since Cal told me they’d asked for more information.
It’s ridiculous. This is my home. I made the first payment to ensure it was legal. ”
I recalled him saying he planned to buy it with the proceeds of suing the man whose car hit his. “When will you get the money to buy it outright?”
“I don’t know. The legal team are in contact with the guy’s insurance company. That was a while ago. But they said not to worry. With the bairn’s custody case and my recovery, it has been the last thing on my mind.”
“Understandably.”
Ally held out a hand to help me up. He led me to his bedroom and grabbed his t-shirt, pulling it over his head. I hopped to action and sought an outfit from my suitcase, the urge to be ready driving me on. Not that I could be much help with this deal between the brothers.
A few minutes later, we’d both dressed and descended to the kitchen, clutching our coffees while we waited.
Then Ally put his down with an exasperated thud.
He drew me closer and gave me a swift kiss.
“Sorry. This isn’t how I wanted today to go.
We haven’t looked at the clothes yet. I can’t believe ye did that. ”
“Don’t be silly.” The custody case was so much bigger than us. We could choose each other. He had to be awarded his daughter.
“Do ye mind if we go to the castle? I want to talk to Callum. If the solicitor says we need to do something else, I want him to listen in so we get it right this time.”
“Let’s go.”
We left the loch house and sped to the castle. In the great hall, my sister greeted us with hugs. She had her baby in a sling and was no longer wincing every time she took a step.
“Mom and Dad are bringing the twins home in a few hours. It’s been wonderful having the break, but I’ve missed their faces so much!” She ushered us to the den where Callum sat on one of the green sofas, a pile of paperwork in front of him.
He glanced up at our arrival. “I thought you’d come, have ye—”
Ally’s phone rang, cutting him off, and we all stared at the device. He answered it and put it on loudspeaker.
“Alasdair, it’s Laura Crawford. I’m glad you called. I was readying to contact you today anyway. There have been developments in your case.”
Ally sat heavily. “Not good ones by the tone of your voice.”
Silence met his statement, then, “A number of issues have arisen. I need to take you through each in turn.”
Ally nodded, not that the woman could see, his thumb worrying his lip. “Go ahead.”
“We have been informed by the court that Georgia Banks has put forward her own custody case. I am obliged to tell you in my professional opinion that hers is strong.”
We all gaped.
Ally winced. “How can it be stronger than mine? If the only problem I have is proof of intent to buy my home, we’re here and waiting on ye to tell us what to do. Isn’t that enough?”
The solicitor took an audible breath. “Unfortunately not. Your case has received multiple challenges from the court. Currently, I would rate your chance of success as low.”
“Why? What’s changed in a week?” He stood, holding the phone under his face, his other hand jammed into his hair.
“The primary concerns are that you did not abide by the visitation arrangements—”
“When? I’ve never missed one.” Then he recoiled. “Do ye mean when I was in hospital?”