AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Other parts resembled every small tourist town in America—shops, museums, tours, hotels with catchy names like The Highlander, and restaurants that advertised a “Nessie-sized breakfast.” One place in particular caught her eye.
“The Myth Motel,” Kris read. “Museum, gift shop, rooms, and eatery. Specialty—Nessie Nuggets.” How could she pass that up? Especially since she was by now hungry enough to eat Nessie.
Kris paused with her hand on the door, wondering if Nessie Nuggets were shaped like Nessie, something to feed to Nessie, or made of Nessie.
She snorted. There was no Nessie. Sheesh. If she wasn’t careful she’d be sharing the delusion of everyone in Drumnadrochit. Where would Hoax Hunters be then? Where would she be?
“Out on my ass with no place to go,” Kris muttered, and yanked open the door.
A tall, slim man in a kilt stood just inside. His close-cropped dark hair and goatee proved a stunning contrast to his light gray eyes. “Welcome to The Myth Motel.”
“You’re American?” Kris blurted, both startled by the lack of an accent and thrilled by it. She hadn’t heard English without an accent since she got off the plane. Sure, it had only been a day, but she missed it.
“Technically, no.”
Kris tilted her head and waited.
“Raised there, born here,” he explained. “I’m Dougal Scott.”
Kris offered her hand. “Kris Daniels.”
They shook. He had nice hands, a good handshake. Not too soft, not too hard, and he looked directly into her face with a smile. “The writer woman?”
Kris rolled her eyes, and he laughed, the sound deeper than she would have expected and very engaging.
“You’ll soon learn that everyone knows everything in Drumnadrochit.”
Kris certainly hoped not. She might find herself tossed into the loch if they did. She was, after all, planning to expose their livelihood as one of the biggest tourist traps of all time.
“I’ve never met anyone named Dougal,” she said, eager to change the subject before he started posing more questions that would require more lies.
“I went by ‘Doug’ in the states, but I’m back to ‘Dougal’ now.” He indicated the kilt. “Anything to appease the tourists.”
“Yet you don’t add a brogue?”
His lips curved. “I come off sounding more like Foghorn Leghorn than William Wallace.”
“How long were you in the states?”
“Most of my life. I inherited the motel from my granaidh. My grandfather. I added both the restaurant and museum. If I do say so myself, my museum’s the best in the area. A combination of scientific facts, cryptozoological theory, and the most comprehensive list of sightings available in this country or any other.”
Kris felt a prickle of excitement. She’d never been able to find information on all of the sightings compiled in one place, so it was impossible to compare and discover if some were repeats of others.
Meeting this guy was a golden opportunity. And she’d walked in for the Nessie Nuggets.
“You sound like a true believer.” Though Kris wanted the information, she was kind of disappointed to encounter yet another sheep in the “I love Nessie” flock. Was no one in Scotland a skeptic, like her?
“Don’t tell, but…” Dougal made a show of looking around, then stepped closer and lowered his voice: “I’m here to cash in. People want Nessie…” He swept a showman’s hand toward the museum’s entrance. “I’ll give them Nessie.”
Kris smiled. At last. Someone with a clue.
“I’d love to hear more,” she began, and the door opened, spilling tourists into the foyer.
Dougal appeared torn. He obviously sensed in her a kindred spirit and he wanted to talk longer, but he needed to deal with all those wonderful customers.
“Are you busy tonight?” he asked.
Kris blinked. Was he asking her out?
