And now she had to start over. She had enough on her plate.
When she reached the dirt road, she decided on biking on in the opposite direction of her cottage, curious as to what lay on the other side of the high hill. Cresting the top, the land dipped in a gentle slope toward the loch again, the road continuing on to meander along the loch's edge. The ruins of the old Castle MacLaren sat at the bottom of the hill, on a piece of land that jutted into the loch.
Instead of going down, she pushed the bike onto the grass, noticing the beaten down footpath that led to a spot where the hill dropped off dramatically, giving her the perfect view of the ruins and the loch. Kate sat down in the grass and just stared, stared until tears pricked her eyes and her heart hurt.
"Love this spot."
Kate jerked at the sound of Devin's voice, immediately wiping her eyes.
"Are you crying?" Concerned, he sat beside her and Kate wanted to die of embarrassment.
"It's not what you think."
"What? That I was not being an ass just now? That you gave me your time and I acted like I didn't appreciate it?"
"All true," she said with a wan smile, finally looking at him. Hildie was sitting in the grass next to him. "But, no, that's not why I'm crying."
He stayed quiet for a moment, staring out over the ruins and the loch. "Well, for what it's worth, I'm sorry. I don't usually treat people that way…" She could tell by how uncomfortable he sounded that those words were probably true. "Usually just avoid people altogether these days."
At her glance, he gave her a solemn shrug. She could relate. "Not fit for company, huh?"
"Something like that."
"Yeah. Me neither." She wiped at her eyes, drew in a deep breath, and smiled. "Shitty times, basically."
He nodded as though he understood. "Can't be all that bad, is it?" He leaned back on his hands and stretched his legs out in front of him.
Kate snorted. "Twelve years worth of work and money, my entire business, lost. Yeah. It's that bad."
Dev let out a heavy breath and sat back up. "Twelve years is a long time."
"Tell me about it. Things were going good, too. Expanding. And I didn't even see it coming. Okay, well, maybe there were signs, but I was too stupid to add them up. Or maybe I just didn't want to see."
"What happened?"
Kate looked over again. He had a nice face. Rugged. Straight nose, good bones, sexy mouth. There were crinkles around his eyes and a wicked slant to his eyebrows. But it was those solemn, honest eyes that won her over, and she found herself talking, telling him everything and ending with her trip here.
"It's a good place to come. I don't know what it is… The land, the views, the air. Quiets the soul."
Kate gave him a surprised look.
"What?" A grin pulled on one corner of his mouth, snagging her attention.
"That's pretty deep."
He didn't elaborate or explain and it only made her more curious about him. He was a soldier, a carpenter, a dog lover, a Scot—well, half Scot, but still… And apparently he was pretty deep, too.
She stood suddenly, spurred on by a bit of panic, by the emotions he made her feel. She didn't want to feel anything. "I probably should go."
Dev rose and picked up her bike, his hands resting on the handle bars. "You don't have to leave, Kate."
She grabbed the bike, but he didn't let go. "Yeah. I do." If he knew the things going through her mind, he'd probably dive right off the ledge they were on. "See ya around." He released the bike.
She left without looking back.
Once on the road, she hopped on the bike and coasted down the hill, heading toward the cottage. As much as she'd fantasized about coming to Scotland and finding love, now was not the time, In fact, it was the worst time possible. Figures. Because Devin MacLaren could definitely be a contender.
Dev stood in the middle of the road and watched Kate disappear down the hill. He hadn't liked what she'd told him. Her entire business ruined by a friend, some asswipe who'd used her, betrayed her, and took everything she had. No wonder she hadn't taken any of his crap. Good for her. Of course now he felt even worse for the way he'd treated her.
