Page 152 of The Defiant Curse

She wasn’t sure.

Was she a little sad that no one even bothered to come find her?

Yes.

Was it also her fault since she ran without giving anyone the chance?

Yes.

So, she’d made this bed, and now, she’d lie in it. In a few days, she’d check in, making sure everyone was okay. Only, for now, she was taking some well-needed downtime to regroup and find herself.

After all, she was on vacation.

In a castle.

In Scotland.

Never in her wildest dreams did she think that this was her life. All of those years ago, she’d believed that she’d just be a simple public servant, living out her life in DC.

Then, she met Christopher Leonard, and it all changed.

This was her story, and her adventure, of sorts, so she was going to see where it went.

In a few weeks, she was hosting Ian and Gryphen’s wedding here, and she had no intent of going home before that.

Maybe after.

Well, she had to go home at some point, because she missed her children terribly, but she needed to figure all of this out when it came to work and her relationships.

When she heard the whinny of a horse somewhere ahead of her, as she was walking on the hill, she stopped.

The barn was behind her.

Had there been a horse missing when she’d been playing with the goats?

Uh-oh.

She wasn’t sure.

In that moment, her body went into fight or flight, because as far as she knew, there was no way either of the men would be able to get ahead of her—nor would they try.

Now, her heart began thumping.

When she saw something moving in the mist, heading her way, she stood there. With the wind whipping around her, and that figure approaching.

She heard his voice.

And her heart…stopped.

In that brief moment, a man was coming through the mist on horseback, and she had to be mistaken.

But she wasn’t.

As he got free of the mist, their eyes met. On horseback, and on Hamlet in Scotland, was Ethan.

Her.

Ethan.