AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I stiffen. Ainsley knows me too well. She’s right about my age, whereas Luciana is four years younger. “Ahh. Yes, well, it wasn’t exactly a warm reunion.”
“I’m sure that was tough.” She rests a hand on my shoulder for a moment. “Many a woman has tried to win Blake’s heart over the years, but he’s disappointed them all.”
“Oh, really?” I don’t like the way her words make my insides twist. The idea of Blake being with all those women… not that I’ve been a nun myself. In fact, there’s a particular attorney back in New York who would be quite displeased that I’m back here with my ex. I’d broken up with him a while back, but he’s still coming on strong like he can win me back. “What are the Blackstocks up to anyway? Who’s clan chief?”
Ainsley’s eyebrows shoot up. “He didn’t tell you? It’s Blake.”
My insides twist again. Of course he’s head of his clan. “We weren’t exactly making small talk,” I say with a grimace.
“You have a lot of news to catch up on, both witches and warlocks,” Ainsley says. “After you get settled in, if you’re not too tired, I’ll pour us some of the good stuff and we’ll catch up.” She winks.
“That sounds great,” I say with a sigh. “Give me just a few minutes.”
Since Luciana and the others seem stable after their journey, I head back out to the van and grab my small suitcase. I don’t have much since I’ve been on the run, just a few things I’d picked up in the last two weeks. As I walk back inside the house, I pause on the threshold, taking it all in.
MacPherson House has been in my family for centuries. It’s situated in the middle of a whole lot of nowhere roundabouts Glencoe. The better to do magic, and, in the case of the warlocks, turn into giant wolves and run through the hillsides. Just like Scotland and Blake both, the house causes such a mix of emotions that I have to lean against the huge doorframe for a moment.
My head is flooded with memories, most involving Luciana and my parents. Beautiful memories. Until all of that ended abruptly, shattering my childhood innocence. My eyes rove over the grand entry hall, the ceiling soaring over my head. The gray stone seems alive almost, singing a song of belonging. From where I stand, I can see into the parlor and just a glimpse of the dining room beyond. Past that are the kitchens and the cellar. There are more rooms on the right side of the hall, a music room and a library and a small tearoom.
Moving of their own accord, my feet take me to the sweeping stone staircase at the rear of the hall. When I reach the landing on the second floor, my heart thuds in my chest, but it isn’t from climbing the stairs. My eyes pass over the door to my room, and Luciana’s, and there, at the far end of the hall, my parents’ room.
I place my bag down inside my door and force myself to walk to the other end of the hall. When I reach the door to their room, I pause. My hand trembles as I flip the light switch just inside the door, a modern addition in the last few decades. Light floods the room, falling on their huge four-poster bed, the fireplace in the corner, the dresser, and the gigantic wardrobe I used to play in as a child. Slowly, I draw in a breath. If I’d had my way, I never would have come back to this place. But now that fate has forced my hand, I’m going to have to face some of the things I’d hidden from all this time.
Exhaustion floods through me, but I’d told Ainsley I’d have a drink with her. I head back to my room and quickly unpack my small bag, then walk back downstairs. I find her waiting for me in the kitchen, sitting at the giant rough-hewn table in the middle. Bundles of dried herbs hang overhead, along with a collection of pots and pans that might be a century old.
Ainsley’s got a bottle of local whisky sitting on the table already, along with two glasses. She pours us each a good-sized shot, and we sit on stools as she tells me everything I’ve missed since I’ve been gone. The whisky burns as it goes down, but it creates a welcome fire in my belly as I sip it.
The conversation inevitably steers around to Blake and the rest of the Blackstocks, and my stomach begins to flip itself into knots again. I consider myself a practical woman, so I don’t care for the sensation in the least. Just like I’d told Blake, being here is temporary. Very temporary. Then I can get back to my life in Manhattan, and hopefully convince Luciana to come with me.
My heart doesn’t believe my head for a second, so my head reminds it of a very important fact: one can only have their heart broken if they have a heart to begin with.
And mine had died many, many years ago.
