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"Aye."
"That's your only response? Aye?" Rory sighs, and I can picture him sitting at his desk in his office in his castle, frowning at me. "We need to formulate a response."
"I know exactly how to respond. Tell that slag she can rot in hell because she will not get one shilling of my money."
Rory falls silent for a moment, then he speaks carefully. "What has happened? You don't sound like yourself."
"I've gone off my head, that's what happened."
"Chicago didn't agree with you?"
Grunting, I push up out of my chair and begin to pace the aisle that separates the two sides of the jet. "You don't want to know what I've done, Rory. But it boils down to this. I met a bonnie, sweet lass who loves me, and then I broke her heart."
"I see. Do you love her?"
Do you want to be with me? Do you love me?Erica's plea resounds through my mind. I stop in the middle of the aisle and stare into space. "Aye, Rory. I love her."
"Then get her back."
"Why is the Ogre of Loch Fairbairn ordering me to get Erica back? You think marriage is rubbish, and I'm fair certain I shouldn't take advice from a man who's been divorced three times."
Rory growls softly, like a true ogre. "I may not want to marry again or date or—Well, you know what I'm like. But you are not me, Lachlan. You want to share a life with a good woman, so don't cock up your last chance at happiness."
My last chance? He seems to be implying I will never find another woman who will put up with me. Maybe I never will. Erica agreed to my barmy rules and lived with my secrets, then was willing to give it another go even after I told her I couldn't stay. She shared more of herself with me than I had shared with her, but still, she stayed with me. And begged me to do the same.
Bloody hell. I am a damn eejit.
"You're right, Rory," I say. "But I don't know if Erica can ever forgive me for what I've done."
"How will you know if you don't try?"
"I just do." I should give Erica time, shouldn't I? I can't waltz back into her life ten minutes after crushing her heart. And I need time too—so I can sort my life. But I also made her a promise, one I intend to keep. "I need your help to get her back, Rory. Erica is about to go on trial for a crime her ex-lover committed. I promised to fix this for her. Please, I need my solicitor's help."
"We will fix it. You have my word on that." A shuffling noise follows, as if Rory is searching through papers to find what he needs. "I'll call my investigator immediately and get the ball rolling. Now, tell me everything about Erica's legal troubles."
For the next fifteen minutes, I do just that.
And for two days, I focus on figuring out how to prove to Erica that I love her and will never abandon her again. I've never tried to win a woman back. With Rory on the job, I know I don't need to do anything except pay the bills for however many investigators, lawyers, and whoever else my brother needs to hire to save Erica from a false conviction. That leaves me with the even more difficult task of getting her back.
The answer comes to me on the day after I abandoned Erica. I need Rory's help again, but only to find me a telephone number this time. He does it without asking why. That's how MacTaggarts are. We stand by each other no matter what, and that's especially true of my immediate family—my parents, my two brothers, and my three sisters.
So now, I'm sitting in the living room of my house in Inverness holding a piece of paper in one hand and my mobile in the other, trying to summon the nerve to make the call. I stare at those digits for several minutes, until my vision blurs. Blinking to clear the haze, I sit up straighter and dial the number.
"Hello," a cheery woman's voice says.
"Ah, hello, Mrs. Teague. My name is Lachlan MacTaggart." I wince and scratch my neck. "I'm, ah, Erica's friend. We spoke on the phone once."
"Oh yes, I remember. What can I do for you, sweetie?"
Sweetie? I suppose Erica hasn't told her parents about the way we ended things.
"I'm worried about Erica," I say. "She's in trouble and needs you. I know I'm a stranger, and you have no reason to believe what I say, but I'm not exaggerating. Erica is in trouble. Please go to her. She shouldn't be alone right now."
"Aren't you with her?"
"No, I—" Fucked it up so badly I can't face her yet, and besides, she'll probably skelp me with a caber when she sees me. "I wish I could be there, but we had a falling out. I don't think she'll want to see me, not yet. She needs you."
"I'm putting you on speaker, Lachlan. Frank, come over here."
