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Chapter One
Errol
I thrust and pull back, thrust and pull back, over and over while sweat dribbles down my temples and my breathing grows heavier. Thrust, release. Thrust, release. I'm getting into the rhythm of my movements, and a long, low groan resonates in my chest as I approach that climactic moment when all the tension will evaporate. One last push… I groan and relax. There's nothing more invigorating in the world than that final thrust.
My cousin Magnus takes the dumbbells from me and sets them on the floor. "Are ye done yet? Or do ye mean to exercise until ye collapse? We both know why you're suddenly obsessed with working out, Errol."
"It has nothing to do with Ashley Hartman."
All right, maybe there is one thing more invigorating than exercise. But I will never shag that barmy woman. Donnae care how many times the lass knocks on my door and tries to seduce me into going on a pointless mission to find a treasure that doesn't exist.
Magnus locks his arms over his chest. "If you want to have a poke with Ashley, just do it. You'll feel more relaxed afterward."
"I will not touch her. The lass is off her head." I sit up, straddling the exercise bench. "She wants me to hunt for a phantom. The Grand Canyon treasure doesn't exist."
"So ye mean to go on behaving like Rory used to before he met Emery."
"No." I flash him a scowl. "I will never growl or snarl at Ashley. I willnae shag her either. So stop harassing me, Magnus. No barmy treasure hunt, no sex with an American lass, I'm done."
"But you love a good adventure."
Sighing, I push up off the bench and stretch. "Maybe I don't love adventure as much as I used to. I'm getting older, you know."
"You're thirty-seven, not eighty."
I check my watch. "Cannae haver with you anymore, Magnus. Your wife wants me."
"To help arrange the new exhibits at the Dùndubhan museum, yecacan. Piper doesn't want to shag you."
"Well, she does need my body." With a wink and a smirk, I walk past Magnus. "To carry heavy artifacts for her."
Maybe I enjoy tormenting my cousin. Maybe I like to watch him squint his eyes and flatten his lips right before he calls me acacanor abod ceann. I don't mind anyone calling me a wee shit or a dickhead. I'm not that sensitive. It's possible I also enjoy hearing Magnus growl and snarl. Not my fault he cannae control his emotions.
I walk out of the exercise room, the one I'd installed in my house not long after the first time I met Ashley Hartman, while Magnus trails after me into the living room. The wife of my cousin Callum has set up a physical therapy clinic as well as a fitness center for people who don't have injuries, but I prefer to work out at home. In private. Not because I fantasize about Ashley Hartman while I'm doing that. No, I like privacy. That's all.
Magnus pulls the front door open but pauses there to look back at me. "Piper and I have news, but she wants to tell you herself."
"I'm going to see her right now."
"Aye. Be kind to her."
"Have I ever growled or snarled at Piper? No. You are the one who treated her like a criminal." I pat his arm. "Donnae worry. I'll give her a good firm hug and a big wet kiss for you."
Magnus shakes his head and walks out the door.
I take a shower and get dressed, then jump in my car for the half-hour drive from Loch Fairbairn to Dùndubhan. I donnae mind the drive. The country in Glencoe is bonnie, and though I've lived in this region all my life, I still love to admire the scenery. I make one stop—to buy flowers for Piper, since it sounds like she has important news to share—then I continue on my way to Dùndubhan.
My cousin Rory and his American wife, Emery, own the castle. But they moved to Ballachulish after their twin bairns were born, and Dùndubhan became part museum, part venue for family events and even corporate retreats. Today, though, I will help Piper set up a new exhibit of Scottish antiquities.
I find Piper in the long gallery, where the temporary exhibit will be on display. Wooden crates full of precious objects stand in the center of the room along with the new display cases the Dùndubhan museum had purchased for this occasion.
"Madainn mhath, Piper," I say as I come up beside her and kiss the lass on the cheek. "I hear you have news to share."
"Good morning, Errol." She sets down the clipboard she'd been holding and gives me a secretive smile. "I do have news. It's hush-hush, though, and only a few people know. That would be me and Magnus, of course, and also our parents."
"I'm honored to be included in that group."
She clasps her hands, raising them to her chest, and bounces on her toes while grinning. "I'm pregnant, Errol. Magnus and I will have a baby in about eight months."
