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Chapter Five
Paige drove along Bridge Street, slowing as they passed the turnoff to the Fairy Glen carpark. “I think I missed it.” She craned her neck to see the sign receding in her rear-view mirror. “Should I have turned in back there?”
“ ’Tis the place right enough, but ’tis also getting late, lass.” Taran gestured at the darkening sky. “ ’Tis past gloaming already. We cannae search the Glen in the dark. We’ll go in the morning when we’ve enough light tae explore the place properly.”
“I know you’re right,” she conceded. “It’s just frustrating to have to wait. Especially, now that we’re here.” She’d waited months. Even one more hour was too long if it might mean Austin’s survival. “What now, then?” she asked, entering Rosemarkie’s High Street.
“I ken we should see about setting up camp somewhere. And ye must be gettin’ hungry. Ye havnae eaten all day.”
“Neither have you,” she said, slowing down on the narrow street. “Harris said Austin camped on the beach. I wonder where that was. Do you think there are restrictions on where you can camp?”
Looking at the rows of picturesque stone buildings lining High Street, Paige felt as if she’d stepped back in time. Instantly enamored with the ageless-looking structures, she guessed they’d date somewhere around the seventeen-hundreds.
“ ’Tis changed,” Taran muttered, almost to himself. “Much bigger than when I last visited.”
“Really?” Page asked, noting they’d already reached the end of High Street. Though it was getting dark, she sensed the village was quite small. “When was that?”
“A good while back” he muttered, staring out the window.
“I noticed a pub back there,” she offered, “maybe we could inquire about camping rules?”
“If ye wish,” he agreed. “I’ll treat ye tae supper. We can save the food Lauren sent wi’ us for our hike tomorrow.”
“That makes sense,” she replied. “But I don’t expect you to pay for my meals.”
His look held a hint of exasperation. “I dinnae ken ye did, lass. But I wouldnae have offered if I dinnae want tae, so just say ‘thank ye, I accept’.”
“Thank ye, I accept,” she repeated in her finest Scottish brogue, which was terrible at best.
He looked at her in horror before they both burst out laughing. “I wouldnae try that in the Pub, lass. They may toss us both out on our ar…uh…ears. And I’m verra much lookin’ forward tae a pint. So, I beg ye tae stick tae yer pretty Yank accent.”
She sucked in a breath in mock disdain. “I do not have an accent.”
He laughed. “If ye say so.”
Turning the car around, Paige headed back to the Pub. She likedthisTaran. The one who laughed and was easy to be with. Both sides of him had a generous nature, she’d discovered. But the quieter, more somber Taran from earlier, was harder to read. Although, they’d really only spent part of a day together so she couldn’t say she knew him at all.
With nothing to go on but his dark good looks and his rugged Highlander allure, coupled with his surprising generosity, she’d had to block out her unsettling attraction to him. At least as much as was feasible in such close proximity. She couldn’t allow distractions, even temporary ones, to interfere with her focus on finding Austin. She’d come to Scotland for one reason, and she wouldn’t allow herself to be deterred.
To be fair, she thought guiltily, she had no idea what Taran was giving up, or setting aside, to help her. He’d obviously been on his way to somewhere when he stopped at the McColl’s. It was unfair not to recognize the personal sacrifice he was making, how he’d helped with the camping equipment, and now dinner.
She’d have managed on her own, somehow—no question. But she couldn’t deny that he was making her ordeal a whole lot easier. She owed him a measure of gratitude and she needed to be better about showing it.
* * *
“Thank you for a lovely dinner,”Paige said, coming out of the pub into the crisp evening air. The scents of summer, local flowers, and the tang of the North Sea, carried on the breeze, felt exotic to her Midwestern senses. “The food, the service and the people were amazing, and fun, but I’m not sure we learned anything.”
“Nae,” Taran laughed. “But ’twas a rousing argument we started among the patrons, aye?”
“I’m not sure I’ve ever seen people so passionately divided over camping rules,” she chuckled.
“Ale will do that,” he shrugged. “It can convince even the meekest among us they’re a scholar, with an abundance of wisdom they’re obliged tae share.”
“Which side were you on?” she queried. “The one that said we should pitch our camp in a designated site? Or the one that said wild-camping was legal as long as we abide by Scotland’s Outdoor Access Code?”
“ ’Twould be my guess that Austin chose the latter. So, I ken we should, as well.”
“I’m glad you agree,” she said, succumbing to an unexpected yawn. “Oh, my. I’m sorry, I don’t know where that came from.” She shivered as the breeze gained momentum and teased the back of her neck.
