“Mum, Uncle Bobby isn’t going now, is he?” asked the older child.
Uncle Bobby looked like he might need to get to the nearest brawl sooner rather than later, but Emma supposed it wouldn’t be polite to say as much.
“He’s got things to do, Hope,” Madelyn said as Uncle Bobby swung her down and promised her he would be around whenever she needed him but he was definitely not wearing pink nail polish no matter how much she whinged about it.
Sunny took one of the other toddlers, snuggled it close, then leaned closer to Emma. “One of Patrick’s bodyguards, not a relative,” she murmured. “Terrifying, isn’t he?”
“Very,” Emma managed. Bodyguards? Who had bodyguards up in the wilds of Scotland?
She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
“The kids adore him,” Sunny continued. “He’s sort of like a huggable pit bull.”
Emma could understand how that might be a desirable thing in a babysitter. She would have felt perfectly safe walking through the roughest part of town if Uncle Bobby had been babysitting her.
“I’m going to try to get my little one here down for bed in the guest room,” Sunny said, “but I’ll be back in a bit.”
Emma looked at her seriously. “Honestly, Sunny, this is too much,” she began. “I don’t even know where I would begin to repay any of you—”
“If you knew what others had done for me over the past handful of years, you wouldn’t think this is much at all,” Sunny said seriously. “You’ll pay it forward, I’m sure, and you really would be doing Jamie a favor by staying in that cottage. I imagine Patrick’s already called him to work out details.” She shrugged. “You could offer him money, I guess, but he wouldn’t take it. When you meet him, you’ll see why. He’s laird of the glen, and you’ve stepped inside his borders.”
“Very, ah, monarchical.”
“And that, my friend, is the understatement of the year. I’ll give you my number before you go. We can get together for lunch in a few days and you can fill me in on what Seattle gossip we don’t get to tonight. Maddy will want to come, too, since she knows your ex. I’ll be back in a minute.”
Emma nodded, then found herself standing alone in the great room of a house belonging to people she didn’t know, in a country she didn’t belong to, without really a place to stay that felt secure.
Just what in the hell had she gotten herself into?
Patrick peeked around a corner suddenly. “Dinner?”
She’d had an early dinner at the pub, but she thought she could manage something else. It would give her something to do besides wring her hands. “Wonderful,” she croaked. “How can I help?”
“Come chop veg, if you like.”
It seemed like the least she could do.
•••
Acoupleof hours later, she found herself sitting at the table enjoying coffee and dessert. Madelyn and Sunny both had gone to see to more family bedtime routines and she was left with the good lord of Benmore. She had already been assured of a place to stay for as long as she wanted it, though she honestly wasn’t sure she could accept it.
“So, a spot of trouble?” Patrick asked mildly. He looked at her. “Madelyn didn’t gossip; she just thought I should know a few details so I didn’t make a hash of supper conversation.”
Emma managed a nod. “Ex-boyfriend,” she said.
“Madelyn says she knows him. One of those vile lawyer types, I understand.”
“Isn’t your wife a lawyer?”
He smiled. “Indeed she is, and a very good one. But this lad of yours, does he not want to be your former boyfriend?”
She put her fork down because that seemed to remove the possibility that she might drop it at an untoward moment. “He didn’t like getting dumped,” she agreed, “but it’s less about wanting me back than it is about wanting me destroyed.” That was understating it, she supposed, but maybe that was all Patrick needed to hear.
“Some people have a very hard time letting go of things,” Patrick said philosophically, “especially when their pride has been wounded.” He leaned back in his chair. “Did your former boyfriend know you were coming overseas?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t think it was any of his business any longer where I went or what I did.” She didn’t add that she had left the States in part to get away from him, though she supposed Patrick would figure that out on his own.
He frowned thoughtfully. “So you discovered late this afternoon that your Sheldon had called,” he said.
