“If this is about Callie …”
“Don’t.”
Dad exhaled slowly. “After all this time?”
I couldn’t talk about her. And I knew my family probably thought I was crazy and obsessive, and as far from the mature man I professed to be, but seven years later … no, I was not over Callie Ironside.
I probably never would be.
Which was why I couldn’t go home. Too many memories. It hurt too much. I had to hope that someday, I would move on. I just didn’t think I could do that in Ardnoch where every street was laced with the memory of her.
“The offer stands, son.” Dad squeezed my shoulder. “There’s a place for you no matter what, no matter when.”
Emotion thickened my throat. “Thanks, Dad.”
“At least if you’re here, you can look out for Eilidh.” Dad glanced over his shoulder, back toward the party. “There’s not a day that goes by I don’t worry about her. That she chose this life, following in her uncles’ footsteps …”
“For now.” I followed his gaze to where Eilidh was holding a small group of men’s attention, gesturing wildly as she toldthem one of her many stories. They laughed at all the right parts, their eyes devouring her in a way that made my skin crawl. Sometimes I wished she were more like Morwenna. Easier to protect her that way. But Eilidh was Eilidh, and honestly, I wouldn’t change her for the world.
“She misses Ardnoch. I know she does. I reckon one day she’ll follow her uncles’ footsteps all the way home,” Dad said gruffly.
Both of my uncles—my dad’s eldest brother Lachlan and younger brother Brodan—had made names for themselves in Hollywood. Uncle Brodan had been an acclaimed actor until he’d returned home to Ardnoch to marry his childhood sweetheart, my aunt Monroe. Uncle Lachlan had returned long before that to turn our family’s ancestral castle and estate into a members-only club for film and TV professionals.
Now he and Uncle Brodan also ran a whisky distillery. With their fame and money and coastal smoky whisky that was actually bloody good, the brand was a success. It had taken a few years, but Ardnoch Whisky was becoming a household name. It was even more popular in Japan than it was here.
“Do you think so?”
“I do.”
“I suppose the allure of Ardnochisstrong,” I said without thinking.
“I can only hope so,” my dad answered. At my silence, he leaned forward. “Lewis.”
His tone forced me to look at him.
“For the longest time after your mother passed away, I was afraid to live for anything but you and Eilidh. When Regan came into our lives, she terrified me. And I pushed her away.”
I frowned because I was seven when Regan first started working as our nanny. To me, it seemed like my parentsquickly fell in love, got married, and she became my mum. “I didn’t know that.”
He nodded. “You’ve probably forgotten. But I was unkind to Regan. You even gave me a telling off for pushing her away.”
I didn’t remember that. There were some things about that time I’d never forget, but I didn’t remember that.
“I’m ashamed of how I treated your mum.”
That didn’t seem right at all. My dad treated Mum like she walked on water.
“But fear can do strange things to us. It was only when I realized that I couldn’t live without her that I decided to fight my fears and win her back.”
“What fears?”
“Of being hurt again. Of losing her. She was younger, and I was afraid that one day she’d wake up and want something different.”
“But you loved her enough to fight your fears?”
“I did.” Dad gave me a sympathetic smile. “I think I knew when you were fifteen that what you felt for Callie was deeper than puppy love.”
An emotional sting burned across my chest. “Dad?—”
