It took the American a second to even notice Akiva, she seemed so enthralled by my performance. Then she gave a little jerk and blinked her eyes rapidly as she leaned down to say hello. She scratched behind Akiva’s ears and placed a tender kiss on her furry head. Her blond hair wasn’t in its usual ponytail, and it slid over her shoulders, shielding her face and my dog in a curtain of silken wheat-gold. I imagined how soft that hair would feel wrapped in my tight fist as I …
Fuck.
Thankfully, Cammie jerked in her chair, pulling my mind from fantasies it had no right exploring. Quinn’s sister gaped at the interlude between dog and woman.
Akiva wasn’t unfriendly, but she’d never been the kind of dog who looked for affection from anyone but me and perhaps Annie. Sometimes Quinn, if she could be bothered with him. I’d blamed it on my remoteness. That, in some way, I’d raised a dog who should be naturally affectionate to be aloof and wary of strangers.
But Akiva had taken to Tierney Silver and it shouldn’t bother me as much as it did.
Then again, everything about the woman bothered me.
Lately, that night in her B and B bothered me.
The whole room had thrummed with the emotion raging in her as I’d found her hammering down the wall. I was angry at her recklessness as I saw the support braces shift out of place with each swing, realizing Quinn hadn’t finished securing them yet.
Then I’d felt the fury swelling out of her and I’d known what was within Tierney Silver wasn’t only grief.
I had to remind myself for the hundredth time it was none of my fucking business.
And if I didn’t stop thinking about her now, I would lose my pace with the music.
However, distraction came in the form of something I wasn’t grateful for, for Quinn’s sake.
Taran Macbeth chose that moment to walk into the Lantern. The stunning brunette flicked a look at the stage, locked eyes with Quinn for a mere second, before ignoring him in favor of searching the room. She made her way intentionally through the crowds until she reached Tierney’s table and lowered her head to whisper in Laird’s ear. Whatever she said, his expression tightened. He murmured something to Murray. Murray frowned, said something back, but Laird waved him off and stood up. He placed a hand on his sister’s back and the siblings pushed through the audience, ignoring the concerned attention of the locals.
Then they were gone.
It did not bode well for Isla Macbeth.
I didn’t look at Quinn, but I could feel his need to jump off that stage and go after Taran and Laird. So I finished up the song before it should end and nodded at him to start the next one so he could beat out his mess of emotions on the damn drum strapped to his waist.
TIERNEY
Never in my life would I have thought the bagpipes could be this hot. I’d witnessed the Tattoo multiple times and loved it, but I’d never had this visceral reaction to it.
However, watching Ramsay play that melancholy melody up onstage hit me like an emotion-packed semitruck. And the more I watched the band, the more I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. I was distracted momentarily from what was happening on the small stage when Taran suddenly appeared to pull Laird away. Cammie and I had shared a concerned look. Word was that their mom, Isla, was deteriorating quickly. Cammie had told me on the way over so I was surprised to see Laird in the pub at all. Taran arriving and taking him away was not a good sign.
But no one could take this journey for them, and interference at this point would be unwelcome.
So, we’d attempted to turn our focus back to the band.
I succeeded only because of Ramsay.
He’d shaved off his yeti beard. There was already a salt-and-pepper stubble growing on his cheeks but unlike the beard, it did nothing to hide his angled jawline. He was all rugged edges and soft, kissable lips. To top it off, he’d had his hair cut. With one shave and a haircut, he’d gone from sexy yeti to unbearably, ruggedly,should have his own social media platformHOT.
Ramsay McRae was all kinds of levels of sexy.
Damn it.
“You’re drooling again,” Cammie teased.
“I am not. Though … seriously, why aren’t these guys all over the internet?” I gestured to Murray Shaw and then the stage. All the men who made up the band were attractive in their own right. “I mean, was there a ‘must be over six feet tall and hot’ application process?”
Cammie laughed, her eyes darting beyond me.
I turned to find Murray listening in, his eyes dancing with laughter. “What was that now? Say it louder for my ego.”
“Oh please, I’m not embarrassed, you know you’re all good-looking.”
