Secret Garden

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“Excuse me?” Colin the human said.

“Colin,” Paul said to the cat, and he bent to pick him up. “You know you don’t belong here,” he admonished her pet in a singsong voice.

“Wait a minute,” Colin said. “Did you just call that cat by my name?”

“No,” Paul said stiffly, drawing himself up. “You share a name with Rhiannon’s cat.”

“Rhiannon’s cat?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Here, pretty baby.” Colin patted his lap, and her cat obliged, jumping up on him. Again, as best he could, given his age. The little devil would attempt anything to poach cream.

“How old is he?” Colin asked Paul.

“He’s twenty-one, I believe,” Paul said.

Colin was silent for a moment. Then he drew his hand along Colin’s fur, petting him. “I never knew about him.” Maybe Rhiannon imagined it, but she thought Colin looked misty-eyed.

Rhiannon sat again. Colin’s letter was in her pocket. Quietly, she opened the envelope and unfolded the note inside. In a careful hand, he’d written:

Rhiannon, I’m sorry I offended you this morning. You were once an important friend of mine, and I don’t want to lose that. Please forgive me. Colin.

Rhiannon touched it lovingly. Oh, what she had wished for—a letter from him—and never thought would happen.

She’d been utterly shocked when he’d come back this afternoon. Part of her wanted Colin here—but not the part that was in charge. The panic attacks trumped everything, and with them, she could never be normal around him.

More than anything, she needed her control. To be in charge of herself. Colin threatened that control. It was sad, but that was the way she was. To meet with him would be cruel, for both of them. It was best for everyone that he leave as soon as possible.

But what about his father’s funeral? She would have to say something about it. She couldn’t just ignore it, or him.

Just then the castle door opened—Malcolm had arrived, bringing in the smell of the early-summer air. He was dressed in his workday suit, his sunglasses on. Her older brother was a handsome man—always had been—but when Colin stood, the cat still in his arms, he managed to take her breath away.

Colin had changed clothing since she’d seen him earlier, and now wore khaki trousers and a collared shirt. He was shaven, tall and full of life, and he looked so appealing to her that she all could do was stare at him.

“Hi, Malcolm. It’s me. It’s Colin.”

But Malcolm’s jaw tightened. Slowly, he hooked his car keys on a peg beside the wall. “What’s going on?” he asked in his gruff, deep tone.

Colin’s smile wavered. “My father died,” he said in a low voice.

Rhiannon put her hand to her mouth. She felt devastated for him.

Even Malcolm was moved; she watched him exchange a look with Paul.

“I’m sorry,” Malcolm said.

“You didn’t know?”

“Not until Paul told me. But I don’t live here anymore—I live in Edinburgh. I’m only in the area because we own a manufacturing facility in Byrne...well, not far from here.”

“Do your parents plan to attend the funeral?” Colin crossed his arms. “Because my grandmother could really use the support.”

Malcolm shook his head helplessly. “My parents are out of the country. They won’t be back until the end of summer.”

“And Rhiannon?” Colin’s voice went lower. “Is she coming?”

Rhiannon’s heart seemed to pause. What was she going to do?

Malcolm’s hands tightened into fists. Her brother was protective of her, and he probably always would be. It upset her and made her sad, especially because Malcolm was married now and had a new life of his own. Rhiannon didn’t call to check in with him every day anymore, as she used to. It wasn’t fair to him.

She wished Paul hadn’t called him. The last thing she wanted were bad feelings between her brother and Colin.

“Let me talk with my sister,” Malcolm said in a clipped tone. “You wait here.”

CHAPTER FIVE (#ulink_c6bf2c0e-8ea6-570b-953c-ae362589a621)

“THANK YOU,” RHIANNON breathed as Malcolm headed up the stairs.

When he appeared on the landing, she intercepted him and put her finger to her lips, motioning him to follow her. Together they climbed the rest of the way, then went around the corner and into the library.

Inside, Malcolm leaned against the doorjamb while Rhiannon paced. She had such nervous energy. Colin’s presence had affected her physically, even without the dilemma she faced regarding his father’s funeral.

“You didn’t need to come,” Rhiannon said to her brother, keeping her voice low so Colin wouldn’t hear her downstairs. “I’ll manage this. I’m sorry Paul phoned you.”

“Well, I’m not sorry. I was going to stop by tonight, anyway.” Malcolm hooked a thumb toward the staircase. “What’s going on with the Walkers? I hadn’t heard anything about Dougie Walker passing on.”

Dougie. Yes, that had been Colin’s dad’s first name. Rhiannon sighed. “I hadn’t heard, either. It’s terrible. But don’t worry—I’ll phone Jessie and lend my support that way. She’ll understand that I can’t go to the funeral.”

Malcolm nodded. He seemed grim-faced. “How about you? How’s everything going with Mum and Dad being gone?”

My life is changing. But she smiled cheerfully at him. “It’s lovely.”

His brow creased. “Have you heard from them this week?”

“No,” she said lightly, “but they’re in the Galápagos Islands by now, swimming with rare Pacific sea turtles, I imagine. Can’t you just see Mum’s face?”

Malcolm chuckled. “Dad’s taking this retirement thing seriously, isn’t he?”

“You sound like an American,” she teased.

“We came back from Vermont last weekend. Kristy’s getting her dual citizenship. Did I tell you that?”

“No,” Rhiannon said softly. “You didn’t.”

They were silent for a moment. Until Malcolm had met his new wife, Kristin—Kristy was his nickname for her—Rhiannon and her brother had kept up their tradition of talking together every day on the telephone. They’d started shortly after she’d come home from the hospital as a child and he’d been packed off to boarding school in New England. Her daily phone call with her big brother had been a key part of her healing process. Sometimes all they’d shared was a knock-knock joke. But it had been enough.

“Rhi, I don’t want you to feel you can’t call me when you need to, just because I’m married. It bothers me that you’re here alone. I told Mum that, but—”

“Oh, you did, did you?” Rhiannon had refrained from calling him because she’d been feeling protective of her brother, not wanting to disturb him during his newlywed year. But now she was a wee bit peeved by his lack of faith in her.

She folded her arms. “I’m doing fine, Malcolm. I’m taking care of the manor and its inhabitants quite well.” The dog’s rubber ball rested against the leg of a chair. Rhiannon rolled it toward him with her toe. “Did you know that Molly was injured? I spoke with the vet and arranged for her care. Soon she’ll be home and all will be well.”

Smiling slightly, Malcolm bent over and picked up the slobbery dog’s ball, covered with pet hair and tooth marks, evidence of Molly’s love for her castle life. “Sorry, Rhi, I’m not trying to upset you. But I was thinking of the gathering next week.” He looked meaningfully at her.

Oh, the gathering. Malcolm was talking about the Highland Games that were held each year in the nearby village. Rhiannon had forgotten.

Their castle had long been the place where the pipe bands assembled to begin the parade that wound through the village and on to the competition grounds. As lady of the castle, Rhiannon’s mum always played hostess.

“Kristy wants to attend the Highland Games this year,” Malcolm said. “She’s willing to be the castle hostess.”

Kristy! So Rhiannon was to be passed over?

Rhiannon felt a burning in her eyes. Surprisingly, it bothered her—cut her to the quick that she would be overlooked for her mum’s job. Still, it made sense. Malcolm’s wife wasn’t agoraphobic as Rhiannon was. Kristin wouldn’t be challenged by standing in the castle’s front drive, greeting the pipers who marched in the bands and the villagers who came to walk alongside them.

“Rhi, I have to make a call,” Malcolm said absently, glancing at a text message on his phone. “Would you like me to walk Colin out?”

“No,” she said, her voice so soft it was barely audible, even to her. “I’ll do it.”

Malcolm snapped up his head. “But he might ask you questions.”

Meaning questions she wouldn’t want to answer.

Her heart drummed. “Yes. I suppose he might.”

“He doesn’t know how to treat you,” Malcolm protested.

“I know.” And that was her biggest fear. Her life was so controlled and there were rules about who she chose to speak to and who she didn’t. Colin had shown himself to be someone who didn’t follow protocol. He was unpredictable and that could be dangerous.

She would have no control with him, which wasn’t good for her peace of mind. And yet... “I wonder what would have happened between us if I’d never been kidnapped,” she mused aloud.

Malcolm made a strangled noise.

“I’m sorry,” she said. She and her brother rarely spoke of the kidnapping; it was their unspoken pact. Malcolm had never forgiven himself for what he thought he’d let happen to her when she was eight years old. “It’s not your fault,” she reassured him. “It never was. You were ten years old. You were traumatized yourself.”

“I wasn’t left alone with those monsters for all that time,” Malcolm bit out. “You were.”

She shook her head, closing her eyes briefly to banish the memory. “Never mind,” she said quietly. “It’s finished. But I have to talk with Colin because I have to say something about his dad. He’s obviously quite broken up.”

She didn’t have a choice about facing him. Once, he’d been her friend. And even if he hadn’t been, wouldn’t her mother have done so, too, if she were here?

That was what the lady of the manor did.

Her hands shaking, she took a deep breath and headed for the stairs, descending with as much grace as she could muster.

When he saw her, Colin rose to his feet. Her cat jumped from his lap and crouched beneath the table, staring warily at Rhiannon. But he’d had his reward—an empty, licked-clean saucer on the floor told the tale of Colin’s generosity to his namesake.

Rhiannon would have laughed if not for Colin’s presence. He stood with a looming charisma that she couldn’t ignore; he had a tall, rangy body, with a rugged masculinity about him that destroyed her composure.

“Rhiannon,” he murmured, in a deep, husky voice.

Nobody spoke her name that way. A long, lazy breath of longing, of desire.

She didn’t know how she dared to keep her gaze on him. She wished she could have studied him from behind a one-way mirror. That way she could look at him to her heart’s content, without worrying about being touched or seen.

He smiled at her, seemingly entranced. His lips moved. So...erotic...and so dangerous, and yet she couldn’t turn away. She’d forgotten that she was wearing her painting smock. Well-worn denim, old and comfortable—it was essentially a halter top that she didn’t need to wear a bra with. It was a weird quirk of hers—she had so many weird quirks, it seemed—but Rhiannon hated wearing a bra when she painted; she preferred to be comfortable. Usually, no one saw her, so she wasn’t concerned about the fact that she showed...well, cleavage. Possibly the outlines of everything she had.