Page 7 of A Flower for Angus

Angus’s eyes twinkled. “Can ye cook?”

“Of course I can cook!” She scowled at him. “Maybe not haggis because I’ve never tried it before, but Mr. MacNamara said his daughter, Lucerne, could teach me. I’m always willing to try new recipes, even if they sound disgusting. Why? Is haggis a favorite of his?”

“Mr. MacCandish is no a picky eater as long as the food tastes good. He’s like me,” Angus replied, a small grin quirking around his lips. “And if he doesn’t want ye, I might hire ye as long as ye can cook.”

He closed the door before she could reply and she glared at him as he went around the front of the truck. When he opened his own door, she piped up, “I thought you worked for Neamh?”

“Aye, I do. But I’m always in the market for a good cook at my place.”

“You mean you’re not married?” Her eyebrow shot up in a skeptical arch.

“Does that mean ye are interested?”

Macy stiffened. “Certainly not!”

He grinned wickedly. “Let me know if ye change yer mind. I could be available for a good cook.”

She huffed, caught off guard. She wasn’t used to men flirting with her at this stage of her life. “Then why don’t you ask Happy Housekeepers to send one up to you?”

“Because it’s more fun to hire one away from Darro,” he replied, his rich chuckle filling the cab while his eyes laughed at her. “Let’s go get yer bags from the car and I’ll send a couple of the boys out to bring it into Neamh. We’ll figure out what happened to it.”

“Thank you,” she replied primly, not sure what to say after that. She supposed she’d learn all the undercurrents and how people related to one another at Neamh once she was in residence. In the meantime, she needed to be careful not to give away any of her own secrets. This garrulous Angus was easy to talk to, but that didn’t mean she should trust him. She could only hope that the MacCandish’s were willing to let her stay a few days until she could get into her duties. She was really vested in living out of sight and out of mind for a good while. At least until Adrian had finally given up on finding her.

If ever.

***

WHEN ANGUS FINALLYcame out of the beautiful fir trees and into the gravel circle drive that ran around to the front of the definitely impressive home, Macy gasped in delight. He was used to the view, but to her he was sure it was like something out of a travel magazine, or a landscape photograph of Scotland’s highlands. He slowed even more so she could appreciate every aspect. There were many outlying buildings but the main house was two stories of massive stonework. There was even a turret similar to what you’d see in a castle.

“Ye like it? Neamh has Gaelic origins and means Heaven’s Gate in the English translation,” he related proudly. “For folks around here, the two names are interchangeable.”

“It is amazing,” she replied in awe. “Such a beautiful place. Was it built like this all at once? Or has it been added onto through the years?”

“Good question,” Angus replied, pulling up in front of the flagstones to the front deck. “It’s been added onto twice now. Darro has done some more modern updates as far as conveniences, but back when families used to be larger, they added on bedrooms to accommodate family and visitors. The area is so widespread it used to be difficult to have guests for an evenin’ and have them return home in the same evenin’, so they were often invited to stay for a weekend or more,” he added proudly.

“Do you live here as well as work here?”

“Nay, I have my own place, Thistlewind. Not near as grand as this, but it it’s been in the Sangster family for generations. My family has always been closely intertwined with the MacCandish family. Kind of a symbiotic relationship of sorts.” He grinned over at her and was delighted to see her smile tentatively back.

Macy Kennedy was a reserved little thing. After her initial outburst from the pain in her ankle and her scare from the lizard, she’d been pretty quiet. He’d asked her several questions about her background but all he’d gotten was that she had a married daughter with two children, and that her husband had passed away about a year ago. He wondered if Jamie had any more information on her than she’d given him? He made a mental note to go into town soon and have some tea with the man.

Bo and Misty were hanging out at the end of the flagstones, curiously staring at his truck as if they sensed something was up. The blue healers were usually in front of the house if Darro was inside. Sure enough, the front door opened and his boss stepped out of the house with Lucerne right behind him. “Looks like the boss has been waitin’ fer ye.”

Macy opened the door and tried to swing her legs out but Angus caught her arm. “Don’t try to get down on yer own, ye’ll only damage that ankle more if ye land on it again,” he warned.

For a moment, defiance flared in her brown eyes and then she bit her lip and nodded. “Right. I don’t want to be out of commission any longer than necessary,” she replied stiffly.

Angus shook his head. It looked like she had a hidden fire that hadn’t shown up yet. That was fine with him, he didn’t much care for meek little lambs anyway. Of course, he had no interest in Macy one way or the other. She didn’t even have a flower name. She was just a pretty lass with a creamy complexion, chocolate brown hair that shone like silk, and eyes to match. Nope...not interesting at all.

He got out of the truck and met Darro and Lucerne at the end of the flagstone path. “I found her, as ye can see. Her car broke down and she was on foot. She’s injured her ankle so I’ll have to carry her into the house. Where do ye want her, Lucerne?”

“Ye will have to carry her?” Darro teased, falling in step with Angus.

“She can’t walk, her ankle is swollen,” Angus replied testily.

“Oh dear, is she badly hurt?” Lucerne asked, following the men. “Does she want to go back to town? What about her position?”

“I’ll let ye ask her those questions,” Angus replied, opening the truck door. “Macy, this is Darro MacCandish and his wife, Lucerne.”

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