Page 8 of Refuge for Ailsa

“You need to shut up, boy,” Conor said, pretending to be stern. “That woman of yours will box your ears if she hears you saying that shit.”

“Yeah, yeah. She’s a real hot mama, that one,” Morris said, and Conor fanned himself. That made Tavish laugh even harder.

“Sounds like you two got the only two decent ones left out there.” They both seemed like really good guys, and when Conor spoke about his woman, there was a softness to his features and voice that couldn’t be missed. She had to be someone special, and Tavish had given up on finding anyone like that.

“I don’t know about that, but they broke the mold after those two were cast.” Conor picked up the check the server had left on the table. “My treat, seeing as how you entertained us tonight.”

“My pleasure. It’s good to talk to officers from another state. In this region it’s usually only me and Chester, and he’s… Chester. We don’t hang out, and I’ll just leave it at that.” Nope. They didn’t, and Tavish had no intention of ever hanging out with Chester. The guy was okay as an officer, but on the personal end, Tavish could see why he had trouble getting a woman, and why his ex-wife was his ex-wife.

But then, who was he to judge?

CHAPTER2

When he pulledup in the driveway at his parents’ house the next afternoon, his sister’s car was already there. “Moment of truth,” he whispered to himself and headed for the door. “Y’all here?” he called out through the screen before he opened the storm door.

“Yeah, son. Back here,” his mother’s voice answered from the back of the house. That meant they were all in the den, and that was good. He stepped through the doorway to find Maureen there with a guy who looked remarkably like Tavish.

“Hi, Tav!” Maureen wrapped her arms around his neck and he kissed her cheek. He’d been his little sister’s protector his whole life, and he had no intention of stopping anytime soon.

“Hey, honey! So who do we have here?” he asked as he pressed her back and stared into the stranger’s face.

“Tav, this is my friend, Donovan. Donovan, this is my brother, Tavish.”

Tavish stuck out his hand and the man grabbed it with gusto. “Pleasure to meet you. If you’re the guy who made sure she lived this long, just let me say thank you!” the guy said with a laugh.

“You’re quite welcome! Good luck to the man who takes over. She’s a handful,” Tavish said and grinned at Maureen.

“Oh, I’m a handful, huh?”

“Son, you want something to drink?” their dad asked as he stood.

“Sure. Just a soda.” Tavish turned to Donovan. “So what do you do?”

“I’m an engineer for the electrical cooperative here.”

“And you’re from BoyleCounty?”

“Yeah. Well, no. My family was from LincolnCounty. I grew up in Stanford, but my parents live in Danville now.”

“Ah. No wonder I haven’t met you before. How did you two meet?”

Maureen didn’t give Donovan a chance to answer. “I went to Morehead Dry Goods one day with one of my friends and she knew Donovan. We ran into him there, she introduced us, and we started dating two weeks later.” She grasped the tall man’s arm and beamed up at him. “We’ve been together ever since.”

“Yes, we have.” Donovan leaned down and dropped a little kiss on Maureen’s forehead. It thrilled Tavish to see the sweet smile that simple action placed on his sister’s face. From somewhere behind him, he heard the sound of a car. “Oh! That must be my sister,” Donovan said and hurried off to the front door.

“You like him?” Maureen whispered.

Tavish smiled. “So far. Seems like a nice guy.”

“He really is. So?”

“This is my friend, Maureen, and her brother?”

A woman’s voice whispered, “Tavish?”

He spun and was shocked to find a fire-haired beauty standing behind him. “Ailsa?”

Donovan and Maureen glanced at each other. “You two know each other?” Maureen asked, wide-eyed.

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