Page 24 of Utterly Dauntless

He blinked. "Aye, Leo? Didn't he...?"

"Yes. Boating accident. Turns out my running away hadn't changed a thing."

They listened to the hiss of the fire for a long while before Carson shifted uncomfortably. "About the hotel and the plane. I must repay ye?—"

"Don't even think about it. The Muir sisters have more money than God's dog." She rolled her eyes. "And they love playing fairy godmother."

He chuckled. "Craig's weans want to adopt them, see what magic they can get out of 'em."

She was tempted to warn him, but the sisters wouldn't be sticking around long. They said they had to get back to Wickham. Something major was going on, but Aries wasn't foolish enough to ask what. She couldn't afford to get sucked back into the world of Muir witches and Culloden's 79 again. Her heart couldn't take it.

"Speaking of planes," she said, "you're welcome to a ride back to Inverness in the morning. Taxis at ten, they said."

He stood and shook his head. "Think I'll stay a few days. Get to know my brother again. Catch the train later."

"Good. That is just what I needed to hear. From now on, when I think of you, I'll remember you and Craig here, together and happy."

"Goodnight then. And goodbye." He started to walk away, then turned back. "I hope...I hope whatever still troubles ye, that keeps ye away from home…” He shrugged. “I hope yer many friends can help. They seem willin' to do anythin' for ye." He wrinkled his nose. "Specially that Wallace."

Aries' throat tightened. "Friendship can only do so much, but thanks for the kind words. Some things must be endured alone."

Around the corner,Duncan Houser stood with his back to the tall hedges and listened. He'd drawn the short straw for shadow duty, though truthfully, he didn't mind. Better than letting Shug do it—that man didn't trust Campbell as far as he could throw him, and he wasn't opposed to throwing him off the roof for daring the put his hands on Aries in the first place.

The conversation was quiet but clear enough. Duncan was heartsore for Aries, when she spoke of things she couldn't control. It surely had something to do with why she kept running from Grey, but he couldn't guess what.

He'd relay it all to Grey, and maybe the poor man could make heads or tails of it. His friend needed to know that whatever drove Aries to run wasn't just about the past. But first, he'd make sure she got safely back to her room.

Carson's footsteps approached. Houser melted into the shadows until the man passed, then resumed his post. From the terrace, he heard Aries sniffling.

Whatever ate at her, he hoped she would confess and have done. If the folks currently under that roof couldn't help her, no one could.

The sniffing grew closer. Duncan stepped back again.

Aries came through and stopped right in front of him. “Hey.”

“Hey.” He stepped out so she could see him clearly.

“Do you know which room Grey is in?”

“I do.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Grey had just turned on the gas fireplace when someone knocked. His heart stopped when Aries' voice came through the wood.

"Grey? It's me."

He opened the door and stepped back, openly shocked that she'd come. He had asked her not to leave until they had a chance to talk, but obliging him wasn't her usual style. After years of hunting her across continents, it seemed too simple.

She was wrapped in a hotel robe with her damp hair pulled back from her face. Her feet were bare. Somehow, she looked more vulnerable like this than she had in that borrowed swimsuit. Hardly running attire.

"Come in." He gestured to two chairs positioned near the fireplace. "Though I warn ye, that fire's just started. No heat yet."

"Better than nothing." She settled into one of the chairs and tucked her feet under her. "I can't believe how cold I got after swimming. I forgot what Scottish humidity does to me."

Nervous as a wet hen, he took the other chair, and when he looked up, his gaze caught on her mouth just as she licked her lips. One look in her eyes and he knew they shared the same problem—that kiss from earlier just hadn’t been enough.

She cleared her throat. "You wanted to talk."

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