The remaining two days in Edinburgh help to clear her head a little. She wondered though, how had she managed to wind up being pursued by two different men, on a continent that wasn't home? She stayed away from the bar the next day, opting instead to do some shopping and sightseeing followed by a good long soak in the bathtub. The shower at the cottage with its low water pressure and temperamental temperature control was something that she was not missing even a little bit.

The thought of starting the trip back made her feel slightly flat. She tried to tell herself it was the work that she was not looking forward to, hours alone compiling spreadsheets was not a fun prospect. She knew that it had more to do with Adam though, than it did with data entry and math. Her thoughts had drifted back and forth between the two very different men. She missed Adam and that was really what everything boiled down to. As she endured the bus ride back, she tried not to think about their last conversation, and how open-ended they’d left things. He’d promised he’d see her again but he might have started to see things differently while she’d been gone. She knew fretting over it did no good, but she couldn’t help but wonder if he’d decided he was well shot of her, and the complications that came with whatever they were to each other.

* * *

The next farm she was due to visit was the best part of two miles away. The thought that she would be in pretty good physical shape by the end of the project made her smile.

The farmer she was due to meet was friendly, and seemed grateful to have someone to talk to. His wife had died a few years back, and his kids were at college. “Not a lot of kids stay around these parts anymore,” he said. “Farming just isn’t what they want to do. The big city is just too much of a temptation.”

His words struck a chord. It was as if she were one of those kids, hardly able to wait until she could go back to her city. She knew she’d made Adam feel that way to some extent, as if she were just passing time with him, counting the days until she could get out of here and go home. It wasn’t how she felt at all. But she could see how he would get that impression, especially with her thoughtless remarks about farm life being boring. She still didn’t think she belonged here but she shouldn’t have been so cavalier.

The farmer was eager to show her around, walking her through the sheep pens and pointing out the ewes that would lamb in the spring. “Things are going well,” he said. “But I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be able to run the place on my own. I’m going to have to get some help soon, that or sell the place.” He sounded so sad at the thought that it made Amelia’s heart ache.

She was genuinely disappointed to have to head back, and the farmer seemed sorry to see her go. This was the part of the assignment that she really enjoyed, hearing stories and meeting the people. They were not that different to the people she’d grown up around. There was a familiarity to it that both made her feel good, and unsettled, at the same time. She had after all wanted to get away from her childhood home in Wisconsin.

The bitter cold wind was getting up again. She tucked her chin into her jacket, wrapping her scarf more tightly around her face. The fireplace waiting for her back at the cottage seemed incredibly appealing. She thought briefly of going to the pub for dinner, but decided against it. She wanted to say something to Adam, something to convey that she hadn’t meant to be so dismissive of his lifestyle, but she wasn’t sure exactly how to go about it. She didn’t want to jump the gun and see him until she had everything clear in her own mind.

Another day, another farm and farmer. The elderly man there was much less affable than the one from the day before. He went over some numbers with her, but he was suspicious like some of the others. She was unknown to them, and they tended to treat her with what can best be described as tolerant impatience. She was surprised when Adam cropped up in a conversation. It happened when she asked if this farmer was friends with other farmers in the area.

“Ah, we all get along,” he said. “We don’t see much of the Grant boy anymore though, not since his parents died. He keeps to himself, mostly. Does a fine job of keeping that place going, a fine job. Not that he was ever really meant for it. It was his older brother that was supposed to take the place over. But no sooner than their parents were in their graves, God rest them, than that older Grant boy was hightailing it out of here, and what was poor, young Adam supposed to do but take things over? It’s all fallen on his shoulders, poor lad.” The man shook his head, his distaste for Adam’s brother written clearly on his face.

Amelia thought about what he’d said all the way home as she walked. Adam hadn’t told her much about his parents, or anything about his brother. She wasn’t even sure that he’d mentioned that he had one. Now she had an insight as to why his past was so off limits.

She knew he didn’t usually work at the pub on Wednesdays, and decided to go over to the farm and surprise him. She knew there was a possibility he wouldn’t be thrilled to see her, but she hoped that after the way he’d left things, he would at least be OK.

She walked up to the front porch, and knocked firmly on the very slightly open door. There was quiet from the stables, no sounds of work and only the occasional sounds of animals. She rapped at the door again, and it pushed open slightly. She hesitated for a second, but if Adam wasn’t home, she could at least leave a note for him, letting him know she'd called. She stepped into the foyer, and turned down the hall towards the living room, hunting for a piece of paper and a pen.

Amelia heard a noise, and walked a little faster. “Adam?” she said, stepping into the room. “Adam, is that…” She stopped dead in her tracks, her hand going to her mouth. “Adam?”