Chapter One
“Seriously, Finley. I’ll be fine. Quit worrying about me.” Bella gazed at her sibling in amusement. He was so head over heels in love with his new bride and eager to get away on his honeymoon that his customary big brother routine was worse than usual. “I know how to take care of the dog,” Bella said. “I’ll deal with the bills and your business mail. I’ve got this. You and McKenzie don’t need to worry about a thing.”
McKenzie looked up from the suitcase she was packing. The gold, designer bikini in her hand was tiny. “Quit pestering your sister, Finley. Bella is a capable, grown woman.” The slender blonde whose sophisticated image sometimes made Bella feel frumpy, dangled the bits of cloth in front of her husband’s face. “Are three swimsuits enough, do you think, honey?”
Finley’s eyes glazed over. He caught the brown-eyed blonde up in a ferocious hug. “You won’t need any of them as far as I’m concerned.”
Bella chuckled and slipped out of the room to give the newlyweds some privacy. The wedding ten days ago in Atlanta had been the social event of the season. The enormous Episcopal cathedral had barely managed to seat the crowd of two thousand.
Even though Bella and Finley’s father owned a nationally recognized furniture manufacturing company, and even though they had grown up in North Carolina with every financial advantage, McKenzie’s family’s fortunes were on a whole different level. Bella had worn a bridesmaid dress by Vera Wang. The bride’s wedding gown was Versace. A world-renowned stringed quartet played during the reception at an elite Buckhead country club. Champagne had flowed like water.
It was the most amazing wedding Bella had ever seen, certainly the fanciest one of which she’d ever been a part. Aside from all the hoopla, though, what Bella had enjoyed most was seeing her brother so happy. When Finley was with McKenzie, he was at peace with himself and his world.
More than a decade ago, Finley had left North Carolina after a bitter fight with their father. Finley had settled here on the Isle of Skye in Scotland and made a life for himself designing and selling custom-built motorcycles that were in demand all over the world. The rich and famous came to Skye in search of Bella’s brother.
And now he had McKenzie. Bella’s new sister-in-law was delightful. She was funny and smart and driven. McKenzie was the perfect match for Bella’s taciturn brother.
Finley and McKenzie were heading to Greece for a month, leaving Bella in charge of the house and any little details that might crop up business-wise. She would be able to explore the countryside, putter around the town of Portree, and enjoy her newfound freedom now that the end of her many years of education was in sight.
She had missed Finley desperately while she had been in North Carolina and he had been in Scotland. They had lost their mother when they were young, their father far more recently. Bella looked forward to spending more time in Scotland in the future visiting her brother and sister-in-law. Plus, Finley and McKenzie were making plans to spend half of every year in Atlanta, so Bella would be able to see them often, even if she was still living in North Carolina.
Finally, three hours later, the suitcases were all packed and the last minute instructions disseminated. Bella stood at the door and waved as Finley’s car disappeared down the hill. McKenzie stuck an arm out the window and waved back madly.
After that, Bella was alone.
The momentary letdown she felt was understandable. It had been a heck of a month. But now she had oodles of time ahead of her to tick off every single thing on her to-do list. Scotland awaited.
“Come on, girl,” she said to the dog. “Let me get your leash, and we’ll go for a walk.”
* * *
During the next two weeks, Bella’s days fell into a pattern. After breakfast each morning she spent some time journaling. She had a couple of big decisions to make in the coming months. Staring at a blank page forced her to deal with her doubts and misgivings, as well as her goals and dreams.
The afternoons were usually her time to explore the countryside. For now, she limited her excursions to the Isle of Skye. There would be plenty of time to go farther afield. In the meantime, she fell in love with this moody gem of the Scottish Highlands.
Cinnamon turned out to be the perfect housemate. The dog slept on the floor beside the bed each night. Although Bella was perfectly content to be on her own, she came to rely on the canine’s comforting presence and was happy to have the company.
Even if there was a certain amount of monotony in her quiet, introspective days, Bella wouldn’t have put that in the negative column. Being able to do what she wanted when she wanted was amazingly freeing after years of slavishly following an academic calendar.
She had begun to think nothing out of the ordinary was ever going to come along to disturb her peaceful existence, but all that changed one warm, late-summer morning. She had come downstairs to return a borrowed book to the shelf when a raucous pounding sounded at the front door.
More startled that anything else, she peeked out the tiny window set high up in the door. The unexpected visitor saw her and began to yell and gesticulate.
“Let me in, lass! They’re right behind me.”