THE MORNING OF Kinnon’s funeral, Max moved through the day on automatic pilot. His emotions were jumbled to the point of overload. He and Niall had been given special permission to perform a traditional Viking funeral on Loch Ness, and Max was grateful his brother had taken care of the arrangements.

The Gunnachs would attend, as would Bruce, but no one else. Max stood by the water while Niall waited in the parking lot for their friends to arrive. Max heard the group approach and let out a deep breath, relieved that he no longer had to stare at Kinnon, who had been laid out on a wooden raft, dressed in MacMillan tartan and battle wear, his hands folded over his chest. He looked more like the brother he’d lost long ago, not the drug addicted shell he’d become.

Pepper smiled as she slid her hand into the crook of his arm, giving him a gentle squeeze. Max was surprisingly comforted by her touch and laid his hand over hers. He desperately wished Grace was there, but was also glad she wasn’t being subjected to any of this.

Niall said a few nice words that meant nothing to Max, and then the two of them pushed the glorified casket away from the bank. The Gunnach men, along with Max, Niall, and Bruce each grabbed a bow and arrow, and lit the ends of the arrows. One at a time, they shot their arrows into the casket and watched as it was engulfed in flames.

Max nodded when Connall slipped an arm around his shoulders and gave him a quick hug. The only thoughts consuming him at the moment were of Moira. Had it not been for Kinnon, she’d still be alive. He would not mourn his brother. He didn’t deserve it.

Declining Payton’s offer to return with them and help, Max and Niall headed back to Max’s house. Max dragged himself to his room, uninterested in doing anything other than speaking to Grace. He checked his watch, relieved that it wasn’t too late to call her. He removed his jacket and sat down on the edge of his bed.

* * *

Grace climbed out of the warmth of her own bed and rushed to the bathroom she shared with her sister. In the past four hours, she’d managed to purge her body of every nutrient that had ever entered it. She groaned as she haphazardly washed her face and crawled back to bed. She didn’t remember ever being this sick before and felt like she might never recover. Right now would have been the perfect time for Max and his healing hands.

She heard a knock at her door and her mother entered when bid. “Hi, honey. I’m just checking to see if I can get you anything.”

“No thanks. In fact, it might a good idea to stay away, Mom. I’m diseased.”

“Oh, my sweet girl.” Her mom chuckled sympathetically as she sat on the edge of the bed and set a few things on the nightstand. “I brought you some crackers and a lemon-lime pop and cold meds. I thought they might help with the body aches.”

“Thanks.” Grace buried her face in her pillow. “But I probably won’t keep them down.”

“Well, I’ll leave them here for when you think you might.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Grace’s cell phone buzzed on her nightstand. Her mother leaned forward to see the screen. “It’s Max.”

“I can’t talk to him right now, Mom.”

Without prompting, her mother answered the call. “Max? It’s Lila, Grace can’t come to the phone right now.”

“What are you doing?” Grace groaned.

“No, hon,” her mom continued. “She’s actually quite sick. She has a nasty cold and a tummy bug of some form.”

Oh, great. Now he’s going to imagine me puking my guts out...or worse. Way sexy.

“Mom,” she snapped. “Hang up.”

“What was that, Max?” her mother continued, ignoring Grace. “It started almost as soon as she got home. I don’t think the flight went well, either.”

Grace’s stomach betrayed her again and she had to make a run for the bathroom before she could kill her mother. Not that she had the strength, but still, the woman was going down.

She returned to her room to find her mother picking up discarded clothes. “Mom, you don’t need to do that.”

“Oh, honey, it’s all right. You should rest. Max said he’d call you tomorrow.”

Grace climbed into her bed. “You do know that I’m a grown adult, right, Mom?”

Her mother turned and gave an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, honey. I really do want to help.”

Grace sighed. “I know. And believe me, I appreciate it. But could you please not answer my phone? And please, please, please, don’t tell my pseudo-boyfriend I’m puking my guts out. It’s not a visual I want to put in his head.”

“Yes, in hindsight, I see what you’re saying.” Her mother smiled. “How’s it going on the relationship front?”

Grace grabbed a tissue and sighed. “Confusing at times, and then at other times rainbows and puppies and perfectly wonderful. He treats me like a queen, but he’s not always nice to others in his vicinity.”

“What do you mean? Is he cruel?”

“No, not really. I mean, he’s not like the ‘kill puppies for sport’ kind of cruel.”

Her mom laughed. “Well, that’s an item for the pro column.”

“It’s just he’ll go off at someone for not doing something they’re supposed to...or the way he expects them to, but he’s always so patient with me, and even listens when I tell him to calm the hell down.” Grace blew her nose. “I don’t know, Mom. I love him and none of it makes any sense.”

“Give it time, Grace. You may have to help him learn to be a little less uptight.”

“This coming from the woman who taught us that men should not be changed.”

“And I still hold true to that advice.” Her mom sat on the edge of the bed. “A woman usually dates a man while believing she can change him, whereas a man dates a woman, believing she will never change.”

Grace rolled her eyes...she’d heard it all before.

“If you,” her mother continued, “being the beautiful, smart, and flexible woman I know you to be...go into this with your eyes wide open and allow Max to grow, then I think you’ll be successful. He seems like a man who’s had everything handed to him, and he probably doesn’t hear ‘no’ often, but I see his face when he looks at you, and I know he values what you have to say.”

“I know he does,” Grace admitted. “And I can talk to him about anything. I just wish he felt the same way about me. There’s so much he keeps hidden.”

“Give it time, Gracie. Remember, you’re not alone. We’re here to support you, no matter what you decide.”

Grace smiled. “Thanks, Mom.”

Her mom rose to her feet. “Well, I’m off to the other patient. Maggie’s doing quite a bit worse than you, actually.”

“She should probably see the doctor, Mom. The flu typically runs its course in a couple of weeks. She’s been feeling sick for longer than that, hasn’t she?”

“Yes, but you know her. She hates the doctor.”

“Well, make her see mine. Ally’s amazing.”

“Okay, honey, I’ll suggest it. Get some rest.”

Her mother left the room and Grace burrowed under the blankets and tried to sleep. She couldn’t. She felt silly, but she missed Max. He’d put her on the plane from Alaska to Portland, ensuring that she was in first class, and then headed to the private gate to board his plane to Scotland. They were stopped several times for autographs and photos, but Grace was glad no one mobbed them.

She hoped he’d make it back for her birthday...actually, she hoped she’d still be alive on her birthday, which was in five days. She was going to try and survive this plague, if for nothing else so she could see him again and find out all these secrets he promised to tell her.

She managed another hour of sleep, until the buzzing of her phone awakened her. She grabbed it to see Max’s name pop up. “Hi,” she said.

Max chuckled. “Hi, beautiful.”

“I thought you were going to call tomorrow.”

“I wanted to hear your voice now. You sound miserable.”

Grace nodded. “I am miserable, and beautiful isn’t an accurate description right about now.”

“I wish I was there.”

“No you don’t,” Grace retorted. “I’m ridiculously diseased at the moment.”

“Oh, dear,” he said in a much thicker Scottish accent, “have you the plague, lass?”

“Aye, I’ve the plague.”

Max chuckled. “We’ll work on your accent when I see you.”

“Can’t wait.” Grace smiled.

“Yer mum said the flight didn’t go well.”

“Well, I have to say that when you’re feeling as though your head’s going to explode, it probably doesn’t matter if you’re in first class or coach...the cabin pressure’s horrible either way.” She sighed. “I really could have used your magic fingers on the flight. Actually, I could really use them now.”

“I’m sorry, love.”

“It’s okay. Did you know we were on the Anchorage news?”

“I did.” He sighed. “I was hoping you wouldn’t have seen that.”

“Oh, I didn’t. I had a couple of women sitting with me at the gate who were beyond chatty and they filled me on everything. They recognized me from the photos at the hotel when we had to drive through the crowd. Even though I had my hand covering most of my face in the car, those paparazzi were surprisingly skilled at getting the photo.”

“You could have called security, you know.”

“No, it was fine.” Grace smiled. “They were actually very nice. My mom’s age, I think. They were fascinated by you, and quite frankly, I couldn’t blame them.”

“Were they grilling you?” he asked.

“Like crazy.”

“What were they asking?”

“Who I was, how I knew you, how long have I known you, that type of thing.”

Max sighed again. “And what did you tell them?”

“Well,” Grace hummed. “I told them my name was Cinnamon, I hired you to be my gigolo for the night, and I’d known you for about two days.”

Max laughed. “You didn’t.”

“No, I didn’t. I just told them I worked for you. Surprisingly enough, I was quite good at diverting the subject away from me and back onto you.”

“Well done, love.”

Grace giggled. “Thank you.”

“Has the attention died down at home?”

“Yes. No one’s camped out here for the moment, anyway.”

“That’s good.” Max sighed. “I’ll make it up to you, sweetheart, I promise.”

“You’re already doing that. I’m glad you didn’t wait to call me until tomorrow.”

“I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Brownie points for you.” She glanced at her alarm clock. “How did everything go with your brother?” There was a minute of silence and Grace frowned. “It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me.”

“It’s not that,” Max said. “The funeral was actually quite lovely, but that’s all I’m going to say, because I just don’t want to subject you to anything unpleasant.”

“Too late, Max. I’m in the midst of a nasty flu, remember? We’re well past unpleasant.” Grace grabbed a tissue and wiped her nose. “Tell me.”

“I will when I can, sweetheart,” he said. “Right now, I just want to get back there. I miss you.”

Grace smiled. “I miss you too.”

“I’m glad.” Max chuckled. “I’m winning you over, aren’t I?”

She sighed. “Oh, I’m already won.”

“Does that mean you’ll change your status to ‘in a relationship’? I’m not liking the ‘single’ business.”

“Would you settle for ‘it’s complicated’?”

“No.”

She wiped her nose. “Really?”

“Really.” He chuckled. “Your move, Grace.”

“Okay, honey, I’ll change it as soon as I know I’m not going to die.”

“Mmm, I love that.”

“What?”

“You calling me ‘honey.’”

Grace laughed, followed by a coughing fit.

“Sorry, love,” Max said.

“It’s okay.”

“I should let you go back to sleep.”

“Yes, you probably should.”

Max groaned. “God, I miss you, sweetheart.”

Grace sighed. “I wish I could be there with you, but then again, I wouldn’t want you to get sick.”

“If I can finish earlier, do you want me fly back earlier?”

“Is that an option?” she asked.

“I own the plane, so yes.”

Her heart soared. “Um, yes, please.”

“Right answer.” He chuckled. “Go to sleep. I’ll call you tomorrow. Make sure you get a lot of rest.”

“Yes sir.”

“Tha gaol agam ort,” he said.

Grace bit her lip. “Same.”

“Really?”

“Dang it,” she groaned. “Yes.”

“Say it,” he challenged.

“No, I think I’m going to wait a little while.” She shifted in her bed in an effort to get comfortable. “When you tell me everything, I’ll say it.”

“I’m concerned that when I do tell you everything, you won’t want to say it,” he admitted.

“Well, then I don’t want to say anything I might have to take back.”

“Touché,” he grumbled. “I will let you go, but I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Sounds good,” she said.

“’Bye.”

Grace smiled. “’Bye.”

“Hang up.”

Grace shook her head. “You do it first.”

“No.”

She giggled. “I’m going to hang up now.”

“Go ahead,” he said.

“I’m going to do it.”

Max chuckled. “I dare you.”

Grace bit her lip. “I can’t.”

“Okay, I should go. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“’Bye.”

“’Bye, sweetheart.”

Max hung up and Grace tried to sleep.

* * *

“Everything all right?” Niall asked once Max returned to the great room of his home.

“Grace is sick. She’s got the flu.”

Niall set his drum magazine aside and frowned. “The things humans are subjected to with their health must be frustrating for them.”

Max flopped down on the leather sectional with a sigh. “Aye. And it’s why Kade makes so much money. Humans love their drugs. What does Payton say about this new research Samantha’s doing?”

Niall shook his head. “Nothing. You know she’s tight-lipped when it comes to the Gunnachs. Personally and professionally. It’s one of the many reasons they love her.”

“I thought being her best friend would offer you some secrets.”

Niall laughed. “Maybe when it comes to Brodie or her family, or something like that, but she would never, ever discuss the business with me. Any information I have on the research is the same as what Samantha shared with you and me at dinner.”

“Damn it.”

“I don’t know why you’re so uptight, brother. Her research is in relation to blood diseases. That wouldn’t help Grace with the flu. Only you can do that.”

“And I’m useless to her here.”

Niall shrugged. “Then go.”

“What?”

“Go,” Niall repeated. “Take the plane if you need to. It’s not like you weren’t going to ask me anyway. We’ve got time for Ernan to rest and return. Or we can just fly commercial...the gear’s still on the plane.”

Max’s heart felt considerably lighter. “You don’t mind?”

Niall chuckled. “Sure as hell beats you sitting here sighing like a school girl who’s lost her love.”

Max grinned, uncaring that his brother had just insulted him. “I’m not waiting around for you to change your mind.”

“Good idea.”

Max rose to his feet, called their pilot, and then Bruce. Once they had a flight plan, he’d be on his way back to Grace, and that couldn’t be too soon for him.