Captain Faith Wallace was either imagining things or she was being shadowed by a boy who looked to be no more than ten or eleven. She walked behind three Royal Army Veterinary Corps dog handlers around the perimeter of the shopping center in Edinburgh, Scotland, supervising the training of the dogs to handle terrorist threats in the UK. Her group seemed to have picked up their junior stalker a few minutes ago when they crossed the covered parking area.

“Follow the planned route,” she said to Lieutenant Shepherd. “I’ll catch up with you back at the vehicle in due course.”

The young woman nodded in acknowledgment. All dressed in black with no insignia, they purposely didn’t flaunt that they were military, partly so as not to cause alarm, but mainly to avoid becoming targets.

The boy had paused in the shadow of a van and was peeping out at her. Faith couldn’t really believe this boy had nefarious intentions, but three years in the army had taught her to check and double-check anything suspicious. She stopped, letting the three dog handlers stride ahead, and pretended to fiddle with her phone. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the boy creep closer.

She turned and strode the short distance back to him, fully expecting him to bolt. Instead, he stepped out from behind the vehicle where he’d been hiding and stood his ground.

“Are you following me?”

He nodded.

“What’s your name?”

“Fergus Mackenzie. Am I in trouble?” Despite his question, he didn’t look worried. He looked as though he was relishing every moment of this.

“That depends on why you’re following me.”

“I want to talk to you.”

Faith narrowed her eyes, wondering if she ought to recognize him. “Have we met before?”

“No. I saw your photo on your Facebook page and looked you up on the Internet. I found a newspaper article about you training army dogs here to hunt terrorists, so I came to find you.”

This was getting weird. Why would the kid be researching her?

“This all sounds very strange.” And stalkerish. If he were older, she’d be seriously worried.

The boy dragged off his green-and-brown camouflage backpack, loosened the top, and rummaged inside.

Faith held still and told herself not to overreact, he was only a kid, but her heart rate picked up. She’d seen the aftermath of a bomb that devastated a market in Africa, and the suicide bomber there had been no older than this boy.

With a smile of triumph, the youngster pulled a bottle from his pack, and she took a step back as he brandished it at her. “You’re the message-in-a-bottle lady. I found the bottle on the beach at Stonehaven.”

Faith pressed a hand to her heart, her lips parting in surprise. It had been two and a half years since she tossed that bottle in the Caribbean Sea during a vacation with her reading buddies in the Romantic Hearts Book Club. That felt like a lifetime ago. She had still been getting her life back on track after the disaster of her relationship with Liam. The army had felt like a lifeline back then. How things changed.

She’d included her Facebook page address in her message in the bottle. That explained things, sort of.

Faith relaxed a little. “So you found my bottle, did you? How come you didn’t just message me like I asked in the note?”

“Dad told me not to.”

She laughed and shook her head. “So you tracked me down in person.”

She had to give this kid marks for being resourceful. With his dark hair and brown eyes, he’d be a heartbreaker when he grew up—a shame the kid wasn’t twenty years older. Some of her friends in the romance reading group had married the guys who’d found the bottles they tossed in the ocean.

“Well, Fergus Mackenzie, it’s not advisable to stalk a military training op. Someone might think you’re the enemy. Isn’t there an adult around who should be supervising you?”

“Dad’s at the university checking in with the research team about radio tracking the golden eagles at Kindrogan Estate. I was meant to stay with Auntie Meg while she’s clothes shopping.” He pulled a face as if the thought gave him a bellyache. “I sneaked off when she went in the changing room.”

“How long ago was that?” Faith had been aware of him for at least ten minutes, and he must have spent a while looking for her. “Your aunt is going to be frantic with worry.”

“No, she won’t.” He shook his head sagely, as if imparting ancient wisdom. “Dad says women lose all sense of time when they’re trying on clothes.”

“Yes, well, despite your dad’s masculine insight, I guarantee your aunt will be worried by now. Do you have a phone so you can call her?”

He shook his head. “I was playing games on the train and the battery ran out.”

“Do you remember her mobile phone number so you can call her on my phone?”

Another shake of his head.

“Right, then, the only thing to do is get you back to her immediately.” She took a few steps and beckoned. “Come on, young man, quick march.”

Faith didn’t have much experience with children, but guessed dealing with them must be pretty similar to commanding troops. Not that she had a lot of command experience, only being responsible for a group of veterinary technicians and dog handlers.

She led him out of the staff car parking area, where he shouldn’t even have been, and back into the busy shopping mall.

“She was in that shop.” He pointed at the glossy shopfront of a high-end clothing retailer.

“I hope she’s still there and hasn’t mobilized the mall security to search for you.”

As they approached the store, a petite woman in jeans and a thick sweater with a fur collar burst out of the door and turned frantically one way and then the other, eyes wide, long red hair tumbling over her shoulders as she jerked her head around. The incredible relief that flooded her face at the sight of them confirmed she must be the aunt.

“Oh, Fergus, where have you been? We’ve been looking everywhere.” She wrapped her arms around him and closed her eyes briefly before he wriggled free. “Your dad’s checking where we parked in case you’d gone back there. I better call him right away.” She held her phone to her ear and exchanged a few terse words before shoving the device in her back pocket.

Fergus had the grace to look contrite, pushing his hands in his pockets and staring down as he wriggled his toes in his sneakers, but the remorse only lasted a few seconds.

“I wanted to search for Faith and I found her. See?” Fergus pointed at her smugly.

His aunt Megan’s assessing gaze settled on Faith, and she felt a touch guilty to be the cause of him absconding, even though she had done nothing but bring the errant boy back.

“She’s the message-in-a-bottle lady,” Fergus burst out.

“Captain Faith Wallace, pleased to meet you.” Faith held out her hand, and after a moment’s delay, the other woman shook it, her eyes wide.

“Yes, Gus showed me your picture online. You really are the one who wrote the message in the bottle he found.”

After all this time, Faith had assumed the bottle would never be found. In fact, she’d hoped it would stay lost. The thing was a little embarrassing.

“It was a silly message. In my defense, I was egged on by my friends and a little tipsy at the time.”

“How on earth did Fergus find you?” The woman eyed the grinning boy and shook her head. “I guess that’s a story for later. I’m Megan Fabian, by the way, and this scallywag is my brother Hew’s son.”

She ruffled the boy’s hair and he ducked away, grumbling.

She returned her attention to Faith. “I can see you’re military; I’d recognize those boots anywhere. As your message said you were a veterinarian, I’ll take a wild guess that you’re Royal Army Veterinary Corps, right?”

Faith nodded, slightly taken aback that the woman was so perceptive. “You’re familiar with the RAVC?”

“Sort of. The Mackenzies have a military tradition going back years. We tend to be Medical Corps, though. My husband is an army doctor, and my brother Duncan commands the military Institute of Thermal Medicine near Kinder Vale.”

Megan glanced past Faith, who turned to follow her gaze. “Here comes Hew, and he’s not pleased with you, Gus.”

A tall man threaded his way between the shoppers towards them. It was easy to spot him as he stood out with his outdoorsy jacket, jeans, and walking boots among the fashionably dressed city shoppers. Tall and strongly built with thick dark hair and a steely look in his brown eyes, he reminded her of the dark, brooding heroes in the historical romance novels she loved.

Despite his serious demeanor, when he addressed his son, his voice was soft with a melodious Scottish inflection. “We’ve been looking all over for you, lad. Where have you been?”

“I found the message-in-a-bottle lady, Dad. Look.” Fergus pointed at her tentatively, and it was obvious he was unsure of his dad’s reaction.

“Faith brought our amateur sleuth back to us,” Megan added.

Hew glanced at her, his expression difficult to read. “Thank you for bringing my son back. I’m sorry he troubled you.”

An unmistakable note of dismissal underlined his words. Did he not believe she was who she claimed?

“Dad,” Fergus shrieked, and Megan placed a hand on her brother’s arm.

“This really is Faith, the woman who tossed the bottle in the ocean. I don’t know about you, but I’m fascinated by the whole concept that a message in a bottle made it all the way from the Caribbean to wash up on the beach at Stonehaven.”

“Four and a half thousand miles,” Fergus piped up.

Megan turned to her, smiling, obviously trying to make up for her brother’s attitude. “I’d love a chance to talk with you some more, Faith, and I’m sure the rest of the family would love to meet you. You’re quite a celebrity in our household, you know. It would be wonderful if you could come to our Burns Night supper at Kindrogan Castle next week. It’s about three hours on the train from Edinburgh to Kinder Vale, and we can pick you up from the station.”

“Well, I don’t know.” Faith liked Megan, she had warmed to her immediately and was certain they could be friends, yet she wasn’t sure about Hew. She glanced at him, her gaze colliding with his intense expression, and a little frisson of sensation ran through her.

“Please say yes.” Megan touched her arm.

“Yes, say yes.” Fergus bounced on his toes, chanting.

It was only a supper, and she needed to explore all networking opportunities that might help her find a job for when she left the army in June. As the Mackenzies were a military family, they might be willing to help her. She loved the wild Scottish countryside, and it would be wonderful to have the opportunity to ski every winter.

“Sure. If I can get the time off, I’d love to.”