Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 43714 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 219(@200wpm)___ 175(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43714 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 219(@200wpm)___ 175(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
“Can you walk?” I ask, gesturing down at her ankle. “If not….”
“Oh, no, I can walk,” she says breezily, smiling. She had the kind of smile which seemed to turn the sun on. I was sure it must have been winter before she came, but now the bright summer sky above seemed to have been created just for her. “It’s not that bad, really, just a little sore.”
“If you’re sure,” I nod. I’m not sure what the alternative solution would be, anyway.
Offer to carry her?
To leave her here, go back for an off-road vehicle, and then drive her back?
“Yeah, I’m okay,” she says with another smile.
“Alright,” I say and turn, beginning to walk toward the house. “It’s this way, then. You’re here on holiday, are you?”
She laughs as she falls into step beside me. “What gave it away?” she asks, chuckling again.
I give her a sideways look and chuckle.
Her accent is, after all, pretty obvious. “You’re from the States?”
“Yeah, I’m here on vacation,” she replies. “I chose to come here because I have ancestral roots in Scotland. My grandmother was from here.”
“Oh, really? Did she come from this area?” I ask.
Now my mind races in the direction of a serious worry.
What if we were somehow distantly related? That would put a damper on the whole thing.
“No,” she laughs, filling me with relief. “No, she’s actually from somewhere near Glasgow. But she always told me she visited this area when she was younger, and it was so much prettier than where she grew up. So, I thought I’d see it for myself.”
“You know,” I say, feeling more confident now. “In all the confusion, I forgot my manners. My name is Finlay Barnbraw.”
“Oh!” she exclaims. “Alana Covington.”
“Nice to meet you, Alana,” I say, pausing to turn and offer my hand with a grin. When she takes my hand, I clasped hers between both of mine, keeping her cool fingers between mine for a moment too long.
I know I’m not imagining the flash of electricity that sparks between us. It shoots up my arm and down my spine, making it almost impossible for me to resist her.
She’s younger than me, and I know that. I just have to figure out how young.
I don’t know what potential there is in a relationship with someone who is only in Scotland on vacation when my entire life is and always will be here, but I at least have to find out more about her.
God, is there any way she would be interested in someone my age?
She was probably a college kid. But….
No.
It doesn’t matter.
She’s already in my head. I have to see this through, at least.
I’ll take her for coffee, talk to her, and find out if there is something wrong with her.
There is always something wrong with all the women I have ever given the time of day to before. They are either gold-diggers, want to live in the city, hate animals and nature, or have a nasty attitude about something.
I’m sure this Alana will be the same. Or will she?
I could be wrong, even though I have never had such a clearly physiological reaction to just seeing someone before.
No. I will find out what is wrong with her, and then I will carry on with my life.
The house looms above us faster than I expected. The walk having passed so swiftly with her at my side.
“This is it,” I say, probably unnecessarily.
“We’ll head over to the sitting room, just off the main kitchen. It’s quiet here today. We won’t have to compete for attention with a hundred other guests like you probably do at the hotel.”
“I haven’t actually braved the café or restaurant yet,” she says chuckling. “I actually only just flew in this morning.”
I glance at her in surprise. “Wow. You don’t have jet lag or anything?”
“Not yet,” she shrugs. “I’m expecting it to catch up any time now. It’s ten in the morning at home. I slept on the plane, though not as much as I normally would.”
“Well, you might have beaten it, then,” I say, spotting an opportunity to find out what I need to know. “With you being so young, you’ll bounce back quickly.”
Alana laughs in response. “I sure hope so!”
I groan internally – I had set it up well, but she didn’t take the bait.
I try again as we walk through the house’s impressive double doors, a sight I have seen so many times I barely pay any attention to them.
“You must be, what, college-age?” I try again.
“I just graduated last month,” she says, which answers that question pretty well.
She must be twenty-two at least.
“Wow,” I say, shaking my head. “I remember those days. Feeling like the world is at your feet.”
“Literally,” Alana laughs. She was full of laughter and energy. I liked it. “I saved up through all of my college years for this trip. After this, I’m going straight back home and looking for a job.”