The Accidental Scot

Read The Accidental Scot for Free Online Page A

Book: Read The Accidental Scot for Free Online
Authors: Patience Griffin
stared at the camera, feeling letdown and desperate. The bachelor auction was their only hope. She’d hit another brick wall with the National Health Service.
    Were they sure there was no money in the budget for her father to see the specialist sooner?
They were sure.
    If her father relocated to her apartment in Edinburgh, could he at least get his initial workup?
No.
    If she promised to give blood once a week for the rest of her life would the NHS rethink their position?
No.
    She’d been lucky the NHS had even called her back, but her last hope of their help had been dashed. The Strapping Lads in Plaid auction had better be enough. Because if not, it felt like her da was a goner.

Chapter Three
    A s Max exited the factory, the wind kicked up and with it, his kilt. He would literally freeze his ass off if he didn’t get warmer clothing, especially if he was forced to wear one of these skirts again. The boots Pippa had given him, however, were a vast improvement over his dress shoes. If he caught her in a good mood, he’d ask if he could hang on to them for the duration of his stay. He got in his car and headed back to the village. Snowdrifts had partially hidden the road but he made it safely to the town’s parking lot.
    Outside his home-away-from-home, he glanced down the boardwalk and noticed an old woman wrestling a long piece of garland in the gale-force wind. His empty stomach urged him to take the last few steps into the pub where a bowl of potato soup was waiting for him. Despite his fluttering kilt and his growling stomach, his Southern boy upbringing had him bracing into the wind to assist the old woman.
    â€œHey there,” he hollered over the crashing waves and the roar of the wind. “Can I give you a hand?”
    At first, he thought she wouldn’t answer. She eyed his kilt and raised an eyebrow, then finally spoke. “It’s you. Ye might as well help. Ye’re dressed for it.” The woman was as old as the ocean. Every line on her face was a testament to her time living here on the dangerous edgeof Scotland. But he could tell she was as strong as an ox. Between the two of them, they positioned the garland securely to the building next to the patchwork sign that read Q UILTING C ENTRAL .
    â€œWould you like to come in for some lunch?” She frowned at her own offer as if she had no choice in it. She opened the door to the large building and the most delicious smell of beef stew drifted out.
    His mouth watered and he smiled. “That would be great.”
    She ushered him in with a scowl. “After you eat, I expect ye to get that old Douglas fir positioned in the tree stand in the back corner.” She pointed out the spot with a gnarled hand.
    â€œYou sure know how to bribe a guy. The stew smells wonderful.” He would remain upbeat and friendly, no matter how much the townsfolk disliked him. Besides, he could put up with a little attitude in exchange for food.
    She waddled over to the kitchen area. “Go sit yereself by the fire. I’ll bring ye a bowl.”
    He walked farther into the large open room with I-beam supports strategically placed to hold up the roof. All the women who worked there stopped simultaneously and stared at him. And his kilt. The old woman shooed them back to arranging chairs and tables.
    The smell of sizing and fabric reached his nose, too, reminding him of his mom’s sewing room. On one side of the huge room, rows of sewing machines were positioned with ironing boards nearby. Not too far away, mats and rotary cutters waited. One wall had been dedicated to bolts of fabrics, another for design. Toward the back, three longarm quilting machines sat quiet.
    The old woman returned with a bowl and spoon, laying it on the coffee table in front of where he stood.
    â€œThanks.” He smiled at her and the surroundings. “My mom and my sister, Bitsy, would love it here. They’re both quilters, too.”
    The old woman

Similar Books

Of Sand and Malice Made

Bradley P. Beaulieu

Hawksmoor

Peter Ackroyd

Fellow Passenger

Geoffrey Household

2 Big Apple Hunter

Maddie Cochere

Breakfast with a Cowboy

Vanessa Devereaux

The Centurions

Jean Lartéguy

A Summer Life

Gary Soto