Read The Trouble With Kilts (The MacLarens of Balmorie) for Free Online Page A

to find Jamie standing there in his kilt, his feet braced apart and his hands on his hips. A sigh blew threw her. He glanced over his shoulder and she came around to see whatever had gotten his attention. "Oh, right. Your kitchen. It's a freaking train wreck, MacLaren."
    "Aye. Needs a wrecking ball."
    Dirty dishes were piled in the sink. Empty whisky bottles sat on the counter-tops along with dirty glasses. The stove had become a placeholder for dirty pots and pans.
    "Think we should make for Fran's kitchen?" he asked.
    Mark's image sprung to mind. "No. We can tackle this, no problem." His eyebrows rose significantly. "Oh come on. Big bad Jamie MacLaren can't wash dishes?"
    He made a face at her, let out a heavy huff, and approached the sink.
    It gave her something to do, something to focus on, though she was very aware of Jamie next to her as they cleaned. They made idle conversation. Bantered a little. But the room grew quiet when Jamie grabbed a new trash bag and started throwing away the whisky bottles. The look on his face made her heart turn over. He was disappointed in himself, she could see it in the tight jaw, the sadness in his eyes, the frustration, and even a bit of embarrassment.
    She knew from Lucy and Kate that Jamie had eased up on the drinking the last month or two after Devin and Ian intervened and had it out with him, an intervention that had resulted in a black eye for Ian, a bruised rib for Devin, and a bloody nose for Jamie.
    Finally the kitchen was clean and Jamie set to work making her breakfast.
    Riley used the time to freshen up in the bathroom, then she pulled on her boots, borrowed Jamie's coat and walked out into the winter wonderland. The air had a nice, clean bite to it. The snow crunched under her feet as she made her way around the stone farmhouse. There was a barn a few yards away with cattle gathered together, eating from a round bale of hay. On the other side of the barn three horses stood with their heads hung, dozing in the morning sun.
    She breathed in deeply, the cold air freezing the insides of her nose, catching a whiff of Jamie from his coat as she pulled it tighter around her. She could like him. Really like him. But she wasn't ready. And he wasn't either. They both had too much healing to do. Even though she knew she was right, sadness still gripped her, and she felt loss for what might have been.
    Jamie called her through an open window.
    With one last look at the steep hills rising from the valley where she stood, Riley went back into the house and ate breakfast with Jamie. Her sadness lingered through the meal and continued after Jamie excused himself to shower and change while she offered to clean up.
    Just as she finished wiping the counters, the sound of shutting doors from outside had Riley making her way to the front door. She was surprised her cousin hadn't arrived at the crack of dawn. She opened the door to find Kate bundled up like a kid with Devin next to her. Their dogs bounded around in the snow. "We wanted to make sure you guys had supplies," she explained, hefting a bag of groceries.
    Riley continued to stare at Kate.
    "Fine," her cousin finally admitted, "I was worried about you two, okay? Going off like that last night… What do you expect?"
    "You to come calling this morning," Riley answered, holding the door wide for them as Devin chuckled at her comment, earning him Kate's elbow in his gut.
    "Jamie is in the shower." She knew that would probably cause Kate's head to explode, but she wasn't explaining. Actually she was glad they were here. Riley took the grocery bag and put the items away as she listened to Dev's low down on the weather.
    "Mark paid Liam MacLaren two hundred pounds to drive him to the airport. They left a little while ago."
    "You think they'll make it?" Riley asked.
    "Aye. Liam's truck is four-wheel drive and his tires have chains. He'll get to the airport."
    Well that was one piece of drama she no longer had to worry about.
    "Checking up on us