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Edeen smiled at her. “I’m glad to meet another female wolf. There’s always so much testosterone in the place that it’s good to see some more she-wolves.”

“Oh, I agree,” Maisie said.

They reached the sitting room, which was filled with books. Large windows showed off views of the gardens of green hedges and red, white, and pink roses. Lachlan and Robert soon joined them, and Colleen brought in their tea.

“So you were swimming near my brother’s boat when it capsized and you swam in together?” Edeen asked.

“Aye. Robert said that the MacQuarries’ beach was closest to where we were. He wasn’t dressed for the cold water.”

“Thank you for saving my brother’s life,” Edeen said.

“We were really there for each other,” Maisie said.

They drank some of their tea, and Maisie knew Robert’ssister was dying to know just why they had to have privacy and a first aid kit and other tools in the room.

“When you’re ready to go home, I can drive you,” Lachlan said to Maisie.

“Oh, thanks, Lachlan, but Edeen is taking Robert home and she said she’ll drop me off too. I would like to peek in on Conan before I leave if it doesn’t disturb his training too much.” Maisie sipped some more of her tea.

“Sure, I’ll take you to see him,” Lachlan said.

When they finished their tea and Maisie, Lachlan, Robert, and Edeen got ready to leave, everyone thanked Colleen. She was thrilled that they had dropped in to see her, as if this was just a totally unexpected, pleasurable visit and not a crazy misadventure in the ocean.

Lachlan walked Maisie to the dog kennels while Robert and Edeen grabbed Maisie’s dive gear and put it in Edeen’s car. Maisie peeked into the room where Conan was staying, and he was sound asleep on a big dog bed. She smiled. She was glad he wasn’t pacing the floor, looking bored or unhappy.

When they left the kennel, she asked Lachlan, “Did someone get Robert’s boat out of the water?”

“They’re working on it as we speak. The water’s still rough, but they’ll get it done.”

“Good. It seemed like a nice little boat. Um, I thought Edeen was Robert’s mate or girlfriend when I first met her. When she first saw me, she appeared a bit…suspicious.”

Lachlan laughed. “She’s worried about a she-wolf breaking her brother’s heart. But she seemed relaxed and happy to be with you when we were having tea.”

“Oh, sure. Once she learned I had one of your dogs from the same litter as hers, we hit it off.”

“When they were first born and until everyone picked up their pups and took them home, Edeen loved on all of them. So she remembers Conan. Plus, she has been teaching her terriers to mind her, so she comes to watch Conan’s training to get some more tips. If you’re free tomorrow, why don’t you come over and have lunch with us and Edeen can show you some of the training we’re doing with Conan and begin the transition with you?”

“Yes, I would love that.”

“Come at eleven, then.”

She was glad she would be able to see Conan and hug him and get some honest-to-goodness training in with him. She’d been having nightmares that she would undo all the good training he’d gone through as soon as she and her sister took him home.

Lachlan escorted Maisie to Edeen’s car and kissed his mate. “I’ll see you later. I’ve got to take care of some business.”

As Edeen drove, she asked, “How was Conan?”

“Oh”—Maisie laughed—“he was sound asleep in his comfortable little room.”

“They train them on and off all day and everyone takes turns so they get used to different people giving them the same commands,” Edeen said. “I’m sure the dogs that are in training are worn out by day’s end. I’ve been there watching how they do it and have been training Ruby too. My fox terriers are finally really listening to me when we’re outside. When I lived in Edinburgh, they had a fenced-in yard, buthere, they can run all over, so it took me a while to train them to stay home and not run off.”

“Oh, I bet. Everyone at the inn adores Conan. He has really been an added feature at the lodging,” Maisie said.

“That’s great. Have you eaten at Ye Olde Highland Pie Shoppe?”

“Heather’s shop? I picked up takeout from there for my sister and me when we were just moving in. Heather has the best pies. We always recommend her shop to guests for the afternoon and evening meals. We only serve breakfast. Then everyone’s off exploring to their heart’s content.” Maisie snapped her fingers. “I bet you designed some of the gowns for her and her workers since they’re wolves too. They were wearing these beautiful new ancient-style tartan gowns, and I told them how much I admired them. They were so busy that Heather and the other ladies didn’t have a chance to tell me who created them.”

“Aye, it was me. I’ve been having a lot of fun making them for the locals, and I get orders from all over the world.”