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“So,” Brodie says after a long, stilted silence of driving away from the farm. “This must be pretty overwhelming.”

I scoff lightly. “Which part? My dad dying? Or my grandma hating me?”

“Both, I imagine,” he says with a chuckle. He glances at me with a sympathetic expression. “Although I am sorry to hear about your da.”

“Did you know him?”

He nods. “When I was a lad. My mum and dad came down for a spell during the summers when I was younger to visit with Finn and Rhona. He was always kind to me.” He chuckles. “And his stories were good.”

“His stories?”

“Well, yeah. Most people know about Duncan’s tussle with the loch monster.”

“They do?”

Brodie lets out another soft laugh. “From what I’ve been told, he didn’t really try too hard to keep it a secret.”

“Oh.” I avert my gaze to my hands, which are clasped in my lap. “He used to tell me that story all the time.”

“Did you believe him?”

“I…don’t know.” When I look up, I notice Brodie’s full attention is on me, seeming actually curious. “I think I used to when I was little. But as I got aulder, well…I mean, it’s sort of impossible, right?”

His eyes linger on the side of my face for another moment, finally flicking back to the road, where his car is creeping along. “Aye, probably. Who knows, though. Living here…you hear all sorts of stories.”

“Rhona said you were staying with them,” I point out, trying to make conversation. “Did you grow up in Greerloch?”

He shakes his head. “Inverness. My mum and dad are still there.”

“So are you just visiting, then?”

His lips quirk as if I’ve said something funny. “Something like that.”

“Not cryptic at all,” I chuckle.

His fingers drum on the steering wheel, his brow furrowing as he considers. “I’m on a bit of a…sabbatical from my job. Needed some time away.”

“Where do you work?”

“The Inverness Historical Society.”

“Wow. That actually sounds really cool.”

He shrugs. “It can be, sure. There’s a lot of paperwork and red tape at times.”

“I guess I could see that,” I say, bobbing my head. “Is that why you’re taking a break?”

“Something like that.”

I roll my eyes. “Is that your catchphrase or something?”

“Maybe,” he laughs, shrugging again. “I just needed some time away from it all. My family is…” His mouth turns down in a frown. “Let’s just say they’ve never been quite thrilled with my choice of career.”

“What? Why?”

“My da owns a fishing business,” he tells me. “One of the largest on the coast. When my brothers were auld enough—”

“You have brothers?”