Page 16

Brodie takes that moment to excuse himself, saying something about hitting the head. I can’t say I hope he makes any hurry to return.

“We heard you made a trip to Nessie’s cove today,” Blair says, continuing to chat up Key as Rory busies himself making the newcomer’s drinks. “You here on the hunt, then?”

I give Blair as surreptitious a glare as I can manage, but she ignores me.

“Oh, well…” Key shuffles, rubbing at the back of her neck. “Not exactly.”

“Nothing to be ashamed of, love,” Blair says sweetly. “We’ve all climbed over those rocks a time or two around here.” She smirks in my direction. “Even before Grandpa here came to spoil the fun.”

“S’not safe,” I mumble, narrowing my eyes at her.

“Tell me, mate,” Blair barrels on, ignoring me. “What had you climbing the rocks? The auld man is right; it’s not exactly safe without a good pair of wellies with a strong grip. Even then, you could hurt yourself.”

“I…” She bites her lip, and for a moment, I find my eyes drawn to the press of her teeth against the soft flesh—something that I quickly shake myself out of. “My dad told me stories.” She says this quietly, almost like she’s embarrassed. “He died recently, and he asked me before he went to scatter his ashes there.”

My brows shoot up in surprise, and a memory pings, one of her clutching that black vase so tightly, and for the first time today, Idofeel like an arse. Regardless of my feelings about her da and what he might or might not have been to my own father, I know what it feels to mourn the loss of someone so prominent in your life.

“You didn’t say,” I blurt out, feeling chastened and defensive all at once. “Why not?”

Her mouth forms a tight line. “It’s not exactly a conversation for two strangers in which one of the strangers is telling the other one how stupid she is.”

Bloody hell. Ididdo that. Knowing what she was there for, it does feel much harsher now. Especially since I can’t ignore the current pang of emotion in my chest as my thoughts wander to my own predicament, knowing her grief all too well.

Maybe I really am an arse.

I frown at my feet, which rest against the scuffed wood floor beneath my stool. “It was a much better reason than silly curiosity,” I tell her. “I might have been a bit more accommodating had you said.”

“Somehow I doubt that,” she snorts.

Rory slides two pints across the bar. “She’s got your number, Lach.” He also shoots her a wink. “He’s not so bad. Deep down.” He eyes me briefly. “Deep,deepdown.”

This elicits a giggle from Key, and the sound of it sets off another sharp sensation in my chest. The fuck is that about?

“If it’s Nessie you’re after,” Blair says seriously, “I’d suggest you make a trip to Loch Land. It’s just a few miles down the road from here.”

My brows furrow, wondering what Blair is on about. Surely she knows—

“Loch Land?” Key asks.

“Oh, aye,” Blair tells her. “It’s the best place for information on Nessie. It’s a museum of sorts.”

“Really?” Keyanna looks intrigued, and I almost want to tell her the truth. Almost. “And you said it’s not far?”

“Not at all,” Blair assures her. “I can even get you a map. They left some of those tourist leaflets at some point. I’m sure they’re around here somewhere…”

“Has this place been around for a while? Do you think my dad went?”

“Oh, definitely,” Rory joins in, apparently getting in on Blair’s fun. “At some point, I’m sure. We’ve all been.”

Key beams at the pair of them. “That would be great. I’d like to see all the places he might have seen when he lived here.”

Fucking hell. Now I really do feel like an arse. I peek over at Roryand Blair, but they show no signs of revealing their little game, and I know doing so myself would give Keyanna the impression that we might be friends of some sort, and that’s absolutely not on the table for us. Not when she’s a MacKay. It’s hard enough playing nice with Rhona as it is.

So I keep silent, telling myself itdoesn’tmake me an arsehole. I’m not the one taking the piss with her.

“Here we are,” Blair calls, riffling out a leaflet from beneath the bar and slapping it in front of Key. “This will get you there.”

The leaflet is pretty innocuous—just a picture of the very misleading front of the building with a small map below it, and I once again have to force myself not to say anything. Let the lass chase her own tail for a day. It’ll keep her out of my hair.