This place had to be experienced to understand its magic.
The large grandfather clock in the corner of the restaurant at the Gloaming read 7:20.
Mac was twenty minutes late.
I was angry.
Worse, I felt hurt and humiliated.
I’d spent hours getting ready for our dinner, trying on every piece of clothing I’d brought because nothing seemed like the right outfit for my first adult conversation with my father.
I’d even ignored a call from my mom because I knew she’d just repeat what a bad idea she thought this was.
And apparently, she’d have been right.
Heat burned my cheeks as I stared at the empty place settings of our table tucked at the back of the restaurant. I’d asked Gordon for a table that provided some privacy.
Furious tears pricked my eyes as I avoided looking at the other diners.
I cursed the effort I’d gone to for a man who’d forgotten to show up.
For once, my thick hair wasn’t pulled back in a casual ponytail, but I’d blown it out and left it down. And I was wearing heels with my cigarette pants and a green silk shirt that I’d bought for the trip. I repeat: I was in high heels.
Mac was such a bastard.
Watching the clock as it crept toward the half-hour mark, I pushed back from the table and stood to leave, but just then, a concerned, pale-faced blond burst into the restaurant. Something about her contained panic made me freeze as she scanned the room.
Our eyes met.
Recognition lit hers, and I tensed in surprise as she hurried toward me.
As she grew closer, I recognized her from my research.
Arrochar Adair. The only female sibling and the youngest of the Adairs.
What on earth?
“Robyn?” Arrochar asked, sounding out of breath as she stopped at my table.
She’d drawn the attention of the other diners.
Despite the messy ponytail, the oversized sweater, worn-out skinny jeans, and hiking boots, Arrochar had an ethereal quality. Her irises were a paler shade of blue than Lachlan’s, almost icy, and the anxiety and fear within them transferred to me.
“Yes?”
She released a shaky exhale as tears brightened her eyes. “I’m Arrochar Adair.” She didn’t pronounce her name like I’d expected—it was pronounced Arro-car. “Something has happened to Mac. He’s been rushed to the hospital. I’ll explain on the way.”
Horror flooded me, but my inner cop moved into action. I grabbed my purse off the table and hurried after Arrochar.
“Ms. Penhaligon?” Gordon called out as I passed.
“I’ll explain later. I have to go.”
A green Land Rover Defender sat parked on the yellow lines outside the Gloaming. Arrochar jumped into the driver’s side, and I rounded the hood and hopped in beside her.
“Talk to me,” I demanded as she tore down Castle Street.
Arrochar’s hands tightened around the wheel, her distress so palpable, it felt like a weight on my chest. “Someone attacked Mac. A neighbor witnessed the attack and chased off the perpetrator. It all happened on Mac’s front door. He’s been stabbed. They think multiple times.” Her voice broke.
My mind reeled. “What?”
“There’s stuff going on here you don’t know about, Robyn.” Her fearful gaze met mine for a second before she turned back to the road. “Someone means to harm Lachlan, and it looks like they’ve decided to ramp things up by taking out his former bodyguard.” Silent tears rolled down her cheeks. “Oh God, Mac,” she whispered. “I don’t know what … no … he has to be okay. He has to be okay.”
That’s when realization dawned.
My father had just been brutally attacked.
I might lose him before I even got the chance to know him.
“How far is the hospital?”
Arrochar wiped hastily at her tears. “They airlifted him to Inverness.”
“Inverness? Isn’t that pretty far?”
“About an hour by car.”
Shit.
“How fast can this thing go?”
In answer, Arrochar put her foot down on the accelerator.
5
Lachlan
The waiting room chair bit into his back.
It wasn’t the first time Lachlan sat in one and questioned why they made hospital waiting room chairs so bloody uncomfortable. Was it to keep you alert so you’d be ready for when the doctor came to give you the best or worst news of your life?
His nerve endings frayed. Launching out of the chair, needing to move, he ignored his brother Thane’s concerned look.
“He’ll be all right, Lachlan,” Thane assured. “This is Mac we’re talking about. It’s not even the first time he’s been stabbed.”
“But that was a bar brawl. This … was a premeditated attack.” Christ, how long had they been here? It felt like ages. That couldn’t be a good sign.
“Lachlan!”
He spun around to see Arrochar racing across the waiting room toward him. The fear on her face only made his worse. But he hid it and braced himself as she threw herself against him. Wrapping his arms tight around his sister, Lachlan whispered there was no word yet but everything would be okay.
As he said those reassuring words to her, his gaze remained locked on the person Arrochar had insisted on retrieving.
Mac’s daughter.
Robyn looked different as she approached. He didn’t know if it was the strained concern on her face that surprised him or how much the simple act of wearing her hair down transformed her.
Both.
Robyn drew to a stop before him.
Lachlan hadn’t noticed how big her eyes were. Not round. They were large and oval. Unusual. Lashes that went on for miles. There was no way to discern her exact eye color, only that the cool steel in them yesterday had disappeared.
Robyn Penhaligon was worried about Mac.
“No word,” he repeated to her as Arrochar pulled her head out of his chest. He didn’t release her because she trembled.
They all loved Mac.
It was hard to picture him as a father to Robyn who looked her twenty-eight years, but seemed older. Mac was just a kid himself when he’d fathered her.
“Do you think they’ll release more information to a family member?” Robyn asked.
“Perhaps,” Thane answered, moving to Lachlan’s side. He ran a comforting hand down Arrochar’s arm to let her know he was there. She reached for his hand and held it tight, still holding on to Lachlan too.
Robyn studied Thane, her attention drifting down to where Arrochar held his hand and then to where her head rested on Lachlan’s chest. Some kind of realization crossed her expression, and her jaw clenched as she looked away.
“I’m Thane Adair,” his brother introduced himself. “You must be Robyn.”
She nodded. “Hey.”
“Mac told us you were here. I’m sorry we’re meeting under such terrible circumstances.”
“Me too,” she murmured absently. “I’m just gonna …” She gestured to the nurses’ station and strode away, her heels clicking against the floor.
“It’s hard to believe Mac is old enough to have a daughter Arrochar’s age.”