Part 31 (1/2)

”Then why did I see you heading down the promenade only to swing back and run for the road?” Kieran lifted a brow. ”You then turned again and sprinted onto the beach.”

”So?” Jil y tried to look as if she did such things every day. ”I wanted some exercise. I've gained weight on this trip.”

The Scot's lips twitched.

She flushed. Actual y she'd lost a few pounds. Traipsing up and down the super-steep Royal Mile in Edinburgh had surely zapped at least two and al the castles and cliff-top ruins she'd explored had taken care of the rest. She'd never been in better shape.

Something about the way Kieran was looking at her told her that he thought so, too. In fact, if he wasn't the world's greatest actor, his expression indicated he found her attractive, maybe even beautiful.

Jil y glanced at the loch, needing to break eye contact with him.

Add knowing how to look at a woman and make her feel special to a Scot's a.r.s.enal of tricks.

She took a deep breath and determined to remain unaffected.

”I think you saw me on the pier and got cold feet.” He reached down to stroke Haggis's ears. ”You were running back to the inn and-”

”Are you always so concerned with what strangers do?”

She swiped at her hair. ”And I wasn't-”

”I find myself concerned when that stranger is you.” His voice went a shade deeper. ”I'd like to know your name.”

”It's Jil y.” She glared at him, ignoring the way he made her pulse leap. ”Jil y Pepper. And I wasn't running from you.

I-I saw a ghost-two ghosts, an old man and a dog. I was trying to get away from them.”

If she'd hoped to shock him, she'd failed.

Far from backing away and leaving her alone, he stepped closer. ”Ah, wel , Jil y la.s.s, then I real y would urge you to join Haggis and I. Last time I checked, there weren't any ghosts on the Salty Seal.”

”You don't think I'm crazy?” She looked at him as if she wished he thought just that.

Kieran bit back a chuckle. ”It'd be a rare Scotsman who'd doubt you saw something odd. We're born knowing there's more in this world than can be readily explained.

Now”-he decided to take a chance and grip her elbow, gently-”if you're stil hedging about letting me show you the loch, then, aye, I might think that's crazy.”

”I was expecting a boat tour.” Her gaze went past the pier and boathouse to where the Salty Seal bobbed in the water, bright, innocent, and notably empty. ”A crowd of sightseers, not just you, me, and Haggis.”

Kieran felt a twinge of guilt.

It pa.s.sed with lightning speed.

Across the loch, late afternoon sun edged the clouds and a few slanting rays shone on the mica sand that fringed one of the smal wooded isles where he hoped to take her for a picnic. He smiled, the Gael in him seeing the turn in the weather as a good portent for him and the American tourist who, for reasons he couldn't explain, struck him as so much more.

The way Haggis had taken to her spoke volumes. He ran circles around them as they approached the pier. Looking and acting younger than his nine years, he held his tail high and his eyes sparkled with excitement.

But if Kieran wished to read anything deeper in his dog's attachment to the girl or even in her apparent agreement to go out on the loch with them, his hopes plummeted when they pa.s.sed the boathouse and neared the Salty Seal's mooring.

She stopped short, pul ing her arm from his grasp. ”I saw a poster on the boathouse. It had your tour times and four o'clock was one of them. So”-she eyed the boat suspiciously-”where is everybody?”

Haggis sat down and watched him.

Jil y folded her arms, the look on her face proving her to be more persistent than he would have believed.

”I cancel ed the afternoon tour,” Kieran admitted, opting for honesty. ”Remember I told you there was a story behind my boat's name?” He smiled, hoping to catch her interest.

”The boat is named after Salty the seal. He swam into the loch after losing his way in River Leven. He's been here ever since and is quite a character.”

”A seal in Loch Lomond?” She blinked.

Kieran nodded. ”He's a fine gray seal with an appet.i.te for fish as great as Haggis's for haggis. The local fishermen tried to catch him and return him to the sea, but Salty eluded them. Final y some of us pitched in and bought Salty a fis.h.i.+ng license. Just”-he winked-”to make certain that no one got any funny ideas.”

She smiled then, the sight warming Kieran to his toes.

He grinned back at her, feeling ridiculously elated. What was it about her that made him so determined to win her heart? And, he realized with a shock, that's exactly what he was hoping to do.

”That stil doesn't tel me why you cancel ed your afternoon tour.”

The statement proved he wasn't succeeding.

Kieran did his best not to frown. ”Salty was spotted on my earlier tour, the one that went out right after Haggis ate your lunch,” he said, going for a half-truth this time.

He had seen the seal, but he'd cancel ed the later tour because he wanted to be alone with her.

”I thought,” he began, starting to untie the Salty Seal's lines, ”our chances of seeing him would be greater without a crowd.”

”I see.”

Kieran risked a glance at her as Haggis leapt into the boat. She'd lifted a hand to her brow and was scanning the loch, clearly keen to catch a glimpse of Salty.

Knowing it was now or never, Kieran jumped into the boat and turned to reach for her, hoping she'd accept his outstretched hands.

When she did, his heart soared. ”If we leave now, we might find him on the far side of the loch.” He lifted her on board, scarce believing his luck. ”He was basking on a rock near the island I'd like to show you.”

He indicated a wicker hamper under one of the thwarts.

”We can have a picnic there. It's my way of making up for Haggis ruining your lunch.”

”And Haggis?” She pul ed the crumpled note from her pocket and waved it. ”Wil he final y get to eat his haggis?”

”Och! I'm thinking he'l be too ful .” Kieran laughed and nudged an empty dish with his foot. ”He got into the haggis supply before I even-”

He broke off, remembering what he'd written. Equal y d.a.m.ning, the picnic hamper was tightly secured with leather straps. Haggis's haggis dish sat in plain sight, the smeared remains of his favorite treat irrefutable evidence that he hadn't been denied a thing.

Haggis barked, sounding amused.