The Nurse's Christmas Temptation / A Mistletoe Kiss For The Single Dad. Ann McIntosh
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they were going more uphill than down—a supposition that was proved as they went around a rise and she looked back to see the farmhouse below them. Ahead in the distance was a stone building, and even farther away what looked like a jumble of boulders all piled up together.
At the sound of the UTV, the alpacas came moseying out, and Harmony couldn’t stop her little squeak of pleasure on seeing their cute, curious faces. Cam brought the vehicle to a halt and Harmony got out for a closer look.
The alpacas kept their distance, with the one in the front eyeing her suspiciously. As she got closer to the fence it huffed, and she stopped.
Cam came up beside her and pointed. “That’s Sandro—the male. He’s pretty protective of his flock. Not much of a spitter, according to Gav, but I wouldn’t chance going much closer when his ears are flat like that.”
“I was hoping to pet one,” Harmony replied. “They look so soft…”
“Got their winter coats on,” he replied, and she saw him looking at her out of the corner of her eye. “You really like animals, don’t you?”
“I do. Gran had a little scruffy dog for years, and he and I were best buds. She didn’t want to get another after Hobo died, and I was so busy I didn’t think I’d have enough time to care for an animal myself, but recently I’ve really been thinking about getting a pet soon.” It was her turn to look at him, now, wanting to see what his expression told her as she asked, “Don’t you like animals?”
“Love them,” he said, which came as no surprise to her, really. He seemed the type.
“So how come you don’t have a dog or three?”
Cam shook his head. “Maybe one day I will, but right now a pet would tie me down too much. Every time I want to go away I’d have to find someone to look after it.”
Unable to decide whether that was a smart or a selfish way to be, Harmony made no comment. Instead she made soft, hopefully enticing sounds to the alpacas, trying to coax them closer, but they weren’t interested and, after a short time, they turned and started back toward the building.
“That was where Gavin’s parents lived,” Cam said. “He and his four siblings were born and grew up in that crofter’s cottage. Gav built the farmhouse for himself and Hillary when they married, and after his parents had passed away, and none of the children wanted to come back here to live, he converted it into a supplementary barn.”
“Wow. Seven people in that little building? Must have been cramped,” he said as they were heading back to the vehicle.
“I think they were used to it,” he said, as they got back in. “And they spent enough time outdoors to make it doable. They all had to help on the farm when they weren’t at school, and with sheep—which is all Gav’s father had back then—there’s always something needs doing.”
Further conversation was curtailed by the racket of the motor starting up. Then they were off again, heading for the up-thrust of boulders, which she discovered was far larger and higher than she’d first thought.
Cam left the path and bumped across the field, straight for it. Harmony was hanging on, wanting to tell him to slow down but finding the words caught in her throat. He finally slowed, then stopped within a couple of yards of the rocks. When he turned off the vehicle the sudden silence rang in her ears.
There was a wild, stark beauty to the landscape: gray rocks interspersed with autumn-colored ground cover and a few bare-limbed trees. In the sky a raptor of some type circled, and the whisper of the wind was the only sound. When Cam spoke it was in a low tone, as though he didn’t want to break the spell of quietude.
“Come on. Let me show you the best view in all Eilean Rurie.”
They got out, and Harmony followed Cam to the boulders. But when he started to climb she hung back, shaking her head.
“I’m not going up there,” she said, trying not to show her instinctive fear. “I don’t know how to climb.”
Looking back at her, he said, “This isn’t climbing, really. Just a little scramble. It’s perfectly safe, and if you’re not feeling confident go ahead of me and I’ll guide you.”
Oh, how she regretted not wearing the Wellington boots, which would have given her a solid reason not even to attempt the climb. But she’d worn her trainers instead, and with Cam’s eager expression and outstretched hand she was completely torn.
Anything to do with climbing—even what he called a scramble up some boulders—filled her with terror.
“Scared?” he asked, his eyebrows going up. “Are you afraid of heights?”
Was there a condescending note in his question? Whether there was or wasn’t, it got Harmony’s dander up and she lifted her chin.
“No, I’m not,” she said, gathering her courage and stepping up on the first rock. “Lead the way.”
Cam climbed with the ease of familiarity, but made sure to look back often and make sure Harmony wasn’t having any difficulties.
They didn’t talk, except when he warned her of a longer step, or a spot where there was a crack to watch out for. She was obviously inexperienced, hesitating in places, searching for a good hand or foothold in areas where, to him, it was obvious. But he had to admit she was game, and she grew even higher in his estimation.
He’d been sure she’d refuse to go to the top of Ada Tor. In fact, he would swear she’d been petrified when he’d suggested it. Yet here she was, more than halfway to the top, soldiering on. Hard not to admire her grit.
When he got to the top he reached back to help her up the last little bit, but she ignored his hand and scrambled up by herself. As she stood beside him, dusting her hands off on her jeans, he watched her look around, and he saw the dawning pleasure on her face at the vista laid out before her.
The land fell away in dips and swirls, the contours and colors reminding him of a Van Gogh painting, and in the distance lay the sea, a smooth blue expanse so far away. Just visible to the southeast were the roofs of the town, and to the west the little crescent of buildings making up the fishing village. Sheep and a few horses dotted the fields, but it was the quality of the air and the perfect height of the sun that really brought out the island’s splendor.
“How lovely…” she breathed, turning to look back toward where the mainland was just a smudge on the horizon above the trees along the northern coast.
“I told you it was the best view,” he said, and found himself taking in the familiar sight and appreciating it even more than usual. Something in her awestruck expression made him see it through fresh eyes.
“Is this rock formation natural?” she asked, still turning slowly to see everything all over again.
“I think it is,” he replied. “Although there isn’t another like it on the island. Legend has it that there’s a Celtic princess buried under it, but I don’t think it’s true.”
“Hence the name Ada Tor?”
“Yes.”
He sat down on a handy rock, still gazing out. After a moment she joined him, and he shuffled over to give her more room. Her fresh, sweet scent wafted over him and stirred something deep inside.
In the distance a truck rumbled along the road, and she pointed to it briefly. “I can’t get used to seeing so many vehicles here all of a sudden. It’s surprising after hardly seeing any at all.”
“They’re probably delivering Christmas trees to Angus’s farm. He always gets his early because he has so much work to do. The rest will come later in the week.”
Harmony sighed quietly, and he somehow knew she was thinking of her family and all she’d miss this year.
“Will