HighlandHeat

An Ellora’s Cave Romantica
Publication

www.ellorascave.com

Highland Heat

ISBN 9781419919602

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Highland Heat Copyright © 2009 Tilly Greene

Edited by Briana St. James.

Photography and cover art by Les Byerley.

Electronic book Publication January 2009

The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of
Ellora’s Cave Publishing.

With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not
be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written
permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home
Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502.

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This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons,
living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The
characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

Dedication

For the cutie.

While you were away, this kitty worked without Red Vines and
missed you.

Trademarks Acknowledgement

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark
owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

Red Vines: American Licorice Company

The Highlands, Scotland

Perfect!

It was the most romantic night of the year and she, dressed
in her best, sat all alone in a car that had conked out on a deserted road.
Casting her gaze around her surroundings, she looked for where the rabid beast
from
Hound of the Baskervilles
would jump out and land on the hood of
her little car, snarling as it attacked.

Why not?

A night which had started out so well had turned distinctly
sour. To make matters worse, it looked like her imagination had hijacked her
mind and left her with childish fears.

Shaking her head, she took a deep breath and pushed the
unrealistic fears away.

Catriona Buchanan looked out the windscreen and couldn’t see
anything of substance to help regain her sanity. It was pitch black outside,
with thick mist clinging to everything, making it look eerie. Of course, it was
freezing cold inside the car so there was no doubt it was absolutely frigid
outside. As if to prove her point, a brisk wind knocked against the vehicle,
causing it to shudder on its unsubstantial wheels. She gasped as the miserable
dampness pushed inside and further into her bones.

Great, she breathed out with frustration and watched the
puff of white air confirm her conclusion that it was cold inside this metal
box. Darn it, she hated being cold.

Despite being disappointed with how tonight had turned out,
she was very happy with her man and couldn’t wait to marry him.

Irving Cunningham was the man she loved with all her heart.
He was her future and, unfortunately, he didn’t always understand her,
specially now with her hormones raging out of control. She was pregnant with
their first child and neither one of them had anticipated the roller-coaster
ride her emotions were taking.

Pulling her heavy coat closer, she crossed her arms over her
swollen belly and thrust each hand into the opposing sleeve. In a moment of
weakness, her mind went back to bouncing back and forth between being upset
with Irving for staying behind and cursing her own stubbornness for leaving
without him.

She couldn’t stop the heavy sigh as it escaped. To help calm
herself down, she talked with her baby.

“Okay little man, you have the Y chromosome, how could your
papa not have his priorities in order? Everyone knows this is an evening for
lovers, chocolate and romance, not the guys, beer and rugby. When you’re older,
I’ll remind you of this fact, often. I’ll make sure you know the right way to
treat a lady.”

Cat smiled as he moved around, maybe he was actually
listening to her.

“Don’t get me wrong, your father is a good man, although
maybe a little afraid of you. I can’t say anything bad about that because I am
as well. Who wouldn’t be scared? We want to do everything right for you.”

The baby had been a surprise for them both, but they’d taken
it in stride. Their wedding had been organized for over a year now and would
take place this coming June. The only difference from their original plan was
that there’d be a new bundle in their arms rather than a twinkle in their eyes.

Smoothing hands over her belly, she thought about the little
man in her belly who brought her nothing but joy. Despite all the changes going
on with her body, she couldn’t wait for him to make an appearance so she could
get to know him. To watch him grow up into a happy and healthy young man was
what she looked forward to. She couldn’t wait to see his face and kiss his tiny
little feet. The latter she’d have to do in a bid to make up for all the
horrible thoughts that rushed through her head whenever he kicked her awake or
had her dashing for the restroom. Maybe his being an active baby meant he was
going to be a football player. A star for the Rangers would be great.

A sob bubbled out and surprised her. She covered her mouth
with a hand to not let any more out.

Now come on, Cat, pull yourself together and get on with
it. Are you a woman or a mouse? All you have to do is step out of this car and
walk home. It’s not as if you’ve never done it before.
She wasn’t sure the
pep talk was working or helping her move, although it was encouraging her
gumption to make a comeback.

Okay, you’ve never made the walk in the dark, alone and
six months pregnant, but it isn’t far. All you have to do is make it through
the forest, over a few fields, across a handful of backyards and you’re home.
No problem!

She wiped the window again and looked out the car window at
her surroundings. Mist filled in empty space between towering trees. The sight
was intimidating, overwhelming and highlighted her lack of courage.
Intellectually, she knew once she made it through the trees and out in the
open, everything would be fine. All she had to do was keep reminding herself of
that fact and she’d be home in an—
oh, dear
.

In the end, a swift tiny kick to her bladder made the
decision for her. The little one had made ignoring her needs impossible.

After taking a deep breath, she pulled the keys from the
ignition and checked in her bag for tissues. With a couple of white paper
squares clutched in her hand, she opened the door before she could change her
mind. Stepping out of the car, Catriona stood still for a long minute,
clutching her purse to her belly. Another nudge from her baby and she raced the
short distance to the one tree she’d been eyeing earlier and made use of
nature’s emergency facilities.

Once she’d finished and nothing horrible had occurred, it
became easier to accept that the walk home wouldn’t be as bad as she thought it
would be. Locking the car, Cat moved in the direction of their cottage, or at
least where she thought it was.

There was one positive in all this mess, at least it wasn’t
raining. If it had been, there was no doubt it would be the final straw to mark
this down as the worst day of her life. Of course she was exaggerating and
she’d happily place the blame for that on hormones. Although in her defense,
there wasn’t a soul alive who would argue the point with her.

Okay, enough delaying, it was time to make her way home.

Cat looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was
following her before picking her way through the trees. The idea was so
ridiculous it managed to lighten her mood a bit. No one was going to be out
here tonight. They were all tucked up in nice warm homes, safely snuggling with
their lovers. Besides, it was so dark and thick with fog out here she wouldn’t
be able to see them if they were right in front of her. While still looking
behind her, she tripped and suddenly everything changed.

Landing hard on her hands and knees, she screamed out of
fear and desperation. All the terror and frustration she felt was right there in
the loud cry. Her heart raced, pounding wildly in her chest while her throat
burned with fright. Crouched on the ground, trembling, she waited for the
horror of being attacked to begin.

Breathing heavily, it took a long minute to realize no one
had launched themselves on her or tried to hurt her baby. Without any help from
another, she’d tripped and fallen. Apparently she was able to create her own
frenzy without any help.

She sat back on her feet and stroked her shaking hands over
her belly while trying to calm them both down. “It’s all right, little guy.
Your mum is scaring herself for no good reason. Everything out here is just
fine. We’ll be home and tucked up in bed in no time.”

Off balance because of the baby, she made an awkward ascent
to her feet and then looked around for her bag. It was an impossible task. When
she was ready to give up and leave without it, she stepped on it.
Unfortunately, its contents had spilled all over. Except for her wallet, there
was nothing of importance in it.

Ungracefully, she went back to her knees and crawled around,
patting her hands until she found it a short distance away. Picking up the
small clutch, she put it in her coat pocket and stood back up. Next she patted
her other pocket to make sure her keys hadn’t fallen as well. There was no way
she was going to make the long hike only to reach home and not be able to get
in the front door.

Pulling herself together, Catriona started walking again,
slowly and with more care this time since she couldn’t see exactly where her
feet would land.

An eternity seemed to pass before she came upon an old stone
wall. Wrapping her coat more closely about her, she took a second to cast her
mind back to the last time she’d rambled this way with Irving. She needed to
try to remember where the road met the wall in relation to the stairs she had
to climb over. She didn’t think they were too far from where she stood and
started to walk further up the hill.

The last time they’d walked the fields, she remembered
Irving saying something about always keeping the trees on the right and there
wouldn’t be a problem getting back to their village.

Instead of stairs, she came across a break in the stones and
started to carefully work her and her belly’s way through the opening. While
she was wiggling through, a tree branch snagged her knit hat and whipped it
from her head. Gasping with surprise, she turned and looked at her dangling
chapeau while clutching her bare blonde curls. Chilled air nipped at her head
as she tried to keep the shivers from rattling uncontrollably through her body.

There were two fields to cross, a few small yards and she’d
be home free. If she kept reminding herself of this, then she could keep moving
forward. The tree could have the beloved hat her mum had made for her. Irving
would come for it tomorrow. Since the car was his to maintain, she figured he
owed her big-time for tonight’s debacle.

She walked straight across the field while keeping the tree
line to her right. Here the moon shone brightly and made it so she could distinguish
the land layout more easily. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to see because of
the thick fog clinging to the damp grass. None of this mattered as she now felt
more confident with making it home.

The worst part of this walk was how quickly her feet were
becoming cold. Obviously she hadn’t worn the right shoes for tramping through
wet fields when she’d dressed for a romantic dinner with her fiancé. A foot rub
from Irving wouldn’t be too much to ask for tomorrow.

In the distance, she could hear bleating and a small smile
started to bloom. The MacGregor family currently had their flock on the north
field. This was a good sign. Being on their field meant she was taking the
right path home.

The hard ground beneath her feet was frozen solid. Large
clumps of turf littered the surface and made it difficult to walk on. Despite
the mist clinging to the ground, she wasn’t as afraid out here as she’d been in
the forest.

A few steps later, she stumbled on a large clump of turf and
slowed her pace. Nothing was going to hurt their little treasure resting
comfortably in her belly, especially not a stupid evening jaunt across a frozen
field.

After a few more minutes of trekking, she stopped. The trees
were still to her right, but something was wrong. If she had the land plotted
out correctly in her mind, then she should’ve come across the wall separating
the MacGregor and Willis spreads. With the chill seeping further into her
bones, she resumed walking, but with a little less assurance that she was
heading in the right direction. When next she placed her foot on the uneven
ground, she encountered a large rock and she tripped, falling hard to the
ground.

Catriona’s frustration grew. Tears gathered in her eyes and
started slipping down her cheeks as she knelt on the frozen earth.

Stroking her belly calmed her down, so she did that and
searched for strength to get back up by talking to her baby.

“I’ll get us through this, little man, don’t worry. I’m so
very tired, but we’ll get home and warm in no time at all. This walk is harder
than I thought it was going to be. I knew it would be scary, just not so hard.
It may not be as bad as the woods were, but I can’t see much of the ground. I
hope you’re nice and warm in there. It’s cold out here and while I can’t see
them, I can definitely hear the flock bleating. For some reason they don’t
sound happy to share the field with me tonight. Can sheep sound happy?”

Once she spilled her fears for God and everyone to hear, she
worked to calm herself. Focusing on taking a few solid breaths helped ease her
heartbeat. Realizing her legs were stiffening, she decided it would be best to
get moving or it was going to be even more difficult to continue.

Eventually she calmed down enough to go on. With her hands
on the ground, she braced herself to get up. It wasn’t an easy move to make
these days, but she couldn’t crawl home either.

Suddenly, the chaotic bleating grew louder and the ground
started to tremble beneath her hands. Bent in half as she was, Cat felt
vulnerable and used all her strength to push herself upright. Before she had
her feet solidly planted beneath her, she was unexpectedly rammed from behind
and sent sprawling across the frozen turf.

Startled and terrified, she screamed. Something stomped over
her body. The pain was unbearable. There was more than one thing attacking her.
To her, it felt like hundreds of animals were running over her body, digging
their sharp hooves into her flesh. Oh no, they weren’t stampeding in general,
they were after
her
.

Only one thought stayed in her mind during this horrific
time. At all costs, she had to protect her baby.

With a great deal of effort, she braced herself on her
knees, curled up into as tight a ball as she could. Wrapping her arms
protectively around her belly, Cat exposed her back to their vicious attack,
all while trying to speak with her baby.

“It’ll be okay, little man, you’ll be fine.”

Suddenly, sharp horns stabbed her and she screamed as if her
and her baby’s life depended upon it, because she realized it did. Lying there
while being attacked, she held on to the hope that someone would hear her and
come running to rescue them.