"Not asleep. I was resting my eyes and my brain."
"Resting your brain means you're asleep." She smacks my arm. "Isn't it about time to land the plane?"
I open my eyes, then stretch and groan. "Aye, it is. And I was about to open my eyes and do that. You worry too much, Ashley."
"Not wanting to die in a plane crash isn't worrying too much."
"Don't you trust me?"
"Yes, of course I do." She focuses on the computer screen again. "Sorry. I shouldn't have pestered you."
"Donnae mind at all ifyoupester me. It's all my cousins who drive me off my head with their meddling." I begin my preparations for landing, but I don't need to contact a control tower this time. Torcall doesn't care if I warn him or not. He'll hear Marilyn coming. "Buckle up your seat belt."
Ashley shuts the laptop and buckles up. Then she grips the computer with both hands while she stares out the windscreen as if she thinks we're about to crash. Well, she's only flown with me twice. I can't blame the lass for feeling uncomfortable. But she seems to worry about a lot of things, not just my ability to fly and drive a car.
"I've never crashed yet," I tell her. "Marilyn and I flew over the Swiss Alps, so I think we can handle the Scottish Highlands."
"Not worried about your pilot skills. It's what we might find when we reach the Grand Canyon that makes me anxious."
I glance at her. "Really? I assumed it was my vigorous driving method you couldn't tolerate."
She shakes her head. "I trust you, Errol. That means I know you won't get me killed, not on purpose. I believe in your skills—as a pilot, a driver, and a treasure hunter."
What can I say? She keeps giving me compliments and proclaiming that she trusts me. I should give her a compliment in return, shouldn't I? But I cannae think of a thing to say.
So I concentrate on landing the plane instead.
We touch down without incident, and Ashley doesn't even hold the laptop in a death grip. As soon as I've shut down the engines, she jumps out of her seat. "Let's get moving. I have an idea about how to find the starting point for the treasure map, but I need to see a topographic map of the Grand Canyon to be sure."
"We can find one of those at Dùndubhan. My cousin Rory's office, which used to be the library, has quite a few maps. Mostly of Scotland, but other places too."
Before Ashley can step around her seat, I sweep her up in my arms and carry her out of the cockpit, through the cargo area, to the doors. She doesn't seem to mind that I like to carry her. I think she might even enjoy it, based on her sweet smile. I need to put her down, though, so I can open one side of the cargo doors and lower the ladder. Then I climb out first. She throws me a sassy smile when I place my hands on her erse—for support, that's all. Aye, it's the gentlemanly thing to do.
Ashley reaches the ground and taps a finger on my nose. "You'll take any excuse to feel me up, won't you?"
"I was only making sure ye didnae fall."
"Uh-huh." As she walks past me, she pauses to grasp my erse. "Mm-mm-mm. Delicious."
Then she sashays toward my car, swiveling her hips in a blatant attempt to get me hard again. Sex in the car? We haven't done that yet. In fact, I've never had a poke in any sort of vehicle, not until Ashley and I had our fun in the DC-3 earlier. I'll never again be able to look at my plane without thinking of Ashley Hartman riding my cock in the pilot's seat.
And aye, the term cockpit now has a completely different connotation.
We say goodbye to Torcall, but as we're climbing into the car, he shouts to us, "Kirsty wants your help, Errol. Give the lass a ring, will you?"
I nod and wave to him. Whatever Kirsty wants, it will have to wait a bit.
Once Ashley and I are in the car, she opens up my laptop again and resumes scrutinizing whatever she thinks she sees on the screen. Since I'd left the computer I normally use for everyday work at home, we brought the one from the plane with us. She excavates a piece of paper from inside her purse and goes about squinting at that too, alternately studying the map and the sheet with words and numbers scrawled on it. I'm driving, so I can't take a good look at what she's doing. I drive more sedately than usual too, since Ashley wants to stare down at her lap instead of gazing out the windscreen. I don't want her to get motion sickness again.
When I try to turn onto a side street to head for home, Ashley insists we should go to Dùndubhan instead. It's only lunchtime, so I agree to her plan. I try to convince her we need to eat something first, but she refuses to do that. "Feed me later," she says. I persist, though, and she eventually agrees to eat first. I do love a bonnie, bossy lass, even if I don't always agree with her ideas. Well, I lovethisbonnie, bossy lass. I'm amazed I got to shag her once, much less twice, considering how obsessed she is with finding the Grand Canyon treasure.
We found clues. We know where to look.
Mhac na galla. We just might find the mythical treasure after all.
Chapter Sixteen
Ashley