I hadn’t seen Taylor’s father yet. Apparently he’d been called away to tend to some business. I wondered if his being gone was a good thing or if it was just delaying the inevitable.
Two rowdy dogs bounced toward me out of the tall grass, startling me. Oh God. What if they bit me? I was new. I was trespassing in their minds.
But instead of growling and barking, they came up to me, wagging their tails, tongues lolling to the side. I giggled as I knelt and petted them both. The biggest one stuck his nose in my face and began licking my cheek. Better than ferociously knocking me back on my ass, I guessed.
“Charlie, stop it now. Get off the poor wee lass.”
A tall, frail-looking man stood at the edge of the grass, a walking stick in one hand.
“Oh, they’re fine. A welcome sight, actually. I was getting kind of lonely.”
“Are you looking for Taylor, then?”
“Am I that obvious?”
“Yes, he’s your husband. You’re in a strange new place. He left you alone. If I were you, I’d be looking for him too.”
“Do you know where he is?”
“Aye.”
“You must be his grandfather.”
“That I am.”
“Am I supposed to bow or something? Aren’t you like royalty?”
“No. And if you call me my laird, I’ll sic one of these dogs on you.”
“Okay, what do I call you?”
“Everyone calls me Mac.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mac.”
He smiled, but there was pain in his eyes. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m only sorry I wasn’t here to greet you when you two arrived yesterday.”
“Taylor said you were seeing your doctor.”
“I was.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Dinnae fash yerself, lass. I’m just fine.” He shook his head. “My grandson must be madly in love to bring you here. We haven’t seen him in so long. I thought he’d never return. Don’t blame me. My son can be a right arsehole.”
“Taylor might have mentioned that.”
“He’s a good boy. No matter what he tries to make it look like in the papers. He’ll be good to you for as long as you’ll have him.”
My heart gave a little flip at that. “So do you know where he is?”
“Oh, I expect he’ll be at the rink.”
“The rink?”
“Aye, as soon as I realized how much he loves skating, I had one built on the property.”
“And you still have it? You still keep it up?”