Love in the Scottish Fall Forest, Ebook

Gennie rolled down the window of her rental car. The crisp Scottish fall air rushed in and ruffled her hair. A smile spread across her face. She’d done it. She’d finally escaped the choking smog of L.A. and all the toxic drama.

Scotland. Hell, yeah!

The land of lochs and glens and sexy accents. She couldn’t wait to see what adventures awaited her.
The landscape blurred by in a kaleidoscope of gold and red as the sun set, gently rolling hills in the background. The colours were so vivid, they hardly seemed real. It was like driving through a postcard. On the wrong side, true, but her job made her an excellent driver. She zipped along the tree-lined road as the engine purred beneath her like a fat, contented cat.

Ugh, why did Daniel’s face have to pop up in her brain right now? This was a glorious, peaceful moment. Fuck him. He didn’t want her, not really. Not all of her, at least not all the time. Whatever. She was ready to move on and stop wondering what was going on in his twisted head. She really wanted to be ready.

Gennie cranked up the radio until the bass pulsed in her bones. Kelly Clarkson’s Since U Been Gone blared from the speaker. She belted along, croaky and off-key, but who cared?

The road led her deeper into the heart of Perthshire. After another hour, Gennie drew closer to her destination – Glenwood Estate. Maybe ten minutes to go. The taste of a fresh start danced on her tongue.

Suddenly, the GPS screen flickered out like a snuffed candle.

‘Shit.’ Gennie slapped the useless piece of plastic and took her foot off the accelerator a little. She squinted at the road signs, but they might as well have been written in Klingon for all the sense they made. Blairgowrie? Pitlochry? Blairdrochaid?

A moment later, she stopped in a passing cove and tried her cell, but there was no reception. Nada. Zip. Zilch. That was the thing about remote places. Sure, the edge of the earth might be easy on the eyes – but good luck finding so much as a decent cell signal, let alone any actual signs of life beyond a couple cows and flocks of sheep. Luckily, there was only one road ahead. So she couldn’t go too wrong, just too far. Still – this far north, it got dark early in fall. As a hint of panic seized her throat, the neon signs of a gas station materialised in the distance like a beacon of hope.

After five minutes, Gennie swerved into the parking area, grit spraying under her tyres. She hopped out and closed the door behind her with a thud. The air smelled of gasoline and impending rain, but she hardly noticed.

Because…whoa, momma.

The second Gennie saw the lone man at the pumps in the dusk, filling up a Land Rover that had seen better days, every other thought evaporated from her brain.
This guy was something else.

Tall and broad-shouldered, with a shock of tawny hair that fell across his forehead in a sweep. Even from a distance, she sensed the coiled strength in his solid frame. This dude oozed enough wild, dark magnetism to short-circuit the grid.

Maybe that’s why my GPS gave up.

Gennie’s mouth went dry as she drank him in. He had the look of a disgruntled former RL model, who now spent his days rage-chopping wood and wrangling sheep – by choice. When their eyes met from across the lot for a second, an electric charge zinged straight to her core.
He seemed to be the only one around, apart from the cashier. So why not ask him for directions? A little bit of thrill had never stopped her before. Quite the opposite, actually.

Gennie walked over slowly, and her heart did a funny little flip in her chest. ‘Hi.’

He froze. His whole body radiated tension and defence, as if he was ready to jump into his car and speed off.
‘What do you want?’ His voice was gruff, yet his Scottish brogue slid over her skin like a coarse caress.

‘Sorry to bother you, but I’m kind of lost and my GPS has given up the ghost. Cell doesn’t work, either. Can you help me out?’

He turned around and the second he faced her with that wary expression, Gennie’s insides wrapped up tighter than a twisted pretzel. His eyes were striking, stormy blue. The kind of eyes that could pin a girl down on her back with one look.

He took a few seconds to answer her question, and part of the tension seemed to slide off his shoulders – like a chunk of ice off a glacier. ‘So you’re American. Where are you headed?’

Oh… Please don’t ever stop talking.

‘Yeah, I am. Glenwood Estate. I’m supposed to be staying in one of the camping pods, but I don’t think I can find the place.’ She let out a short laugh. Like a giddy sixteen-year-old.

He studied her with a penetrating stare that measured more than her question. Something flickered in his narrowed eyes, there and gone too quickly for her to decipher.

‘It’s not far from here.’

Relief washed over her and chased away the chill of the evening air. ‘Really? Awesome. I don’t suppose you can give me directions? I can repay you in bad jokes.’
He hesitated, his jaw working beneath the dusting that shadowed his chin. His gaze never left hers and bored into her eyes. It made her feel out of her depth, and that rarely ever happened.

Wow, this guy’s really got some stare.

Gennie held her breath and half-hoped she’d never exhale again if it meant basking in that electric undercurrent for a second longer. She suddenly wanted him to say yes. Because there was something about that tall, grouchy Scottish man-mountain that made her synapses sizzle.

‘Tell one’, he said at last.

‘Tell what?’

‘A bad joke. If it’s bad enough, I’ll take you to Glenwood myself.’

Gennie blinked, convinced she’d heard wrong. ‘You don’t have to do that. I’m sure you’ve got better things planned than to escort some stupid, lost American around Perthshire.’

‘Nope.’ He crossed his muscular arms over his chest. No sign of a smirk or a wink, he was dead serious. ‘The joke?’

She gulped and felt like a schoolgirl with a crush on the hot new teacher. ‘Okay, so… Why don’t skeletons fight each other?’

He arched a quizzical eyebrow.

‘Because they don’t have the guts.’

She noticed the subtle movement at the corner of his mouth and ached to see those firm lips curl into a full, panty-melting grin.

‘That was terrible. I’ll take you there. Just follow my car.’