Highlands Homecoming (A Highlands Christmas Romance #3)

Chapter 14

C olin drove carefully down the icy driveway. As they approached the main road toward Inverness, the car nearly spun out on the slick surface.

"Are you okay?" Colin asked, his grip tightening on the steering wheel.

Melissa nodded, taking a deep breath as she looked out at the snowy landscape passing by. They stayed silent, Colin clearly worried about his father and Melissa worried for Colin.

Melissa and Colin burst through the doors of the hospital, their hearts racing with worry. They quickly scanned the waiting room until they spotted Lindsay, still dressed in her chef’s gear, sitting with Drew.

"How's your father doing?" Melissa asked as she rushed over to them.

Lindsay shook her head tearfully. "I don't know. They're still running tests."

Melissa hugged her friend tightly, and Colin, ever the lawyer, had questions. "How did the car accident happen? I mean, he took a taxi ... he should've been safe."

Lindsay let out a heavy sigh before explaining what had happened. “Apparently, the taxi driver lost control on the ice and crashed into another vehicle. Both drivers are fine, but Margaret has some glass in her arm, and Da hit his head during the impact. He’s having some memory loss and confusion.”

Melissa felt her heart sink at the news.

"Is there anything we can do?" asked Melissa, who had been standing quietly by Lindsay’s side.

Lindsay shook her head again. “No, but thanks for being here.”

As they waited for more updates on Sandy’s condition, Melissa couldn't help but feel grateful that they were all able to be here together to support Lindsay and Colin. Eventually, after what seemed like hours of waiting, Margaret emerged with a bandage on her arm and shared the good news that Sandy would be okay with some rest and observation time in the hospital.

“Thank you all for coming,” Margaret said. “He’s asleep, but if you want to see him?—”

“We’d better let him rest,” said Colin.

“You all should try to rest, as well,,” said Margaret. “Get some sleep and come back in the morning. I expect they’ll release him then.”

Colin and Lindsay shared a knowing look. Margaret was new in the picture, but everything she said and did suggested that her relationship with Sandy was much more than dog trainer and client.

Lindsay hugged Margaret. “I’m glad you were there for him. I mean, I’m not glad you were there, but?—”

“I know what you meant, lass.” Margaret planted a soft kiss on Lindsay’s forehead.

Melissa watched her friend carefully, worrying it would be too much, but Lindsay softened. She hadn’t had a mother figure in her life for a long time, and it looked like, even though Lindsay was certainly an adult, Margaret might be well suited for the role.

“Shall I drive you back to Greenhill?” asked Colin, stifling a yawn.

“Yes, but you need to promise to get some rest,” said Melissa.

Colin sighed but nodded his head. “Aye, I’m pure done in.”

As they drove back in the early morning light, Melissa began to realize this was the new normal.

“Colin!”

“What?!” said Colin, scanning the road for ice or sheep. Seeing nothing, he turned to Melissa. “What?” he repeated.

“It’s just dawning on me. This isn’t goodbye. You don’t have to go back to the States. We both live here now!”

“Aye … Though technically I don’t live anywhere at the moment. I was certain the croft would be a fine place to set up camp until I got myself sorted, but it looks like Da and Margaret may be … nesting?”

“I think that’s a pretty safe guess. Do you like her? Did you know her before?”

“No, I didn’t know her, which is unusual in a town this size and with my Da’s reputation for knowing everyone in town. But she seems …” Colin was at a loss for words.

“Pure dead brilliant?” Melissa suggested.

“I think a phrase like that is better suited for someone like yourself,” he replied with a lopsided grin that made Melissa’s heart flutter.

As he turned into the Greenhill House driveway and Melissa opened the car to get out, she turned back to him.

"You look exhausted," she said sympathetically. "Physically and emotionally. You need a place to rest."

"I don't know, Melissa," Colin replied wearily.

"You should come inside," she urged, extending her hand toward him. "I have plenty of space and all the time in the world."

Colin followed her inside, looking forward to catching up on some much-needed sleep.

Five hours later, Colin awoke to sunlight streaming through the window and the smell of bacon wafting up from the kitchen. He threw on some clothes and hurried downstairs to find Melissa flipping pancakes on the stove. She handed him a mug of coffee and soon sat a plate of steaming pancakes, sizzling bacon, and a bottle of Vermont maple syrup on the table in front of him. Colin, taking a big sip of coffee, eyed the syrup and raised an eyebrow in question.

“I wrapped it in bubble wrap and carried it in my checked luggage. That’s one of the few things you don’t seem to have here,” she said.

“We have something similar made from birch trees, or there’s golden syrup … but yeah, the Vermont stuff is the real thing.”

“I suppose you probably could ship it from Canada easily, since it’s part of the commonwealth?” asked Melissa.

“Yeah, probably.” said Colin, biting into the fluffy pancakes and drizzling them with syrup.

Melissa’s phone buzzed. She looked down at it, and Colin watched her expression morph from the relaxed joy into something that looked a lot like fear.

“What is it?”

“I have two texts. The first is Lindsay, saying your dad is home. The second is Dave.”

“What now?”

“He wants to have a showing of the house.”

“We’ve got to put a stop to this. What was the date he put on the bloody divorce documents?”

“February 1st.”

“He thinks he can find a buyer that quickly? Who wants to move in the dead of winter?”

“I don’t have to let them in, do I?”

“No. It’s your house.”

Melissa texted Dave back.

She stared at her phone, waiting for the three dots to appear, indicating he was responding, but all it said was delivered .

“Well, we’ve got time to think this through,” she said, determination in her voice. “February 1st is coming right up. After that, even his lies won’t save him.”

They drove to Colin’s father’s house, where Margaret greeted them with warm hugs, and Sandy waved ruefully from his comfortable chair by the fire.

“You gave us quite a scare,” said Melissa, hugging Sandy.

“Best laid plans, right, Colin?” said Sandy.

“I’m glad you’re okay, Da” said Colin.

Margaret filled bowls with steaming hot potato leek soup and freshly baked bread.

“To your places, with clean hands and faces!” said Sandy.

As Melissa put her phone in her purse, the three dots appeared. Dave’s new text read: They don’t need a tour; that was a courtesy. This is a large corporation who wants to buy the house, and they’re willing to pay top dollar sight unseen.

Margaret watched as Melissa’s face grew ashen. “What’s wrong, dear?”

“Just my ex … but I’d rather not talk about it,” said Melissa, not wanting to ruin the evening.

The soup was warm and comforting, and Melissa tried to focus on that.

That night Melissa tossed and turned. She hated that the happiest time of her life was invaded by fears and worries from someone who had already hurt her so much. She hated that she’d worked so hard to keep this house from Dave, but he never seemed to give up.

Frustrated, she finally slipped out of bed and padded into her study where her computer was set up. Maybe she could finish ordering the designs for the inn.

Checking the MacAlister Inn website, Melissa admired the work that had been done over the past few months to make the inn ready to open. She looked again at the banner featuring opening night, 7-2. She noticed that, once again, her brain immediately translated that as July 2nd. However, in the UK, that was February 7th, right around the corner.

That’s it!, she thought.

She opened her email and found the file with the finalized divorce papers, then quickly scrolled through to the final page. Dave had signed and dated his signature 2-1 . He meant that to read February 1st, but in the UK, Melissa realized that 2-1 meant January 2nd. “We’ve been officially divorced for weeks!” sang Melissa.

With that, Melissa plotted her plan of attack.

Melissa's car was coated in a thin layer of frost as she climbed in. She turned on the heater to defrost the windows, her breath creating little clouds in the cold air. She arrived at Margaret’s now-familiar office just after they opened. In her arms, Melissa carried a variety of pastries, each one decorated with mouth-watering frosting and toppings. The smell of freshly brewed coffee wafted out of the open door as she entered the building, her heels clicking against the hardwood floor. Melissa was filled with an optimism she hadn’t felt in days.

“Good morning, Margaret. I brought breakfast and fantastic news,” said Melissa as she walked through the door of her office.

“That’s just what the doctor ordered,” replied Margaret. She took a lemon scone from the box that Melissa offered her and took a bite. “What is it?”

“I have an easy way to shut down my ex-husband, Dave,” said Melissa triumphantly.

Margaret’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Delicious! On both counts. Fill me in.”

Melissa sat down at the desk and opened her laptop, pulling up an email she had received early that morning from her legal team. As she explained the situation to Margaret, the two women sipped their coffee and laid out their plans.