Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 105748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
McRae was a big guy, an inch or two taller than me, but so broad of shoulder he appeared taller. I supposed he was intimidating with his size and pale gray eyes that seemed to cut right through you. But I’d felt a kinship with him, and for whatever reason, he trusted me when he didn’t trust a soul. I was the only person on Glenvulin, other than Tierney, who knew Ramsay was an ex-operative for MI6.
It was difficult to wrap my head around the fact that one of my best friends was once an agent who’d gathered intelligence for the British Secret Service for fourteen years. He had some very scary enemies, which was why we didn’t share any photographs or footage of our pipe band. And any footage that showed up online “mysteriously” disappeared. Cammie had grown more and more suspicious about it, but Tierney had become good at deflecting the conversation anytime it came up.
Some might say he was being overly cautious, but then most people didn’t know a man from his past and a small group of mercenaries landed on his island last year with the intention of killing him and Tierney. He, and to my shock, Tierney, who was a crack shot, took care of the problem, but it brought it home to me that Ramsay was not being paranoid.
There was a real reason he’d changed his name and moved to the middle of nowhere.
I was more honored than ever knowing he trusted me with the truth.
Ramsay clapped my back as he approached. “Wanted to be here for you.”
“Better you weren’t.” I turned back to watch the ferry move farther away. “It’s embarrassing to watch a grown man cry.”
My friend grunted at my joke. “Cry all you want, mate.”
“It’s totally and utterly shite.”
“I know.” Ramsay crossed his arms over his chest. “But you don’t know what the future holds. One day they might come back forever.”
“Let’s hope so.”
“How were things with Heather?”
“Good. It turns out she’s gay.” I knew I could trust Ramsay with that information, and it wouldn’t make its way around Leth Sholas. His expression registered no shock or surprise or anything, really. “All she wanted was to be able to talk to me about it.”
“And now you’re good.”
“And now we’re good.” I scrubbed a hand over my beard. “Heather knows about Taran. She wants me to try harder with her.”
“Aye, well, I haven’t forgotten the promise you made me. We had a deal.”
He referred to the deal we’d made last year when Ramsay had fucked up with Tierney. He’d made me promise that if he fixed things with Tierney, I’d try to fix things with Taran.
“I did try.” I glanced mournfully over my shoulder at Macbeth’s Pages & Perks. “She … I fucked up even bigger than I ever knew. I ruined her life.” I forced myself to meet Ramsay’s gaze and nodded, barely holding back my emotion. “I ruined her fucking life, McRae, and … I don’t know how to fix that.”
“How did you ruin her life? What did she say?”
Checking to make sure there were no ears too close to overhear, I faced him. “It wasn’t getting Kiera pregnant that hurt her. It was me just … I told her I was marrying Kiera. No discussion. No Let’s talk about it. I didn’t even fucking consider choosing her and Heather. She said I couldn’t possibly love her the way she loved me. That’s why she hates me. She eviscerated me the other night. And I don’t blame her.”
My stomach felt sick thinking about the look on her face in the lifeboat station. “Maybe I’m just a selfish bastard who made his bed and needs to lie in it.”
Ramsay exhaled heavily. “Problem is … no one is still that angry and hurt over someone who doesn’t matter to them. If she’s mad at you for choosing to stay with Kiera, then maybe she doesn’t understand where your head was at back then. Does she know you spent your entire marriage missing her? That you regret marrying Kiera? That the ghost of Taran Macbeth ruined your fucking marriage, your life?”
I bit out a curse, shaking my head as I stared back out at the water. “No. I’ve never told her that. I’ve only just recently realized I am very bad at letting people know what I’m thinking.”
“Bullshit. You were full of opinions when Tierney and I were dancing around each other.”
“Aye, I mean, what I’m, like, you know … feeling.”
Ramsay’s lips twitched at my discomfort. “Ah. Aye, you are quite buttoned up when it comes to yourself. Honestly, it’s one of the reasons I’ve always liked you.” He slapped me good-naturedly on the back.
A smile curled the corners of my mouth. “Fuck off, you prick.”
“Maybe Taran needs to know all of the truth.”