Read Online What Lies Between by Charlena Miller - Free Book Online Page B

chatty, and my initial rush at seeing Ben in his Highland glory subsided as fatigue threatened to close my eyes in spite of the beautiful drive through Kintail. I couldn’t get my days and nights straightened out. Just as well I was half asleep, since looking at Ben was plain ridiculous. No one should look that good in a kilt—or in anything.
    Ben turned onto an intersecting road. “We’ll follow the shore of Loch Ness most of the way up the Great Glen. Keep your eyes open. You might be the one to get lucky.” His eyes twinkled with mischief.
    “Nessie, right? Do you believe she exists?” I asked.
    He tossed me a sideways glance before returning his attention to the narrow, twisty road. “Don’t you?”
    My laughter faded quickly. He was serious. “Only that the Loch Ness Monster is a great hoax. Why not make the most of it? I suppose it doesn’t do any harm.”
    “When I was a bairn, my father would take me fishing out on the loch and scare me with stories. Once he scared me so bad I peed myself. He thought it was hilarious and told everyone at the pub. I never fished with him again.”
    I covered my surprise at Ben’s unabashed revelation. “Did he apologize?”
    “My dad?” Ben let out a derisive snort. “I’ve never seen my father apologize for anything, ever.”
    “What’s it like between you now?”
    “He never did think much of the tour operation and wanted me to settle back here. He has his view of the world. Makes sure everybody knows his opinion about anything and everything. I got tired of fighting about the tour company every time I came home and sold my share to Ewan.”
    “Sad that you felt you had to sell your business. But now you work with wood. That’s cool. I enjoy restoring old furniture. It’s not the same as what I’ve seen of your craftsmanship by any means, but it’s taught me to appreciate the skill it takes to create beautiful woodwork.” A sudden wave of shyness turned my gaze away and to the view out the window.
    “Working with wood is a great job, I think. I’d be called a joiner—same as your carpenter. The work is practical and straightforward. But I’d rather be out on the road showing people the country I love than putting up with my father’s bloody god complex.”
    The tension in Ben’s body spilled from his pores, filling the truck’s cab and threatening to blow out the windows, motivating me to change the subject. “Still, it must have been such a gift, growing up here,” I said, studying the side of his face.
    He looked over at me, anger set firm in his features. “I’m sure all of this looks great to an outsider, but nothing comes without a price.”
    The ferocity of his tone unnerved me and my head jerked back in surprise. “Excuse me for thinking that you had a good life. I would have traded you,” I bellowed.
    He sucked in a deep breath and his shoulders relaxed a tad, but his scowl didn’t recede. “Right. It wasn’t anything like yours, but you don’t know what you’re saying all the same.”
    “Just forget it,” I spat out, turning my face back to the window.
    An uneasy silence filled the space between us, but the beauty surrounding the small truck worked away on my sour mood. As the truck followed the curving shoreline of Loch Ness, the tension between us slowly evaporated.
    Ben pointed to his right. “Keep your eyes open for Urquhart Castle on this road. A ruin, but still impressive.” His tone sounded conciliatory, obviously wanting to put the tension to rest without directly talking about it. I couldn’t get a handle on him. He was so easy to be around at times, while other times things unspoken simmered under the surface, waiting to explode.
    I wasn’t looking for a fight with a man I barely knew. Unable to smother a yawn, I mumbled, “I need coffee, buckets of it.”
    “Aye, it’s too early, but the group is scheduled to be at the pickup point in Inverness at half eight. I needed a cushion in case we ran into any