Page 10 of A Scot on the Rocks

He was halfway back to Dunarraidh when Morag appeared on the path carrying the empty purse.

“The healer says thank you.”

Jamie kept walking as she fell into step beside him.

“She says the ghost of Dunarraidh has a kind heart.”

“That’s a dangerous rumor.”

“Aye, it might ruin your reputation.”

“I’ve worked for years on that reputation.”

Morag glanced toward the castle above them, where one of the broken shutters had come loose and was knocking softly against the stone.

“We’ll tell folk he’s terrible fierce.”

“Better.”

“With a handsome backside.”

Jamie nearly tripped as she smiled.

“You find this amusing.”

She patted his arm. “Verra.”

Jamie looked at the old woman beside him, then up toward Dunarraidh, where smoke from his chimney had begun drifting across the morning sky.

The glen knew perfectly well there was no ghost, or at least, the people who mattered did. They simply liked the story. More importantly, it kept strangers away from the castle, excisemen uneasy, and the whisky safely hidden where the Crown wouldn’t find it.

Jamie could live with that. For today, he had the whisky to sort out, three sugar sweets to remember, and a roof above Morag’s byre that wouldna survive another hard storm. It was going to be a long day.

Chapter 3

Olivia

Glenbrae, Scotland

Present Day

Olivia had barely shut the door of her rental car when a man came rushing out of Glenbrae Distillery carrying two suitcases.

His coat was unbuttoned despite the cold and the rain, one suitcase bumped against his leg while the other threatened to tip sideways every few steps. He was somewhere in his forties, with thinning brown hair, glasses spotted with rain, and the strained expression of a man who’d been shocked by something and intended to put several miles between himself and whatever had caused it.

Olivia stood beside the car with one hand still resting on the roof.

“You must be Dr. Price.”

He stopped.

“You’re Olivia Bennett?”

“Depends. I’m wondering if I should be worried by how fast you’re hightailing it out of here.”

His gaze went past her toward the road as if he was checking that it was still there.

“If you know what’s good for you, you should.”