Page 37 of Highlands Homecoming

“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 wasdelivered.

“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.”