6

Still not sure why he was here, Craig pulled up outside lodge eleven at nine o’clock sharp. He took the piece of gum from his mouth and disposed of it in the bin in the car. She might not even be up yet, never mind want to spend the day with him. But as his mother always said, them that don’t ask won’t get. Her car was here, but the curtains were still closed. He walked up the ramp and knocked on the door.

Milly opened the door, a fleece dressing gown held tightly around her. “Sir.”

“Hi. I was wondering…” Something made the back of his neck crawl. He glanced over his shoulder. The bloke from number four was standing at the door of his lodge watching them. He turned back to Milly. “Can I come in?”

She hesitated briefly, then opened the door wider. “Sure.”

He went inside and slid his hands into his pockets as she closed the door. “I thought you would be up by now.”

“Weekend off, remember.”

“That’s why I’m here. I’m off oot for the day and wondered if you would like tae come with. I could show you some of the sights. Prettier ones than yesterday.”

She smiled. “I’d like that, sir.”

“One proviso. I dinnae want you calling me sir or guv or even Mr. Fraser today. It’s Craig. We’re off duty.”

She hesitated again, color touching her cheeks. “OK…Craig. Are you this informal with everyone off duty?”

He shook his head, trying to ignore the way his heart and stomach jumped and rolled in unison at the way his name sounded in her cute east end accent. “Nay.”

She tilted her head. “Then, is this a date?”

He caught his breath. “It could be.”

“I’ll get dressed.” Her color deepened, making her even prettier.

“I’ll make you some coffee. Unless you’d prefer tea.” He ran his gaze over her figure, tempted to tell her she looked fine as she was.

“Tea, please.” She shot him a smile and moved into the other room, shutting the door.

Craig opened the curtains and turned to making tea and toast. Are you crazy? Getting involved with a woman you work with? You ken next tae nothing aboot her, except she’s trouble with a capital T. But—his heart objected—you like her. A lot. She lights up a room simply by being in it. You get a warm fuzzy feeling from being around her, and you dinnae do warm and fuzzy. See…point proved. She’s dangerous. With a capital…

The door opened and Milly came into the lounge, ending the argument with himself. Wow. “You look…amazing,” he managed, almost lost for words.

She tugged down the sweater that barely reached her hips and was the same shade of blue as her jeans. She wore black ankle boots. “Is this OK? I can always change my shoes.”

“Boots are fine for what I have planned, so long as the heels aren’t too big. I made you toast.”

“Thank you.” She sat at the breakfast bar and covered the toast with butter and marmalade.

He sat with her, barely able to hear himself think over the pounding of the pulse in his throat. His heart was in serious danger here and he knew it. But part of him, the risk taking part, didn’t care and didn’t want to pull back.

She scraped a fingernail along the edge of the toast to catch an errant drop of marmalade. “So, this ‘date?’ Are you sure? I mean…”

“It doesnae have tae be a date. I just thought I had nothing tae do and you dinnae ken the local area.” He paused. That sounded lame even to him. “But, you ken…”

She touched his hand, sending rivers of fire straight to his core. “It’s a good idea. I’d gone through some of the brochures, but hadn’t really decided where to go today. Aside from trying to find this Christmas shop at some point. It’s in Crieff.” She handed him the leaflet.

Craig read it and smiled. “I havenae been there, but it sounds like my kind of shop. It shouldnae be too hard tae find.” He sipped his tea. “Do you like waterfalls?”

“Love them.”

He grinned. “Then I have just the place to tak’ you.”

She chuckled. “Now I have a song running through my head.” She stood and took her plate and cup to the sink. “Ye’ll tak’ the high road and Ah’ll tak’ the low road, and Ah’ll be in Scotland afore ye…” she sang.

He laughed. “Perhaps we’ll do Loch Lomond another day. We’re going to the Hermitage.”

****

Craig seemed to whip along the narrow, tree-lined roads, but then Milly guessed he knew them like the back of his hand. The mountains provided a magnificent backdrop and she snapped photo after photo. She’d have to download them all to her laptop when she got home, or she’d run out of memory. But the country was so beautiful, the trees such a mass of different colors, she had to keep taking them. She even took a sneaky one or two of Craig. His presence filled the car, sending her stomach fluttering and her pulse racing. And he looked so different out of a suit.

He glanced at her and she felt her cheeks burn for being caught looking. “What are you thinking?” he asked.

Milly plunged for the honest truth. “Trying to work you out. You seem like two totally different people. Put you in a suit and tie and you’re all business and DCI Fraser, righter of wrongs and defender of the weak. But here you are in jeans, jumper, and jacket, just Craig, you seem years younger and so different. Even the stubble suits you.”

Craig ran a hand over his chin. “I dinnae shave when I’m off duty. I have tae do things for me. I cannae be the cop all the time, I’d go spare. Not that I switch off—the current case is always on my mind and the phone is always on if they need me back at the office. But I ken how tae have fun.”

She smiled. “So what do you do for fun?”

“I run…”

Milly giggled. “That’s part of the job, though not so much when we get to our—your rank.”

“I love running,” Craig said, seeming to ignore her slip up. “I run at least six miles every day. I also like hiking, ten-pin bowling and I dance…badly, according to my brother.” He winked. “And I dinnae shave either.”

“We share a love of walking. That’s something I do a lot of at home. But I don’t dance, although I do love singing. I did some amateur dramatics at one point, but the hours weren’t really conducive to working and rehearsals.”

“I ken how that is.” He pulled into a car park. “We walk from here.”

Milly paused by the signs, reading about the Hermitage and what she’d see here. She tugged her hat down over her head.

Craig came over with his scarf tight around his neck. “Ready?”

She nodded, walking with him along the forest path. To the left and below them the river thundered past across the stones, high because of all the recent rain. The sound was amazing, and she snapped photo after photo.

“Do you have any family?” He pulled some gum from his pocket and unwrapped it.

“I’m an only child. Dad’s a dentist, Mum’s a nurse.”

He put the gum in his mouth, pocketing the paper. He didn’t offer her any, which she didn’t mind as she’d always thought chewing gum was a disgusting habit. “I have a brother, Alistair. He’s married to Katie with a baby due any time now. My parents live the other side o’Perth. They’re both retired.”

Milly stopped by a fallen tree. Inside was completely hollow. She ran a hand over the trunk. “When I was a kid, my favorite story was about a hollow tree house. These kids ran away and lived inside it. I never thought it’d be possible, but seeing this I guess it must be. It’d be a good place to hide a body.”

“No now, it wouldnae be.” Craig winked.

“Well, obviously.” She grinned and started walking again.

He shook his head. “Hide a body? Are you never off duty, lassie?”

“I guess not, and the name’s Milly. Lassie’s a dog, and I’m no dog.”

He chuckled. “OK, Milly, but no more work talk today.”

“Is that an order?” She ignored the shiver of delight she got when he mentioned her name.

He paused and tilted his head. “Aye.”

“Now who is never off duty?” She threw her head back and laughed as they approached an oval building.

He chuckled and opened the door to the folly for her.

The walls around them were cold, with brass panels on either side. In front were two glass doors. “These are a relatively new addition,” Craig said. He pulled open one for her. “After you.”

Milly went out onto the viewing platform. The noise of the thundering falls was deafening. She stood in amazement at the beauty of the waterfall, watching the water pour over and between the rocks. Not one continuous sheet all the way across, but numerous individual falls, making up one whole.

“Sometimes you can see the salmon leaping up it.”

She stood there silently, lost for words as she took photos. The only words she could think of were amazing and wow. A hand on her arm made her jump.

“Are you all right, Milly?” Craig asked, concern in his voice.

She nodded. The fact he used her name was not helping any.

“Only you havenae said anything in five minutes now.”

She pointed to the tumbling mass of water in front of them. “It’s just…”

His face broke into a smile. “Aye. It is.”

****

The next stop on Craig’s tour was Queen’s View. He grinned as Milly fell silent.

She gazed out over the mountains and Loch Tummel.

“Queen Victoria came here tae admire the view in 1886.”

“I guess that’s why they call it Queen’s View.”

“Actually, it was named after Robert the Bruce’s wife, Queen Isabella back in the fourteenth century.” He pointed out the mountains, naming them for her.

“It’s just so pretty. All the different colors.”

“It’s different in every season. Wait until it snows.”

She smiled. “Now as much as I love Christmas, I prefer the autumn colors.”

“I love spring myself. Everything coming back to life and made new.” He rubbed his stomach, hoping she hadn’t heard it gurgle. “Now, I dinnae ken aboot you, but I’m hungry. What say you we go find somewhere in Pitlochry tae eat, and I’ll show you the dam.”

“Dam?”

“A hydroelectric power station and fish ladder for the salmon.”

Milly’s enthusiasm for his homeland thrilled Craig as he showed her a few of his favorite places in Pitlochry. She insisted on paying for her own meal, and then ran over the dam the same way he and his brother once had. They walked back the long way, over the footbridge, stopping off for ice creams on the way back to town.

She paused outside a shop, gazing in the window. “A kilt shop. I’ve always wanted one. Can we go and look?”

He nodded. “Sure.” His phone rang and he stifled his disappointment. This had better not be work. “Fraser.”

“Can I speak tae Uncle Craig, please?” His brother’s joy-filled voice laughed down the phone. “My name is Ellie. I’m thirty minutes old; and I weigh six pounds, four ounces.”

Craig beamed, his heart leaping for joy. “And you inherited the Fraser brilliance then, kiddo, if you can already use the phone. Congrats, Al, that’s wonderful news. How’s Katie?”

“She and Ellie are just fine. Me on the ootha hand? Well, I have three fractured fingers.”

“She broke it?” Craig asked, astounded.

“Nay, I shut it in the car door in my rush to get Katie tae the hospital in time.”

Craig laughed. “When’s she coming home?”

“Probably Monday. She needed a few stiches, so they just want tae keep an eye for a couple of days. Her being a first time mum, and all.”

“I’ll be in tonight for a visit. Give Katie my love.”

“Will do. See you later.”

Craig grinned as he put his phone away. “I’m an uncle. Baby girl, half an hour ago.”

Her grin probably matched his, and he wondered for a moment if she was going to hug him, but she didn’t. “Congratulations. I guess we both need baby presents and cards now.”

He nodded. “There’s a card shop just along here.”

“Cool. But first, kilts.” She tilted her head. “Do you own one?”

“Of course, I do.” He opened the shop door and led her inside. “Along with the socks, sporran, kilt pin, skean dhu…”

“A what?”

“Knife.”

“Ah. Do you…” she hesitated, waving a hand, “…go for the traditional way of wearing it?”

He winked. “You’ll never know, and it’s a question a lady should never ask a Scotsman.” He pulled a kilt off the rail. “This is my tartan.”

“It’s lovely. Oh, look…” She moved to another rail and held up a tiny Fraser tartan pinafore dress with cream blouse underneath. “You could get one for your niece.”

“Aye.” He moved over to where she stood, looking through the rail. Having finally chosen one, he looked for Milly and found her by the kilts. “Picked one yet?”

“No.” She sighed. “It’s a choice between a black/green, black/white or…” She glanced at the baby dress in his hand. “I really like that one.”

“Then do it. Question is what length?” He ran his gaze over her figure. “You’d need a fourteen or sixteen?”

“Good guess. It depends on the cut.”

Craig pulled six off the rack, both sizes in three different lengths. “Try them. I can give you my opinion if it’ll help.” He sat on the bench outside the changing rooms and grinned as she kept showing him each one.

“The sixteen fits better,” she said.

“And the middle length,” he added. “I’ll go pay for this.” He took the baby outfit to the cashier. Milly soon joined him in the queue, with her kilt and a black watch tartan outfit for her friend’s baby.

He led her back to the car. “I have something to show you before we lose the last o’the daylight.”

“What’s that?”

“You’ll see.” He headed out of town towards the beech hedge at Meileour. Her reaction no longer surprised him. Over one hundred feet high and almost a third of a mile long, the hedge was wall to wall color.

“Oh…wow. Look at that. A fair riot of color.”

Craig smiled at her enthusiasm. “Alistair always says autumn is a second spring, when every leaf becomes a flower.” He pulled over and parked briefly so she could take a photo. “That is the highest and longest hedge in the world. Give me the phone, and I’ll tak’ one of you standing next to it. Tak’ care crossing the road.”

Milly posed for him and then got back in the car. “It is so pretty.”

“Best time o’year tae see it.” He started the car again and drove back to Bridge of Earn. “How about dinner?” he asked.

“I’ve been meaning to try the Chinese,” she said, pulling out her purse. “But it’s my turn to pay. You got the takeaway the other night.”

He waited in the car while she went inside and ordered the food. They ate outside on her balcony, candles on the table for light. She opened a bottle of wine, and Craig had one glass as he was driving and not going straight home.

Just before eight he reluctantly rose. “I ought tae go. I promised I’d visit Katie and the bairn tonight.”

Milly stood. “Thank you for today, Craig, it’s been lovely.”

He took her hand, her touch warm against him. Shards of electricity jolted through him. “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.”

“I did. Good night, Craig. See you Monday.”

“Good night, Milly.” He headed down the ramp, hoping he’d see her before Monday, but not saying as much. He noticed lights on in the other lodges, but only one with curtains still open.

A figure stood in the window of lodge four. Was he watching Milly? Craig made a mental note to check out the current occupants of the lodges and then run this bloke through the computer.

He got in the car and glanced up. Milly leaned on the edge of the balcony, her gaze fixed on him. He waved a hand in farewell as he started the car and drove off. His last sight was of her waving.