The Embrace by Vivian Wood

17

“What have I missed?” I ask as I descend the stone stairs into the great hall.

Kaia and Isla look up at me, from their cozy spot by the hearth. They've put down a number of soft looking blankets and piled themselves on the floor, with a game of checkers between them. Kaia smiles at me.

“Isla and I were just talking a little bit. You’re a gross and dirty boy, so you haven't missed anything at all.”

That makes me grin. I look around, casting my gaze about. “I see. Where is Keir?”

Isla looks up from the board game, frowning at me. “When da gets grumpy, he usually goes hunting. I saw him twenty minutes ago so he’s probably still in the castle, getting everything ready for that.”

I arch a brow at her. “And why would he be grumpy?”

Her face flushes but she just lifts her chin and gives me a small glare. “I have no idea. I'm just telling you where you can find probably him.”

I frown at her. “I see.”

Isla looks back down, moving one of her pieces across the red and black board.

Kaia makes eye contact with me. “Why don’t you go find Keir? I think Isla and I will stay here and try to school each other in checkers. Right, Isla?”

Isla nods without looking up from the board. “It's your turn. Make a move.”

“Patience, grasshopper.” Kaia shoots me a look and gives me the tiniest smirk. Then she turns her attention back to the checkers board, moving one of her pieces.

Isla erupts, laughing. “I knew you were going to do that! I knew it!”

My lips quirk. “Seems like you have this handled.”

I turn and head out of the hall, casually searching the castle for Keir. I find him in a small room toward the back of the castle, cleaning a rifle and looking extremely pissed off. When he sees me answer, Keir holds up a hand.

“Don't even start,” he says. “Seriously, I am in no mood. I can't even leave the castle because Isla’s new minder quit. She'd only been here for an hour but Isla has managed to drive her away.”

He picks up a cloth and angrily begins to polish the end of the rifle.

“Kaia is actually watching Isla right now. They seem to get along well.”

Keir looks up at me, sighing. “I don’t suppose she’s interested in moving in with us permanently, is she?”

My lips curve up in a small smile. “I don’t think so.”

He grunts. “You have got a good one there. Very maternal. When you two have your own kids, that will come in handy.”

I make a face at him.

“Christ,” I say. “First of all, we are not going to have any kids. And second of all, I think you need to get out of here for a while. While Kaia keeps Isla busy, I think we should go for a walk outside.”

Keir gives me a sharp look. “It's almost dark.”

“We are grown-ups. I think will be okay.”

“Should I go check on Isla before we leave?”

“Nope. Come on.” I turn to leave the room.

Keir follows me as I exit the castle through a small back door. Stepping outside into the growing twilight, I take a deep breath of air.

Keir moves past me, heading for the hills to our left. He seems to be quietly brooding, so I just keep my thoughts to myself as we hike the Scottish landscape. It's chillier than I anticipated as I climb the gently sloping hills, following Keir closely. The moon is already coming up as the sun is going down. Off to my right, the lake gently shimmers.

Keir climbs the hill and stops at the top. We both overlook the large lake that is now immediately below us, spread out like a puddle of blue ink. I come to stand beside him, crossing my arms and looking at him.

“So… how is business?” I ask. It’s not at all what I want to know. But I’ve known Keir for eight years and this is the only way that I know to begin a conversation with him.

Damn, I should’ve brought some whiskey.

He purses his lips. “It's still going pretty well. I haven't made that many wild stock purchases lately.” He scrunches up his face. “Actually, it's been a while since I even logged into the website to check my earnings. I am so preoccupied with Isla that everything else just seems…” He trails off.

After a minute, I take a deep breath. “Well, the good news for you is that you are already a billionaire. Although you wouldn't know it from your living situation. Why did you move back here with Isla?”

His lips quirk. “Glasgow was too much. There were too many… temptations. Not for me, for Mary.”

That gives me pause. “Mary?”

He gives me a long look. “My wife.”

I squint. “What does that mean exactly? What kind of temptations did the city offer?”

He puffs out his cheeks. “Before I met her, Mary spent a lot of time with a rough crowd. And it seems like for most of the Isla’s childhood, she had really gotten away from it. But in the last year, she was… erratic. I moved us all out here to give her space to recover or whatever it was she needed…” He pauses then shakes his head. “But then she started disappearing.”

My eyebrows rise. I look at Keir, my surprise evident. “What you mean, disappearing?”

He shrugs a shoulder. “I don't know. Drink. Drugs. Men. Or something like that. I really didn’t want to know the details.”

I let his words sink in for a minute. “She’s gone, I’m assuming.”

Keir nods and nudges some rocks with the toe of his boot. “I woke up one morning to find a note from her. It just said that she was sorry. No information or explanation.”

I nod slowly. “I’m assuming that you already paid a private investigator to look for Mary?”

He runs a hand through his short blonde hair. “Yep. I've spent a lot of money on private detectives. I even hired a financial investigator. But they still haven't turned anything up. She's a ghost. I suspect that she just vanished back into the same slums I found her in.”

I squint at him.

“So you have no idea where she is? There's no paper trail? No breadcrumbs leading you on a merry chase?”

He looks down and gives a discouraged sigh. “I don't know. I woke up six months ago and she had just vanished without a trace. It's not the first time that she is ever gone missing. But the longest she is ever stayed away was a week. It just feels different this time.”

He squints out across the lake.

“I’m not a parent. You know that. But can I give you some advice?”

He looks at me briefly, cock a brow. “What’s that?”

“Your daughter needs you. Or at least, she needs some stable adult in her life to tell her that it's going to be okay. Since I've been here, she's been a real wild child. And I think in large part that's because she doesn't have any rules.”

He scowls at me. “Of course she has rules. The more that I insist on the rules, the more wild she is. I'm telling you, there is no winning.”

“Have you to sat down together? Maybe talked about why her mom left and how it isn't her fault?”

I can't see his expression because he turns his head away, but when he speaks, his words are sharp. “This wasn't the plan. Mary and I had all sorts plans in place. And then she just up and disappeared.”

I exhale along stream of air. “I’m sorry, Keir. I really am.” I pause. “If you need to, you and Isla can move closer to us. Just for a little while until you figure out you next step.”

He looks defeated. “I can’t leave Mary. What if she tries to come back and I’m not here?”

Keir sounds broken. I don’t know what to say to that, or at least nothing helpful and not sarcastic. So I just give him a one armed hug. He allows it for a few seconds, then moves away.

“You’re a good friend for offering,” he says. He looks into the setting sun, his eyes mere slits. “When you and Kaia start having kids, you should have a better plan than the one that Mary and I had.”

I give him a long look. “Don’t let Kaia hear you saying that. She has brought up having my kids three times already since we’ve been together. I’m trying to figure out the gentlest way to tell her that I don’t think I should have any offspring.”

Keir glances at me, startled. “What? Why not?”

“I don’t like the idea that I would be totally responsible for a life. Until they’re like ten, they can’t survive without us. Like… what if something happens to Kaia and then it’s just me and a baby I don’t really want?” I screw up my face. “Besides, I know I’m fucked up. I don’t want to pass that down to a child.”

“Being a fuck up is not a genetic condition. Neither is being an asshole.” His lips twitch with a little dark humor.

“Hilarious. I offer for you to move close if you need family and you make a crack about my being an asshole.”

“You walked right into that one.” He blows out a breath. “Seriously though… Those are reasons not to want a family, sure. But have you asked Kaia why she wants to have kids? I bet her reasons are equally as good.”

I shoot him a glare. “Kaia and I just got together officially. Besides, she is barely old enough to vote. She has quite a career ahead of her in the ballet. She has more than enough things on her plate without bringing the idea of motherhood into the mix.”

He holds up his hands in surrender. “You’re the boss. I’m just playing devil’s advocate.”

I look down as the last rays of sunlight fall upon the surface of the lake, glinting brightly. “I’ll race you down to the lake.”

Keir’s eyes light up. “You’re on.”

We both launch ourselves down the hill and our serious conversation is soon forgotten.