Highlander 04 - Some Like It Kilted (2010)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table of Contents

 

 

Title Page

 

Copyright Page

 

Dedication

 

Acknowledgements

 

Epigraph

 

 

 

Chapter 1

 

Chapter 2

 

Chapter 3

 

Chapter 4

 

Chapter 5

 

Chapter 6

 

Chapter 7

 

Chapter 8

 

Chapter 9

 

Chapter 10

 

Chapter 11

 

Chapter 12

 

Chapter 13

 

Chapter 14

 

Chapter 15

 

 

 

Epilogue

 

Teaser chapter

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I’m a kilt convert! After plunging into the rowdy
world of
Some Like It Kilted
, I would follow Allie
Mackay’s hot Scot anywhere!”

 

 

—
New York Times
bestselling author
Vicki Lewis Thompson

 

 

Praise for the Novels of Allie Mackay

 

 

Tall, Dark, and Kilted

 

 

 

 

“An engaging urban romantic fantasy with a touch of a mystery and a terrific twist. . . . The story line is brisk and breezy from the moment the ghost and the American meet and never slows down. With a strong cast, paranormal and human, fans will enjoy Cilla’s Scottish adventure in love.”

 

 

—Genre Go Round Reviews

 

 

 

 

Highlander in Her Dreams

 

 

 

 

“Scottish charm, humor, and . . . hot romance.”

 

 

—Night Owl Romance

 

 

 

 

“Sexy . . . imaginative . . . a fascinating mix of exciting action and passionate romance.”

 

—Romance Reader at Heart

 

 

 

 

“Cleverly plotted and well written . . . a fun, sexy story.”

 

 

—Romantic Times

 

 

 

 

“[A] pleasing blend of wit, passion, and the paranormal . . . a steamy romance that packs emotional punch.”

 

 

—Romance Reviews Today

 

 

 

 

“A fabulous mixture of magic and romance. Allie Mackay has penned an enchanting romance of lovers from different times. . . . A captivating paranormal romance and a wonderful addition to a book lover’s library.”

 

 

—Fresh Fiction

 

 

 

 

Highlander in Her Bed

 

 

“[A] randy paranormal romance. . . . The premise is charming and innovative. . . . This novel definitely delivers a blast of Scottish steam.”

 

 

—Publishers Weekly

 

 

 

 

“A yummy paranormal romp.”

 

 

—USA Today bestselling author Angela Knight

 

 

 

 

“A delightful paranormal romance. The writing is poetic, compelling, and fun, and the story features an imaginative premise, crisp dialogue, and sexy characters whose narrative voices are both believable and memorable. HOT.”

 

 

—Romantic Times

 

 

 

 

“A superb paranormal romance.”

 

 

—Midwest Book Review

 

 

 

 

“A sexy, humor-filled romance with delightfully amusing characters. Artfully blending past and present,
Highlander in Her Bed
is an entertaining read. Well written. Readers will enjoy this one!”

 

 

—Fresh Fiction

 

 

 

 

“Appealing and amusing. Sizzles with passion.”

 

 

—Romance Reviews Today

 

 

 

 

“A whimsical read that will have you panting from start to finish! Mackay knows what a Scottish romance novel needs and socks it to you! Red-hot, sizzling chemistry ignites from the moment Sir Alex materializes in front of feisty Mara. . . . A sure-bet bestseller.”

 

 

—A Romance Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ALSO BY ALLIE MACKAY

 

 

Tall, Dark, and Kilted
Highlander in Her Dreams
Highlander in Her Bed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SIGNET ECLIPSE
Published by New American Library, a division of
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,
New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto,
Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2,
Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.)
Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124,
Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.)
Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park,
New Delhi - 110 017, India
Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632,
New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)
Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue,
Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

 

 

Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices:
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

 

 

First published by Signet Eclipse, an imprint of New American Library,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

 

 

First Printing, February 2010

 

 

Copyright © Sue-Ellen Welfonder, 2010 All rights reserved

 

 

eISBN : 978-1-101-18472-1

 

 

SIGNET ECLIPSE and logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

 

 

 

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

 

 

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

 

 

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

 

 

The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.

 

 

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

 

 

[http://us.penguingroup.com] http://us.penguingroup.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In loving memory of Lisa Trumbauer.

 

 

 

Dear friend, best-ever travel companion, and talented
author, she was taken from this world much too soon.

 

 

 

Lisa loved animals, lived for soft misty days, and saw
such wonder in woodland walks and the drift of cloud
shadows across Highland hills. She loved Scotland
passionately and when I’m there, I see her everywhere.
She was the most
just-like-me
person I’ve ever known.
I’m so grateful for the years we had, the great times in
Scotland, and the privilege of being her friend.

 

 

 

I wish I could tell her one more time how much I
loved her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

 

 

Scotland is always my greatest inspiration and I feel blessed to have a career that allows me to spend my workdays revisiting my favorite places there. Although I love all of Scotland, my own ancestral ties bind me most strongly to the Hebrides. For that reason, I really enjoyed bringing Bran of Barra’s world to life.

 

The Hebrides are known as “the Isles on the Edge of the Sea,” and there are more than five hundred of them stretched along Scotland’s west coast. Wild, magnificent, and almost too beautiful to describe, they fire the imagination of the poetic, fill the dreams of Diaspora Scots, and steal the heart of anyone who ever visits them.

 

Bran’s Barra has held a special place in my heart for years. Actually a grouping of twenty small-to-teeny islands in the remote Outer Hebrides, Barra truly is remarkable. The spark of Bran’s tale came to me on my first visit to Barra’s Kisimul Castle, ancient seat of the Barra MacNeils. This impressive isle-girded stronghold became Bran’s beloved tower.

 

My affection for Barra includes the Barrachs themselves, especially the Barra MacNeils. When I originally needed a bold, larger-than-life Hebridean chieftain, I looked no further than the MacNeils. I hope Bran of Barra does them proud. I certainly tried to give him their fierce love of Barra, their bighearted spirit and openhanded generosity, and their hallmark joy in life.

 

A proud and noble race, they also had a rollicking sense of humor. It’s true that, in days of yore, one of the more colorful MacNeil chiefs sent a trumpeter to the battlements each night to blast a fanfare, announcing that the great MacNeil of Barra had dined and now that he’d done so, the rest of the world was then free to begin their own evening meal.

 

It’s also true that after Kisimul Castle fell to ruin, the eventual restoration was undertaken entirely by the men of Barra. Funds for the project poured in from MacNeils around the world, proving their devotion to the clan’s ancestral home.

 

I believe I chose well in letting the Barra MacNeils be the clan who changed Mindy’s mind about Scotland. I knew she’d fall in love with the Hebrides. But I wanted her hero to be a very special Hebridean man. One she couldn’t possibly resist. Only Bran of Barra would do!