Fire on the Island by J. K. Hogan Read Free Book Online

was
absent of makeup, except for a touch of lip gloss, her skin naturally smooth as
marble. She had her hair down tonight, a heavy mass of midnight curls tumbling
down over her shoulders that Jere longed to sink his fingers into.
    Jere cleared
his throat and leaned back as the waitress set their drinks in front of them.
He took a deep whiff of the scotch and then tasted it, rolling the amber liquid
around his mouth before swallowing. "That's incredible."
    "The Arran
twelve-year malt, distilled here on the island. You should try the fourteen
year, it'll knock your socks right off," she said, laughing. "So what
really brings you to our island, doctor?"
    Jere rolled his
eyes. "Oh, hell...Jeremiah, please. It's like I said. I'm a writer and I
just came off a big project. My editor and publisher ganged up on me and forced
me to take some time off."
    "You poor
thing," she said sarcastically, taking a sip of her scotch and briefly
closing her eyes.
    "How about
you?" Jere asked. "Were you born here on the island?"
    "Glasgow.
I moved here ten years ago." Her smile disappeared and her face closed up,
so Jeremiah decided not to press her on her past. This time.
    "Oi, if it
isn't Beauty and the Yank! I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with
me own eyes!" Callum hollered at them, causing several heads to turn. He
dragged Jack across the room to the booth. Callum took Isla's hand and pulled
her up, spinning her gracefully over to Jeremiah's side, and sat her down. The
two men sat down together on the now empty bench. Callum and Jack were both in
their early forties, but while Callum was slender and wiry, Jack was brawny and
compact. He had dark brown hair buzzed military style, golden brown eyes, and
an affable smile.
    "I'm from
New Orleans, brother, no Yanks there!" Jere shot back good-naturedly.
    "So that's
where the accent comes from," Isla teased.
    "What are
you talking about? Y'all are the ones with accents," he retorted, making
them all laugh.
    Callum
introduced Jack to Jeremiah and the men shook hands. He glanced over at Isla
and winked. "Doc, I can't believe you actually got our lass to come out.
She's not a very social animal."
    Jere smiled at
that, but the smile faded when a man and woman walked by glaring at them and
shaking their heads. Callum and Jack exchanged worried glances while Isla
suddenly became very interested in her left thumbnail.
    Turning
concerned eyes back to the couple across from him, Jere questioned them gently.
"Do y'all get a lot of trouble here, being gay and all?"
    Jack shook his
head. "Not too much. It's not that...they—"
    Isla shot out
of the booth like she was on fire. "Look, I have to go guys. Cal, see you
Monday. Jack, Jeremiah, good to see you. Have a good night." As she rushed
for the door, Jere thought it odd how the crowd parted for her.
    "Jack!"
Callum snapped. Jack slapped his forehead with his palm. "I'm such an
idiot."
    "What the
hell just happened?" Jere demanded, looking back and forth between the
two.
    Callum sighed
and scrubbed a hand over his face. "Those people aren't looking over here
because of us, Jeremiah."
    "Okay,"
Jere prompted, drawing out the last syllable.
    "Isla has
kind of a reputation here in town," Callum said, obviously choosing his
words carefully.
    "What kind
of a reputation?"
    "A lot of
the people living on the island grew up here, as did their families. Isla just
showed up one day out of the blue, with no known family, while a lot of the
residents here will tell you how they can trace their ancestry back to the
Bruce himself. People fear what they don't understand. Somewhere along the way,
rumors began to surround Isla. The talk is what caused her to retreat to where
she spends most of her time either working or at her cabin. Unfortunately,
doing so just fueled the rumor mill, so she tries to avoid the popular local
spots. That's why I was so surprised she came out tonight."
    "Shit."
Jere didn't know what else to say. He could tell Callum was leaving out a