We can discuss your findings at the library afterward. By the way, I've got this case."
Gail shifted uncomfortably, as if when he gazed at her he saw too much. "I don't know. I have a lot of work to do."
"It's the weekend! You've got to have some fun. Besides, the customers would love to meet a real marine biologist. It would be good for my business." Flynn flashed his charming smile for good measure. "Pretty please, with Loch Ness sludge on top?"
"All right." Gail pulled her hands away from his. "As long as you don't make me talk about the Loch Ness monster."
"Not necessary." Excitement rushed through him. She'd just said yes to a date! Well, sort of a date. Maybe he'd melt her icy façade after all. He hoisted her suitcases and gave her a wicked grin. "That's my job."
****
Gail collapsed on her bed in the cabin, wondering how she'd ever agreed to seeing Flynn outside of work.
Was it a date?
It couldn't be if Flynn had a hon he talked to all the time on the phone. Unless he was a two-timer? No. Gail refused to think of the open-faced charmer as a Scottish Don Juan, romancing all the women like the shirtless highlander men wearing kilts on those historical romance covers. He seemed too open, too genuine to keep two women at once.
It was his obsession with the Loch Ness monster. Asking her out was another way to continue their research without Tom.
That idea was safe and disappointing at the same time. It had been a long time since she'd felt anything romantic for anyone. She had to remind herself love was something she didn't believe in, along with the Loch Ness monster. She shouldn't be traveling down a path she couldn't finish.
So, research it was.
Gail slipped off her sludge-stained pants and sweater and put on an old T-shirt her father bought her years ago that read "Questioning is the door of knowledge."
Boy, had she been questioning a lot lately. Settling under the covers, she thought her father would be proud.
Sleep came easily and for once, she had no dreams.
When the alarm woke her at nine, it felt like the night had gone by in the blink of a yellow-orbed eye. Gail showered and went downstairs to raid the kitchen. Flynn had left her a plate of chocolate frosted doughnuts with a message that read, "Touring all day today. Won't be in tonight. See you tomorrow at 6 p.m."
Hmmm⦠not coming back tonight. Hadn't he said on the phone he was going to try to try to stop by and visit his hon this weekend? Gail pushed the jealous thought from her mind. It really was none of her business. At least he'd been thoughtful enough to leave a note along with breakfast.
Gail called a cab company and asked for a ride to the Inverness Library. When she'd first signed up for this research grant, she'd decided she'd leave driving on the opposite side of the road to the natives.
Taking her laptop, the pad Flynn had scribbled on, and the doughnut with the most frosting, she left the cabin. With all this hiking in the woods, one doughnut wasn't going to do much. Eating the whole plate mightâ¦
Gail stumbled down the hillside and met the cab at the same place where she'd been dropped off. Looking in the driver's window, she recognized the familiar puff of cigar smoke.
Great. What I need is a translator.
"Guid morning! Hou ar ye, lass?"
Gail slipped onto the passenger seat, surprised she understood him. All this time in the Scottish highlands was rubbing off on her. "A little tired but doing well. Getting work done."
He put his blinker on and turned onto the road. "Found yer monster yet, hae ya?"
Gail stared at the ceiling and took a deep breath. Had he even been listening last time? "I told you, I'm not looking for a monster. I'm looking for the truth."
He grinned as though he knew all along she'd say that and was teasing her. "Guess ye hae ta keep lookin' then."
They rode the twenty-minute drive in silence. When he turned away from Loch Ness, relief calmed Gail. She breathed deeply, relishing every second as