while you take Mr. Wild to the kitchen. He claims to be in dire need of sustenance.”
Pushing away the pain he’d lived with for over a decade, Mac regrouped and returned her volley. “I’m in dire need of a lot of things, sunshine.”
She smiled, but it was still tight around the edges. “Harrison will take care of you, I’m sure.”
He wanted to say that there was no way in hell Harrison could take care of what she put him in mind of, but she turned crisply and headed back toward the front of the house. Mac settled for a soft whistle through his teeth and murmured, “Holy haggis.”
Harrison laughed and pulled him by the arm in the opposite direction, saying in a soft voice, “Come on, Mac. Better men than you have tried to get a rise out of that one.”
Unable to take his eyes off the sexy sway of Ashley’s retreating backside beneath her straight, cream skirt, Mac said, “But you know I’ve never been able to resist a challenge, Harrison old man, especially if I’m told it can’t be done.”
“Yes, but Ash is in a class by herself when it comes to single-mindedness.”
Mac jerked to a stop just inside the large, French Provincial-style kitchen. Maybe Ashley was in a class of two. Stephanie was proving to be very single-minded, also. Damn her scheming heart.
Heedful of the petite, gray-haired woman in a serviceable, light gray dress busily cooking pancakes at the professional range top, he said darkly, “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Harrison patted the small woman on the back as he went by. “Good morning, Marie.”
She turned and gave him a genuine-looking smile that lit up her olive-skinned face and dark, almond-shaped eyes. “Good morning, Mr. Rivers.”
“Marie, this is a good friend of mine—” Harrison indicated to Mac “—Mac, ah, Wild. He’s going to be staying here for a month or so. Don’t let him charm you into making him some haggis, or any of the other bizarre stuff he has a penchant for.”
Mac gave Harrison his best glare. “I do not have a penchant for haggis.”
“You’re always mentioning it—”
“It’s a family saying.”
Having never met a cook—either short-order or gourmet—he didn’t like, Mac smiled at Marie, hoping his pearly whites could wipe away from her mind the image of having to prepare sheep intestines. “I’m of Scottish descent. Though my family can’t seem to get it through their heads that living in America since the colonial days pretty much makes us Americans.”
His charm working, the older woman beamed at him. “It’s a pleasure to have you here, Mr. Wild, and I’ll gladly cook you anything you wish. Just let me know far enough in advance so I can purchase ingredients if I need to.”
His stomach rumbled in anticipation, but Mac assured her, “You won’t have to do anything special for me, Marie. I can tell by the way this kitchen smells that I’ll be more than happy with what you normally prepare.”
Harrison peered over Marie’s shoulder. “Don’t tell me you’re making Nathan pancakes again. You made them for him for dinner last night. The kid is going to turn into one.”
She laughed. “That baby couldn’t be anything but an angel, and today our angel is getting mouse-shaped pancakes in honor of your trip.”
Mac’s mouth started to water. “Ooh, if I go shower, can I have one?”
“Just wash your hands. You can have as many as you’d like.”
Mac grinned at her and made for the sink. “You’re my new best friend, Marie.”
She giggled and dismissed him with a wave, but she dumped a ton of batter on the griddle.
Harrison said, “Just eggs are fine for me, Marie.”
Mac washed and then sat down across from Harrison at the breakfast table, careful not to dislodge any dirt in Marie’s clean kitchen. Being in good with the cook could make a man’s life very pleasant. Double-checking to make sure she was too far away to hear, he said, “I can do Environmental Specialist.”
“It seemed right up your alley.”
“Come to think of it, it is. Too bad I have a billion in acquisitions and mergers to oversee or I might actually try it out.”
Harrison’s eyebrows went up. “So you finally broke the big ‘b’ barrier?”
“Yep. Last quarter.” Mac realized he’d puffed out his chest like Harrison had done at the mention of his son. Deep inside, Mac would have rather been a proud papa, but without Kate, that wasn’t going to happen. His business would be enough. “It’s been a real bear to hold on to, though. I’d gotten heavily involved in high-tech.”
“As well you should, seeing as all those neat gadgets let you do your job while on the back of your mountain bike, or hanging off a cliff…”
Or dodging paternity scandals. Harrison didn’t say the words, but Mac knew he was thinking them. His friend had stepped up and taken responsibility when he’d found out he’d fathered a child. But at least he’d actually had sex with the woman.
The bitterness simmering in Mac since his family had sided with Stephanie started to boil. “It’s past time for my family to accept that I have no intention of ever settling down, Harrison.”
His friend gave him a level look. “Kate’s been gone for a long time, Mac. She’d want you to—”
“I know exactly what she wanted me to do, and I swore I’d do it,” he snapped, the wound as raw as ever. But not wanting his friendship with Harrison to suffer, he reeled himself back in and after a moment, blew out a rueful breath. “I’m sorry. It’s just that this has all turned into such a mess. I never even slept with Stephanie. I took her out a few times, to make my folks happy, but it was clear from the get-go she was looking to set herself up for life in the manner in which she’s become accustomed.”
“Do you think she’s pregnant?”
Mac snorted. “No. She wouldn’t risk her figure just yet.”
“Then how does she think she’s going to get away with claiming she is?”
“She believes my family will be eager to force me to marry her quick to put an end to the scandal.”
“She doesn’t know the MacDougals very well, does she?”
“No, she doesn’t. Her father has had dealings with mine over the years, so she knows our bottom line, but that’s about it. Unfortunately my family is eager to get me to settle down, but not because of any scandal. They want me to start doing my part in increasing the Clan MacDougal.”
Harrison shook his head. “There’s a little more to it than that, I think.”
Before Mac could refute it, Marie came toward the table and set a huge, heavenly smelling pancake, complete with two little pancakes for ears, chocolate chips for eyes, and sliced strawberries forming a smiling mouth. Too bad he didn’t feel like smiling back. He did give Marie the smile and the thanks she deserved, though, as did Harrison when she served him a heaping plate of fluffy scrambled eggs.
They both dug into their breakfasts and ate in silence for a while.
Mac offered, “I apologize for dragging you into this on such short notice.”
Harrison answered around a mouthful of eggs. “No sweat.” He swallowed, then added, “I’m sorry I won’t be around right off.”
After Mac polished off his pancakes, he said, “Spending time with your son is important.”
“It is. And I love it.” Harrison pointed his fork at Mac. “I highly recommend it, Mac.”
The dark pain started creeping back out of its hole. He’d