Logan stopped for a moment. Melody felt his hand on hers, his fingers winding through her fingers.
“I spent a week in a pub, unless it was closed, drinking myself stupid. Angus finally found me and dragged me home with him. I was a wreck. Vowed never to get involved again with a woman.” He squeezed her hand.
“Until I saw you. Even half drunk and crying, you were the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I couldn’t walk away.”
Logan turned toward Melody, arms around her body, pulling her close.
“You’re still the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. And I love you. I should have trusted you, not listened to my fears, not run away. I promise you, Melody, I’ll never run away again, whatever it is. I’ll be there for you, always.”
She touched his face in the dark, felt the warmth of tears on his cheeks.
“And I love you, Logan. I’ll be there for you, always.”
* * *
They’d stayed in Inverness another day, Logan taking her on walks around the town, along the River Ness. They stopped at sunset on the Young Street Bridge, watching the setting sun coloring the undersides of the scattered clouds in pink and brilliant orange. Logan told her names of the churches along the banks and she watched the wide river flowing toward the sea. The air was crisp and clean, and Melody closed her eyes, drawing a deep breath.
She turned at the sound of Logan’s gentle laugh beside her. “If it’s clean air you’re looking for, I’ll take you up in the Highlands sometime. There’s no petrol fumes there to muck up the air.”
“This is clean, compared to New York. I’d take this in a heartbeat.”
They walked back through the city center, to a small pub where they had dinner, talking about everything and nothing. Over dessert, Melody finally brought up the lawsuit.
“We need to talk about your case, Logan. There was a letter just before I left, Ashton’s attorney talking about filing a counterclaim. He’s claiming breach of contract on your part, that you used Revival’s name and materials in your solo venture. And that by doing so, it damaged his ability to earn royalties.”
“That was expected, no? Nothing unusual about that. Ashton would want his day in court, not settle out of it. And that’s all bullshit about using Revival’s name or songs. Ashton was the one who set up those deals, set up the contract. He’d have known then it was a breach, if it was.”
Logan snorted in disgust. “Talk about playing both sides against the middle. That man would sell his own grandmother for a dime, if he thought he could get away with it. Listen, for now, as long as we’re in Scotland, let’s not talk about Ashton. We’ll have a long time on the plane back to figure out what to do. Let’s just enjoy our last night here. Pretend the rest of the world doesn’t exist.”
Melody looked across the table at Logan. The smile had come back into his eyes, at least until she’d brought up Ashton.
“Okay. Yes, I agree. No more Ashton until we’re in the air and over the Atlantic, at least.”
After dinner, Logan led her back through the dark streets to his hotel. She’d checked out of her run-down little inn, moving into Logan’s room. The resulting chaos of her belongings strewn about the room had then both tripping over luggage and shoes and clothing.
“Sorry about the chaos, Logan. I’m taking over your room with my things.” Melody was kneeling on the floor, rummaging through her suitcase, looking for her toothbrush.
“You are. But other than the occasional stray shoe underfoot, I’m not too fashed.”
“Fashed?” Melody cocked an eyebrow, looking up at Logan. “Not sure I know that one.”
“Troubled, worried…bothered. It’s temporary. And if I had known you were going to track me across the Atlantic, I’d have gotten a larger room. But as it is, this is fine. We’re only here one last night, you know.”
Stepping around her open suitcase, he crossed the narrow room. “I promise from now on I’ll get rooms big enough for the two of us.”
He pulled her up from the floor and held her, brushing a strand of hair from her forehead.
“I meant what I said on the bridge. I’d like to bring you back here, on holiday, take you up into the Highlands.”
“I’d like that.” She relaxed against him, the search for her toothbrush long forgotten.
“There are places I’d like to show you, wild places, lochs and hills and caves.”
“Caves?” Melody shuddered. “Not sure I’d like a cave. You mean, like spelunking?”
“No, not explore the cave, although you can go inside. It’s not particularly large. Legend has it a man, James Fraser of Foyers, hid in the cave for seven years to evade the British after the Battle of Culloden.”
Logan held her close. “It’s part of the history of the place and if nothing else, Scots love their history.
His hands were roaming over her now, restlessly exploring her back, sliding down to cup her ass. He pressed himself against her and it was clearly evident where this was heading, brushed teeth or not.
“We have a monster, too, ye ken.” A corner of his mouth quirked up in a devilish grin.
“You do? Where?” Melody raised an eyebrow in return.
“Well, they say it’s in Loch Ness…but…” He pulled her hard against him, his h*ps pushed against hers.
“I think we’ve got one in the room with us. Would you like to see it, Melody? I’d be happy to show it to you.”
She was laughing when his lips captured hers, her giggles lost in his kiss. After a moment she broke away, looking up at him.
“I think you better let him out, then. By the feel of things he’s a persistent little monster.”
Logan snorted. “Little? Woman, haven ye not been paying any attention? Little…I’ll show you little.”
He had her on the bed then, his hands tugging at her jeans and his, over her laughter and squeals of delight. Her laughter changed to other sounds as he finally removed enough clothing, lying between her legs, sliding into her.
When they were done, lying spent and gasping, Logan raised up on one elbow. His dark eyes were alight with such a range of emotions, chiefly love, followed closely by the teasing glint that had returned, all of them so welcome after the pain and sadness she’d seen there.
“I’ll dare you to call it little again, Melody.”
She struggled to sit up, leaning back. “And if I do?”
“Aye, well, then I’ll have to prove you wrong.”
He leaned over, kissing her hard. “And it’s something I’d gladly prove wrong, as many times a day as I can.”
* * *
The flight back was much more enjoyable for Melody than the trip from New York. She and Logan discussed the case, all the possible scenarios that could play out with Ashton.
Logan finally brought up Ryan and asked what Melody was going to do when she was back in the office. She could hear the tension in his voice.
“I can’t hide from him, but I can’t let him manipulate me anymore. But I’m certain that if I file a complaint against him, right now he’ll manipulate it to look like my fault. And I’ll lose everything I’ve worked for. And I don’t want to jeopardize your case either. I think, for now, until your case is settled, I’m just going to have to put up with him.”
She sighed, leaning her head against Logan’s shoulder. The sun had set and it was dark as they flew over the Atlantic.
“I’m sleepy and I don’t want to think about Ryan right now.”
Logan laughed. “Fair enough. There’s time to think about him when we’re in New York. Just a question though, something to think about. If you had a witness to his harassment, would it make a difference? It wouldn’t be your word against his anymore, would it?”
Melody looked up at Logan, a frown creasing her brow. “You mean like what you saw at my apartment? I’m not sure…he wasn’t at work then.” She closed her eyes, and he slid an arm around her, pulling her against him.
She was almost asleep and his voice so low she wasn’t sure if she really heard him, or if she’d imagined it when he spoke.
“That’s not quite what I meant.”
* * *
Victoria greeted her warmly if not a little cautiously as Melody walked toward her office. She stopped in her doorway, a little shocked at the chaos that was her desk. Victoria trailed behind her, another stack of files in her hands. Melody scowled at her desk before dropping her purse on the floor and sinking into her desk chair. She waved Victoria toward the chair opposite the desk. But Victoria hesitated in the doorway.
“Mr. Marshall asked that I tell him when you’re here…”
Melody held up one hand. “I am perfectly capable of letting Mr. Marshall know that I’m back. Have a seat and tell me what’s what here.”
Victoria sat down, leafing through the stack of files in her hands. “Well, there’s not much, actually. Most of these have been handled by Mr. Marshall and Lori. The things on your desk are copies and confirmations. I haven’t had a chance to file everything yet.”
“What about the MacKenzie-Ashton case?”
Victoria shook her head. “Mr. Marshall has the file and from what Lori said, is now the lead attorney. So I’m out of the loop on that. She said he’d address the counterclaim himself.”
Victoria looked up in alarm as Melody muttered a curse under her breath.
“I’m sorry if I did anything…”
“No, Victoria, you didn’t. It’s fine.” She passed a hand across her face, forcing herself to smile. “I’m suffering from a bit of jet lag.”
“Did you have a nice trip? You left so suddenly. I hope it wasn’t an emergency.”
“It was an emergency but it turned out for the best.”
Melody rose. “I’m going up to Ryan’s…Mr. Marshall’s office. If you could…” she waved her hand across her desk. “I guess file everything and put them in some kind of order. I’ll be back to look at them later.”
In the elevator Melody tried to control her anger at Ryan. There were grounds for taking over the case in her absence, but without Logan’s knowledge, he couldn’t just appoint himself lead council.
Lori looked up and Melody noticed the look of surprise on the woman’s face. Melody knocked at Ryan’s door and she heard Ryan’s muffled voice from inside.
He was sitting at his work table, files and papers spread out around him. He looked up, a smile spreading across his face.
“Melody. Glad to see you. Your trip was shorter than you anticipated, I see. But I assure you, you were missed every minute you were gone.”
Ryan stood, coming toward Melody, taking her gently by the elbow. The touch of his hand on her arm made her cringe and she tried hard not to pull away. “Sit. We have things to discuss.” He held the chair for her and she reluctantly took a seat.
“Ryan…”
Ryan held up a hand. “Let me start. I’m not going to reprimand you for your leave. It’s in the past. We’ll just move forward from there.”