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"I am watching." He stops looking out the window, and though he faces forward, he keeps glancing at me sideways. "Land mines donnae scare you, but my driving does. Is that right?"
"Yes."
Errol swerves around another corner, then mercifully slows down to a normal speed. When we reach the café, he veers his car into a parallel parking space. It winds up perfectly placed in the slot. How can he do that? The man is nuts, but I can't help admiring his driving skills.
Not that I will ever get in a car with him again. I'd rather walk back to my house.
When I move to open my door, Errol swings an arm out to block my body. "Allow me,gràidh. A gentleman doesn't let a lass climb out of the car without giving her a hand."
"But a gentleman does scare the holy living shit out of a woman with his reckless driving."
"Stay where you are, please."
He gets out and trots to my side, then pulls the door open and offers me his hand. I hesitate briefly, then accept it. We've parked on the opposite side of the street from the café, so we jog across both lanes to reach the entrance to the outdoor section of the restaurant. Errol holds my hand while we cross the street. This man confuses the heck out of me. Gentleman or lunatic? He's both, but that doesn't seem possible.
Errol Murdoch is an enigma.
We find a table in the outdoor portion of the café, and Errol pulls my chair out for me. I glance at him with what must seem like shock on my face, but he just smiles a touch and pats my shoulder. Then he sits in the chair across from me while we both browse our menus.
"Look at that," a male voice behind me says, his tone full of humor. "Errol Murdoch finally got a girlfriend."
"Donnae be rude," Errol says. "Come out from hiding behind the lass."
A man almost as muscular as Errol comes up alongside our table, where we can both see him. The man thrusts his hand out to me. "I'm Callum MacTaggart, Errol's much more fun cousin. I ride a Harley, after all. My cousin just has that wretched Marilyn."
"Who is Marilyn?" I ask. "Errol won't tell me."
"Then I'd better not ruin the surprise."
"Aye, ye best not," Errol says, sounding a touch grumpy. "Why don't you tell Ashley what your wife calls your Harley?"
Callum chuckles. "Kate wants to call it 'Brad.' Donnae ask me why. No one will be calling my bike by a man's name."
"I'm Ashley Hartman, by the way," I tell Callum. "And I am not Errol's girlfriend."
"Too bad. I've never seen my cousin with a woman before, unless he was hanging out with Piper or one of our cousins who are lasses." Callum rubs his chin as if he's thinking hard, but it seems like sarcasm. "Of course, Errol spends most of his time out of the country. Maybe he has a harem hidden somewhere."
"I donnae have a harem," Errol says. "But Ashley and I came here to discuss business. That means we don't want to hear about your Harley anymore."
Callum rolls his eyes in the direction of the street. "I saw the way you drove up to the café. I'm surprised Ashley didn't run for the hills the second the car stopped. Sticking with the scorched-earth method, eh, mate?"
"Haud yer wheesht, Callum. Donnae see your wife here, so she must've gotten tired of you too."
"Touchy, aren't you? Kate sent me to get breakfast and take it home. But I'll leave you and Ashley to discuss yourbusiness."
Callum winks at me, then walks away.
"Is your entire family weird and sarcastic?" I ask.
"Aye, the entire family. I could tell you stories about my cousins and their bizarre behavior. Might make me seem like the normal one."
"Hmm. Not sure I believe that. But I would love to hear stories about your family."
"Later. Right now, we need to talk about the expedition."
We order delicious food and enjoy it while we hash out the details of our mission, mostly what equipment we'll need once we get to the Grand Canyon. Earlier, Errol had pointed out that this will be an illegal expedition, though I prefer to think of it as unsanctioned. After all, the national parks belong to the whole country. I don't intend to destroy anything in my quest to vindicate my father. No, I want to preserve whatever we find.
After breakfast, we head back to Errol's car. He opens the door for me, and as I climb inside, he gazes at me with a strange expression. "You shouldn't have sold your house for this, Ashley. Will you have anything left when it's over?"
