Ruthless Highlander's Kiss (Slow Updates)

Chapter 2

"I could've pulled it out myself, you know." He grumbled under his breath.

He need an ice pack Katrina, because you just burned his pride to ashes! My inner voice began to gloat. She was so feminist.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you."

"Nothing."

"Well daddy," I cooed playfully, grabbing the straps of my bag and giving it a hard pull. "When you're done sulking, I'll see you inside, okay?" I reached up, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before walking past him. At the corner of my eye, I caught him shaking his head while smiling at my retreating figure. Men will be men.

The large bag bounced uneasily over the rocks and pebbles on the path as I dragged it towards the small stone building. Geez this thing was heavy! The bag was twice my size in width, and the wheels didn't help with lightening the load either.

As I heaved the bag up the wooden stairs, my arms ached from the amount of effort. Damn you gravity; always pulling objects back down to the earth.

"You okay there sweetie?" Mom appeared from the door. "Do you need some help?" I nearly rolled my eyes at her question. If my strained groans and sweaty, red palms weren't clearly showing her that I was in dire need of assistance, then I don't know what would.

"No thanks. I can handle this." I sighed.

"Suite yourself." She shrugged before going back inside.

Once I finally managed to reach the arched doorway, I quickly rolled the duffel bag behind me as I entered the house. I took in my surroundings.

Inside is very decent; wooden polished floor covered by shaggy carpets. A unique cultural design mix of old and new, rare and inexpensive. There's even a neat little fireplace in the living room.

"Katrina! Come in the kitchen, we need to talk." Mom shouted, causing me to stop my advances towards the main room. What could she want?

Resting my bag against the wall, I headed towards the direction her voice came from.

As I entered the kitchen, Tyler ran past me, nearly causing me to trip over my foot when I dodged him. Before I could tell him off, mom spoke first. "Katrina honey, look at these. Aren't they just beautiful?"

I turn my attention to the woman standing by the breakfast island. She examined a vase of blue bells, bringing the blue petals to her face and taking a deep inhale.

"They even come with a message" she picked up a little white card with cursive fine-print writing. "'Welcome Guests. Please enjoy your stay in Scotland.' The people here sure know how to make visitors feel welcomed." She laughed softly.

"Look, I have an hour-long appointment with the bathroom, and I'm already running late. What do you need mom?" I didn't mean to sound rude, but I didn't want to stand there and hear meaningless things about flowers and greeting cards. I just want her to get straight to the point so I can soak my sore muscles in a nice, hot bath and go to sleep. I spent an entire day on a plane of over 50 noisy passengers. I deserve peace and solitude right now.

As if getting the message, she dropped her smile and put on a serious facade. I didn't like that look; it meant bad news. Whatever she had to say was definitely going to upset me.

"Right. Well, I went online and researched some Universities for you to apply for, and..." she stopped, biting her bottom lip nervously.

My eyes narrowed at her strange behavior.

"And?" I pressed for her to continue. I wasn't liking where this conversation was going.

"Don't be mad, but the University of Glasgow is starting a hands-on training program for the summer. I've already signed you up for it." She pulls out a sheet of paper from her handbag and holds it out to me. "It starts tomorrow, well technically today, so you'll have to get up pretty early in the morning if we want to get there on time."