All for the Heiress Read Online Free PDF Page A

as she could see. Normally the vast expanse of green calmed her down. She loved the castle and its grounds more than her own childhood home, but today it seemed to taunt her and offer no comfort.
    Shane and his goats were still quite small in the distance, but he’d seen her and waved his arms over his head. Even as she felt a tug of annoyance, a smile took over her face.
    Why was she helping Shane Brodie? Of course they were friends, after a fashion. They’d been quite close when they were very young, up until … she shook her head. It wasn’t worth thinking about the past, it only added to her irritation and guilt, a terrible combination of feelings.
    There weren’t that many people her age in Castle on Hill, and they ended up hanging out together now whether they chose it or not. Everyone gathered for the village festivals and parades, went to each other’s birthday parties. Whenever the theater changed films, everyone gathered to see the new one. She’d sat a row ahead of him just the night before, and he’d given her and her friend Elise an Aero bar to share.
    Elise had been suspicious, but Mellie put her at ease, explaining how she’d fixed his head for him, but feeling oddly protective and not mentioning the pig.
    Shane’s reputation suffered when he’d broken up with his longtime girlfriend, and dated three girls in a row directly after, disappointing each one when it didn’t become serious.
    Mellie thought they were hypocrites to criticize him while simultaneously wanting him to be their boyfriend. They’d prattled on about what a player he was, and not to be trusted, and his ex-girlfriend Bridget helped fan the flames in her lust for revenge, and he’d ended up with his bad reputation.
    Of course he didn’t help matters, posting party pictures on the internet during the summers he spent with his aunt and uncle in Spain. He had to know he was the subject of the town’s wagging tongues and was either stupid or willfully giving them grist for their gossip mill. Or, she thought guiltily, having taken part in some of the gossip herself, he was just living his life and they should all butt out.
    When she finally came upon him, looking surprisingly capable in his heavy boots and thick coat, she was short of breath from anxiety as well as the trudge.
    “What brings ye all the way up here?” he asked, and she held up her phone with a grimace. “That’s amazing,” he said. “Ye’re like a secret criminal mastermind to get that so quickly.”
    “Don’t say that.” Her chest constricted more. “That makes me feel worse.”
    He shooed away a curious goat that insisted on nosing at her leg, then led her to the golf cart he’d used to ride out there. She sat under the awning and stared at the mountains, trying to unwind her twisted nerves.
    “We really aren’t doing anything wrong, are we?” he asked reasonably. “Ye said this sort of thing has happened to people without their trying, right?”
    She nodded, not feeling much better. It seemed she was destined to feel mildly guilty all the time.
    “Shall we go tomorrow, first thing?” he asked.
    “Are you mad?” She turned to him and saw he was serious, and shook her head at his lack of sense. “It’s not like popping over to the next village. We’ll need to be prepared. We’ll need clothes, and money from that time. Maps, if we can get them, and most certainly we’ll need weapons.”
    “Christ, Mel, what would I do if ye didna want to come with me?”
    “You’d die,” she said tartly, but softened it with a smile, unable to suppress the little wisp of excitement that fluttered within her. “You’d die within five minutes, just like I said.” She took out the small notebook she’d brought and flipped it open to the first page.
    Shane grinned. “Brilliant, let’s make a list.”
    He didn’t sound sarcastic and she was gratified when he had some actual good ideas.
    “We’ll need cover stories, too,” she said. “So no one worries,