Wild about the Witch Read Online Free PDF Page A

minutes in these impossibly fast cars would be hours on foot.
    His amused chuckle turned into an annoyed frown. He held his hand over the back seat for his fare. “No one lives at that old castle,” he said. “It’s a tourist spot. Unless your brother’s the night watchman, he willna be up there at this hour. I suggest ye check into a room and call him.”
    Catie didn’t want to be shoved out of the car, so handed him his money and got out before he could grumble about the lack of a tip. She only had four pounds left, and knew from buying food on the train that wouldn’t get her much. Certainly not a room for the night. She would have loved to call Lachlan as the driver suggested, but she didn’t know how.
    There was a bench between two potted trees by the inn’s entrance and she sat down, pulling out her map to see if she stood a chance of walking to the castle. Alone. In the dark night of a strange and scary time.
    Before she could work up her Ferguson warrior fierceness, a woman in a knee length dress stuck her head out. “Are ye all right, miss? Are ye needing to check in?” She came over and stood in front of Catie, and looking up at her from her sad perch, Catie could see she was a kind looking, motherly type. “Come inside, lass,” she urged, looking back at the door with worry. “I’ve got a load of historical re-enactors in the bar and need to keep an eye on their shenanigans.”
    “I dinna have enough money for a room, and the driver wouldna take me to my brother.”
    “Who’s your brother, love?” She patted Catie’s shoulder and took a step back toward the door.
    “Lachlan Ferguson,” she said.
    The woman’s face lifted with astonishment before falling into bewilderment. “Did he know ye were coming?” she asked.
    Catie sighed with relief. This lady acted as if she knew who Lachlan was, which could only be a good thing. “No, it’s a surprise visit.”
    “Ah, bad luck, that,” she said, whipping around at a large cheer and then a crash from the inn. “Bloody historians,” she muttered. “I’ll send my son out for ye,” she promised before she flew back inside.
    Catie wasn’t sure what to make of her new information. It seemed Lachlan at least existed in this time, but what was bad luck? Before she had time to think about it, a lanky lad around her age, maybe a couple years older, came out, looked around, and then smiled when he saw her. He came forward at an alarming pace and stopped close to the bench.
    When she looked into the lad’s grinning face, she felt something she never felt before, almost like she’d missed a step and landed with a jolt, causing her heart to pound a little harder for a second. He had a rugged, outdoorsy look to him, very broad in the shoulders, with shaggy ginger hair and freckles smattered across his straight nose and strong cheekbones. Even in the dim light she could see his eyes were spring grass green, and friendly.
    He wore the dark blue trousers everyone seemed to wear and a black shirt, like the one she wore, simple and boxy, and it stretched against his chest. Catie felt her cheeks go hot and she couldn’t imagine what her hair must look like after the long day.
    “Lachlan’s your brother, then?” he asked, tilting his head to study her.
    She didn’t look anything like her brothers, and she hoped he didn’t think she was lying. She blushed harder when she thought he might find her lacking if he did believe her. Being plain while having two gorgeous siblings was like being a dusty brown moth amongst butterflies.
    “I thought he lived at the castle, but the driver said no one lives up there,” she said. “And then he left.”
    “He’s an idiot, then.” He held out his hand. “I’m Shane. My brothers and I work up there.”
    She took his hand and he pumped it up and down before letting it drop. “Ye do? So Lachlan does live there?”
    “Aye, and aye. With Miss Sinclair, my boss. Wait a tick and I’ll drive ye up there right