Fiona MacCarran arrives in the Highlands with a dual purpose. She undertakes the new position as glen teacher but she must also fulfill a family obligation. In order for her family to receive their inheritance, each member has a task. Fiona's is to marry a wealthy Highlander and sketch real fairies. Her family is rich in fairy lore and Fiona relishes the chance to explore the Highlands. She ignores her brother's warning that the hills are dangerous and filled with Scots running illegal whiskey stills. When Fiona sees Douglas MacGregor emerging from the mist, the entire storytelling legends of the ancient fairy warriors seems to come alive. Douglas quickly disabuses her fantasy as he hustles her to her lodgings.
Douglas MacGregor, Laird of Kinloch, protects the secret whiskey recipe the fairies bestowed upon his ancestors. The brew can never be sold, only given away, or bad times will fall upon the MacGregors and their people. To keep their promise, the MacGregors have perfected a distinct whiskey to sell. With the illogical English laws, Douglas cannot sell. Instead, he smuggles illegal whiskey to keep the glen solvent. Always one step ahead of the Crown's excise officers, Douglas does not need the sister of an excise officer in the glen.
Douglas' simple life in the glen ends as his attraction to Fiona grows. And Fiona feels a connection to the rebel Highlander that will only bring her grief, for she must fulfill her duty to her family and ignore her heart's yearnings.
Ms. Gabriel continues interweaving her stories with magical Scottish fairy lore. The romance that simmers between Fiona and Douglas sparkles and Ms. Gabriel makes it fun to be swept away into the beautiful Highlands, where legends and whiskey stills fill the countryside.
Her time is nearly out . . .
To claim her inheritance, Fiona MacCarran must marry a wealthy Highlander, and soon. Arriving in the misty Highlands as a schoolteacher, she despairs of finding an acceptable groom . . . until she meets Dougal MacGregor. She knows he's just a smuggler, and yet when the handsome laird pulls her into his arms, she forgets about obligations, the law, and finding that perfect Highland groom.
He must save his clan . . .
Moving his finest whiskeyβand fastβis the only way Dougal can protect his people. It should be simple, but nothing is easy with Fiona MacCarran around. He cannot allow himself to be distracted by the sensual schoolmistress. After all, a Highland rebel and a law-abiding lass could never have a future together . . . or could they? Soon they are caught in a battle between honor and desire, with the only victory lying in sweet, sweet surrender.
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