THE MISSING M0MENTS - PART 1 - BY: MOMI

The couple sitting by the loch looked both loving and sad. Stella watched them from the house wondering what would be the outcome. She mentally shrugged her shoulders and decided to call it a day. It had turned out better than she had thought and she was looking forward to relaxing back at her room in town with a hot cup of tea.

Down at the loch, Archie turned to Katrina and said, "I think we need to talk about this. Do you want to stay for dinner?"

Katrina shook her blond head. "Not tonight, Archie," she said quietly. "I've got to think and I need an early night. It's Inverness first thing in the morning."

Archie stood and held out a hand to Katrina. They walked back to the house and Katrina turned to leave. "Katrina, tomorrow evening then. It's the weekend and we'll have a quiet dinner at your place, okay?"

"That's fine, Arch. It's a date." She leaned over and brushed her lips against his cheek then turned to get into her car. Archie watched her leave, his feelings in turmoil. What were they going to do, he wondered. A deep sigh escaped his lips and he went in to ready himself for dinner. He needed to put on a pleasant face for the family, after all their support today.

Molly glanced at Archie as he walked into the dining room. She noticed that his smile didn't reach his eyes. She wished she could help him, but realized this is one problem he needed to work out for himself. Conversation revolved around Stella - how they stood up to her and wondering what plans she had for the estate. As it concluded, Archie excused himself saying he wanted to review Stella's proposal and be ready for anything tomorrow.

He walked into the library and picked up the folder Stella had left. Was it worth it, saving the estate, he wondered. It took so much time and money and now it might be taking something else away. He looked around the room with its worn furniture. Centuries of MacDonalds walked these halls. Why was he the one to be handed the responsibility?

He sat down in the chair and laid the folder on the floor. Glenbogle, he thought. You can't get away from it. He had already paid a hefty price, giving up the restaurant and the woman who had made him happy for five years. A whole way of life, gone in a blink. He thought about Justine. He had loved her. He sometimes missed her wicked sense of humor. She really tried to make it here, but she was a fish out of water. What he hadn't expected was his own complicity in bringing their relationship to an end. He could not bring himself to walk away from here, and it surprised him. In the end, it was his choice to give up the dream of staying with Justine and the life they had planned. If he was honest with himself, he knew that part of that decision was realizing that he never shared his life at Glenbogle with her; she was unprepared for it. But in fairness to himself, he had honestly believed that it wasn't his life. It was an agonizing time, with the two of them seeing that maybe they didn't have as much in common as they thought. And there was Katrina.

From their first meeting in the woods, she intrigued him. She was so intense, so passionate about her interests. She wasn't crazy about him at first and he wasn't too sure about her, but there was something that pulled at the two of them. An awareness, a competitiveness and definitely a sexual tension. They had a long period of a rocky non-relationship. She was fire to his ice. They couldn't seem to be together for any length of time before the bickering would start. When she left with Fergal, he was angry with himself for not saying anything to her about his feelings. Then when she returned, it seemed everything conspired to keep them apart.

For a moment, Archie smiled. He was thinking of Lexie and how that tiny scrap of a housekeeper had pushed him and Katrina together. She was quite special. As if thinking about her, conjured her up, Lexie appeared in the doorway with a glass of whiskey. She could see his suffering and wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around him and tell him everything would be okay.

"I'm off to my rest, now. But I thought you might be needing this. Archie, son, it's been a long day and there's more tomorrow. Finish the whiskey and get yourself some sleep." As she handed him the whiskey she leaned over and kissed the top of his head. "Night, night," she whispered as she left.

He sipped a bit of whiskey and let his mind wander again. Katrina. She needed a challenge and she loved politics. He chuckled at that thought. Yes, she was definitely a Party person. Her most recent challenge had been trying to reform him, turn him into a socialist. On and on she would go about how the idea of lairdship needed to be thrown in the dustbin. That Glenbogle belonged to the people. Well, they did agree on that point, but not how to accomplish it. She was smart and he often thought the estate and his family wouldn't be enough for her. She was gracious and would attend functions with him, but could it be enough? This was a great opportunity for her, she worked so hard for the recognition. Could he ask her to give it up and stay and help him with estate, to work against what she believed. What a conundrum. He sighed, Lexie was right. He'd finish his drink and headed off to bed.

To be continued...