Page 29 of Loving Netta Wilde

He put his arm around her. ‘And how did he take it?’

‘He was equally outraged.’ She thought it best not to mention that Frank had pointed an accusing finger at him.

‘I’m not surprised. I mean, he’s a bit of a dickhead but he seems like a decent guy.’

She slapped his thigh. ‘Frank is not a dickhead. Okay, he can be a bit of a dickhead sometimes. But in a nice way. Anyway, you hardly know him.’

‘I wouldn’t say that. We bonded this afternoon over a beer and a smoke.’

So that was why Frank had been sleeping it off, he’d been on the old wacky baccy.

‘And we got on okay when he was camping on Grace’s farm.’

‘Ah. You did remember him then? Does he know, you know?’

‘Yep. And he knows you know too. I told him.’

She put her head in her hands. ‘So did I.’

19

THE THING ABOUT NETTA WILDE

Time was, Doogie enjoyed nothing more than lying in until late in the morning. Moving to Scotland changed that. Actually, getting involved with Grace changed that. It was hard not to feel a prick of conscience when the person you were sleeping with was getting up before dawn to milk the cows. He rolled over in bed and checked the time. Six-fifteen. She’d be collecting the hens’ eggs now and thinking about her breakfast.

When he’d moved to Scotland, he’d wanted to get away from Manchester. His mum’s family came from the west coast. Although they’d moved to Glasgow when his grandad was young, the Macraes liked to remind you of their roots. Doogie’s uncle had a holiday cottage close to where his great-grandparents and the rest of the Macrae clan had lived. His grandad had stayed there for the last six months of his life, before the cancer finally took him. Doogie had put in a lot of time getting to know the old man in those six months, spending weeks there, just the two of them. Before then he’d always disliked the miserable old bastard, but a begrudging fondness had gradually crept in, and he’d been genuinely gutted when old Dougal Macrae took his last breath.

He didn’t return to Scotland until years later. He’d been on the run from the life he hated and the person he hated even more. Himself. He’d lost Netta for a second time to Colin the Wanker after she walked away from him. He’d accidentally become a father with Claire, probably his best friend in the whole world, and he’d abandoned her and their daughter. Sure, he provided for them financially but physically, he was gone. That was the point he was at when he’d offered to drive some musician friends up to the Highlands to record an album. They’d stayed near Sanna Bay. It was further north than his uncle’s place, but as soon as he got there, Doogie felt the pull of his roots. That same connection with the other half of his heritage just wasn’t there. When he was younger it had been an ongoing source of resentment. These days he didn’t let it bother him. Mainly because he refused to think about it.

Within months of that trip, he’d sold up and moved there. At first, he’d rented the cottage from Grace. Eventually, he persuaded her to sell it to him. They got to know each other and their relationship grew from being occasional bed partners to something else. He thought about sending Grace a message and decided against it, because where would that get them? Absolutely nowhere. She only wanted to hear one thing from him. The one thing he was having difficulty saying.

To take his mind off home, he tiptoed down Netta’s creaky old stairs. Maud was in one of the armchairs. He couldn’t see the other two, but he could hear whining and growling coming from the back of the house. It sounded like Betty was getting aggressive again.

He stopped dead in the kitchen doorway. The growling was coming from Spike, and he was only shagging the shit out of Betty. ‘For fuck’s sake, Spike. Get off her.’

Spike gave one last push and climbed off Betty who didn’t look too unhappy. He wasn’t exactly hanging his head in shameeither. Although, with the full extent of his manhood on display, it looked like he had plenty to be proud of.

‘Put it away before anyone else comes down, you dirty get.’ Doogie opened up the back door and shoved Spike outside. Betty tried to follow but he grabbed her collar and held her back.

‘I think she wants to go out.’ Netta padded along the hall in her bare feet. He hadn’t heard her come down.

‘She’s been having another go at Spike. I thought I’d keep them apart.’

‘I don’t know what’s wrong with her lately. She’s usually so easy going.’

‘She’s not in season, is she?’

‘She can’t be, she’s not bleeding.’

‘Ah right, can’t be that then.’ Thank fuck for that. Except, he was sure they were properly doing it, and dogs weren’t like humans. They didn’t properly do it for fun.

‘What are you up to today?’ said Netta.

‘I’ve got a meeting to go to. A client. I thought while I was in the area we could do a face to face.’

‘Oh great. Talking of meetings, I’m going to invite Mum and Dad over for dinner. Frank as well, if he can make it. We need to talk about Colin.’

‘Okay. You want me to stay away?’

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