Page 55 of Sighs of the Highland Wind
He laughed, embarrassed at being caught staring. “I was just thinking how hard ye work,” he answered. “It is no’ fair. Ye should be dressed in silk, an’ married to some rich fellow with gold tae spare instead o’ grubbin’ about in the dirt.” His voice was bitter. He wished he could be the man who could give Ava the kind of life she deserved.
Ava chuckled, then shrugged. “It is a nice dream, Cam,” she remarked, “but I will never marry a rich man. I will likely no’ marry any man at a’, the way things are goin’!” She sighed, deeply and wearily, then bent to her task once more.
It was on the tip of his tongue to say,‘marry me,’and he had just taken a breath to say the words when Rona came out of the cottage holding a cup of ale for each of them. She looked up at Cameron adoringly as she handed him the cup. It was no secret that she had a passionate crush on him. Cameron knew it, but he never teased her about it.
“Thank ye, Rona,” he said gratefully, smiling and making her blush with self-consciousness. He raised the cup and looked at each of them in turn, smiling broadly. “To beautiful lassies,” he said, before drinking deeply.
“To handsome lads,” Ava echoed, chuckling.
Cameron finished his drink and handed the cup back to Rona. “Time I was going,” he said regretfully. “There is plenty o’ work to be done today.”
“Thank you for helping us.” Ava put an arm around her sister as she spoke, for she never wanted her to be left out of anything.
Cameron had often noticed this and frequently wondered if Ava felt like more of a mother than a sister to Rona. Her affection for her much younger sibling was touching in its tenderness, and he suddenly saw her with a tiny baby in her arms - his baby. The thought took him by surprise to such an extent that he almost gasped in shock, but cleared his throat at the last moment instead.
“I am always glad to help ye,” he replied, smiling. “Please give my regards to your Da. I will be thinkin’ o’ him, an’ Ava, if there is anythin’ else I can do, send a message an’ I will find a way to help ye.”
Ava nodded, because she could not speak. His kindness had touched her deeply, and her throat had closed with tears.
If Cameron had noticed, he gave no sign of it, not wanting to embarrass her. He mounted Jimmy and they rode away, waving.
Rona sighed. “What a kind man he is.”
“Indeed, he is,” Ava agreed, watching as Cameron disappeared into the trees. “I have never met a kinder or a better one than Cam.”
Fortunately, Ava’s father slept well that night, and although he still coughed the next morning, it was nowhere near as bad as it had been the day before.
“I hope he is able to rest and have a better day than yesterday,” Rona remarked as she dished up their porridge. “He deserves a bit o’ peace.” Her young, pretty face was anxious as she gazed at him.
Ava had often thought that Rona loved her father more than she and Janet did because she had never known her mother. She knew that Rona would be devastated when the end finally came. However, she chased the thought out of her mind and decided to worry about it when it happened. She did not feel that she was being hard-hearted, since there was nothing she could do about his death. It was inevitable.
“I wish I could do some wee thing for Cam,” she said as she ate their midday meal, “he has been so good tae us, an’ we have never paid him back.”
Janet shrugged. “He has never asked us tae pay him,” she pointed out.
“I don’t mean payment in money,” Ava said. She felt irritated with her sister. “I mean somethin’ nice. Rona, could ye do some o’ his mendin’? You are good wi’ a needle.”
“Aye, I could dae that.” Rona was eager, her golden brown eyes shining with enthusiasm.
“We have a lot o’ hay this year,” Janet suggested. “I know he doesnae have enough land to grow hay on, so we can give him a wee bit o’ ours.”
“That is a very good idea,” Ava said, nodding in approval. “We could ask him to come over wi’ his cart an’ help him load it.”
“When would we have time to dae that?” Janet asked. “We work every hour the sun shines, an’ there is nae time left.”
“Sunday,” Ava replied matter-of-factly. “We can do it then.”
Her two sisters looked shocked.
“We cannae work on a Sunday!” Rona gasped. “It’s a sin.”
Ava shrugged. “I won’t tell if you don’t,” she said mischievously.
Rona and Janet looked at each other, then Janet nodded reluctantly. It would mean a lot of extra work for her, and she looked forward to her day of rest, but Ava was right. Cameron did deserve a huge amount of gratitude for all the help he had given them over the years, especially since Colin Struthers had been ill.
“I will take a walk over to his place an’ tell him,” Ava declared. “I can collect his mendin’ an’ tell him about the hay.” She looked up and saw that Rona was just about to ask to go with her before she shook her head. “Somebody needs to look after Da,” she said firmly. Janet stifled a giggle.
Ava left early on Sunday morning. Cameron’s little parcel of land was about a quarter of a mile away from their croft and the road was a straight, smooth one, so she knew it would not take her long to get there. She felt light-hearted and cheerful at the thought of seeing ‘her’ Cameron again.
