Page 68 of The Wulver's Bond
She nearly spilled the tea as Cam entered. ‘Cam, honey!’
Meredith raced to him excitedly and swept him into a jangling hug. Cam remembered to turn his head at the last minute so that her bangles didn’t clout him round the ears.
He chuckled warmly and returned the embrace. ‘Hello, Meredith. How are things going at the Teapot?’
‘Brilliantly, hon. Though some people say they don’t like my coffee, butIsay they can shove it, if that’s the case.’
Cam saw Lachlan wince behind her.
‘I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it,’ Lachlan said lightly, ever the optimist. He gently prompted her back on track. ‘You wanted to show Cam the article?’
Meredith whirled back to the desk to grab her phone and pushed it in Cam’s face. ‘This blog post, here. What do you think?’
It was a messy, rambling post on someone’s personal blog from the Shetland Islands. Cam skimmed it in doubt, his eyebrows rising in tandem with his incredulity. ‘Someone thinks they saw a green giant taking a stroll over the island?’
Meredith nodded earnestly. ‘It’s weird, right?’
‘Ye-es, but…’ Cam checked the date stamp. It was from three months ago. ‘… I’m pretty sure there would be more reports about this by now, if it was real. Have you got anything else?’
Meredith’s shoulders slumped. ‘No. I’ve been looking! But nothing in the local news for Shetland. This guy just seems so freaked out. Itsoundsreal, you know?’
Cam scratched his head. ‘Dunno. Could be he’s on something. What do you reckon, Lachy?’
Lachlan’s expression was quiet and thoughtful. ‘I’d agree with you, Cam, except… You remember the text from Arran theother day? It was so out of the blue. I wonder if something’s happened.’
‘Oh, great point.’ Cam had totally forgotten they had an ally based in Shetland. Presumably the Wulver was home by now. ‘Let’s ring him and ask.’
Lachlan’s eyes widened as Cam pulled out his phone and swiped into Contacts.
‘What, rightnow?’ Lachlan caught Cam’s wrist with a nervous laugh. ‘I think Arran might appreciate a little warning.’
Cam looked from Lachlan to the phone, confused. ‘It’s just a phone call.’
Lachlan’s expression scrunched in that patient, sympathetic way of his that suggested he was trying to work out how to explain something to Cam. ‘Arran is very old, and very used to being alone. It’s a… a real change of mindset, to suddenly be contactable at any hour, from anywhere in the world.’
It slowly dawned on Cam that Lachlan was confiding a shared experience. ‘I guess the development of telephones must have been kinda mind-blowing.’
‘Like magic,’ Lachlan replied brightly. ‘Almost as absurd as seeing planes in the sky.’
‘Okay, look. How’s this?’ Cam tapped out a quick message to the Wulver.
Are you free to chat?
Meredith leaned over his shoulder. ‘I hope he is. I’d love to know how our canine friend is doing.’
As a trio, they stared expectantly at the phone in Cam’s hand.
‘I feel like a tree, with you two hanging off me,’ Cam said dryly. ‘Come on, let’s grab a bite—’
The phone pinged.
Yes, I am. Arran
Meredith clapped her hands with delight. ‘Ring him now! Put him on speaker!’
‘Okay, but hush.’ Cam dialled Arran’s number. It rang… five times… six… ten…
‘Why isn’t he picking up?’ Meredith whispered.
