Page 84 of The Moon Sister
‘Why didn’t you radio?’ he asked me as he virtually carried me to the warmth of the newer car and turned the heating up full-blast.
‘I left it at Chilly’s,’ I said as Cal did a scary three-point turn and we set off, the wipers at full pelt. ‘He was ill.’
‘Jesus, Tig! Yae know the first rule here is to always have the radio pack with you! D’you know how worried I’ve been when you didnae answer?! You could ha’ died out here! It’s a miracle I found you in this!’
‘Sorry,’ I said, my frozen hands and feet tingling as warmth began to flood back through them.
‘When you didnae come back, I went tae Zed and begged tae borrow his smart new car. I’d reckon this piece o’ steel has saved your life tonight.’
‘I’ll go and thank him tomorrow,’ I said. ‘And thankyou, Cal,’ I added as he helped me out and into the cottage. ‘I’m really, really sorry.’
Later, as Cal piled my bed with blankets, made me a hot toddy and a hot-water bottle, I thought how blessed I was to have him. Never mind spirit guides, I seemed to have my own protector here on earth.
17
I was relieved that the only ill effect I suffered from after my night in the blizzard was a chill, which eventually turned into a stinking cough and cold.
‘Chilly was right again,’ I said to Cal over breakfast a few days later. ‘He said I’d be sick. How is he?’
‘Och, right as rain now. He was worried about you though.’
‘I’m fine, really,’ I said, though I still felt drained, probably from all the coughing and sneezing. ‘Are you okay?’ I asked him. ‘You’ve been a bit quiet in the last couple of days.’
‘No, Tig, I’m not. The Laird had promised a visit today and has just cancelled on me again. I had a list as long as my arm of stuff I wanted tae talk to him about, including gettin’ a replacement for Beryl.’
‘I presume you mean the car, not the housekeeper?’ I smiled at him.
‘Hah! It’s nae a laughin’ matter, Tig. If I hadn’t found you that night, and wi’ Beryl having no heating, you could have died o’ hypothermia. Ditto, this cottage; it’s freezing too. Caitlin told me I had to ask for proper central heating. Aye, I told her, any budget’s been spent on the poncey house tae please her ladyship and the guests. An’ it’s just not fair on the staff.’
‘Cal MacKenzie, Kinnaird Shop Steward,’ I commented wryly.
‘Afore I go back tae my potholes, I’m calling him and booking a telephone meeting. Charlie’s not going tae wriggle out of his responsibilities again.’
‘Maybe you could ask him what he wants me to do, while you’re at it? I’ve got no proper work other than to throw in kill to the cats, and let’s face it, Lochie could be doing that on a permanent basis.’
‘Yes, but I’ll nae talk you out of a job, Tig,’ he said as he left.
Half an hour later, I lit a fire and settled on the sofa with Thistle; me reading a book, Thistle snoring loudly. I noticed his breathing sounded noisier than usual and that he gave a couple of little coughs in his sleep.
‘I hope you haven’t caught my cold,’ I said, stroking his ears to soothe him.
There was a sharp rap on the door and, immediately, Thistle bounded off the sofa and began to growl.
‘Heel,’ I ordered him, and he came to me reluctantly. ‘Sit!’ I said as I opened the door to see Zed standing there.
‘Hi,’ I said, knowing I had to at least thank him. ‘Come in.’
‘Is it safe?’ he asked, as Thistle continued to emit a low growl.
‘I’ll get his lead and hold him on that,’ I said, not prepared to put him outside after what had happened last time. I reached for where I’d hung the lead on the peg beside the door and fastened it onto his collar. ‘Come on, Thistle.’ I dragged him across the floor to the sofa.
‘First of all,’ I said as I sat down, ‘thank you so much for letting Cal use the Range Rover to rescue me. And also, for these.’ I indicated the new flowers on the windowsill, which had turned up on my doorstep a couple of days ago. ‘They really cheered me up.’
‘Did they? Then I am happy. So,’ he continued as he sat down gingerly in the chair next to the fire, eyeing Thistle warily, ‘I hear the Laird is not coming up to Kinnaird today after all? What a shame, I was looking forward to meeting him.’
‘So was I,’ I said. ‘I had lots of things to discuss with him and so did Cal.’
‘It must be difficult when you have an absentee boss, I would imagine.’
