Page 16 of Christmas at the Scottish Lodge
‘Stay still,’ Jed ordered. ‘How hurt are you?’ he rasped, trying to keep himself calm. Dammit. If he needed any confirmation that his feelings for Mairi hadn’t faded, this was the equivalent of a twelve-foot neon sign.
‘I’m okay, just embarrassed,’ she croaked and tried to move again. Jed gently helped her turn over before checking her eyes. ‘You don’t look concussed,’ he said, helping her sit as relief washed through him.
‘It’s cold,’ she muttered as her narrow shoulders began to shake. She glanced around. ‘Did you see Bear?’
‘Not yet. I’m more worried about you,’ Jed said huskily, fighting the urge to take her into his arms.
‘I feel like an idiot.’ She swiped a hand across her face. ‘We have to find Bear.’ She looked around and started to reach for a nearby branch.
‘I’ll help.’ He took her hand so he could pull her up, then held on.
‘Thank you.’ Mairi winced as soon as she was on her feet. ‘I might have twisted my ankle. Of course I did…’ She sighed. She kept one foot higher and leaned on him heavily.
Jed’s heart sank. This was a mess. He should have listened to instinct and taken Mairi back to the lodge. Now they were stuck in the middle of the woods and the storm was growing worse. He had to focus. He gritted his teeth. ‘You can’t walk like that. I’ll have to call mountain rescue.’
A fall like hers wouldn’t normally be an emergency, but the weather was bad. He’d known people freeze in the sub-zero temperatures, and there was no way of knowing how long they’d be stuck. Jed made to pull his mobile from his pocket.
‘Absolutely not!’ Mairi yelled, shoving a gloved hand over his. ‘You can’t. You know that. Quinn might come. I know he’s on call at the moment and he covers the Cairngorms.’ Her eyes flashed. ‘He can’t find me here. Especially not with you.’ She sounded panicked. ‘How would we explain it? He doesn’t know where I am. I’ve been avoiding his calls.’
Jed sighed. Mairi was right, his friend wouldn’t be happy – and he’d want to know why no one had mentioned his sister’s visit. What a mess.
‘I thought I’d just come, get the divorce and go.’ Mairi’s full mouth wobbled. ‘It was supposed to be easy. You don’t want me – all you had to do was sign.’ She sniffed.
Jed stared at her, his heart in his throat. ‘I—’ he started.
‘You’ve got a new girlfriend,’ she continued, gulping when she turned to look at him, her expression earnest. ‘Bonnie is beautiful and she’s obviously into you.’ Her voice cracked. ‘So, what’s going on, do you need more than one woman in your life?’ Her eyes glittered.
‘Mairi—’ Jed warned, his guts twisting. He could hear grief in her voice and knew it was his fault. Everything about this situation was his doing.
Mairi gulped. ‘Am I just a back-up in case your new girlfriend doesn’t work out? Because you know that’s not fair.’ She blinked as icy snowballs spun into her face.
Jed couldn’t form the right words, couldn’t explain without giving too much away, so he glanced around. ‘I can’t talk about this now,’ he croaked. ‘If we can’t call mountain rescue, then we need to find shelter and wait this out.’
‘What about Bear?’ Mairi gripped his arm.
‘He must be out here,’ he said. ‘I definitely heard a bark earlier. We’ll find somewhere for you to rest that ankle and I’ll track him.’ His words were punctuated by a yowl of wind that whipped through the trees, bringing with it a barrage of snow.The tips of the fir trees dipped as they were pummelled and dumped a heap of fresh snow on their heads.
Mairi swiped ice from the tip of her nose. ‘Is this wind normal?’ she asked, sounding afraid.
‘Not really,’ Jed said as the tension across his shoulders grew worse. ‘There’s an abandoned bothy around here somewhere. Quinn and I used to sneak into it when we were kids. I can’t remember where it is, exactly.’ He glanced around, but the wind was swirling so hard he could barely see beyond his own feet. He knew the weather could change on the mountain in moments. Why had he allowed Mairi to walk into this? ‘We need to find shelter. I’m sorry, but it’ll be quicker if you let me carry you.’
‘I don’t think?—’
Jed didn’t wait to hear what Mairi had to say, he simply bent and scooped her up, trying not to react to having her so close. He tried not to remember the last time he’d held her like this. Back in Las Vegas, just after they’d married…
She let out a soft ‘Umph’ and looped her arms around his neck as he tramped right, letting instinct guide him. He hadn’t been to the old bothy in years but knew the mountains and had always trusted his sixth sense in the past. At least until the accident.
‘Bear!’ Mairi shouted as he walked, scouring the landscape, trying to catch sight of his pet. It was then he spotted something large and grey through the storm.
‘Is that shelter?’ Mairi shouted just as they heard another bark.
‘Aye. I think we’ve found Bear too,’ he rasped, watching as the dog came bounding from their right, almost tripping him up. ‘Where have you been, boy? You need to stay,’ he ordered as the dog barked again and then scampered away.
‘Come back!’ Mairi yelled as Jed stumbled towards the small grey stone building. He was out of breath but didn’t want toput Mairi down. He could feel her shivering, could feel the answering shudders in his own limbs.
‘How are we going to get in?’ Mairi asked anxiously as he reluctantly put her down so she could lean against the wall of the building. There was a door with a large padlock securing it. When Jed had come with Quinn, the place had always been unlocked.
‘Looks like someone might have bought the place. I’m going to have to break in,’ he said, searching for a rock in the snow and using it to smash the lock. ‘I’ll find out who the owners are and apologise, I’m sure they’ll understand – especially if I offer free skiing lessons and fix whatever I break,’ he told her. He bashed the padlock and was relieved when it fractured.
