Page 22 of Christmas at the Scottish Lodge
His aunt followed the movement of the door, before cocking her head. ‘Is my lad okay?’ she asked quietly. ‘He doesn’t seem himself.’ Her blue eyes were sharp as she looked into Mairi’s, before they momentarily dropped to the bouquet.
‘Neither of us slept much.’ And wasn’t that an understatement? ‘You know what he’s like,’ Mairi said.
‘Aye. Stubborn, uncommunicative and way too hard on himself – but he’s the kindest man you’ll ever meet,’ Effie said seriously. ‘He always had a soft spot for you.’ Her eyes glittered.
Something pinged in Mairi’s chest. That wasn’t true anymore. Hadn’t been since the accident. She gripped the bouquet tighter, trying to hold on to Harry, to what he was offering. Unconditional love. She had to remember that was what she needed. Not more heartbreak or false hope.
‘You know his father never understood him.’ Her eyes met Mairi’s. ‘He didn’t want him when my lovely sister died. The only time Boyd speaks to him now is to ask when he’s going to compete again.’ Her mouth pinched. ‘Jed is like a son to me, but sometimes I wonder if he has any idea of how important he is.’ She sighed. ‘And that’s a lot for me to dump on you when you’re tired, lass, I’m sorry.’ She gulped. ‘I should get on with taking care of this wee bairn.’
Effie silently wandered from the room carrying the dog, leaving Mairi feeling even more confused.
Mairi put her hair up in a towel after she’d showered and tugged on a clean pair of trousers and her fluffy jumper, before her eyescaught on the golden shoe. She’d put Harry’s bouquet on the opposite side of the desk, so they balanced each other out. But now just their presence was taunting her, asking her to choose. Did she want the man showering her with gifts and promising the world – or the one who hadn’t spoken to her for eleven months and still refused to talk? Her head told her to opt for Harry but…
Her mobile rang and she quickly unplugged it from the charger before raising an eyebrow. A flood of texts from Harry had arrived while she was showering, she’d have to answer them later, because her brother was calling. She picked up. ‘Quinn,’ she said apprehensively.
‘So you are alive?’ His tone was prickly. ‘Why then have you been avoiding my calls?’
‘I haven’t,’ Mairi lied. ‘Not really. I’ve just had things to do.’ She winced. Things that included convincing Quinn’s best friend that she wanted a divorce. Her eyes drifted to the shoe and then the flowers.
‘Where are you?’ her brother demanded. ‘Because I went to your flat in Edinburgh and your neighbour said she hasn’t seen you for days.’
‘Quinn, I’m—’ Mairi pulled a face. She didn’t want to tell him about the trip here, but she couldn’t lie to him about that either. She’d lied to him enough. Besides, he’d find out soon enough. ‘I decided to visit Holly Berry Lodge,’ she told him. ‘Rhona isn’t well, so I’m staying for a few days to help out.’
It was the best she could muster at short notice, which considering she wrote fiction for a living wasn’t great. She squeezed her fingertips into her palms, waiting for his reaction.
‘Have you seen Jed?’ Quinn asked after a long pause, his voice tight.
‘I bumped into him a couple of days ago,’ Mairi said. Which was true. Her brother didn’t need to know all the details. Shecould only imagine how horrified he’d be if he found out about their night in the bothy.
‘He didn’t mention anything when I spoke to him. Did he know you were coming? Was he pleased?’ Quinn growled.
Mairi thought about Jed’s reaction when she’d first arrived, about how he’d been since. ‘Not exactly.’ She cleared her throat. ‘Perhaps you spoke with him before we’d bumped into each other?’
She wasn’t looking to get Jed into trouble. He had few people in his world that he trusted – her brother one was of them. ‘Look, I’ve not got much time to talk. I need to make dinner. We’ve got some new guests arriving later.’ Mairi glanced at her laptop. ‘And I’ve got a ton of words to write. Do you mind if we talk later?—’
‘Idomind, Mairi,’ Quinn said impatiently. ‘I’ve been worrying about you. I thought that Harry guy might have abducted you or something. I was about to report you missing.’
‘Harry is far too charming to be a kidnapper,’ Mairi said, glancing at the flowers again. She should be delighted with the romantic gesture – why wasn’t she? ‘You never did like any of my boyfriends.’
She’d only told Quinn about Harry because she wanted it to get back to Jed. She’d stupidly hoped that he’d be so jealous he’d drive across Scotland so he could tell her she was making a mistake. Poor, misguided fool that she was.
‘Is it any wonder after what happened with Mike?’ Quinn snapped.
‘I suppose not.’ Mairi sighed. The less said about her first husband the better. He’d been a mistake. A way of getting over Jed. In the days before she’d known he had feelings for her when she’d been looking for something – anything – to take her mind off him. Her gaze travelled back to the flowers and her stomach dipped. Was she doing that again?
‘If you’re at the lodge, and Jed is too, maybe I’ll come and visit.’ Quinn sounded brighter. ‘It’s been ages since I saw Effie.’
‘Aren’t you on call?’ she blurted. The last thing she needed was her brother arriving. She had to sort things out with Jed first.
‘Aye,’ he sighed. ‘That’s true.’
‘How about I promise to call as soon as I’m back in Edinburgh?’ Mairi said. She loved her brother and wasn’t looking to hurt him, but she didn’t want him caught up in this mess. ‘You can come around for dinner and I’ll fill you in on what I’ve been doing.’ An edited version anyway.
‘Aye, okay. I’d probably struggle to get time off anyway. There’s a flu bug going around, lots of volunteers are sick.’ She heard a sharp beep in the background and Quinn sighed heavily. ‘Looks like someone’s got themselves lost on a mountain again,’ he grumbled. ‘I’ll call again soon – and Mairi, make sure you pick up next time or you’ll be getting a visit from me whether I’m on call or not.’ With that, he hung up.
Mairi stared at her phone feeling relieved. She’d dodged a bullet, at least temporarily. But it was clear her brother was getting suspicious. She had to get things sorted with Jed – or this mess was going to get a lot worse.
10
