Page 35 of Christmas at the Scottish Lodge
‘Ach, let him stay, he can keep me company,’ Effie rasped, coughing a little.
‘Do you need anything?’ Mairi asked.
‘Nae,hennie, Jed popped in to see me an hour ago – brought me water and some medicine. Douggie popped in before he went home too, brought me those flowers.’ She smiled.
‘Douggie?’ Mairi repeated, wondering if the pink flush on Effie’s cheeks was the fever or something else.
‘Aye.’ Effie giggled. ‘I’m grand. You could—’ She paused as if reconsidering, or perhaps she’d gone back to sleep?
‘I could what?’ Mairi whispered, stepping closer to the bed.
‘Check on Jed.’ Effie yawned. ‘The lad doesn’t sleep well, I often find him in the sitting room in the morning when I get up, watching those pointless videos.’ She sounded unhappy.
‘Videos,’ Mairi asked, surprised. ‘What videos?’
She waited for the older woman to respond but instead heard the gentle sound of snoring which merged with the purring from the cat who’d already snuggled in next to her.
She pulled a face and tiptoed out of the room, then stood in the hallway for a moment, trying to decide what to do. Should she find Jed, or go to bed? He wouldn’t want to speak to her. Aside from those long looks when Adam had been singing Elvis songs, he’d avoided her, but she didn’t have much choice.
Mairi could hear the sound of laughing and cheering as she approached the sitting room. Did Jed have company? She knew it was unlikely to be Bonnie, but that didn’t stop the sharp stab of jealousy.
She tugged her cardigan tighter as she crept closer. She could make sure Jed was okay, do as Effie had asked, then she could head back to her bedroom and he – and his guest, whoever they were – would never know she’d been checking on him. She knew he wouldn’t like knowing she had.
But there had been something odd about the worry in the older woman’s voice. Jed had always been so impenetrable, so able to handle anything that was thrown at him. But after his revelations today and Effie’s obvious concern – perhaps she’d got that wrong?
Mairi spotted him as she drew further into the sitting room. He was alone and slumped in the red high back chair he’d been in before and Bear and Midnight were both lying at his feet. Jed’s injured leg was still propped on a stool – the peas had obviously defrosted because they lay abandoned on the rug. He was still wearing the clothes he’d worn earlier.
Mairi heard the sound of slow breathing and stood watching the rise and fall of his chest. Was Jed asleep?
Something pinched in her chest. The last time she’d seen him this vulnerable they’d been in bed together and she’d been watching him, marvelling at how they were going to spend the rest of their lives together. She pushed the thought away and moved closer.
That’s when she noticed the computer propped on the table in front of him with something playing on the screen.
Was this one of the videos Effie had talked about? As she drew nearer, she could see a half-full bottle of whisky on the coffee table and an empty glass beside Jed’s hand. She took another step, and as she did, she heard a loud gasp from the computer and twisted so she could see what was playing and her stomach dropped.
It was a meme – someone had obviously created a technicolour video of Jed’s fall, and he was playing it on repeat. She could see him spinning on the slope over and over, skidding back and then forward repeatedly while a comic tune played in the background. The whole thing was overlaid with squeals of laughter and a few excited boos.
The meme had been shared a gazillion times and there were thousands of comments under it. Mairi read the first which said, ‘Has been’ and a second which called him an ‘Eejit fool’ and decided not to look at it anymore. Irritated, she snapped the lid shut. As she did, Jed jerked and sat bolt upright.
16
MAIRI
Jed blinked a few times and Mairi considered making her escape, but then his attention focused on her and his eyes skimmed from her face to her feet – lingering on the silky nightdress for a moment before his eyes shot up, filled with an unexpected fiery heat.
‘Why are you here?’ he croaked, dragging his eyes away until he was staring at her right ear. Beside his feet Bear let out a low yawn and Midnight yapped, but neither seemed inclined to move. ‘Is Aunt Effie okay?’ His eyes suddenly widened, and he started to get up.
‘She’s fine,’ Mairi soothed, reaching out a hand and patting him on the shoulder because suddenly she badly wanted to touch him. ‘I just checked on her and she asked me to look in on you.’
Jed frowned. It was obvious he was still half asleep, but she watched awareness creep into his eyes and found herself leaning into him.
‘I don’t know why. I’m fine.’ He sounded annoyed.
‘Really, because you don’t look it. What are you doing?’ She pointed to the laptop. ‘That was a film of the accident.’ She shook her head. ‘Why would you even watch it?’
He took his time to stretch his arms and shoulders out, as if he wanted to give himself a moment to decide how to respond. ‘I don’t know…Maybe I’m checking on what I did wrong so I don’t make the same mistake again.’ The creases at the edges of his mouth deepened. ‘Or perhaps it’s a reality check and a reminder of what can happen if I lose focus.’
His attention strayed to her face and Mairi wondered if he was talking about her. Felt a hard knock in her chest. ‘Or maybe I enjoy reading all the motivating compliments from my legions of fans.’
