Page 67 of Christmas at the Scottish Lodge
‘He didn’t.’ Jed wasn’t surprised.
‘I probably shouldn’t say – but she was going to leave him after you were born. He told her he didn’t want kids.’ Her mouth pinched. ‘The eejit man had no idea. I offered to be your honorary da,’ her voice wobbled. ‘She was going to move into the lodge. But then she was gone…’
Jed cleared his throat. ‘So I wasn’t just…I mean –’ He flushed. ‘– you didn’t just get dumped with me?’ he blurted. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘That’s?—’
‘What you thought.’ Effie nodded. ‘Of course you did.’ She shook her head. ‘I always wanted you. You’ve been my lad since before you were born.’
He swallowed and his eyes felt watery. ‘You saved me, Effie; gave me a home and a family,’ he said, glancing around. He’d never appreciated how lucky he’d been before. He’d always been too focused on what he didn’t have, what he didn’t deserve – on who didn’t want him. But there had always been someone in his life who did. And Effie had never cared if he’d won at skiing, all she’d ever wanted was his happiness. ‘Thank you.’
‘Aye well.’ She brushed her hands over her jumper and stood. ‘Enough of this. I need to check on Douggie. He’s got his tool belt on again and he’s talking about creating a light show for New Year’s eve.’ She shuddered. ‘I’ve been trying to distract him, but I’m running out of ideas.’ She began to head for the door.
‘Can I keep the shoes please?’ Jed blurted before she opened it.
She looked surprised. ‘Aye – I think they’re more my size.’ She grinned. ‘But I’m hoping they might find their way back to their rightful owner.’ She offered him the basket.
‘I’ll see what I can do…’ Jed took the shoes along with the jewellery box and placed them on the mantlepiece as Effie opened the door.
‘Quinn!’ she exclaimed and Jed spun around. She watched his aunt give his friend a peck on the cheek before heading into the hall.
‘Everything okay?’ Quinn asked, shutting the door. He eyed the shoes before raising an eyebrow. ‘I’m not going to ask. Mairi’s in her bedroom,’ he said.
‘I know.’ Jed sighed. ‘She slipped the divorce papers under my door.’ He pointed at the bed. ‘And I spoke to Boyd.’ There would be no more lies. ‘He’s given the bailiffs Mairi’s name. I’m sorry. I’m going to sort it.’
‘Dammit,’ Quinn swore.
Jed gulped and then turned back to stare at the trophies again. Something was still niggling at him – something he couldn’t quite reach. Then he got it. ‘But I think I might have an idea…’
30
MAIRI
27 December
Mairi stood beside the entrance of Holly Berry Lodge clutching her suitcase and watching snowflakes flutter from the sky as she gazed over the mountains, feeling bereft.
‘You don’t have to go yet, lass. The taxi is going to be half an hour early, you can make it wait,’ Effie said, sounding worried. ‘I’m not sure where your brother is. I think you should come inside so you can say goodbye to everyone properly.’
‘I said goodbye to Quinn at breakfast, and I’ll catch up with him once I’m in Edinburgh,’ Mairi soothed, searching for the taxi, willing it to come. She just wanted to get away. It was torture being at the lodge, knowing she might bump into Jed at any moment. She hadn’t heard from him since she’d returned from the hospital yesterday, even after she’d asked Kenna to push the divorce papers under his bedroom door.
A part of her had hoped he’d come and tell her she was making a mistake. That he didn’t care about his father’s debt or anything else; that they were supposed to be together. But he hadn’t – which was probably for the best.
‘I told themnotto come early,’ Effie complained as headlights appeared at the top of the hill. She glanced over her shoulder into the reception area and frowned as Margo came wandering out of the dining room with two of the cats.
‘Safe travels, lass. I hope I’ll get to see you here again soon. I’ll definitely be returning. I’m often quite lonely when I travel alone, but I haven’t been here, the company is excellent,’ Margo said joyfully, bending to scratch Shadow under the chin before heading towards the sitting room.
Adam immediately came running out. He was dressed in a sparkly purple Elvis outfit and gave Mairi an odd look. ‘You can’t be leaving already, lass?’ he gasped. ‘I thought your taxi was booked for ten o’clock?’ He gazed at the empty stairs before pulling a face at Effie.
‘The taxi’s early,’ she hissed. ‘Quinn’s gone to—’ She spun her fingers in a circle, but Mairi had no idea what it meant.
She didn’t really care. Her head hurt and her hip ached, she’d hardly slept and all she wanted to do was crawl into the taxi and make her way to the station so she could get on the train to Edinburgh.
Once she was home, she’d find a way to salve her aching heart and to forget about Jed. Perhaps she’d just leap into the pages of her novel and make herself write the happy ending she so clearly wasn’t going to get herself. She swallowed as the headlights grew brighter and the car drew closer.
‘It’s almost here.’ She turned and almost bumped into Kenna. ‘You didn’t need to see me off,’ she said, surprised. ‘We said goodbye upstairs. How’s the manuscript?’ She’d left her friend reading Greer Abernathy’s tome. Kenna planned to stay at the lodge for another day, hoping to catch up with work – and Mairi suspected she was hoping to see more of Quinn too.
Kenna frowned. ‘It’s good. Really good.’ She shook her head. ‘Which is…annoying actually.’ Her mouth pinched. ‘I’ll need tosee what I think at the end – I hope to finish it this morning if I can, but, dammit.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘I can’t stop reading it. The woman is really talented. She’s got a knack for complex and evil characters that I can’t fault. I suppose she’s just modelling them on herself.’
The taxi pulled to a stop in front of the lodge and her friend gave her a quick hug. ‘I’ll see you at home,’ she promised.
