Page 8 of Christmas at the Scottish Lodge
The stakes were high – her hero and heroine were desperately in love, but their whole world had just come crashing down and there was no prospect of a reconciliation. She had to fix things for them; she just wasn’t sure how to do it.
Mairi stared at the screen hoping for inspiration, but her mind refused to cooperate. Her mobile began to ring and she answered.
‘Kenna?’ Kenna McKay had been Mairi’s literary agent for three years and her best friend for two – she pulled no punches and was unflinchingly honest. Mairi wasn’t sure she could cope with any more truth today.
‘Yep. It’s me.’ Kenna’s youthful voice was weighed down with a heavy Scottish accent. ‘We need to talk.’ Mairi’s stomach dropped.
‘What happened?’ She put the mobile on speaker so she could lean her elbows on the desk and rest her head in her palms.
‘I’ve got bad news.’ Kenna’s voice was crisp. ‘I’ve been trying to head this off, Mairi, but you need to understand you’re almost six months behind on your deadline.’
‘I know.’ Mairi let out a long breath and frowned at her computer. If her writer’s block continued, she wouldn’t hit her extended deadline either. ‘And?’ she croaked, guessing she wasn’t going to like what Kenna had to say.
‘I have to give it to you straight. The publisher has threatened to cancel your contract. I’ve managed to negotiate a little more time bu?—’
‘How long?’ Mairi glanced at the shoe. Could this day get any worse?
‘You’ve got until two days after New Year. If you don’t deliver it by then.’ Kenna paused. ‘You’re going to lose the contract, and that includes the one for your next two books too.’
Mairi groaned. She’d spent most of her early twenties chasing a publishing deal in between mending her broken heart. It had been her dream, and sometimes she still pinched herself when she remembered she was an author. She couldn’t imagine losing it all.
‘I can’t work out what’s going to happen in the story, or how to fix what’s wrong,’ she confessed, her voice racing as the full implications hit. Her marriage was over, now her career might be too. ‘It doesn’t matter how much I brainstorm; I can’t see a future for this couple.’ She massaged her temples, wishing she’d been able to sleep. ‘Is it bad that I can’t see a happy ending anymore?’
Kenna sucked in a breath. ‘Since you write romance novels where an HEA is guaranteed, I’d say it is.’
‘Thanks for trying to cheer me up,’ Mairi muttered.
‘I’m sorry.’ Kenna cleared her throat. ‘I don’t know what to say. We’ve talked about this. We’ve tried brainstorming this ending multiple times. You have to finish this book – and if you can’t…well, you have to work out what’s stopping you and change it.’
‘I know what’s stopping me,’ Mairi said. ‘It’s the situation with Jed.’ She pulled a face. ‘The thing is. I’m not sure I can fix anyone’s relationship, imaginary or otherwise until I’ve figured out my own.’ She sighed.
‘That’s why it’s called fiction,’ Kenna shot back. ‘Because it’s not real and you get to make it up. At least you used to.’
‘What if I can’t?’ Mairi whispered, feeling hopeless. ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged?—’
‘That once one part of life goes to hell, the rest will follow,’ Kenna said without humour. ‘So you need to make sure itdoesn’t. What did Jed say when you asked him for the divorce?’ Her agent knew all about the marriage and was the only person who had known she was coming to Aberlinnie and why.
Mairi got up so she could pace across the wooden floor until she stopped on a thick pink rug next to the bed and wriggled her toes. ‘He said no.’ She shook her head. ‘Then he ran.’ She swallowed.
Her friend made an irritated clicking sound. ‘Of course he did. What else would he do?’ Kenna sighed. ‘So, what are you going to do?’
Mairi walked back to the desk just as an email pinged into her inbox. She leaned down to open it. It was from Harry and had a picture of a bouquet of flowers in it along with three large beating hearts.
She tried to smile. ‘I’m going to stick around. I have to talk to him again, show him I really mean it. I’m staying at the lodge for a few more days. One of the team is sick and I promised to help out.’
‘Great,’ Kenna complained. ‘Another distraction.’
‘Aye well, it’ll give me an excuse to talk to Jed again.’ Surely after a few days her reluctant husband would see sense? If his behaviour in the past was any indication, he’d soon be begging her for the paperwork. Once he was single, he’d be free to pursue as many women as he liked. Or if his current girlfriend was serious, he could marry her instead. The idea made Mairi feel sick.
‘If you stay at the lodge, how are you going to get him to talk?’ Kenna asked.
‘I don’t know. It was hard seeing him today.’ The admission made her chest ache.
‘Aye. Well, having that man in your head is interfering with your work. As your agent, I’m not saying I can’t be supportive,but I am saying it’s time you reclaimed your mind and with it your creativity. You have to prioritise this divorce.’
‘Aye,’ Mairi agreed, staring at the huge hearts on her screen. If she was free, this was the kind of adoration she might get to enjoy every day. ‘I’ve just got to figure out how to get Jed to stop running so I can convince him.’
‘You could try breaking both his legs,’ Kenna said dryly. ‘Oh wait, he already did that himself.’ She paused. ‘Failing that, where does he spend his time?’
