Page 15 of A Scottish Love Story
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Roxie decided to put on her jeans when Amy told her Ciaran was on his way to collect her in his pickup to choose a Christmas tree. She had not worn them since she arrived in Scotland.Hurriedly, she scrambled into them, wriggling as she went downstairs, trying to fasten them. She joined Amy in the kitchen.
‘I must be eating too much and not doing enough exercise,’ she said, struggling to fasten the button after tugging the zip up. ‘I never had jeans as neat as this before.’ She bent over, feeling them tight around her bottom. ‘It’s a good thing they’re supposed to stretch a bit.’
‘Mmm, they look very fetching to me.’ Ciaran chuckled from where he was leaning against the back doorjamb. Roxie gasped, and spun round to see him with a devilish grin on his face and his eyes dancing with glee. Her cheeks turned rosy red to think he had seen her showing the shape of her backside right in front of him.
‘I never heard your vehicle! Where did you spring from?’ She cursed the ready colour springing to her fair skin.
‘Hello, Ciaran.’ Amy greeted him with a smile and a twinkle in her eyes when she saw the admiration in his expression, then his effect on Roxie. ‘I am just finishing my coffee. Do you want a cup?’
‘No, thanks. I had mine before I left. I drove over the field so the pickup is at the bottom of the garden.’
‘So that’s why — you crept in the back.’ Roxie muttered as she zipped up her red anorak and pulled on the red woolly hat which Amy had recently knitted for her. She was always busy with needles. When the light was best in the afternoons, she had been crocheting an evening stole in one-ply wool, which resembled black lace. It was for Jenny’s Christmas present and Roxie had told her it would cost a fortune to buy one as fine and delicate, even if she could find one.
‘Right, Red Riding Hood,’ Ciaran said teasingly. ‘If you’re quite dressed, we’ll go this way. I see you’ve a pair of wellingtons waiting at the back door.’
Roxie tried to balance while she folded the leg of her jeans neatly to fit inside her boot. Ciaran supported her, then shepherded her down to the bottom of the garden, through the orchard, or wild area, as Amy called it. When they reached the fence, he vaulted over effortlessly. Roxie stared after him in dismay. It was far too high for her to do the same. He grinned wickedly. He was in a teasing mood today. She could tell.
‘Put one foot on that strong rail about halfway up, then the other foot on the top.’ He smiled impishly. ‘Don’t worry, Red Riding Hood, I will catch you.’ She had little option but to obey. He almost lifted her bodily over the top and she clung to him automatically. His body was strong and firm, and she felt secure in his arms.
‘You can put me down now. Your mother sent me to restrain your enthusiasm — for big trees,’ Roxie mumbled. His arms tightened and he grinned wolfishly, bringing the colour back to her cheeks.
‘Are you afraid I might turn into the big bad wolf when I get you to the forest?’ he asked, putting on a gruff voice. He held her close to his chest with one strong arm while he opened the door of the pickup with the other, then deposited her on the passenger seat, chuckling to himself as he went round to the driver’s side. His blue eyes danced with mischief as he glanced at her.
Roxie ignored him. ‘I have brought a tape measure. We measured the height of the hall where the tree has to stand. Is that woodland in front of us part of the farm?’ Ciaran was silent for a moment as they continued bumping over the grassy field.
‘Yes, that stretch of wood is part of Oaklands Farm, but the young trees at the front are not oaks. The trees make a good shelterbelt for the cows when the wind blows from the east. If you look the other way, the land on the other side of the public road is ours and it stretches up to the oak woods near the top ofthat hill. That is our boundary, but the area of woodland beyond that belongs to the Forestry Commission. We should miss the shelter up there if they ever clear-fell it.’
‘My father planted some areas of woodland in various places at Willowbrook. He said the land where he planted was wet and rather poor anyway, and trees would be more benefit as shelter for the cattle.’
‘Your father sounds a wise man.’
‘Yes, I think he was.’ She sighed. ‘I’m afraid my brother, Tommy, didn’t agree. I hope he will see things differently now he’s in charge.’ She sighed again, biting her lip and struggling to hold back tears as thoughts of her father sprang into her mind. ‘My father made a new will. It was shortly before Tommy got married... The trouble is, I suspect Dad changed his will because Tommy and Gilda were determined to get married so quickly. They hadn’t had much time to get to know each other.’
‘It probably made him anxious if he thought they were rushing things.’
‘Oh, he was very anxious. Dad wasn’t sure whether Tommy would stick to farming if he and Gilda were on their own, or whether Tommy would knuckle down and make a success.’
‘Had he any reason to think that?
‘Dad was anxious because he didn’t think Gilda would make a farmer’s wife, but Tommy had always wanted to farm, even though he never liked milking cows. Dad added a condition that if Tommy sold Willowbrook within ten years, he must pay half the value of the land to me. I’m sure Tommy must resent that. I know Gilda did when she heard the will read, even though she has nothing to contribute herself, not even her help.’
‘It seems to me your father was unsure about Tommy’s future and he was being very cautious.’
‘I’m sure we would all have accepted them being married if it hadn’t been so hurried. I think the solicitor was partlyresponsible for the way things were worded in the will, though, and I realise everything has to be set out in legal terms, but it does stir trouble. We have known him a long time. I think he wanted to make sure I was repaid for looking after my father and working at home, instead of following my intended career as a pharmacist.’
‘A pharmacist?’ Ciaran sounded astonished. He took his eyes off the rough ground and Roxie fell against him as the pickup tilted.
‘Sorry!’ Ciaran grinned. ’A pharmacist, you said? I can’t imagine you doing that?’
‘I thought I would when I was eighteen. I doubt if I would be happy spending all my time indoors now, not after the years I spent working with my father. Anyway, I felt the decision had been made for me. Dad was... he was so lost when my mother died.’ Her voice wavered. ‘Even though we had known it had to happen,’ she added gruffly.
‘So, you don’t regret staying home?’
‘Not at all. I think it was the happiest time of my life, helping him with the cows and sharing his interest in breeding and the pedigrees. We got on so well...’ She was silent for a moment or two, then she said vehemently, ‘I suppose the law has to cover all circumstances, but Tommy would never have known about the new will, or Dad’s doubts and fears, if only he had not died so soon. He would probably have changed his will several times over the years.’
‘I’m afraid legal affairs do sometimes cause trouble when none was intended,’ Ciaran said seriously. ‘A person can only express his or her wishes as things stand at that time, though. Whoops, sorry,’ he said as Roxie bounced against him. ‘The ground is a bit rough near this boundary.’
