Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
A fter a half-hour drive from Portree the next morning, we arrived at An Corran beach.
‘You’ll feel like you’ve stepped onto the set of Jurassic Park.’ Logan’s eyes glittered with glee. ‘Just watch your footing. The rocks can be very slippery.’
Logan jumped out of the truck and I followed, wriggling my rucksack to a more comfortable position on my back.
Around us was a tangle of rocks laced with a crochet of seaweed in a rainbow variety of different shades of green.
‘The tide’s out, so we should get a good view of the dino prints,’ said Logan, pushing on ahead with those long, muscular legs of his. ‘Just don’t do any filming or take any photos just yet, please. I don’t want you slipping and hurting yourself.’
I blinked at his broad back, encased in his dark fleece. ‘Steady there, Burns,’ I joked. ‘Anyone would think you were starting to care about me.’ The words flew out of my mouth without thinking.
Logan halted on a cluster of rocks and turned to face me, the sea sliding about in the far distance. His expression was soft. ‘I know. Crazy, eh?’
We exchanged a prolonged look before Logan set off again, with me following.
To fill the sudden silence, I pulled up the song ‘Walk the Dinosaur’ by Was Not Was on my phone and started to play a clip.
Logan slowed and turned. He gave me a faux withering look. ‘Is that the best you can do?’
Then he took me by surprise by starting to dance along to it. He had good rhythm and a set of gorgeous snake hips.
Oh, he would have, though, wouldn’t he?!
Flustered, I jabbed the music off.
Offering me a glimpse of a teasing smile, Logan started walking again. The East coast of the island was quiet, with An Corran beach sheltered by a wavy hillside.
The water was a rustling line of steel grey under the nest of clouds.
‘You’ll have to look carefully,’ advised Logan over his shoulder, his deep Scottish accent spinning into the breeze. ‘The dino prints aren’t easy to spot at first.’
I angled my feet this way and that in my walking boots, thankful that Logan had persuaded me to ditch my love of fashion for something far more practical – and safe.
Logan’s head was bent, and every so often he would crouch down to examine something, before springing back up and setting off again.
He angled round and beamed over his shoulder. Then he pointed down at his feet.
I could see a huge dinosaur print studded into the rock. It almost didn’t look real. ‘Blimey!’ I gasped, conjuring up images in my head of a rampaging T-Rex. I raised my camera strung around my neck and took a selfie, with Logan and the dino print behind me.
‘One hundred and seventy million years old.’ Logan sighed in wonder. ‘Talk about feeling insignificant.’
I continued to take some photos of the dinosaur print, positioning myself as I balanced on the rock. I fiddled with my camera, shifting my feet for a better angle.
‘You’re going to slip,’ warned Logan, as I shifted around on the wet surface. ‘Please pay more attention to what you’re doing. Darcie!’
As though I were moving in slow motion, all at once my right foot seemed to take on a life of its own and I found I was struggling to get a grip on the slick surface.
I watched as my right leg flipped up into the air and I let out a panicked screech. My body tensed, bracing itself for the inevitable pain and injury of crash landing on the unforgiving rock surface.
But my eyes popped in surprise when the pain never came … because Logan had managed to bound over to me in a couple of strides and his hands had grabbed me and kept me upright.
The next thing I knew, I was gazing up into Logan’s gorgeous, but concerned, stubbly face.
We stayed like that, oblivious to everything else, with the moody steel-grey sky shifting above our heads.
I appreciated the fullness of his lips and the tilt at the end of his nose.
I felt my own lips parting, but a gull let out an indignant shriek that broke the spell and I pulled myself away from Logan.
He released his grip on me.
‘That was a close call.’
Logan cleared his throat. ‘You need to be careful around here. I did tell you. The rocks can be hazardous.’
My attention fixated on his delectable features again.
Logan was handsome, intelligent, funny and flirty, but I wouldn’t allow myself to fall for him.
Nope. No. Wasn’t going there.
Relationships complicated things. They created chaos. I had my career to think of, and the possibilities of where this project could take me: reality TV; high profile sponsorship deals; perhaps even one day my own radio or TV travel show, if I was lucky.
I would soon leave Skye behind, along with everything and everyone on it. This trip was just about gathering information and experiences for my book. It was a means to an end.
I ignored the odd, melancholy sensation flaring up in the pit of my stomach. ‘Thank you … for rescuing me.’ I offered him an awkward smile. ‘Again.’
‘Aye, it does seem to be becoming a bit of a habit. Not that I’m complaining.’
I refused to register Logan’s lingering gaze and got ready to record some video. ‘So,’ I exclaimed, negotiating my way towards the impressive and huge dinosaur footprint with much more care this time, ‘I’ll start recording and if you could give me some more information, please, about the prints around here…’
‘Yes. Of course. Right.’ Logan refocused.
I made sure I was solid on my feet this time and began to film Logan as he spoke about the three-toed prints belonging to ornithopods, or two-legged herbivores. ‘Do you know how they came to be here? How were they found?’ I asked him.
‘Over time, the prints filled up with silt or sand. Under the right conditions, they slowly harden and became embedded in the rock.’
Logan delivered a devastating smile right down my lens. I tried to steady my breath.
‘Fifteen per cent of the world’s mid-Jurassic discoveries have been made right here on Skye.’
Logan’s hair was ruffling up in the spring breeze and there was something mesmerising about the way he was speaking about the fossils and the wild landscape. He was enthusiastic and knowledgeable. I never would’ve believed that talk of exoskeletons and microbes could be so sexy.
‘Darcie? Are you listening?’
A burgundy blush shot up my neck. ‘What? Oh yes. Sorry. Of course.’
‘OK, so as I was saying, in Score Bay, we have prints from sauropods, which belong to the same family as brontosaurus and diplodocus.’
I stopped recording for a few moments. The air was tinged with the smell of sea salt. ‘I bet you were one of those kids who had a dinosaur bedspread, table lamp and wallpaper in your bedroom.’
Logan waggled a brow. ‘Maybe I still do. You’re welcome to find out.’
The thought of being in Logan’s bedroom, whether it was splashed with Barney the dinosaur merchandise or not, made my throat dry up.
Then annoyance lit up inside me. I should be concentrating on my social media and gathering more background information for this book, not mooning over Logan.
I gave myself a sharp talking to as the rocks shone like satin around us.
Sacrifices had to be made and tough decisions taken. Justine was always saying if I wanted to make something of myself, something else had to give.
Happiness, trilled a little voice inside my head.
I opened and closed my eyes a few times and gripped my camera tighter. ‘This place really is like something out of Jurassic Park, like you said. I’m surprised that our bearded friend hasn’t been here in amongst the fossils. Then again, maybe he has.’
Logan stilled. He stared at me. His flirty expression vanished. ‘What did you just say?’
‘What did I just say?’
Logan’s brows gathered. ‘The bit about that strange guy and fossils.’ His features were preoccupied. ‘That’s it. I knew I recognised him!’
Logan took off back towards me over the rocks and trembling rock pools. His hypnotic eyes, almost as deep and silvery as the shimmering water, were lit up. ‘It can’t be him, surely?’ It was as if he were having a conversation with himself.
‘Logan, what are you talking about? Have you been exposed to too much sea air?’
He shook his dark brown head, an excited grin promising to break out across his face. ‘Look, I don’t know this for definite, but…’ His voice tailed off and he nodded to himself when he spotted my confused expression. ‘Right. How about I show you some more dinosaur fossils and then we can head to a nearby café for a cuppa and an explanation? I think I might just know who our bearded gentleman is.’