Chapter 9
MAIRI
‘Oh thank goodness you made it, I’ve been frantic.
Even your da’s been on the phone, Jed,’ Effie gasped, coughing as Mairi and Jed walked into Holly Berry Lodge the following morning.
Mairi was carrying the puppy and Bear trotted alongside Jed.
She was tired and her eyes felt scratchy.
‘I was so relieved when I got your message this morning. How’s the ankle? ’
‘It’s okay after the rest and ice – the swelling’s gone down,’ Mairi admitted.
It was still sore, but it hadn’t stopped her from walking to the lodge.
She’d wanted to get away from her feelings for Jed.
It had been difficult spending the night with him.
Especially when he’d refused to talk again despite her barrage of questions.
‘Aye, I checked her over before we came,’ Jed said, sounding embarrassed. Mairi swallowed, it had been an intimate moment – one that had sent her pulse sky rocketing.
‘So, who’s the wee angel?’ Effie moved closer and leaned down so she could peer at the small dog – the sparkly snowman on the front of her green jumper glittered under the overhead lights.
‘A stray. Bear found him near the old bothy up on the mountains,’ Jed told her.
‘May I?’ he asked Mairi, taking the fluffy black ball and giving it to his aunt.
The dog whined. He’d bonded with Mairi during the night and clearly wasn’t keen on being parted from her now.
She didn’t really want to let him go either.
But she needed to shower, to take a few moments alone.
‘Ach, I think it might be one of the missing pups I heard about. One of them turned up, but looks like this lad went further afield,’ Effie said, snuggling the small dog in her arms. ‘I’ll let the shelter know, see if they want to part with the wee chappie.
We’ve always got room for another bairn here.
’ Bear barked his agreement, and she grinned at him. ‘Does he have a name?’
‘I was thinking Midnight,’ Mairi said. She’d thought of it while she’d been staring into the fire. ‘Because he kept us up for most of the night.’ Not that she’d have slept anyway – not with Jed in the same room. He’d been so close but had never felt further away.
‘I like it.’ Effie nodded. ‘I’ll keep an eye on him and let you know what the shelter says.’
‘I hope you can keep him,’ Mairi said, surprised by the surge of pure longing. She hadn’t let herself get close to anything since Jed – losing things she cared for was too painful, but the puppy had burrowed into her heart.
Bear came trotting over to rub himself against Effie’s heels and she stroked the small clump of hair on his head, then coughed, rubbing her chest.
‘Everything alright, Effie?’ Mairi asked. On closer inspection the older woman didn’t look well: she was a little stooped in the shoulder and her Brillo pad hair was bent out of shape.
‘I’m fine, hennie. I didn’t sleep, what with the storm and wondering if you and Jed were okay.
Plus, I think I might have a wee cold starting.
’ She tapped her chest. ‘I’ve been drinking extra peppermint mochas this morning and I’m sure I’m feeling a little better already.
’ She tried to smile. ‘I can’t be ill; Douglas found the piece of paper that he wrote the guests’ names on, and it turns out there were two.
We’re expecting a Greer Abernathy and Margo Green.
’ She pulled in a breath. ‘I’m hoping neither are the mystery reviewer. ’
‘Why?’ Jed asked.
‘The woman I’m thinking of can be critical. She called one of the hotels she stayed in last year inhospitable.’ Effie coughed again.
‘I can’t believe she’d have anything bad to say about this place,’ Jed said, looking around.
Effie frowned. ‘We’re not exactly at our best at the moment. It’s not very Christmassy. There are still no decorations in the sitting room or upstairs – there aren’t any lights outside the lodge either. When Rhona’s here, we’re more on top of things.’ She sighed.
‘I can decorate,’ Mairi offered. Her head was still too messed up for her to consider writing. The deadline might be advancing at an alarming pace, but until she’d sorted out what was happening with Jed, she wasn’t going to be able to tackle the ending of her book.
‘I can too,’ Jed said. ‘And I’m sure Douglas could put lights up outside.’
‘Aye. I can ask. But we won’t get it done before our new guests arrive.
’ Effie glanced towards the entrance. ‘If we’re lucky, the roads won’t be open because of the storm, so they might not get here until later.
’ She raised an eyebrow. ‘I’d best get a stew on – I need to make sure the beef dissolves in the mouth.
Just in case one of them is here to write a review.
’ She looked unhappy. ‘Oh, I almost forgot, lass, you had a delivery yesterday, right before the storm started.’ She glanced at the reception desk. ‘It’s under there.’
‘I’ll get it,’ Jed said before Mairi could offer.
When he returned, he was carrying an extravagant bouquet of pink flowers with a large heart-shaped card with bold lettering that read, ‘I MISS YOU. H XXX’.
Jed frowned as he handed it to her. ‘Looks like it’s from your boyfriend,’ he said, his voice taut.
‘Boyfriend?’ Effie boomed, brightening. ‘You have a man in your life?’
‘Aye, well. It’s all a bit new at the moment.’ Mairi felt her cheeks warm as she took the flowers. It was a sweet gesture, but they smelled sickly and her chest knotted.
When she glanced up, Jed was staring at her. He broke eye contact when he realised she’d noticed and glanced behind him. ‘Where is Douglas?’
Effie sighed. ‘He’s clearing snow from outside the lodge.
He does it every day – he talked about trying out some newfangled device he’s been working on.
He was very excited.’ She looked worried.
‘You’d better go look for him, lad. Last time he tried something similar, he got so tangled in the cables and one of the guests had to rescue him.
’ She checked her watch. ‘I shouldn’t have left the dafty on his own outside for so long. ’
‘Leave it with me. I’ll check in on him on my way to my first class,’ Jed soothed.
‘Why don’t I put these in my bedroom now, then I’ll shower and after that I can start on the stew while you look after the puppy?’ Mairi asked Effie.
‘Don’t you need to write, lass?’ the older woman asked.
‘It can wait.’ She needed to stay busy. Sitting and staring at a blank screen wasn’t going to help.
Effie smiled. ‘Ach lass, I’m not sure how I’d have coped if you hadn’t been here. Thank you for finding time to see us and for staying to help. I’ve missed you.’ She sounded like she meant it.
Mairi cleared her throat. ‘I’ve missed you too.’ She heard the door of the entrance shut as Jed left.
His aunt followed the movement of the door, before cocking her head. ‘Is my lad okay?’ she asked quietly. ‘He doesn’t seem himself.’ Her blue eyes were sharp as she looked into Mairi’s, before they momentarily dropped to the bouquet.
‘Neither of us slept much.’ And wasn’t that an understatement? ‘You know what he’s like,’ Mairi said.
‘Aye. Stubborn, uncommunicative and way too hard on himself – but he’s the kindest man you’ll ever meet,’ Effie said seriously. ‘He always had a soft spot for you.’ Her eyes glittered.
Something pinged in Mairi’s chest. That wasn’t true anymore. Hadn’t been since the accident. She gripped the bouquet tighter, trying to hold on to Harry, to what he was offering. Unconditional love. She had to remember that was what she needed. Not more heartbreak or false hope.
‘You know his father never understood him.’ Her eyes met Mairi’s.
‘He didn’t want him when my lovely sister died.
The only time Boyd speaks to him now is to ask when he’s going to compete again.
’ Her mouth pinched. ‘Jed is like a son to me, but sometimes I wonder if he has any idea of how important he is.’ She sighed.
‘And that’s a lot for me to dump on you when you’re tired, lass, I’m sorry.
’ She gulped. ‘I should get on with taking care of this wee bairn.’
Effie silently wandered from the room carrying the dog, leaving Mairi feeling even more confused.
Mairi put her hair up in a towel after she’d showered and tugged on a clean pair of trousers and her fluffy jumper, before her eyes caught on the golden shoe.
She’d put Harry’s bouquet on the opposite side of the desk, so they balanced each other out.
But now just their presence was taunting her, asking her to choose.
Did she want the man showering her with gifts and promising the world – or the one who hadn’t spoken to her for eleven months and still refused to talk? Her head told her to opt for Harry but…
Her mobile rang and she quickly unplugged it from the charger before raising an eyebrow. A flood of texts from Harry had arrived while she was showering, she’d have to answer them later, because her brother was calling. She picked up. ‘Quinn,’ she said apprehensively.
‘So you are alive?’ His tone was prickly. ‘Why then have you been avoiding my calls?’
‘I haven’t,’ Mairi lied. ‘Not really. I’ve just had things to do.’ She winced. Things that included convincing Quinn’s best friend that she wanted a divorce. Her eyes drifted to the shoe and then the flowers.
‘Where are you?’ her brother demanded. ‘Because I went to your flat in Edinburgh and your neighbour said she hasn’t seen you for days.’
‘Quinn, I’m—’ Mairi pulled a face. She didn’t want to tell him about the trip here, but she couldn’t lie to him about that either.
She’d lied to him enough. Besides, he’d find out soon enough.
‘I decided to visit Holly Berry Lodge,’ she told him.
‘Rhona isn’t well, so I’m staying for a few days to help out. ’
It was the best she could muster at short notice, which considering she wrote fiction for a living wasn’t great. She squeezed her fingertips into her palms, waiting for his reaction.
‘Have you seen Jed?’ Quinn asked after a long pause, his voice tight.
‘I bumped into him a couple of days ago,’ Mairi said. Which was true. Her brother didn’t need to know all the details. She could only imagine how horrified he’d be if he found out about their night in the bothy.
‘He didn’t mention anything when I spoke to him. Did he know you were coming? Was he pleased?’ Quinn growled.
Mairi thought about Jed’s reaction when she’d first arrived, about how he’d been since. ‘Not exactly.’ She cleared her throat. ‘Perhaps you spoke with him before we’d bumped into each other?’
She wasn’t looking to get Jed into trouble.
He had few people in his world that he trusted – her brother one was of them.
‘Look, I’ve not got much time to talk. I need to make dinner.
We’ve got some new guests arriving later.
’ Mairi glanced at her laptop. ‘And I’ve got a ton of words to write. Do you mind if we talk later—’
‘I do mind, Mairi,’ Quinn said impatiently. ‘I’ve been worrying about you. I thought that Harry guy might have abducted you or something. I was about to report you missing.’
‘Harry is far too charming to be a kidnapper,’ Mairi said, glancing at the flowers again. She should be delighted with the romantic gesture – why wasn’t she? ‘You never did like any of my boyfriends.’
She’d only told Quinn about Harry because she wanted it to get back to Jed. She’d stupidly hoped that he’d be so jealous he’d drive across Scotland so he could tell her she was making a mistake. Poor, misguided fool that she was.
‘Is it any wonder after what happened with Mike?’ Quinn snapped.
‘I suppose not.’ Mairi sighed. The less said about her first husband the better.
He’d been a mistake. A way of getting over Jed.
In the days before she’d known he had feelings for her when she’d been looking for something – anything – to take her mind off him.
Her gaze travelled back to the flowers and her stomach dipped. Was she doing that again?
‘If you’re at the lodge, and Jed is too, maybe I’ll come and visit.’ Quinn sounded brighter. ‘It’s been ages since I saw Effie.’
‘Aren’t you on call?’ she blurted. The last thing she needed was her brother arriving. She had to sort things out with Jed first.
‘Aye,’ he sighed. ‘That’s true.’
‘How about I promise to call as soon as I’m back in Edinburgh?’ Mairi said. She loved her brother and wasn’t looking to hurt him, but she didn’t want him caught up in this mess. ‘You can come around for dinner and I’ll fill you in on what I’ve been doing.’ An edited version anyway.
‘Aye, okay. I’d probably struggle to get time off anyway.
There’s a flu bug going around, lots of volunteers are sick.
’ She heard a sharp beep in the background and Quinn sighed heavily.
‘Looks like someone’s got themselves lost on a mountain again,’ he grumbled.
‘I’ll call again soon – and Mairi, make sure you pick up next time or you’ll be getting a visit from me whether I’m on call or not. ’ With that, he hung up.
Mairi stared at her phone feeling relieved. She’d dodged a bullet, at least temporarily. But it was clear her brother was getting suspicious. She had to get things sorted with Jed – or this mess was going to get a lot worse.