Chapter 18 Taran
It shouldn’t have surprised me how quickly Aodhan got things moving on the charity store front. He’d popped into Pages & Perks yesterday to request a meeting the next day to go over the details he needed to submit to the planners.
Usually, it would take months to get plans through, but Aodhan had winked cheekily at me and said he could pull a few strings to get the process moving immediately.
That morning, before he was due into the store for our meeting, I’d gone through a few résumés with Ewan and Martha. Ewan would take over as full-time manager, but Martha could still only work part time because she also cared for an elderly parent, so we needed another full-time staff member.
Ewan and I got into our first quibble ever.
He wanted to hire his friend, Una, who had retired to the island three years ago but was now looking for something to fill her time.
I wanted to hire Paisley Macduff, Aodhan’s granddaughter.
She was eighteen, straight out of high school, and instead of venturing off, she wanted to remain on the island.
Considering the islands were struggling because our young people kept leaving and we were desperately trying to find ways to encourage them to stay, it was a no-brainer for me.
Ewan thought that “terribly hypocritical” of me and said she was too young and inexperienced.
I reminded him he was once too young and inexperienced, but someone had given him a break.
I started to get the impression he might have already promised the job to Una. He could unpromise it. I’d ended the conversation by declaring Paisley was hired and he could lump it or leave it.
He’d been huffy with me since, and I refused to pander to huffy people, so we weren’t really on speaking terms at the moment.
When Aodhan walked into the shop, it was almost a relief. I must have greeted him with a bit more enthusiasm than usual because he chuckled as he slumped into one of the chairs I’d reserved. “Too much coffee this morning, Taran?”
I snorted and settled into the seat opposite him. “No, you’re just saving me from a disgruntled employee.”
Aodhan’s eyes twinkled with mischief. “What did you do?”
“I’m hiring your granddaughter to work here over the person Ewan wanted to hire.”
He raised his eyebrows as his grin widened.
“Good for you. And thank you, lass. Paisley will be chuffed. She’s barely been able to sleep since she applied.
The girl is book daft. And anything that keeps her here on the island makes her mother happy.
If she didn’t get this job, I’d have found her something to do, but I’m glad she’s going to work somewhere she’ll enjoy.
As long as Ewan treats her right, that is. ”
Aodhan’s daughter worked at the distillery and had been a single mum since Paisley was ten. I knew from village gossip that Aodhan had stepped into the father figure role.
“He will. He’s just in a snit with me.”
“Ach, it won’t last long. No one could stay mad at you, lass.”
“You auld flatterer, you. Okay. Where are the plans?”
Aodhan’s eyes gleamed. “They’re on their way.” The bell above the door rang, and we both looked up to see Quinn stride in. “And look … perfect timing. They’ve just arrived.”
Wait.
What?
“Excuse me?” I squeaked out as Quinn found us. I glowered at Aodhan. “What have you done?”
Aodhan’s expression was far too innocent. “McQuarrie is the best builder on the west coast. We only want the best for the store … right?”
The auld interfering—
“Taran. Aodhan.” Quinn towered over us. He had an iPad in his long-fingered grip. My gaze moved up his body reluctantly to meet his eyes. “I’ve got the plans for the store.”
Wonderful.
“Do you have another seat for Quinn?”
“I’m sorry.” I clenched my teeth. “I wasn’t expecting you, so I didn’t reserve a table for three.”
“That’s fine. I’ll perch here.” Quinn sat his muscular arse on the arm of my chair. Considering our last interaction, he had a wee bit too much amusement in his blue eyes for my liking.
“Quinn has contacts with a kit-building firm up in Inverness. They owe Quinn for a big job he sent their way, so they’re happy to prioritize our store, considering its simplicity.”
It was difficult to hide my excitement over the thought of the store being up and running far quicker than I’d hoped. But then I reminded myself that my project had been hijacked by my ex. That irritation leaked into my tone. “Let’s see the plans, then.”
Quinn tapped the screen of his iPad and handed it to me.
“The kit company has a selection of designs you can choose from, and I thought this one here could be altered ever so slightly to suit the store.” He leaned over me, and I tried not to tense as he traced his finger across the drawings on the tablet.
“This plan is for a basic one-bed holiday home. If we keep the plan as it is, what should be the living room/kitchen will be the public storefront. This hallway that would normally lead to a bathroom, bedroom, and dressing room, we keep as is, but we split the bathroom into a toilet and kitchenette for staff breaks. We delete the wall between the bedroom and dressing room and just make that entire space a storage area for stock and run a desk along the back, so you have an office space in there too.”
I nodded despite myself because it seemed totally doable.
“This here is supposed to be bifold doors along the left side of the open-plan space. We delete that and replace with narrower windows along the top for light, so there is plenty of usable wall area for displaying stock. We switch out the entrance door on the front facade with a large display window and wider entrance door for wheelchair access.”
I gaped up at Quinn, taken aback by how decisively and intelligently, with budget in mind, he’d altered the design to suit our purposes.
His lip curled on the left side in a sexy, knowing smirk. “You look so surprised. You’d think I didn’t do this for a living.”
“It’s perfect,” I bit out reluctantly, handing the tablet over to Aodhan. “What do you think?”
“I’ve already seen it and agree.” He gave it to Quinn. “If we’re all agreed, place the order with the company. For now”—he eased himself up—“Quinn and I will deal with planning, but you and Quinn will deal with the building. Sorted? Good. I’ll see you later.”
“Aodhan …” I gawked as he strode out without another word.
Leaving me.
With Quinn McQuarrie.
It felt deliberate.
Quinn sank into the armchair Aodhan had vacated. “How have you been?”
“Seriously?”
“We need to talk, Taran.”
“That didn’t go so well for us last time.”
“Which is why we need to talk. It’s my turn to tell my side of the story.” He raised a hand to stop my objection. “For your sake more than mine. I promise you that.”
I huffed. “Oh please, enough with the benevolent martyr bullshit.”
The muscle in his jaw ticked. “Fine. For both our sakes.”
I leaned across the table toward him, fully aware that the local customers were watching us. “We are most definitely not having that conversation here. For now, you just keep me apprised on the planning process, and I’ll be ready when you are for the structure to go up.”
“Taran.” Quinn sat forward, his expression pleading. “Meet me somewhere.”
Cammie’s revelations from the other day had secretly been plaguing me. I wanted to know if there was any truth to it, but it terrified me how much I wanted to know.
“Quinn, I—”
“Well, isn’t this not a fucking surprise.”
The harsh words cut me off. Our attention snapped upward to the rough-looking gentleman standing between our chairs. I hadn’t even heard the bell above the door announce his presence.
I didn’t recognize him. The bald man was perhaps in his late sixties, had a bit of a gut, and the T-shirt he wore beneath a battered rain jacket was wrinkled and worn. His jeans and boots looked like they’d seen better days, as did his skin and teeth.
The most shocking thing about him, however, was the utter hatred oozing from him as he glowered at Quinn.
Quinn’s expression tightened. “Eoghan.”
“It’s Mr. McCall to you, you wee shite.”
Indignation flooded me. “I’m sorry, sir, but I don’t allow anyone to abuse my customers. I’m afraid you’ll have to leave.”
The man sneered at me. “This is your mum’s place, not yours.”
“My mother’s dead.” I glared as I rose to stand. He was only a few inches taller than me. The smell of alcohol wafted strongly from him. “I own the store. Now please leave.”
Everything seemed to quieten around us.
“Taran Macbeth.” The man I still didn’t quite recognize curled his upper lip at me. “Still whoring yourself to McQuarrie after he knocked up Kiera Donnelly.”
Quinn shot out of his chair. “You watch your fucking mouth, McCall.”
Suddenly I knew who this was.
Liam McCall’s dad.
I’d forgotten about Liam.
Mum had told me all about it at the time.
Tragic. He’d died in a boating accident. I’d thought his parents had left the island, though.
Something malicious darkened in Eoghan McCall’s gaze at Quinn’s reaction. He turned back to me. “Now that I know a whore is running this place, I’ll let myself out.”
Quinn lunged toward the older man, and I instinctively grabbed his biceps with one hand and the scruff of his T-shirt with the other. “Quinn, no!”
He tensed against my hold, battling his instincts.
“It’s clearly the reaction he wants.”
My words found their mark. Quinn relaxed ever so slightly. “Get out now, or I’ll make you leave.”
Eoghan curled his lip in disgust. “You’ll get what’s coming to you, boy.” His dark eyes flicked to me. “Oh aye, you will.” Then he turned and stalked out, slamming the door shut behind him.
My mother’s shop was so silent you could hear a pin drop.
I uncurled my fingers from Quinn’s T-shirt, glancing around at my customers who all stared at us with wide-eyed curiosity. “Sorry about that, folks.” I released Quinn entirely. “Free biscotti for everyone.”
I heard Ewan’s indignant huff from the barista counter and ignored him, turning back to my ex. We waited for the noise to rise again before we slowly sat back down. “Do you want to tell me what the hell that was about?”
Quinn rubbed at his beard in agitation. “Not today, I don’t.”
Hurt pierced me, but I shouldn’t have expected anything more from him. “Fine. I should get back to work.”
His head snapped up. “And about our talk?”
“What would be the purpose? What do you want from it, Quinn? What do you want from me?”
“I want you to know the truth. I thought you did. But I’ve come to realize that I expected you to be a mind reader, and that isn’t fair. Just let me give you the truth and you can decide whether you never want to speak to me again after that.”
You know you need to know, a voice whispered in my head. Put aside your goddamn pride!
“Fine. But … I need it to be when I’m ready to hear it.”
Something dimmed in his eyes. “When do you think that might be?”
“Soonish.”
I could tell he was disappointed, but he stood, snatching up his iPad and gesturing to me with it. “I’ll be in touch about this.”
“I’ll be in touch about the other.”
Quinn stared at me a moment too long, almost like he wanted to say more. Finally, he just gave me an abrupt nod and marched out.
I was painfully aware of the locals watching my every move, but I couldn’t help but stare at Quinn as he passed the window of the bookstore. He was so handsome, an ache flared in my chest.
“Taran.”
Reluctantly, I looked up to find Mrs. Gilchrist, the antiques shop owner, at the back of my chair with a to-go cup in hand. “Mrs. Gilchrist, hello.”
“I didn’t want to interrupt your tête-a-tête with our dashing builder.” She paused as if waiting to see if I’d provide information about the interlude.
Instead, I just stared up at her, almost enjoying the awkward silence.
Mrs. Gilchrist’s shoulders slumped ever so slightly. “Ah, yes. Anyway, I just wondered how the selling of your mother’s antiques was coming along? Did everything go well with Mr. White?”
Mr. White was a creepy toad whose number I had to block from my phone after he asked me out multiple times despite thinking I was already in a relationship. Thank you for inviting such a turd into my life.
“It was fine. But I’m not selling Mum’s items anymore. I’m donating them.”
“Oh.” Her eyebrows shot upward. “I remember seeing some desirable things in among her possessions.”
“Yes, there are a few lovely items. We’ll keep those in the family. The rest will be donated.”
Her gaze drifted away and she bit her lip in thought.
“Is that all, Mrs. Gilchrist?” I stood to return to work.
“Yes, yes.” She waved a hand before walking slowly, almost absentmindedly, out of the store.
I returned to my spot behind the barista counter and nudged Ewan as he rang up a customer’s coffee and paperback. “Still not talking to me, my darling Ewan?”
He gave me a side-eye and sighed. “It would be petty of me to hold a grudge after that beast called you a whore in front of your delicious ex-boyfriend.”
Despite myself, my lips twitched with amusement. “Awfully petty,” I agreed.
Ewan struggled to hold back a laugh as he wrapped an arm around me to give me a squeeze. “You do keep things interesting around here, Taran.”
The customer, a tourist, chuckled at our exchange, and I grinned at my manager. “Why are you not fired?”
“Because you can’t run this place without me.” Ewan took the customer’s payment. “Now, please do tell me what was happening over there with McCutie.”
“McCutie?” I wrinkled my nose. “Quinn is many things, but cute isn’t one of them.”
“So, what would you replace it with? McHot? McSexy?” He lowered his voice, cupping a hand around his mouth, “McDo Me?”
I shoved him playfully. “McGo Away.”
“You are in serious denial, Taran Macbeth. When a man like that looks at a woman the way he looks at you … it’s only a matter of time.”
My heart rate picked up. “Before I what? Get a restraining order?”
“Sweetie, you are so far down the river of denial, you’re in freaking Egypt.”
“Your wit is astounding.” I kissed Ewan on the cheek. “But you’re so far off the truth, Sherlock Holmes would mock you endlessly.”
He gave me a knowing wee smirk that unsettled me.
It was bad enough trying to navigate these uncertain waters with Quinn, but the pressure of having the entire population of Leth Sholas discussing our interactions was too much. I needed space. Some quiet. To think.
“Can you hold down the fort? I promised London I’d help her with something today.”
Ewan was unperturbed by the abrupt subject change. “Sure, sure. I’ll call if we need you.”
I couldn’t escape Pages & Perks fast enough and hurried off Main Street before anyone could stop me from finding a quiet place to be alone with my chaos of emotions.