Chapter 16 #2
I headed for the study door and then turned around. I pulled my phone from my pocket and dashed off a text to Alison containing my mobile number and email address. Her phone pinged on her desk. ‘I’ve just sent you my contact details so you can let me know what you think.’
Bennett smiled. ‘Thanks, Daisy. It does sound like an interesting suggestion. We’ll give it serious consideration.’ He eyed Alison, Louise and Evan. ‘And thank you for trying to help. It’s appreciated.’
‘You’re more than welcome. It’s the least I can do after you’ve made me feel so much at home here.’
I turned to Evan. ‘In the meantime, I’ll leave the journal about Florence with you. You need to read it.’ I offered it to him, and he came and took it from me, his charged gaze flicking between me and the journal.
‘Daisy.’
‘Yes?’
‘Thank you. I mean it.’ His kissable mouth made me tremble. ‘Thank you for trying to help my family.’
A lump of emotion caught in my throat. I managed a nod and a flicker of a smile. ‘Don’t mention it.’
* * *
I spent the next half hour bustling around my room, making sure I hadn’t left anything behind and folding up my clothes. I would be sorry to leave The Ramblings behind, but the thought of seeing my grandpa again made my mouth break into a wide grin.
I was just angling my case from the bed when a voice at the doorway made me start. ‘Need a hand?’
It was Dane, blond locks streaming loose down his back, his wrists adorned in his trademark leather straps.
Before I could answer, he came in and swiftly lifted the case down and onto the floor.
‘Thanks.’
‘No worries.’ He gave me a wink. ’Always at the ready to help a gorgeous girl.’
‘Do you ever switch off?’ I teased, yanking up the handle on my case.
‘Not when someone like you is around.’
I shook my head, laughing, and checked the room to make sure I hadn’t left anything behind. Maybe my heart with Evan, I thought before dismissing it.
Dane flicked his hair back. ‘I hear you’ve been making suggestions to turn The Ramblings into a theme park.’
I grasped the handle of my wheelie case. ‘Hardly. Just trying to help out your parents.’ My voice faltered. ‘And your brother.’ I tugged the case along the bedroom floor and made for the door.
‘This place wouldn’t be in such a state if Ma and Pa weren’t such dogged do-gooders.’
Dane’s harsh words made me draw up, my right hand hovering above the door handle.
‘Charity starts at home and all that. They seem to forget that one day this place will go to me and my straight-laced big brother.’ He cast his powder blue eyes around. ‘If it carries on like this, there’ll be nothing left to leave us.’
Dane meandered over to the bedroom window and gave the silky, wine-coloured curtains a dismissive flick. ‘Angel Alison and Saint Bennett.’
My temper burned. He didn’t know how fortunate he was to have two such wonderful parents.
‘Don’t talk about your mum and dad like that,’ I ground out. I found myself abandoning my case by the door and stalking over to him. ‘You take them for granted.’
Dane’s eyes popped in his blond-stubbled face.
‘You don’t appreciate what terrific, supportive parents they are.’
Dane began to smirk, and that ignited my indignation even further.
‘You should’ve been landed with the so-called mother and father I had.
’ I swallowed and eyed him. ‘A mum who dumped me with my grandparents when I was three months old and never bothered with me, and a dad who, on finding out his girlfriend was up the duff, took off down to London and didn’t want to know. ’
Dane’s smirk faltered, but I wasn’t done.
‘You just swan in and out of this place like it’s some five-star hotel, only here for your convenience.’ I shook my head. ‘Do you have any idea what stress your Mum and Dad are going through right now? They’re fighting to keep The Ramblings going.’
Dane tossed his hair back. ‘I don’t think things are that bad.’
The noise I made was a cross between a laugh and groan. ‘You think?! The heating system, the stonemasonry; it all has to be attended to.’
I thrust my hands into the pockets of my jeans. ‘Why do you think Evan has been contributing financially towards this place? He’s been trying to help your parents out.’
Dane looked at me as though I’d just sprouted horns. ‘Sorry?’
I eyed him. ‘Evan giving your parents money every month. Didn’t you know?’
Dane shook his mane so that it waggled like a blond flag down his back. His voice was smaller. ‘No. No, I didn’t.’
‘Well, he has,’ I rounded. ‘Maybe your mum and dad didn’t want to tell you because they didn’t want to burden you with it.’
Dane rubbed at his blond stubbly chin. ‘And what about Evan? Why didn’t he say anything?’
‘Maybe for the same reason. Perhaps he didn’t want you to feel you had to do it too.
’ I marched over to where my case was standing to attention by the bedroom door.
I grabbed the handle. ‘Not everyone does something because they want something in return, Dane. Sometimes people do something for each other, just because they want to.’
He snorted, but I ignored him. ‘Maybe you’ve been in the music industry a little too long.
’ I yanked open the door and stepped out into the cool hallway with its scattered, heavy, woven rugs and portraits.
‘It might be an idea if you took your head out of your arse for five minutes and gave a little more consideration to your family.’ He followed me along the hall that smelled of beeswax, his cowboy boots tapping on the gleaming floor.
His voice took on resentment. ‘Now you listen here, Daisy…’
I swung round. ‘No. You listen.’ Frustration and a burning desire to stand up for Alison and Bennett took flight.
‘You choose to let your family struggle on, yet you have no idea how many people would give their right arm to have a mother and father who think of others. They try to give something back, even though they have issues of their own to contend with.’
Dane’s pale eyes locked with mine. He shifted on the spot.
‘You’re very lucky. You’ve no idea how lucky.’ I swallowed at the thought of my own feckless, useless parents. Then pictures of my beloved grandparents replaced them in my head.
‘You can be so charming and likeable. You saved me from choking, for pity’s sake!
’ I studied him, standing there in front of me like a Nordic rock star.
‘I can see why women find you attractive. But then you go and let yourself down by saying things like that about your mum and dad. Why don’t you just grow up and realise that the world doesn’t revolve around you? Sometimes you have to step up, Dane.’
‘I’m sorry,’ stuttered Dane, picking up speed behind me. ‘Daisy. Wait.’
But I was already clattering down the staircase with my luggage bumping up and down in my hand.
* * *
I stashed my case in Marlene’s boot and returned to where Evan, Alison, Bennett and Louise were standing in a row at the entrance to wave me off.
‘Thank you for everything,’ I managed as Alison bundled me into her arms. She smelled of Coco Chanel and strawberries.
Bennett gave me a fatherly hug next, followed by Louise, who presented me with Scottish salmon and cream cheese bagels wrapped up in silver foil, a flask of tea, a banana and a hefty slice of her homemade coconut and cherry sponge cake. ‘That’s to keep you going on the journey.’
I accepted them gratefully and laughed. ‘But it’s only a half hour drive.’
Louise shrugged. ‘You never know if you’ll get held up in traffic.’
‘The worst she’ll come across is being stuck behind a bloody tractor,’ commented Evan.
Louise gave him a withering look.
When I reached Evan, I felt like I was a rag doll standing there, with him looking down at me. ‘Thank you for giving me a lift that day.’
‘Er. Yes. Of course. You’re welcome.’ My voice was thick. This could very well be the last time I saw him.
I tried to appear nonchalant. ‘And once again, thank you for stopping me from getting sacked.’
Evan nodded his dark head. ‘Don’t mention it.’ He stuffed his hands in his jean’s pockets. ‘I’ll start reading the journal now.’
‘Good. You’ll find it’s a sad but compelling read.’
We both stood there, eyes locked. It was as if the rest of the world had melted away.
I spun on my heel, my face stinging with pink, and jumped into Marlene’s open driver side door.
I clanged it shut and whirled the car around.
It seemed like there were so many unexpressed emotions just now between us.
It was as if both of us wanted to say something but didn’t have the bravery to do it.
I was crunching over the gravel, heading towards the main road, when I caught sight in my rear-view mirror of Dane, who had come bounding out of The Ramblings and was performing some kind of frantic, weird semaphore. I pulled up.
What did he want?
I switched off the car engine and clambered out.
‘What’s he doing?’ I heard Evan ask Alison. ‘He’s usually still in bed at this time.’
But Dane was striding towards me in his faded jeans and olive-green Iron Maiden T-shirt. ‘Daisy.’
‘Have I forgotten something?’
He shook his head. For the first time, he looked self-conscious; nervous even. The rocker swagger was gone. He studied his cowboy boots for a long time. ‘I wanted to apologise for just now. I was an utter twat.’
I eyed him. ‘Yes. You were.’
‘I was out of order.’
‘Yep. That too.’
His solemn face broke into a tiny echo of a smile, and I couldn’t help but smile along with him.
I could see Evan watching us through narrowed eyes.
Dane shrugged and glanced up at the pearly clouds for a few moments, before looking back at me. ‘Maybe I needed someone to tell me what was what. I’ve been walking around with my inflated ego for too long.’
I was about to say something, but the words evaporated as Dane reached out and took my right hand in his. What was he doing? With his gaze fixed on me, he lifted my hand and let his lips graze the top of it. ‘Thank you. I mean it. That was what I needed. Some home truths. I just didn’t realise it.’
Evan’s face was blazing with something just a few feet behind us.
Talk about shocked. I was gobsmacked.
It took me a few moments to recover myself. Well, well. Maybe I had got through to Dane after all. I lowered my hand. ‘You’re welcome. And I’m sorry I was so rude.’
‘Like I said, it’s what I needed,’ Dane assured me.
‘Straight talking. I’m used to folks agreeing with me; sycophants going along with my suggestions all the time.
’ He continued to look down into my eyes, searching them.
Was he ok? A strange look travelled over his face, which I’d never seen before.
I wasn’t sure if Dane was going to say anything else.
He continued to linger there. He pushed some hair back behind one ear, making the silver rings on his hand glint in the sunshine.
To try and lighten the moment, I teased him. ‘Ok. This is weird. What have you done with the real Dane Lord?’
Dane’s mouth drifted into a soft expression. ‘You’re something else, Daisy Madden, do you know that?’
I laughed and flapped one hand in the air. ‘Yeah, yeah.’
Evan’s unimpressed jaw clenched.
I returned to Marlene, turned the ignition and wound down my driver side window. ‘Thank you again,’ I called out over the throb of the engine. ‘Take care, and do let me know what you think about my tour suggestion. I won’t be offended if it’s a no!’
Alison nodded and tucked her arm around Bennett’s waist beside her. Meanwhile, Evan was firing black looks across at his younger brother, but Dane didn’t notice; he was too busy gazing at me with a preoccupied expression as he watched me leave.
‘We’ll get back to you,’ shouted Bennett. ‘Drive safe now.’
I couldn’t help it. As I edged towards the main road, my attention was drawn to my rear-view mirror again. My light grey eyes focused on Evan, who was splitting his attention between my car driving off and Dane.
When the next car slid past up the country lane, I began to ease out into the road and waved back.
More thoughts of Evan filled my head.
I put my foot down and headed right, down the rest of the lane towards the road signs that would take me past Loch Crawe and the bomb disruption of just days ago.
This could very well be the last time I set eyes on Evan Lord and The Ramblings, and if it was, I’d just have to accept it. It was fine. It was good. No problem.
My fingers dug into my steering wheel. Who was I kidding? It wasn’t fine at all. I watched the lines and undulations of the hillsides flowing past outside my window.
I cajoled myself to think happier thoughts.
Strath Ross and Grandpa, here I come!