Chapter Eight
Iona
‘ Y ou sure you’re ok?’ Iona sat down beside Monty on the bench in the boat. In front of them rose the walls of Kisimul Castle and all around them was the vastness of the sea, rising on the tide. A cool sea breeze ruffled her hair, and she unthreaded some strands from her lips. The silence between her and Monty was ok, but she couldn’t shake the gnawing guilt at having been so short with him. If only she’d spared a moment to consider why he was here and not rushed in all guns blazing… as she so often did. Sometimes she was her own worst enemy. How bloody insensitive was she?
Monty nodded, staring out at the water. ‘Yeah, I’m fine. Just processing it all.’
‘Ok. Would you like a snack? I have a secret stash of chocolate for occasions like this.’
He gave her a weak smile. ‘Do you often have people scattering ashes on your boat trips?’
‘Ha. No. That’s a new one for me. But I don’t normally do boat trips at all. I usually teach paddleboarding – that’s my most popular activity – but I also do surfing, body boarding, wild swimming, and kayaking, plus cycling and hiking for the land lovers.’
‘You’re unreal. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone quite as adventurous as you.’
She got to her feet, grinning, and went to the front of the boat, opened a compartment, and pulled out a large bar of chocolate. ‘Hopefully, this will make you feel better and not make you sick.’
‘Let’s hope.’
She broke off a piece and gave it to him.
‘Thanks.’
‘You know, I didn’t come here just for the adventure.’ She sat back beside him.
‘No?’ Monty turned to look at her. ‘Why did you come here, then?’
‘Ah, you know.’ She snapped off a square of chocolate. ‘Shit happens. And I got caught in a proper storm. I needed to get away from my old life. Everything was so… structured and suffocating.’
‘What did you do?’
‘I worked in the civil service in London, then Edinburgh. Pushing papers, dealing with endless bureaucracy. Drove me mad. It was the kind of job my family expected me to do, not what I really wanted to do.’ Her family wasn’t short of money, and they’d sent her to boarding school as soon as they could to ‘prep’ her for adult life. She was pretty sure it hadn’t done that. All it had taught her was that she wasn’t worth much to them, and they expected her to fend for herself. Well, she was definitely doing that now.
Monty’s eyes focused on her and he adjusted his glasses. ‘So, you just decided to leave your job one day?’
‘Pretty much.’ She flicked a bug off her arm. ‘I’d had enough. So, I… Well, I lost the plot. I messed up a big speech and there was no going back, so I packed my things and left. Came here to start fresh, you know? To live on my own terms, find some freedom.’
Monty nodded. ‘That was brave.’
‘Maybe.’ Iona shrugged. Or maybe it was just running away. ‘There were other factors, I guess. All of it combined pushed me to do it.’
‘More than the job?’
‘Yeah, my cheating ex, for example.’
‘Oh.’ Monty raised an eyebrow as realisation dawned on his face.
‘Yup. He was well-off and my parents worshipped him. Honestly, I think they liked him more than me. He cheated on me, but my parents were actually annoyed with me. Can you believe it? They thought I’d bailed on a great opportunity. I think they even blamed me for it.’ She huffed and snapped off another couple of pieces of chocolate, handing one to Monty and nibbling the other. ‘Story of my life. I’m never good enough.’ She hadn’t meant the last words to come out aloud and had muttered them more to herself than Monty, but he’d clearly heard.
‘Sounds like a difficult relationship. Families can be tricky,’ he said. ‘My mother can be a bit like that too. She loved my ex-girlfriend.’ He glanced away and fiddled with his wristwatch. ‘But then, so did I.’
‘What happened?’ Iona watched him closely. Surely his girlfriend hadn’t died too. Was his life that tragic? And she’d been so insensitive to him.
He gave a little shrug. ‘Just stuff.’
‘But… Is she… Still alive?’
He smirked and gave her a funny look. ‘Oh yeah. Very much alive. I can see why you’d want to move here.’ He changed the subject abruptly and Iona didn’t feel she could rewind or pry any more. ‘It’s beautiful.’
‘Yeah, I needed to find myself again and I love this island.’
‘It’s very easy to be calm here, even on a boat, which I never thought I’d hear myself say.’
She grinned, looking out at the waves crashing against the castle walls. ‘It is. But it has its challenges at times.’
‘I can understand that,’ he replied. ‘I’ve felt a bit out of place here, to be honest. Everything’s so different from what I’m used to.’
‘I noticed,’ she said. ‘You’re not exactly the outdoorsy type, are you?’
‘Not at all.’ He shook his head. ‘I’ve spent most of my life in offices, dealing with numbers. This’ – he gestured around them – ‘is a whole new world to me.’
‘It’s a good world. It takes some getting used to, but it’s worth it.’
Monty smiled and ruffled his hair. Objectively, he was a good-looking guy. Catriona was right; he had an academic look with the thick-rimmed glasses, but the windswept hair and the stubble made him more rugged and altogether quite pleasant to look at, but looking was all Iona would be doing. Casual hookups were fine. Why deny she liked them? But he didn’t look like a hookup type guy, especially if he still loved his ex, which was what he seemed to be saying before. Probably just as well. Iona had had enough of his type to last a lifetime.
‘Listen, thanks for what you did back there.’ He flexed his fingers, then linked them together. ‘I really don’t think I could have done it without you.’
‘No worries.’
Monty glanced at her again. ‘That was why I booked this trip. To scatter Dad’s ashes and say my final farewell, though it doesn’t feel like goodbye. I’ve got an odd feeling… I can’t really explain it, but it’s like I have something else to do while I’m here. Only I’m not sure what.’
‘Well, there are lots of adventures to be had on Barra.’
His brow furrowed, and he looked down at his feet. ‘I’m not very good at adventures. That’s the reason my ex is my ex and not still my girlfriend.’
‘Because she liked adventures, and you don’t?’ Iona cocked her head.
‘Kind of, she thinks I’m…’ He looked away and exhaled with a short puff.
‘Thinks you’re what?’
‘Too boring.’
‘Oh dear.’ Iona covered her mouth, trying not to let herself laugh. She obviously didn’t know him well having only met him a couple of days ago, but she could see why someone might say that. His grey clothes didn’t exactly help.
‘Yeah. I get it. I am boring.’
‘I didn’t say that.’
‘You didn’t have to. I know I am. Even though in the past few days, I’ve had more wild experiences than in most of my life. Travelling alone can be adventurous in itself.’
‘There you go then. You’ve already pushed out of your comfort zone.’
‘True… And I went cycling. That was good. The puncture, not so much.’
‘Thing is, if you’ve split up with her, what does it matter? Do your own thing and who cares what she thinks.’
‘Yeah.’ He picked at the knee of his jeans. ‘I’m finding it hard to get over her. I keep thinking that maybe if I do something different I can get her back.’
‘Different how?’
‘I’m not sure. Something to show her I’m not as dull as she thinks… Even if I am.’
Iona glanced away with a half laugh. ‘Well, I could teach you paddleboarding if you like. Sign up for a class. And the water sport festival is on next week. You could join in.’
‘Hmm. That’s a bit out of my depth. I’m not keen on water.’
‘Ok.’ Iona shook her head. ‘Do you like hiking?’
‘I’m not sure I like it, but I’ve been trying to do a bit more of that kind of thing recently.’
‘You could climb up Heaval. It’s the hill behind Castlebay. Look over there.’ She turned around and pointed at the nicely shaped hill behind the village. ‘That’s it there.’
‘Looks interesting, though I can see myself getting lost.’
Monty had turned the same way as her, and she was suddenly aware of his proximity. They’d sat a good while together, and she hadn’t really noticed, but with him this close behind her, her skin prickled.
Am I crazy?
‘You can’t really get lost.’ She turned back and put a bit more distance between them. ‘There’s not exactly a path but you can see the obvious way up. I’d go with you, if you wanted.’
‘Yeah, that would be sensible.’
‘Maybe once you’ve done that, you’ll be ready for a paddleboarding lesson.’
‘I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready for that.’ He raked his fair hair, which was quite long and tufty at the front. He’d probably just forgotten to have it cut recently with everything going on in his life, but it almost looked trendy. ‘I think I can do the hike,’ he said. ‘I might not have the right shoes though.’
‘Hmm. We could see if Ruaridh – you know, Catriona’s brother – has a pair you can borrow. He’s fitness mad.’
‘I have trainers, but nothing fancy.’
‘They’ll do. As long as you don’t mind them getting messy. It can be a bit boggy in places.’
‘Why does that not surprise me?’ He took out his phone and snapped a picture of the hill and the village.
‘Do you want to head back now?’
‘Well, I don’t really want the boat to move, but I don’t want to sit here for the rest of my life either, so let’s go.’
‘Ok then.’ Iona got to her feet and shoved the chocolate back into its compartment. A sudden memory hit her. Ages ago, a friend had left a set of wristbands they’d used for seasickness. They were possibly still stashed in the boat. She rummaged through the compartment. ‘I think I have something that might help with your seasickness.’
‘Oh? What’s that?’
‘Aha.’ She pulled out a little box with a pair of navy wristbands that resembled the sweatbands athletes wore, only they were narrower and had a little metal button stitched into them. ‘These. They’re supposed to help with nausea. I don’t have a clue how they work, but it’s worth a try, right?’
Monty took the bands from her. ‘I think I’ve heard of them, but I’m not sure what to do with them.’
‘Here, let me read this.’ Iona unfolded a little slip of paper inside the box. It had instructions and a diagram for where to place the metal button. ‘So, it looks like you put it in the middle of the two tendons on your wrist, about three finger widths down from the base of your hand.’ She stepped closer. ‘Hold out your hand.’ She took his left wrist and skimmed her fingertips over the skin. ‘Make a fist and flex it up, so the tendons rise.’
He did it and Iona pressed the spot. ‘I think that’s where the button goes.’ She glanced up and found his eyes on her, his cheeks slightly pink. Their gazes locked for a moment and Iona’s breath caught. ‘I, um, should let you put them on.’
‘Thanks.’ He took the box, still with his eyes on her, then blinked and slipped the band over his wrist, adjusting it so the pressure point was on the place her finger had been just moments ago.
Monty looked down at the bands, then up at her. ‘Let’s see if this works then.’
‘Fingers crossed. Let’s get going. The sooner we’re back, the sooner you’re off the boat.’
‘Sounds good to me.’ He strapped himself back into his buoyancy aid.
Iona put hers on too and fired up the engine. A gust of wind whipped around them, rocking the little boat. Iona kept an eye on Monty, but he looked calmer, resting his hand along the side of the boat. Perhaps his knuckles were a little white, but she couldn’t expect miracles. She steered the boat back towards the village. A few choppy waves bounced them higher than on the way over and some sea spray fizzed over the side, making Monty call out.
‘Are you ok?’ She glanced back at him.
‘Yeah. The bands seem to be helping, though I keep getting water in my face.’ He took off his glasses to wipe them and Iona had to look away. What was it about this man?
She manoeuvred the boat forward. As soon as they were in the confines of the harbour, the water calmed, and she approached the marina. ‘Here we are.’ She leaned over the side, pulling the rope, tugging them in. ‘That wasn’t so bad, was it?’ She took off her buoyancy aid and shoved it into a compartment.
‘It was ok.’ Monty handed her his buoyancy aid and she put it away.
She crossed to the side of the boat and took hold of the rope again, leaning over to check it was secure. A sharp pain stabbed her side. ‘Ow. What the hell?’ She pulled back, clutching her abdomen.
‘Are you ok?’ Monty moved closer.
‘Yeah.’ She checked the knot was tight, then ran her hand along the edge. ‘There’s a sharp nail there. I need to fix that. I never noticed it before.’ Glancing down, she saw her t-shirt torn and spots of red appearing. ‘Seriously? I love this shirt.’
‘You’re bleeding.’ Monty gaped at her. ‘Do you have a first aid kit?’
‘In the storage compartment.’ This was no worse than the grazed shoulder she’d had courtesy of Monty knocking her off the bike. It just looked bad because of the blood. ‘But I’ll be fine.’
‘You should put something on it in case it gets infected.’ He fetched the kit and opened it.
Iona lifted her ruined t-shirt to inspect the wound. It wasn’t deep. ‘Do you faint at the sight of blood?’ she asked.
‘No.’ He ripped an antiseptic wipe from its packet. ‘Here. Put this on.’ He moved forward and reached out, but before he touched her, he frowned and his hand hovered. ‘Shall I? Or would you prefer to do it yourself?’
‘Oh… I can do it.’ Holding her t-shirt up with one hand, she took the wipe from him and held it against the wound. ‘Bloody stings, and I can’t believe I’ve wrecked this shirt. It’s one of my favourites.’
He huffed out a little laugh as he unpackaged a plaster.
‘It might be better if you put it on,’ she said. ‘This isn’t in the easiest place.’
‘Sure.’
Maybe it was just her imagination, but his fingers seemed to tremble as he held out the plaster and positioned it over the cut. His fingers brushed her, and she inhaled sharply, but not because of the pain. The gentle pressure of his touch was worryingly arousing. She didn’t need to feel anything like that for him.
‘There.’ He stepped back, and she dropped her shirt.
‘Thanks.’ She caught his eye, and they gazed at each other for longer than was strictly necessary, but something in his deep, dark pupils held her fast. ‘Not bad for a banker.’
He gave her a little salute.
They stood for a moment longer before Iona took a step away. ‘We should get off the boat.’
‘Yeah… We should,’ Monty agreed, but his eyes lingered on her and goosebumps erupted on her arms. What the hell was happening to her? He was not her type, and she was determined not to change her mind about that.