Chapter Twenty
Iona
I ona surveyed the beach, hands on her hips, shaking her head. Litter was strewn everywhere, broken deckchairs, discarded wet-shoes and even some perfectly serviceable looking surf boards had been abandoned. Her shoulders slumped. People were so gross and utterly disrespectful. If this was the way they treated her beautiful island, she’d think twice about inviting them back.
Where to even begin?
‘Bunch of twats,’ she muttered. She wasn’t in the best of moods anyway, and this was going to give her a migraine about thirty seconds from now.
Monday morning had come too quickly, and the beach was deserted, apart from all the shit. Everyone else had gone back to work and guests had caught the ferry or buzzed off on day trips, including Monty. She’d woken up again with him that morning. A crackle of electricity ran through her veins at the thought. If she could let this cleanup go, she would. She’d much rather spend time with him, but this was her job, and she couldn’t avoid it. Plus, he was on holiday. It wasn’t fair, expecting him to hang around with her all the time.
She picked up a stray bottle, tossing it into a crate already full of rubbish.
Her brain was in a similar jumble. Since when had she let her mind dwell on a person like this and not the outdoors or sport? She enjoyed being with him so much. Which was so alien to her. Every smile from him, every touch, made her heart thud a little harder. She wasn’t supposed to get attached. That wasn’t the deal. But he’d got under her skin. He was like a part of her. When they were together, fireworks burst around them, but when they were apart, she felt broken and empty.
‘Stop being stupid,’ she muttered. How was he any different from anyone else? They’d had good sex, that was all. And surely, she could have that again. She made her way down the beach, attempting to convince herself by repeating the thoughts like a mantra. But it didn’t work. Her mind wandered and very soon all she’d done was add more confusion, because she wasn’t certain that sex was the only thing they had going for them. If it was, she’d have already forgotten about him – like all the others. Monty was just so easy to talk to and to be around. He didn’t judge her, and he accepted her quirks and all. Instead of being put off by the headstrong things she couldn’t stop herself from doing or saying, he said he was ‘honoured’ to be with her. That in itself was something new, and it made her smile. Such a cute thing to say. His words repeated inside her head like an affirmation – pushing out the earlier mantra without much effort.
You’re just so incredibly talented, spirited and buzzing with energy. So fearless. It’s inspiring, and it’s a privilege to get to do this with someone like you.
What was he up to today? She’d slipped out of bed early – well, early for her – and told him she had to get to work. They’d only had a brief kiss and a promise to catch up later before she’d left. If they’d started anything else, she’d never have got here.
She slapped the heel of her hand to her forehead and rubbed it. The mess on the sand wasn’t the only thing needing sorted and cleaned up. The chaos in her mind could do with an industrial strength hoover and a Marie Kondo-style tidy up.
With a sigh, she headed to her car and pulled out a roll of black bags. If she didn’t start now, she never would.
A gull squawked overhead, and she glanced up, watching it swoop down to the water. That’s where she wanted to be. Out there, soaring over the waves. Instead, she pulled open a bin bag and a pair of gloves and started shoving in the rubbish.
She returned to the house at lunchtime to get more bin bags and some more boxes to sort some of the recyclable stuff into. Eilidh was cycling around on her bike, enjoying the early days of the summer holidays. Those were the best days. Iona remembered them lasting for what seemed like months when she was that age. Now the summer weeks passed so quickly; if she blinked, she missed them.
‘You having fun?’ she asked Eilidh.
‘Yeah. Alex is taking me to a quiet track to cycle after lunch. Mummy says I can go if I remember to use the brakes.’
‘And are you remembering?’
‘I’m doing it, look.’
Iona smiled, knowing Eilidh had a habit of scraping her feet along the ground to stop. ‘Great. You keep practising. I need to see if Mummy has any bin bags I can use. If not, I might have to do a wee nip into the village.’
‘Can’t Ruaridh get the bins?’
‘Yeah. He can help me when everything’s bagged up, but I’ll have to do that bit.’
‘Ok.’ Eilidh cycled off around the path towards the annex.
Was Monty still there? Hopefully he’d gone out and found something fun to do. Catriona wasn’t in the kitchen and Iona wandered through the farmhouse, calling her.
‘I’m up here changing the rooms.’ Catriona peered down the stairs. ‘What’s up?’
‘I need more bin bags. Do you have any? You should see the beach. What an utter shitshow. People are such arseholes.’
‘That’s a disgrace. Take photos and put them on the community social media pages. I think we should make it clear this is unacceptable and if visitors are going to treat the island like this, then we won’t be inviting them.’
‘Yeah, I’ll do that.’
‘Let me sort this duvet and I’ll come down and look for some bin bags.’
Iona wandered back to the kitchen, opening the fridge and snacking on some raspberries.
Catriona came in, a harassed look on her face. ‘I’m never going to get all these rooms done in time. The school holidays starting and the festival is great for business, but what a rush.’
‘I would help you,’ Iona said. ‘But I need to do the beach. It’s a disaster zone. Hopefully Ruaridh can come by later with the truck and get rid of some of the bags.’
‘I’m sure he will.’ Catriona rummaged through a cupboard and pulled out a roll of black bin bags. ‘Here you go.’
‘Thanks.’ Iona let out a long sigh, her eyes drifting to the window as she caught sight of a man in the backyard. For a second, she thought it was Monty, then she realised it was Alex. He crouched down by Eilidh and pressed his fingers to her bike tyre like he was checking the pressure.
‘I already did that.’ Catriona’s eyes narrowed as she glared at Alex. ‘Does he think I’m incompetent?’
‘He’s just trying to help. He’s nice like that.’
Catriona rolled her eyes. ‘You’re hardly one in a position to lecture me about men. You still haven’t explained about Monty. That was quite a blatant kiss on Saturday night. And Ruaridh said you were still at it during the festival yesterday.’
‘At what?’ Iona felt a flush creeping up her neck.
‘Kissing him.’ Catriona cocked her head. ‘And I’m sure the fact you haven’t been in your bed for the last two nights means you’ve found somewhere else to sleep.’
‘Well, so what? Can’t I have a bit of fun? It’s not a crime.’
‘It’s a little strange considering how you said just a few days ago that he wasn’t your type.’
‘He’s not.’ She gave a little shrug. ‘But… I dunno, I like him, ok?’
Catriona came over and gave her a hug. ‘That’s good. But be careful. Apparently, he’s a distant cousin of mine, so he told me at breakfast. He seems like such a nice guy, and he’s really helped with the business plan. I wouldn’t like either of you to get hurt.’
‘As if.’ Iona snorted, a little too defensively.
‘You say that. But look what happened to me.’ She gave Eilidh a wistful look. ‘That was what I got from fooling about with someone who was on holiday here.’
‘Yeah. I know.’ Iona patted her arm. ‘I won’t get hurt though. Casual is fine with me.’ And maybe if she said it out loud enough, she would start believing it again.
‘I know you don’t mind casual and that’s your choice, but… Well, he doesn’t seem like someone who normally does casual. Though who am I to say that? We may be distantly related, but I don’t really know him at all.’
‘I don’t think he’s normally into flings, but… well, he wants some, um, practise.’
Catriona raised an eyebrow and furrowed her brow. ‘Practise at having flings?’
‘Not exactly, but don’t worry. It’s all fine. He’s not serious about me and I feel the same.’
Catriona’s sceptical look didn’t waver.
‘I better get back. See you later.’ Iona headed for the door before Catriona could ask any more questions. Once outside, she jumped in the car. She almost laughed at her own words. I won’t get hurt though. But what if she did? Because one thing was certain. In a few days’ time, Monty was leaving. He was going back to the mainland, and Iona wouldn’t have him anymore.
She returned to the beach, armed with the bin bags. If only there was something to keep her focused. How could she do this? She started picking up the litter, shoving it into the black bags with more force than necessary. Each piece of rubbish felt like a personal affront.
‘Utter wankers,’ she muttered, shoving a discarded flip-flop into a bag.
The sun was out and, as the clouds rolled away, it heated up, making her feel sticky and irritable. She wiped her brow, glancing up and down the beach. So much still to do. This was impossible. Maybe if she had a break and hit the waves, she could do some more later. But if she stopped now, she’d never come back to it. Her tummy rumbled. Those raspberries weren’t enough to fill her up. If only she’d had the sense to grab some lunch when she was back at the farmhouse, but sense was something she’d been completely lacking recently.
The waves rolled in, soothing and rhythmic, and maybe that was the only reason she kept going. Their constancy was something to work to. How long had she been at it now? Every so often a car would swish past on the road beyond, or people on bikes chatting, but everyone seemed to be avoiding the beach. Could she blame them?
Another whir of a bike came by. She couldn’t quite see the road from here, but she wondered if it was maybe Alex with Eilidh. She looked up, squinting against the sun. The cyclist had stopped and dismounted. He pulled off his helmet and ran a hand through his hair. Looking around, his gaze locked onto her.
Was that Monty?
A deep warmth flooded her, almost like relief, though she knew he wasn’t here to rescue her from this mess. Just seeing him filled her with so many emotions.
As he got closer, he smiled. ‘This is where you’ve got to. I wondered where you were. I messaged you, but you didn’t reply.’
‘I haven’t looked. I’ve been so busy.’
He glanced around, scanning over the rows of bin bags and recycling boxes. ‘You really have.’ He pushed his glasses further up his nose.
‘What did you want me for?’
He smiled at her, and his eyes held hers for a moment. ‘Nothing in particular. I just like seeing you.’
‘I would give you a hug, but I’m a sweaty mess and I’ve been picking up shit all day, so I probably stink.’
He let out a laugh and ruffed up the hair at the front of his head. ‘I love it how you just say it like it is.’
Iona blinked, processing his words; they’d been dangerously close to “I love you,” and that was what her brain wanted to hear – which was insane, right? ‘Um… Have you been somewhere nice?’
‘Just cycling around, getting some photos. It’s so beautiful.’ His eyes had initially been on the sea, but on the word beautiful, they snapped back to her. The look suckered her and all the joy of being held in his arms rushed back. She’d like to be there right now.
‘Well, you should carry on doing that. Make the most of the weather. You know how quickly it changes here.’
‘I certainly do. But I’m staying here.’
‘Why?’
‘Because your company is one of the most special things on the island.’
A smile crept onto her lips. She couldn’t stop it. All her irritation with the mess dispersed, at least for the moment. ‘That’s sweet. You’re such a nice man. But I can’t hang about and chat.’
‘Obviously. That’s why I’m going to help you.’
‘Absolutely not. You aren’t responsible for this.’
‘Neither are you. If we do it together, it’ll get done twice as fast, and we can have fun while we work. And if that’s not enough, just think about what we can use the extra time for.’
‘Monty, you are some guy.’ She laughed. ‘Ok, I accept your offer. Thank you.’
‘Let’s do it then.’
She handed him the half full bag. ‘You take that one and I’ll get some more.’
He took it, then leaned over. She met him midway, and their lips brushed together briefly. Despite feeling like she’d waded through a midden all morning, the concentrated touch seemed to purify her thoughts. The mess wasn’t so bad anymore. They could do this.
It wouldn’t exactly be her first choice of date, but it gave them time to chat. By five o’clock, they were almost done, but Iona didn’t want to stop.
‘How about we get a carry out and keep going until it’s done?’ Monty suggested.
‘Good idea.’ She drove him into Castlebay, and they got some chips.
Monty smirked as they headed back to the car. ‘The last time I saw you with a bag of chips, I knocked you over and a seagull ate them.’
‘Don’t remind me. I still haven’t forgiven you.’
‘Oh, I think you have.’ He grinned at her.
‘Ok, maybe.’
They headed back to the beach and carried on tidying and lugging the bags up, piling them up at the side of the container.
‘Will the binmen take all these?’ Monty frowned at them and wiped his brow.
Iona smirked. ‘You know Ruaridh is a binman, right? He’ll take them.’
‘Is he? Wow, I wondered what he did.’
‘He gets a bit touchy about it sometimes because he thinks people look down their noses at him.’
‘Well, I don’t envy him, but I do appreciate him. Where would we be without the rubbish collectors?’
‘Exactly.’ Iona clapped her hands together. ‘Job well done.’ She high-fived Monty.
‘I know what we need now.’
She raised her eyebrows. ‘Yeah?’
‘Let’s go for a dip.’
‘ You’re suggesting that to me ?’
He gave a little shrug. ‘Only if you want to.’
‘Of course I do, but normally I have to drag you.’
‘I must be getting a bit better then.’
‘Not better. You were always enough. Now you just have more confidence.’
He tilted his head and smiled. ‘Thanks for saying so.’
‘Do you want to get a wetsuit?’
‘When I was cycling around earlier, I stopped at the thrift shop and got myself a pair of board shorts. It’s a nice evening and I’m feeling brave.’
‘You are awesome.’ Iona flung her arms around him, forgetting about her messy clothes, but he didn’t seem to mind. He hugged her back. ‘Let’s get them on in the container.’
They walked up to it, and Iona stripped off her manky clothes and pulled on a bikini she’d stashed in the container. ‘This will have to do. My cossie is back at the farmhouse.’
Monty put his hands on his hips, glancing down at himself in the board shorts with a screwed-up face. Iona laughed, not because he looked bad, but his expression was hilarious. When he raised his eyes to her, they widened.
‘What are you trying to do to me? You think that’ll “have to do”? You look incredible, whereas I look like surfer Ken.’
She took hold of the waistband and pulled him towards her. ‘You’re much hotter than that.’
They fell into an easy kiss before heading for the sea. Iona never took time to acclimatise. Monty, however, took it slow until she grabbed his hands and pulled him in. Splashing around was fun, and she did some swimming while he treaded water, waiting for her to come back. Every time they met, they shared a kiss. Then Iona unhooked her bikini, freeing her breasts and keeping them just out of the water.
‘What if people are watching?’ Monty drew her close and gently caressed her nipples.
‘No one’s around and they can’t see anything for the sea.’ She pulled him down, kissing him, loving the way he touched her so gently, yet firmly. In fact, scratch that. She loved him full stop. Parting with him would kill her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and devoured his lips, pouring everything into him. If he was leaving, she’d make damn sure he had something to remember her by.