Chapter 24
Skye reached lazily for her phone, one eye still on the television. Speed was on, and she hadn’t seen it in ages. It was Bear.
How’s Eastercraig? I think I’m finally missing it.
Skye’s heart skipped. Turned out that even though her mind had told her to slow down, her body had other ideas. She diverted her full attention to her mobile, quickly composing and firing off a reply.
Still sunny! How’s Edinburgh? How was Portobello? x
Bear was in the city to investigate a new project, renovating a Georgian property on the Promenade which overlooked the Firth of Forth.
Skye wriggled her fingers, awaiting the response, when her phone rang. It buzzed twice, and after a deep breath, she picked up.
‘Hi,’ came the voice down the line. ‘I thought I’d call. You’re not in the middle of something, are you?’
‘Watching Speed ,’ she replied. ‘Hamish is up at the lodge overseeing a dinner and refused my offer of help, and Moira and David have gone to bed.’
‘You chose a high-octane thriller to relax to? What channel is it on?’
Skye laughed. ‘ITV, I think. Yeah, it’s cut to an ad break.’
‘I’ll watch along. I’ve not seen it for ages,’ said Bear. There was some rattling around his end. ‘There. I’ve found it, got my feet up on the table. Och. I don’t have snacks. Balls. This is a real popcorn film, isn’t it.’
‘I’ve got a family-sized slab of chocolate,’ said Skye, popping some in her mouth. ‘Not sure I’d share it, mind.’
‘And there I was, willing to give you my last Rolo.’
Skye’s heart gave an audible thud at that. ‘Do those exist still? I’ve not seen them for a while.’
‘Very much so. Next time I’m around I’ll bring a pack up to prove it. So, how’s working for Hamish going? Now you’ve settled in.’
Skye smiled to herself, and began telling Bear about what she had been up to. She had spent that morning interviewing for her replacement, and found two decent candidates from town, both in need of summer jobs. Hamish was meeting with them on Friday afternoon. Other than that, it had been straightforward admin, as well as mucking in with the cleaning, so that the castle was in order for tours. Plus, the occasional minute spent wondering how to help Hamish get together with Paolo.
‘In all, I’m really enjoying it,’ she concluded. ‘It’s good honest work. I think I was feeling a little burnt out at the firm. Unhappy,’ she continued, and broke off another square of chocolate. ‘It’s nice to not work every hour God sends, then fill the rest socializing with people I’d rather not share a room with. Some of the people at my firm — not everyone, I should point out, but a few — they’re all about the money. They always have to have the latest trend, or go to the hottest new place. And because you want to fit in, you start going along with it. Eventually that grasping greed starts to seem normal. It just kind of rubs off on you.’
She thought of the sort of cases the firm took on. They would say yes to cases with big businesses or individuals Skye wouldn’t touch with a bargepole, if those cases filled the company coffers. It was fundamental in law that everyone deserved a fair trial, but on occasion, Skye found it a principle that was hard to get on board with. What if when she returned, she ended up working on one of those cases for one of those clients? How would she handle that right now?
That panic from the exam rose up afresh, clogging her throat, and she took a sip of chamomile tea to rid herself of it.
‘That’s corporate life, isn’t it? I have to do events for work sometimes, and the schmooze doesn’t come naturally to me.’
‘No kidding,’ said Skye. ‘You could barely look at me the first couple of times we met.’
Bear scoffed. ‘That doesn’t count. I went somewhere remote for a private yell, only to be interrupted by a bonny lass, who then kept popping up everywhere I went.’
Skye felt her breath catch.
‘And I’m sure it hasn’t rubbed off on you,’ said Bear.
In the midst of her law degree, when she still found time for activism, she had envisioned herself as an Erin Brockovich, a woman of integrity. And she didn’t know if she could do that at Tilling and Browne. The corporate team might scour away any authenticity she had. ‘If only it was the kind of dirt you could shower off at the end of the day. Life would be easy. Although life is never easy, is it.’
Bear gave a low growl. ‘You’ve got that right. How do you think it’ll be, going back in a week or so?’
Skye envisaged herself sitting in her office chair, hemmed in by her suit, boxed in by other cubicles, slowly being pulped by the weight of her cases, some of which she felt very conflicted about. A pit opened in her stomach.
‘Fine.’ She didn’t want to burden Bear with her expanding case of existential angst. Involving him risked pulling them closer together. She wasn’t meant to be doing that. Distraction . . .
She flicked her eyes over to the television, to the out-of-control bus careering around LA, Sandra Bullock at the wheel, looking panicked. There was a parallel to be drawn with her current situation, she thought. Was that why she had chosen to watch this?
‘You don’t need to worry,’ said Bear. ‘It’ll be like riding a bike.’
‘You’ve seen me struggling with the hills round here, right?’
‘Don’t do yourself down. They wouldn’t have allowed you a whole month off if they didn’t think you were worth it.’
They might not have allowed me a whole month off if they realized I was going to feel quite so dubious about going back.
‘Oh!’ Skye’s eyes alighted on the screen. ‘Look, they’re getting off the bus! They’re going to be rescued. Top marks, Keanu. And well driven, Sandra.’
‘Whoa, Skye. It’s not over yet. Oh, and it’s ad break time again.’ There was a shuffling, a click in the lock, and the echo of feet on stairs. ‘I’m going to grab some chocolate too. Or some popcorn.’
‘You’re doing what? It’s late!’
‘My flat’s two doors down from a tiny convenience shop. And, let me tell you, it’s very convenient. I can be there and back before the ads end. Stay on the line, you can come with me.’
They chatted through Bear’s options, pausing briefly as he made small talk with the shop owner. Conversing with him, Skye realized, had brought her pulse rate back down, calmed her.
As the film restarted, he was back on the sofa.
‘When are you back in Eastercraig?’ Skye asked, as they watched in unison.
‘Next week. Turns out there are a few jobs here to get on with, and the foreman over at Auchintraid is in control of things for now. Wednesday, I reckon?’
‘Want to meet up? Next week’s my last week here.’
Skye tried to sound casual, but in fact, this phone call had only made her realize more than ever how much she wanted his company. She could still see him, even while she planned to keep her burgeoning emotions at bay, couldn’t she?
‘Sounds great,’ said Bear.
Skye’s pulse gave a little twitch.