Chapter 13
They didn’t go to the pub this time after the meeting, not to say that Bex didn’t want to.
She definitely felt in need of a drink or two, but instead they stayed at home and cracked open a couple of Roddy’s beers.
At first Bex had been a little hesitant, but after a couple of sips she was sold.
Not only was Roddy a dab-hand around the estate, but he was clearly skilled at brewing drinks too.
Though maybe next time they should have some before or during Amanda’s visit, to try to take the edge off.
‘Why is it that every meeting with Amanda makes me feel more stressed?’ she asked as she rested her head on Duncan’s shoulder.
‘I think it’s just because it reminds us of everything we have to do. Talking of which, I need to go over to the other side of the loch tomorrow. There are some houses there that haven’t been rented out in a while. Need redoing. I’ve got to get a quote on all that.’
‘Talking about the other side of the loch, did you know that apparently Fergus has a garage there with a load of vintage cars in?’
Rather than replying, Duncan let out a long sigh, which transformed into a yawn so wide his jaw clicked.
‘Aye, I know. Gotta get someone down there too. And we need to decide what to do with them. I don’t want to sell ’em straight off the bat, but I can’t imagine us having time to take ’em on long drives any time soon.’
There was such a heaviness to his tone Bex could feel his weariness seeping into her. Not that she didn’t already have enough of her own.
‘You really do need to employ someone to do those things. Not just a groundskeeper. You need time. You’ll burn out before we ever get to the wedding.’
‘Aye, I know. I do. And you need to think about taking a rest too, you know. I’m worried, all the time you’re spending working. And sorting things out here.’
‘Only things’ll get worse if we don’t get on top of them,’ Bex responded. ‘Like that dripping sound from the roof. I know it’s stopped, but that’s only because it hasn’t rained for a couple of days.’
‘It’s on my list,’ Duncan replied.
Bex’s heart ached. There was no way she wanted a different life from the one she’d chosen – the one with Duncan – but it would have been great if they could just catch a little time to enjoy one another’s company.
‘It’ll settle down though, right? Won’t it?’ she said, wishing her voice didn’t sound quite so sad.
Shifting himself on the sofa, Duncan put his glass down, twisted around so that he was facing her and gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
‘Of course it will. It will. And in the meanwhile, why don’t you make a girly night of it with the clothes for this thing on the tenth?
Invite Lorna and Eilidh over. It’s been ages since I’ve seen them here.
They could come over tomorrow night, and you could go through all those things.
I’m sure Eilidh would be able to adjust anything that doesn’t fit.
Assuming you don’t want her to make something? ’
It was a sign of how in sync with her he was that Duncan clearly knew Bex had been thinking about using the magazine shoot to showcase some of Eilidh’s designs.
Had she thought about it – or more exactly, checked Amanda’s emails so that she actually knew about the photoshoot – she could have even asked her friend to sew an entire outfit, but there wasn’t much time for her to do that now.
But she suspected Eilidh had a few things that could be taken out here and there to fit her.
‘I doubt Lorna’s free tomorrow,’ Bex said, finally replying. ‘You know how quickly she gets booked up. But I could ask.’
As Duncan moved back into the seat, Bex returned her head to his shoulder and let out a sigh.
‘You know, we could always just elope,’ she said. ‘And the next time we see Amanda, be “Surprise! We’ve already done it!” Don’t you secretly love that idea?’
Duncan laughed. ‘Aye, love the idea. But I’m not sure what our parents would think of it. You know how excited Carrie is. And your dad’s doing this marathon so he’s fit to walk you down the aisle.’
‘What?’ Bex sat up and twisted herself around so she was looking straight at her fiancé. ‘What do you mean, marathon? He started jogging, that’s all.’
‘Aye, jogging so he could prep for this marathon. Dad was saying he’d pace him.’
‘What?’ Bex struggled to reply. Taking up running was one thing, but taking on a full marathon? ‘When did he tell you this?’
‘Don’t look so worried.’ Duncan took a swig of his beer. ‘Lots of people take up running at your dad’s age. And he’s got mine to help him do it right.’
Bex sighed. Duncan was probably right. It wasn’t like running was an extreme sport. Still, it was strange to hear this news via Keith and Duncan. She really did need to find time to check in with her family more.
‘All I’m saying,’ Duncan said as he took her hands, ‘is that our families are really looking forward to this. We kind of need to do it for them. And the village.’
‘And the people we’ve never met.’
She tried to keep the sigh within her, mostly so that it didn’t bring Duncan down, but it seemed like the theme of their wedding so far was doing it for other people. But that was okay, she reminded herself. They had their whole life to do things for themselves. This was just one day.
‘It’ll be perfect. Long as it’s you and me, right?’
‘Aye,’ Bex replied, her choice of words eliciting a grin from Duncan.
‘Aye, indeed.’
* * *
The next morning, Bex headed to the office early.
For a brief moment, she had considered looking through the wardrobes and sorting out clothes for the photoshoot, but that wasn’t something she wanted to do alone.
Besides, the more on top of work she was, the more time she would have to deal with it.
That was the plan anyway. So while Duncan headed out towards the loch, Bex made herself a coffee and drove into the village, with Rosie in the back of the car.
Her hope was that if it was quiet in the office, the dog might settle better, hopefully to a point where she could bring her in when she had clients too, the way she could do with Ruby.
However, despite the unsociable hour, Bex walked into the office only to discover she wasn’t the first one there.
‘What are you doing here at this time?’ Bex said as she opened the door to find Fi tapping away at the computer. ‘You’re not due for another two hours.’
‘I know,’ Fi replied, with a chirpiness that shouldn’t have been possible at such an ungodly time. ‘Actually, I’m glad you’re here too, there was something I wanted to talk to you about.’
An unexpected churning filled her. Fi wasn’t the type to ask for things unnecessarily, which meant that whatever she wanted was likely important. And if it was time off, Bex wasn’t sure how she could say yes. Not without pushing her own workload into completely unmanageable.
‘What is it?’ Bex asked, trying to hide the trepidation in her voice as she coaxed Rosie onto a mat with some biscuits.
Silently, Fi stood up and moved across to Bex’s desk. ‘I was wondering if there would be a problem with me changing my hours a little.’
‘Changing your hours?’ Bex’s nerves ticked up another notch.
‘Yeah, I was thinking if I started a bit early, I could finish a bit early. Maybe do seven to four. Something like that.’ She paused, though Bex didn’t respond. There was clearly a reason behind the request; she was just going to wait for Fi to tell her what it was. It didn’t take long.
‘There’s a shift going at The Haven.’ Fi started her explanation with a sigh.
‘But it starts at five. I need at least an hour between, just to get sorted and cleaned up before going straight over. So I was wondering, would that be a problem? I know I’ll miss some meetings and things, but I’m willing to catch up at any time. ’
‘You’re thinking of taking another job?’ Bex’s eyebrows rose. ‘As well as doing your apprenticeship?’
Fi nodded her head rapidly. ‘I know, I know what you’re thinking.
I’ve got the exams and the study to think of too.
It’s not just the job. But I’ve been looking at the numbers, and with things the way they are with Roddy and me, and Duncan needing to put the rents up, it’s going to take years to save for a ring, let alone the wedding. ’
Bex didn’t have a response she could offer. The second-hand worry she was feeling for Fi was mixed in with a fairly hefty dose of guilt too.
‘Nothing with the rents is finalised yet—’ Bex began only for Fi to wave her comment away.
‘It’s fine, really. We understand. Roddy gets it. After all, the laird employs a heck of a lot of people, and the last thing we want is him having to lay people off.’
Bex smiled appreciatively. Hopefully, other people saw it that way too.
‘But like I said,’ Fi continued, ‘I’ve been through all the numbers.
Not just the money. It says we need to study a certain amount of time to get my accreditation, and I can do all of those, and work here, and still fit in an extra twenty hours of shifts at The Haven. ’
‘Twenty hours?’ That felt like a lot.
‘I know.’ Fi moved back to her desk and sat down.
A weariness that was far too commonplace in Bex’s life at the minute settled over the young accountant.
‘It’s just Roddy puts it all on himself, trying to earn everything he can, and I want to make sure I’m doing all I can too.
I’ve told him a hundred times that I love my ring.
It’s got a story to it. Makes me smile every time I look at it.
But he’s got a bee in his bonnet about it needing to be a proper diamond.
Thinks his plan with his ales’ll be what brings in the cash.
And maybe it will. I don’t want us to have to put the wedding off for years, and I feel like that’s what’ll happen if we don’t find a way around it. ’
She let out a long sigh, allowing a brief flicker of despondency to creep onto her expression, before plastering her trademark smile back on her face as she looked back at Bex.
‘So, what do you think? About the extra hours, I mean. I could just try it for one week. If it doesn’t work, I’ll stop. But honestly, I’m pretty good at scheduling. You’d be amazed how much time I have now that I’m not dealing with Dad’s garage too.’
Bex wasn’t sure. Admittedly, her own route into accountancy had been very different – having got a degree in the subject by studying at university before she even set foot in an office – but she remembered how tough it had been.
How much there had been to learn and how it had felt like there weren’t enough days to get all her jobs done.
But Fi had a good head on her shoulders.
If she believed she could do it, who was Bex to say she couldn’t?
‘All right. Just let me know if you’re struggling.’
Fi’s face beamed as the obvious weight that had been pressing down on her lifted.
‘I will. Thank you. You’re the best boss ever, did you know that?’
‘Whatever,’ Bex replied, but it was hard not to grin. And from the way that Rosie was lying in the bed, quietly gnawing on a chew with no stolen objects around her, maybe she was a pretty good dog trainer too.