Chapter 29
George worked like a dervish. Gabe, who’d seen him in action numerous times since he’d been grounded from his favourite occupation of climbing and felling trees, had stood to one side while he’d explained what they were going to do, talking at a hundred miles an hour and gesticulating at the same rate.
‘We’ll get a fence up here round the side, and a wee gate that’ll lead into the visitor centre place, and run it up the side o’ the path to stop people from thinking they can park their cars on the grass. Then we’ll mark out this spot up here where they can park, and hopefully we’ll keep them out o’ trouble. And then we’ll put a ramp over there so people can get in if they’re using a wheelchair. Simple enough.’
It was going to be a fencing trial by fire. George was a surprisingly good teacher, and by midway through the afternoon they were working together at a decent pace. Gabe suspected privately that if George had been left to his own devices he’d have the whole job done in about two hours, but if that was the case he didn’t let it show.
‘Who’s that nice looking lassie you were talking to when I arrived?’
They’d stopped for a coffee and something to eat and were sitting on the tailgate of the truck under gathering clouds.
Gabe cleared his throat and tried to sound casual. ‘Oh, that’s Meg. She’s staying here looking after the cottage while her friend is away.’
George gave an upward nod. ‘Oh, aye.’
‘I just went to see if she needed a hand.’
George took a slurp of the coffee from his flask and looked at Gabe sideways. ‘Oh, aye,’ he repeated.
Gabe’s mouth twitched in amusement. He liked George, who was a man of few words who didn’t miss a trick.
‘And would that have been you giving her your number?’
‘That would have been me taking hers, to be precise.’
‘Good man.’ George gave one of his rare grins. ‘Now you’re on the books up here you’ll be looking to settle down, maybe.’
If only it was that simple. Meg was the first woman he’d met who had made him wonder if his resolution to stay single was flawed. She made him laugh, he liked her company, and he couldn’t take his eyes off her whenever she was near. It was a perfect combination, except for the minor detail that she was a temporary fixture and he’d just signed a full-time contract for a job he’d discovered he loved. Gabe screwed the lid back on his coffee flask and straightened up, looking at the sky. ‘Looks like rain.’
‘Aye. We’ll no’ melt, right enough,’ said George. He chucked the dregs of his coffee onto the grass and stood up, signifying the end of their break.
A couple of hours later, they were about a quarter of the way through the job. A white van with neat lettering on the side rattled over the cattle grid, making them both look up. Gabe’s heart leapt for a moment, thinking it was Meg returning from wherever she’d gone in the van.
‘Afternoon, boys.’
‘Kenny, how’s it going?’
It was Kenny, the local builder, who seemed to have a monopoly on any jobs going in the Applemore area. Everywhere work was being done Gabe had noticed his van, privately wondering if he’d cloned himself. It was either that, or he didn’t sleep.
‘Just here to do a wee recce before we get going on this visitor centre business. Do you know if the lassie’s in the cottage?’
‘Ask this one here,’ said George with a mischievous grin.
‘Oh aye?’ Kenny looked at Gabe expectantly.
Gabe shook his head with a laugh. Honestly, it was no wonder that news spread through this village like wildfire. He could place a bet now on how long it would take before Una was asking questions in the office.
‘Sorry to disappoint but I haven’t a clue.’
‘Fingers crossed the key’s still under the rock, in that case.’ Kenny strode off towards the lighthouse, whistling as he went.
The key must have been there, because a moment later he returned, taking a laser level and some other kit out of his van and heading back to get to work.
‘It’ll be a race to the finish with Kenny on the job,’ said George, picking up his mallet and taking a handful of nails out of his work belt. ‘We better get moving.’
The weather, however, had other ideas. They worked through the rain when it started, narrowing their eyes to focus as the clouds overhead darkened the skies so it felt like dusk. But half an hour later the heavens opened, and they were just packing up the last of the things onto the back of the truck when Meg’s campervan appeared through the gateway, the expensive suspension making short work of the cattle grid.
‘I’ll leave you to it,’ said George with a wink, tossing his truck keys in the air. ‘See you back here first thing in the morning, unless you get a better offer.’
Gabe shook his head in mock dismay.
‘Have a good one,’ shouted George out of the window, his arm waving as he set off for home.
Feeling slightly discomfited, he watched as Meg pulled the van up onto the gravel parking in front of the cottage wall. She jumped out and looked over at him, shading her eyes against the rain.
‘Nice afternoon!’
His desire to talk to Meg fought for a fleeting moment with a desire to avoid being a grist for the village gossip mill.
Laughing at himself for being an idiot, he headed across the grass towards the cottage.
‘I’m guessing you’re packing up in this?’
The rain was coming down in sheets. A rivulet ran from a strand of hair on her shoulder down her chest and disappeared into the valley between her breasts. Gabe pulled his gaze away, looking at her face. There was a smudge of black mascara on her cheek, and she lifted a hand, pushing her wet hair back from her face.
‘Yeah, we’re all done.’
‘Do you want a coffee?’ She motioned to the cottage. ‘Or at least come in out of the rain for a minute.’
He followed her down the garden path and waited as she unlocked the door to the cottage. Inside, Eliza was waiting with her stumpy tail wagging in delight to be met by not one, but two humans ready to give her attention.
‘Hello,’ he said, bending to give her a pat. ‘Yes, we are soaking wet.’
‘Let me grab a towel. I can’t believe you’ve been working in this.’
She ran up the little wooden steps and he heard her footsteps above him as she found a couple of towels, returning a moment later in a dry T-shirt, rubbing at her hair.
If he’d been offered a preference, he had to admit that he’d preferred the way the soaking T-shirt had clung to her body, revealing delicious curves beneath the wet cotton, but –
‘Thanks,’ he said as she passed him a towel. He rubbed his hair and tried to get a bloody grip of himself.
‘I’ll make a cup of tea,’ Meg said, leading him into the kitchen. ‘You must be soaked right through.’
He was, but it was pretty far from his mind right now.
‘I haven’t had a chance to message you about coffee,’ he said, pulling his phone out of the back pocket of his work trousers.
‘I did wonder,’ teased Meg, getting two mugs out of the cupboard. ‘Although it’d be a bit awkward if you’d only mentioned it out of politeness given that you’re going to be working right outside the cottage for the next few days.’
He shook his head, laughing. ‘No, definitely wasn’t planning on leaving you hanging.’
He typed a message and a moment later Meg turned back from the fridge, milk in hand, and picked up her phone from the table.
‘Yes, I’d love to go for a walk and some lunch on Saturday.’ Her eyes were sparkling as she spoke. ‘How do you take your tea – or would you rather coffee?’
‘Tea’s fine. Just milk, please.’
‘The fence is looking good already.’ Meg slid the mug across to him.
‘That’s mainly George’s work. I’m very much a newbie at this business.’
‘You must be doing a decent job of it.’
He ducked his head. ‘I guess. It’s quite humbling to go from being at the top of your game to the very bottom of the ladder and making your way back up.’
‘I read somewhere that it’s good for your brain to be learning new things. I’m supposed to be learning French on Duolingo, but I’m hopeless. I get passive-aggressive emails from an angry owl every time I forget to do my daily lesson.’
‘I think it probably is. I like the fact we’re doing something different every day here, which I suspect sounds insane to anyone else. I’d rather be visiting a different forestry site than waking up in another country for another meeting.’
‘It makes sense to me.’ Meg’s eyes met his and there was a moment of silence.
A second later it was broken by a sharp knock at the door of the cottage.
‘Hello,’ called a woman’s voice. ‘Meg, are you in?’
Meg widened her eyes and looked at him with amusement. ‘Considering I’m living in a cottage in the middle of nowhere, there is a surprising lack of privacy around here.’
She got up and headed into the hallway. A second later, she returned with a vaguely familiar looking woman in her seventies with close-cropped grey hair and a friendly, pixie-like face.
‘Ah, sorry to interrupt,’ she said, smiling at him. ‘I just happened to be passing.’
Gabe had to suppress a grin at that, given that the lighthouse was situated a distance out of the village on a twisting road to nowhere, unless by some chance she’d come the quick way along the beach path. Considering she was neatly dressed, bone dry, and with not a hair out of place, that seemed unlikely.
‘I was speaking to Rilla up at the big house, and she mentioned your idea, which is absolutely wonderful. I bumped into Kathleen and said you’re such a good addition to the village community. It’s just a pity you’re not staying. We’ll have to work on that,’ said the woman, waggling a jokey finger.
Get in line, thought Gabe. I don’t want her going anywhere either.
Meg was looking nonplussed, her face pink and her brows gathered together so a little furrowed line settled between them.
‘The little goodwill cupboard. Food chest. I don’t know why anyone didn’t think of it already,’ said the woman.
‘Oh yes,’ said Meg, faintly. ‘I was a bit worried I was jumping the gun.’
‘Not at all. I think it’s wonderful.’ The woman put her hand on top of Meg’s and squeezed it fondly. ‘We need more people like you. If you were staying put, I’d be recruiting you for the village improvement society.’
Meg seemed to gather herself. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she said, turning to the cupboard. ‘I don’t mean to be rude. Would you like a cup of tea? We’re just drying off, which is why –’
‘No, no,’ the woman raised a hand, stopping her mid-sentence. ‘I was going to have a little chat with you about the website, which looks wonderful, but I don’t want to keep you if you’re busy.’
‘Oh, don’t worry, Greta, it’s fine,’ Meg began, but the woman shook her head with a little smile.
‘I’ll leave you two young ones to your tea and chat,’ she said with an impish smile.
And with that, like a whirlwind, she said her goodbyes and was gone.
Meg collapsed back onto the kitchen chair after seeing Greta out. She rolled her eyes and made a comical face.
‘Oof.’
He looked across at her, shaking his head in amusement. ‘Exactly.’