3. Murray
Ididn’t get the chance to chase after London, to make sure she was okay, because Kelly called, asking me to pick her up from my mum’s.
She sounded distressed, and as much as I was worried about London Wetherspoon, my daughter needed me.
The Easter holidays hit Edinburgh later than it did here on the island and Kelly spent all holidays and one weekend a month here with me. She’d arrived on Glenvulin eleven days ago, which meant I only had a few days left with her before I had to take her back.
That morning I’d dropped Kelly off at Mum’s place and went into the office.
The office for Half-Light Harbor Fishing Company was in a modern building fifteen minutes from the harbor town with a view across the water.
It had once been called Leth Sholas Fishing Company, but we’d changed the name to the town’s nickname as we expanded because it was easier for outsiders to pronounce.
My company had nearly one hundred and fifty staff but only a small percentage were islanders who worked out of the office.
Of course, there were multiple fishing crews plus the charters that did fishing guides.
But most of the administrative staff worked from home.
Payroll staff, legal, advertising and marketing, accountants, customer service, sales and distribution, website and technical.
At the head office was Christina, my CFO, my cousin Fraser, who managed the charter side of things, and Christina’s daughter, Angela, fresh out of uni and now part of my marketing and advertising team.
There were about twenty staff who came in and out of the main office, sometimes taking the ferry in from the mainland.
I made it a point to know the name of every single person who worked for me, even though the bigger the company grew, the harder it was to keep track.
I knew there were people who thought I was crazy for still going out to fish with my crews, but I never wanted to forget how arduous and dangerous the job could be. Plus, there were days when I just needed the sea wind in my face. Being out on the water had always felt like home to me.
Still, being the boss meant when my daughter visited, I could stay at home, and my staff could contact me easily enough if they needed to.
Which they did frequently. And since important customers had my personal contact information, my phone rang a lot.
Unfortunately, it meant answering work calls when Kelly was around, which I hated, so when she said she wanted to visit with her grandmother that day, I’d taken the opportunity to go into the office and try to get on top of a few things to decrease the likelihood of work calls later.
That rarely worked, but I lived in hope.
After a few hours in the office, I’d gone back into town to grab a bite for lunch when I saw London.
It was like I had some kind of radar for the woman.
As soon as she was in the vicinity, my whole body vibrated with bloody awareness.
As I’d stepped out of Macbeth’s Pages & Perks with coffee in hand, the bakery next on my hit list, I’d seen London’s copper-red hair in the distance as she’d stepped out of the LSLS charity shop.
A spasm of dull pain I didn’t understand panged in my chest like it always did when I saw London.
As I’d strolled to the bakery, I’d watched over the lid of my to-go cup as she answered her phone, and the hair on my nape rose at the way she abruptly halted.
Even with the road between us, I saw her distress.
I’d been wavering between going over and minding my own business when she’d suddenly bent over and heaved like she was sick.
Nothing could have stopped me going to her then.
And listening to her shakily explain her ex-boyfriend’s threats filled me with outrage. London had never confided in me about her past, but I’d read between the lines. I recognized the signs.
I’d bet my entire company this Nick Huston bastard had abused her.
The thought of anyone hurting London … how could he? How could anyone?
She’d left me that morning feeling powerless, and I was tired of feeling like that these days.
My thoughts strayed from London to Kelly’s strange tone when she’d called me to come and pick her up from Mum’s.
Despite having offered to build Mum a new home, she still lived in the same bungalow I’d grown up in.
It was situated at the end of a cul-de-sac in a residential development on the southern outskirts of Leth Sholas.
Once you drove past this street, the homes were fewer as the island opened to farmland and rugged nature.
As I parked my Discovery outside my family home, I took a breath and got out to fetch Kelly. My parents’ house had not been the happiest of places growing up and, honestly, if it were up to me, I’d burn it to the ground. But Mum wanted to stay.
Mum’s neighbor Shona McIver was out pottering in her garden, and she popped up like a jackrabbit when she saw me stride along Mum’s path.
Shona and I had grown up together, and she’d inherited the fishmonger and smokery from her parents, so we’d been doing business for years.
A year or so ago her husband asked for a divorce and left the island, and for the last few months things between us had been … strange.
I wasn’t always the best at picking up signals, but I’d begun to realize Shona was trying to flirt with me.
“Murray!” She hurried to stand from a kneeling position and tripped over her own feet, catching herself at the last minute. Her cheeks flushed. “I’m all right! It’s all right!”
I bit my lip against a smile. “How are you, Shona?”
She beamed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, leaving a smudge of soil along her cheek. “Fine. I’m fine. How are you? Picking up Kelly? She’s such a sweetheart, Murray. You’ve done such a good job there.”
“Thanks.” I nodded and politely backed away. “Well, see—”
“Are you and the lads playing at the Lantern anytime soon?” Shona leaned toward me over the hedge that separated her and my mum’s garden until it gave way. She put a hand out to stop her momentum, only to burst through the greenery.
I lunged forward to catch her, but she’d already face-planted into the shrubbery. “Are you okay?” I awkwardly reached over to grip her under the arms and pull her up.
Her face had several scratches on it as her cheeks bloomed beetroot. “Oh. Oh, I’m fine.” She pressed her palms to my chest and gave me a loopy smile. “Thanks, Murray.”
Since she looked seconds away from kissing me in thanks, I gently nudged her back onto her side of the hedge and stepped away. “You should, uh, put some antiseptic on those scratches.” I gestured to my own face.
“Oh?” Shona touched her cheek. “Did I … oh … I’m clumsy today. Anyway, the Lantern?”
I was in a small pipe band with my friends, locals Quinn McQuarrie, Forde Dallas, Laird Macbeth, and Ramsay McRae.
Laird and I went to school together and he was now captain on one of my crews.
Quinn and Forde were a few years younger, and Ramsay was a fairly recent arrival on the island, but we were all good mates, and playing in the band gave us an excuse to spend time together.
The Fisherman’s Lantern was the most popular hotel, pub, and restaurant on Main Street and we often played there.
“Aye, at some point. Anyway, I need to pick up Kelly.” I lifted a hand in goodbye and turned toward the house.
“Maybe we can get a drink next time we’re both in there,” Shona called after me.
I waved again noncommittally over my shoulder, trying not to look like I was hurrying to get away from her. As soon as the front door closed behind me, the tension drained out of my body.
A chuckle to my left drew my attention.
Mum sat on the couch by the window, grinning at me over her cup of tea.
“Please tell me you didn’t witness that?”
Mum pressed her lips together and then snorted through her nose.
I winced and strode into the living room.
“Poor Shona. She gets all clumsy and flustered around you.”
“I haven’t encouraged her.”
“I know. She thinks you’re shy and that’s why you haven’t made a move when she’s making it so obvious she fancies you, son. Why haven’t you taken her seriously? Shona’s a good woman.”
Unlike my ex, the words were not said but were implied. With another sigh I slumped down onto the adjacent couch. The truth was I should probably take Shona’s interest seriously. My ex-wife, Jill, was bleeding my company, taking an overly generous monthly salary out of the gross profit.
I was a fool for signing that marriage contract fourteen years ago. A fool led by my dick and the desire to be honorable when I found out Jill was pregnant with Kelly. I bought Jill’s sob story about being used and abandoned all her life. She just wanted a prenup for security.
Bullshit.
The only way to get her claws out of my company was to marry again.
Shona would be a safe option.
A far more suitable option, considering we were the same age. She wasn’t eleven years my junior with red hair and turquoise blue eyes that made my pulse race. She wasn’t running from a terrible past and distracting me like I was a teenager with my first crush.
“I’m not attracted to her.”
Mum turned toward me with a sigh. “I know, love.”
“Where’s Kel? She sounded upset when she called.”
My mum had me when she was nineteen, and though life hadn’t always been kind, she’d come through it looking younger than her years.
Her spirit had never been broken and warmth radiated out of the green eyes I’d inherited from her.
She was also incredibly active, always taking Kelly on hikes and long walks or cold-water swimming.
Right now, the inherent humor in her eyes dimmed as she sat forward.
“Kelly … she confided something to me. I told her I couldn’t keep it from you and she got very upset. She thinks I’m betraying her trust.” Mum’s eyes grew watery. “But it’s too big, sweetheart.”
Icy dread crept over me. “What happened? Where is she?”
“Locked herself in her room.”