Page 13 of The Rescue

“Yep, I can tell from the demographic.” I say as I look around the pub at all the locals. Rabbie lets out a small humming noise in agreement, and my body tingles from the soft low tone.

“Ye like whisky, then? You should’ve said, that’s the second drink Mac serves here. But it won’t be like the rye stuff you drink, and without all that sugary juice. It’s proper Scottish whisky,” he says with pride.

“I’d drink anything that’s not this shit,” I hold up the beer and wrinkle my nose.

Rabbie bursts into hysterics, and his infectious laugh grabs the attention of Cam and Dylan who look at Rabbie as if he’s grown another head. They both mutter something to each other that I didn’t quite hear. His booming laugh grabs the attention of a couple of the locals who look over at our table, being nosy. I try to bite back a big smile on my lips but his laugh is too contagious and I can’t help but laugh along with him.

“I’ll go get you a wee dram of whisky, ya country pumpkin,” he nudges me again with his shoulder.

He stands and wanders back over to the bar before I can correct him on the wrongness of the saying, and to tell him to never call me that again. I watch him as he strides to the barto order me a glass of whisky, and I get a good glimpse of his beautiful physique.

He’s tall and lean, and he easily towers over most of the people in the pub. His shoulders are broad and rounded, and his shaggy blonde hair stands out against a sea of red-heads and brunettes. He walks with ease, and enthusiasm like he’s not in a rush to get anywhere, just taking it all in. On his way to the bar, he’s stopped by at least five different locals, and he stops and chats with every single one of them, giving his time to them freely.

“Typical Rabbie,” Cam smiles and shakes his head.

“What do you mean?” I ask as I turn back to Cam.

“Well, he’s the most likeable person, everyone in this town loves him. He canny go anywhere without having to stop and have a chat.” Cam points his nose in the direction of Rabbie who is now surrounded by three elderly women who are mothering him. He’s lapping up the attention, but not in an egotistical way, but in a modest way. He genuinely looks happy to be there.

I turn to find Dylan eyeing me with a smirk, we’ve been friends for so long, we have developed our own silent communication. I widen my eyes at her to tell I have no idea what is going on. Did he just call me pumpkin? He’s buying me a drink, what does that mean? He nudged my shoulder again, surely he’s into me? Dylan and I will definitely be talking about this on our run tomorrow.

We used to run together everyday in Boston, so it’s nice that we’ve picked it up again here. I’ve been running extra miles because the food here in autumn and winter consists of hearty, fatty stews or sweet and sugary baked goods. I take huge pride in my appearance, but I also can’t say no to yummy, heartwarming food. I try to remind myself it’s all about balance, but my mama’s criticisms bounce around in my head.Try not to eat too muchbread. Make sure you’re eating your veggies. Don’t drink too much.

I try to shake the thoughts of my judgemental mother, and spot Rabbie returning with a tray of drinks. He sits back down next to me. He has a big, wide grin on his face as he hands me a glass of whisky.

“Here you go, pumpkin, or was it bumpkin?” He shakes his head with a big smirk.

I laugh as I take the glass from him, our fingers lightly brush, and a surge of heat travels through my body. His eyes linger on me a little too long, and I can’t work out if he is a happy-go-lucky guy or if he’s interested in me. The moment quickly evaporates when Hamish and Fiona arrive, and Rabbie jumps up to greet his best friends. Rabbie being the nice person he is, offers Fiona the seat next to me, and he scoots over to the bench seat with Hamish. Now positioned at the end of the table, it looks like my chances of flirting with him are impossible.

When I arrived in Crossmackie, Dylan caught me up with the group dynamics and who’s who. Cam and Hamish MacTavish are brothers, Rabbie and Fiona know them from going to school together. Cam is older by a couple of years, so he’s seen as the big brother of the group, and Rabbie and Fiona are the same age as Hamish. Rabbie spent most of his time at Thistle Down Farm because his parents were never around, and he didn’t have any siblings. And Fiona, used to tag along with Rabbie, they’ve all been friends since they were kids. But Hamish and Fiona are super close, they practically do everything together except have sex. Dylan thinks they both have feelings for each other, but neither one of them has acted on it.

“What’s Rabbie like as a boss, Crystal?” Hamish asks as his head jerks.

Dylan told me that Hamish has a tic and stutter from a head injury he suffered when he was a teenager. It’s barely noticeable,but I can tell he gets a little self-conscious about it and tries to not draw too much attention to himself, especially around people he doesn’t know.

“Well, he’s terrible, awful, a real tyrant,” I smile as I take a sip of my whisky. I look at Rabbie who looks genuinely troubled but when I wink at him, he bursts into roaring laughter. Everyone joins in because they know how crazy that sounds, how someone as sweet as Rabbie could be a tyrant.

“No, I’m joking. He’s the best, although he needs to stop bringing me delicious food and drinks every hour. I will need to run every day to keep the weight off.” I smile over at him. Rabbie frowns at me, I find this puzzling because he’s been nothing but smiles since we got here.

“That’s Rabbie’s love language, he loves to give,” Fiona chirps in.

I know what I’d like to get off him.

“Aww, thanks, Fi,” Rabbie coos at her.

We spend the rest of the evening getting to know one another, and I start to realise why Dylan wanted to stay here. The group has been nothing but welcoming and kind, but small town life isn’t for me. My mission is to get this website done, and get back to the hustle and bustle of Boston.

Listening to old stories of Rabbie growing up and his awkward emo teenage years had us all laughing until our bellies hurt. Rabbie didn’t once feel embarrassed or annoyed that we were laughing at his expense, he was laughing along with us. Usually, the men I tend to hook up with have too much pride and an ego the size of Scotland. They were too serious to joke around, especially about themselves. The metropolitan men of Boston only care about two things, business and hooking up with the hottest women. It’s refreshing to see how laid back Rabbie is, he’s probably the most authentic person I’ve ever met.

After another round of drinks, we’re all ready to call it a night. We all step out into the cold night air, and a gust of wind freezes me to the bone. I tuck my hands into my jacket, and spot Rabbie smirking at me.

“Good night, see you in the morning,” he smiles at me.

“See you tomorrow.” I say back with a stupid grin on my face. I suddenly feel self-conscious. How has a guy I haven’t even kissed got me smiling like a goon.

Rabbie wanders over to Dylan, who is standing snuggling into Cam to keep warm. He leans in and kisses her on the cheek to say goodbye. The jealousy runs thick through my veins, and I can’t help but feel envious that he doesn’t say goodbye to me that way. My eyes are glued to him, watching him stroll down the street towards Sweet Treats.

“You coming, Crystal,” Dylan says as I snap out of my begrudging daze.

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