Page 42 of The Rescue

“Sugar, you know me. I’m still a country girl at heart,” she says as she bops her head.

“Aye you are,” I smile at her.

I like seeing her happy and relaxed, it’s a stark contrast from yesterday. I didn’t like seeing her so upset, especially when it was because of her mother. She doesn’t deserve to be put down like that, she’s amazing just the way she is.

“Oh sorry, did you want me to put Tay Tay on for you?” She asks me in a mocking voice.

The playfulness in her voice is warming and I can’t help but laugh.

“You’re going to hold that against me forever aren’t you?”

“I sure am, sugar.”

She laughs along with me as we drive through winding roads, and I finally start to relax around her. It’s been nothing but business between us, and I’m looking forward to the weekend at the cabin. I catch Crystal looking on in awestruck at the vast Scottish Highlands as we drive, and the feeling of pride makes my skin tingle. I hope she’s finally starting to enjoy her time here.

We listen to a mixture of her playlists and mine for the rest of the drive, and soon we’re turning down the long gravel road towards the cabin. In winter it’s hard to get here in the snow, but it’s perfect this time of year. The leaves are hues of red, orange and brown, and the air has a crispness to it that it stings your nose.

We drive over the crest and the large log cabin comes into view, and Crystal’s jaw drops. The cabin is secluded with no neighbours in sight. It has a small forest behind with a small creek running through it.

“When Cam said cabin I was expecting a small rickety thing, not this,” Crystal looks over at me.

The cabin is practically a house, it has everything a normal house would have, five bedrooms, two bathrooms and a large open plan living area. It’s more glamping than camping.

“Aye, well it used to be a rickety old thing that was falling down and infested with mice. Cam knocked it down and rebuilt it with all the modern luxuries. You’ll be glad you won’t have a mouse running over you in the middle of the night like we did when we were wee lads.”

Crystal’s eyes widen, and she scrunches her face in disgust. It’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. I pull up in front of the house,everyone else seems to be here already. I jump out of the car, and grab both of our bags. Crystal is looking around with a huge smile on her face.

“It’s so beautiful here.”

“Aye, it is,” I say, not taking my eyes off her.

She looks at me, and the energy between us is charged. Surely she feels it too. The front door opens and Dylan comes rushing out with Cam closely following her. Crystal smiles at her friend who also is wearing a look of astonishment.

“You made it, omg you need to see inside,” Dylan squeals as she grabs Crystal’s hands and drags her inside.

Cam smiles at his giddy girlfriend, it’s nice to see him happy again. It took him a while to admit that he actually liked Dylan. We all saw how much he liked her, but he was as stubborn as ever and tried to push her away.

But Dylan was persistent and put him in his place after he was rude to her multiple times over the summer. I’d never thought I’d see the day when the big surly, Cam MacTavish, would be put in his place by someone as sweet and soft as Dylan. He follows her around like a love sick puppy, and it pains me to know I’ll never find a love as pure as theirs.

He claps me on the back as I follow the girls inside.

I drop our bags by the stairs, and make my way into the heart of the cabin which is the large open plan living area. The back of the cabin is all thick glass doors that look out onto the beautiful forest and creek. Dylan is dragging Crystal around the kitchen talking a million miles an hour.

I find Hamish and Fiona in the living area tending to the fire that is making the cabin warm and cosy. They’re both kneeling at the hearth gently stoking the fire and in a soft conversation. The four of us have been friends for a long time, but Hamish and Fiona have a close bond. I wish one of them would hurry up andsay how they really feel because everyone else can see how much they love each other.

Dylan has taken Crystal off on a tour upstairs, it’s nice seeing two new people appreciate this beautiful cabin. Cam and I join Hamish and Fiona in the living area, with drinks. We clank our beer bottles together, and it feels just like the good old days. We all take a sip, not one of us speaking a word, but I know my three best friends more than anyone, and their coy faces are making me anxious.

“You seemed a little too eager to get up to the cabin this year. Why’s that?” Hamish doesn’t even ease into the questions.

“We come here every year,” I try to act cool.

“Aye, but it’s your first year owning Sweet Treats. D-d-doesn’t have to do with a certain redhead does it?” Hamish stutters.

Hamish has had a stutter since he was a teenager, none of us really notice it anymore. He hardly stutters around the people closest to him. He struggles with some words sometimes but we all ignore it.

“Dinna be daft, I hired her to do the website. It’s just strictly professional”

None of my friends looked convinced by my statement. I don’t think I’m even convincing myself anymore. Cam smirks at me, Fiona rolls her eyes and Hamish flat out laughs at me.

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