Page 12 of The Castle in the Bay

Monty nodded. ‘Sounds interesting.’

Catriona smiled, turning back to her laptop briefly before looking at Monty again. ‘She’s a good soul is Iona. Single too, if you’re wondering.’ She flicked him a little wink.

‘I’m not looking for anything like that.’ Monty huffed out a laugh, shaking his head. ‘I’m just here for a holiday, not a holiday fling… That’s not really my style.’ And Iona wasn’t his type. She was far too wild and terrifying. Plus, he wasn’t ready for anything like that. Not after Sophie. He was still struggling with the idea they were separated.

‘Of course. I was just being cheeky. Iona would murder me if she knew I was trying to set her up like that. But she’s got a good heart under that tough exterior.’

‘I’m sure she does.’ She must do, or he would still be back there trying to fix the puncture, but it didn’t make her any less intimidating. Now, it just made her harder to read. How would he know which mood he’d find her in? ‘I’d better get out of these wet clothes.’

Catriona nodded. ‘Remember, if you want a meal, just let me know. I have plenty in the freezer and I can heat you something up, or you’re welcome to eat it in the annex.’

‘Thank you, that would be great.’ He headed back to the annex, and thoughts rushed into his mind like the wild breakers in the ocean and wouldn’t go away. He was here for a reason, and getting sidetracked was not part of the plan. This was meant to be a time of peace and reflection. A fond farewell to his father.

Still, he couldn’t help being intrigued by Iona, and that was unsettling. As he changed into dry clothes and towelled his hair, his eye landed on the urn on the windowsill. What was Dad making of this? Was he looking down and frowning? Or maybe laughing?

Hopefully once Monty had scattered the ashes, his mind would calm down and return to normal. Because right now, his brain was too all over the place to think straight. And that wasn’t like him.

Chapter Six

Iona

Iona slumped down at the kitchen table with a bowl of porridge. She stifled a yawn, but there was no stopping it.

‘’Scuse me.’ She flapped her hand in front of her face. ‘I really don’t do mornings.’

‘It’s not that early. I’ve already done a day’s work,’ Alex muttered. He finished spreading jam on a slice of toast andpushed it over to Eilidh. ‘Eat it up. Crusts and all, then you’ll get lovely curly hair.’

‘I don’t want curly hair.’ Eilidh started tearing off the crusts as soon as the plate was in reach.

‘Don’t waste food.’ Catriona gave her a cup of water. ‘It’s a nice day.’ She glanced out the window. ‘I think you should take Monty to the castle today if you have a spare hour. Poor guy looks a bit lost.’

‘Lost?’ Iona groaned, spoon halfway to her mouth. ‘I’d say helpless, more than lost. Yesterday, I had to fix his bike tyre. He didn’t have a clue what he was doing.’

Alex scoffed, not looking up from his phone. ‘Probably spent most of his life behind a desk, that’s why.’

Catriona folded her arms. ‘Not everyone grew up fixing things, you know. I’m sure he has other skills. He seems like a nice man.’

Iona rolled her eyes. ‘Nice man or not, he’s a pest. When’s he leaving?’

‘Not until next week.’

‘Next week?’ Iona pulled a face. ‘I don’t get why people like him book trips for that long to places like this. He looks completely unprepared. He was riding the bike in jeans in the rain yesterday. God knows what it was like taking them off. They must have been stuck and I bet he had an extremely sore bum.’

Eilidh giggled into her breakfast.

Catriona checked the time. ‘Eat up, Eilidh. The bus will be here in ten minutes.’ She leaned over close to Iona. ‘Lay off the poor man. You probably make him nervous.’

Iona snorted. ‘Nervous? Me? Why would he be? I was only annoyed with him because he kept knocking into me.’ And creeping into her thoughts more than she liked.

Alex looked up from his phone and smirked. ‘Fancies you.’

‘What?’ Iona almost choked on a mouthful of porridge, and Eilidh laughed.

Catriona flashed Alex a look. ‘Don’t be silly, but you can be intimidating, Iona.’

‘Me?’ Iona blinked and furrowed her brow. Was that true? She didn’t mean to be. And she always made friends easily. Surely that didn’t make her intimidating.

‘To someone quiet like him, I suspect you’re very intimidating,’ Catriona went on. ‘Just be nice to him.’

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