Page 19 of The Castle in the Bay

‘Well, there are lots of adventures to be had on Barra.’

His brow furrowed, and he looked down at his feet. ‘I’m not very good at adventures. That’s the reason my ex is my ex and not still my girlfriend.’

‘Because she liked adventures, and you don’t?’ Iona cocked her head.

‘Kind of, she thinks I’m…’ He looked away and exhaled with a short puff.

‘Thinks you’re what?’

‘Too boring.’

‘Oh dear.’ Iona covered her mouth, trying not to let herself laugh. She obviously didn’t know him well having only met him a couple of days ago, but she could see why someone might say that. His grey clothes didn’t exactly help.

‘Yeah. I get it. Iamboring.’

‘I didn’t say that.’

‘You didn’t have to. I know I am. Even though in the past few days, I’ve had more wild experiences than in most of my life. Travelling alone can be adventurous in itself.’

‘There you go then. You’ve already pushed out of your comfort zone.’

‘True… And I went cycling. That was good. The puncture, not so much.’

‘Thing is, if you’ve split up with her, what does it matter? Do your own thing and who cares what she thinks.’

‘Yeah.’ He picked at the knee of his jeans. ‘I’m finding it hard to get over her. I keep thinking that maybe if I do something different I can get her back.’

‘Different how?’

‘I’m not sure. Something to show her I’m not as dull as she thinks… Even if I am.’

Iona glanced away with a half laugh. ‘Well, I could teach you paddleboarding if you like. Sign up for a class. And the water sport festival is on next week. You could join in.’

‘Hmm. That’s a bit out of my depth. I’m not keen on water.’

‘Ok.’ Iona shook her head. ‘Do you like hiking?’

‘I’m not sure I like it, but I’ve been trying to do a bit more of that kind of thing recently.’

‘You could climb up Heaval. It’s the hill behind Castlebay. Look over there.’ She turned around and pointed at the nicely shaped hill behind the village. ‘That’s it there.’

‘Looks interesting, though I can see myself getting lost.’

Monty had turned the same way as her, and she was suddenly aware of his proximity. They’d sat a good while together, and she hadn’t really noticed, but with him this close behind her, her skin prickled.

Am I crazy?

‘You can’t really get lost.’ She turned back and put a bit more distance between them. ‘There’s not exactly a path but you can see the obvious way up. I’d go with you, if you wanted.’

‘Yeah, that would be sensible.’

‘Maybe once you’ve done that, you’ll be ready for a paddleboarding lesson.’

‘I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready for that.’ He raked his fair hair, which was quite long and tufty at the front. He’d probably just forgotten to have it cut recently with everything going on in his life, but it almost looked trendy. ‘I think I can do the hike,’ he said. ‘I might not have the right shoes though.’

‘Hmm. We could see if Ruaridh – you know, Catriona’s brother – has a pair you can borrow. He’s fitness mad.’

‘I have trainers, but nothing fancy.’

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