Page 74 of Surprises on the Scottish Isle

Cal realised she was still half asleep. But she didn’t remain that way for long. Blinking as the light from the open door reached her eyes, Tara faltered. Then a hand shot to her mouth and she turned, dashing back up the stairs.

Yvaine’s shocked silence lasted a full ten seconds, until Bonnie broke it. ‘Is Tara here for breakfast?’

Yvaine snapped, ‘I think Tara is here for more than breakfast.’ Her tone was accusing, her expression hard. ‘I thought you said there was nothing between you. I don’t callthatnothing, so excuse me if I don’t believe you. You couldn’t stay away from your old girlfriend, could you? Although from where I’m standing, she doesn’t look like anoldgirlfriend. More like acurrentgirlfriend, I’d say.’

‘Dad?’ Bonnie was staring up at him, her little face pinched and drained of colour. ‘Is it true? Is Tara your girlfriend?’

‘Of course she is,’ Yvaine barked. ‘Although he denied it when I asked him.’ She shot him a furious look. ‘I don’t know why, when he’s—’ She stopped mid-sentence, probably because she remembered that she was speaking to her nine-year-old daughter.

Bonnie looked stricken. ‘But Dad, you promised. You said you’d never have a girlfriend.’

Cal leant towards her, but she took a step back. ‘I’m sorry, Bon-Bon. I didn’t want you to find out like this. I was going to tell you, but I wanted you to get to know Tara better first. You like her, don’t you?’

Bonnie backed away another step. ‘You promised,’ she repeated, her eyes brimming with tears.

‘I didn’t mean to—’ he began, but she cut him off, her little face furious.

‘Ihateyou and I never want to see you again. I wish you were dead!’ She glared at him, then at her mother. ‘I hate you, too! And Lenn. I’m not going to live in his house and I’m not going to go to a new school and I’m not leaving Duncoorie and you can’t make me!’

With that, Bonnie whirled on her heel and stomped off.

‘Now look what you’ve done,’ Yvaine hissed. ‘She was just coming around to the idea, but now we’re back to square one, thanks to you.’

‘I’m sorry, I—’

‘I don’t want to hear it. Go back to your girlfriend. I’ve changed my mind about you having Bonnie today. In fact, I’m going to have a good think whether I should allow you to see her at all.’

‘Yvaine, you can’t do that! She’s my daughter, you can’t stop me seeing her. I have rights, parental responsibility—’

He knew she could. She’d tried it before. Going through legal channels to force Yvaine to comply could take months!

Yvaine’s parting shot floored him. ‘Anyway, Bonnie has made it perfectly clear she doesn’t want to see you ever again, and I’m not prepared to go against her wishes.’

Cal hurried after her as she headed to her car. ‘She’s nine! She’s had a shock. She doesn’t mean it.’ Bonniecouldn’tmean it. If she did, it would destroy him.

Yvaine shot him a disgusted look and waved her hand in the air. For her, the subject was closed. But not for Cal.

He cried, ‘You’re happy enough to go against her wishes when it suits you. She told you she doesn’t want to move to Portree or have Lenn for a stepfather.’

‘As you quite rightly pointed out, Bonnie is nine. She has no concept of what’s best for her. I’m thinking about her future. Lenn treats her like a princess and can give her opportunities you can’t.’

As if money could buy their daughter happiness! Cal gritted his teeth as the dig that he didn’t even own a house of his own hit it’s mark. As if he needed reminding that if he lost his job, he would also lose his home.

‘But I’m her father!’ he protested. ‘You can’t stop me seeing her. You can’t!’

‘We’ll leave that up to Bonnie, shall we? I believe I recall you saying she has enough to cope with at the moment getting used to Lenn, so I don’t want her to have to get used to your girlfriend as well.’

Cal’s heart sank as his ex-wife used his own words against him. She was right, Bonnie did have enough to cope with. Too many changes at once were bound to unsettle her, and he’d vowed that he would be the one constant thing she could rely on in the sea of her uncertain world.

And he’d let her down.

He’d broken a promise to his daughter. He had betrayed her trust, and now she hated him. He didn’t blame her. He hated himself. He never should have put his feelings before hers. Bonnie’s happiness was his priority. He had to make it up to her, one way or another, and get her to change her mind. If he didn’t, Yvaine would use Bonnie’s refusal to see him as a punishment for being in love with someone else, when he should have been in love with her. Otherwise it might be a very long time before she allowed him access to his daughter, and that would break his heart.

Chapter 22

When Tara hesitantly went downstairs, fully awake now and having thrown her clothes on, it was to find Cal in the kitchen, his face ashen.

‘Cal, I’m so sorry. I was half asleep and I thought I was late.’ She gulped, mortified that Yvaine had caught them in a compromising position. ‘I heard what Bonnie said. I’m sure she’ll be OK with the situation when she’s calmed down and has had a chance to think about it. After all, it’s not as though it changes anything. You’re not the one who is whisking her off to Portree when she doesn’t want to go. She’ll still see you every other weekend. She’ll still visit you here. And if she doesn’t want me around, I can always make myself scarce.’

---