Page 77 of Surprises on the Scottish Isle

Tara couldn’t believe what she was hearing, and she stared at him open-mouthed, his face blurring through her tears. She understood, she truly did. Bonnie had to come first. Cal was in an impossible situation. But that didn’t make it any less painful. It didn’t make her heartbreak any less bearable.

‘We can still see each other as friends and colleagues,’ he said. He sounded desperate, and Tara choked back a sob.

Shaking her head, in disbelief as much as anything, she said, ‘We can’t, Cal. Not after what we’ve done, the things we’ve said to each other. Oh, God!’ She pressed a hand to her mouth to hold in the anguish.

Her heart was being torn out of her chest and slashed into little pieces in front of her eyes. The first time he’d dumped her had been bad enough, but this was way worse. Tara had never felt agony like this. She couldn’t breathe. He’d stolen the very air from her lungs.

He was carrying on speaking, as though he could say something to lessen the pain. ‘It won’t be forever. She’ll come around to the idea in time.’

Tara uttered a disbelieving sound. ‘That could take months, years even.’ Or Bonnie might never accept her at all. Was Cal asking her to wait? To keep their love on ice until his daughter was ready to accept that her father was entitled to a life of his own?

Part of her wanted to do precisely that. She wanted to cling to the possibility that they might one day be together, but what kind of a life would she be living in the meantime if she did? She would be stuck in limbo, halfway between the darkness and the light, a twilight of an existence, yearning for what she couldn’t have.

She could far too easily imagine how awful it would be to see him every day, to hear him, to know he was nearby, yet not be able to hold him or tell him she loved him. It would be worse than making a clean break.

With a distraught cry, Tara scrambled to her feet. Cal reached for her, but she brushed him off. He’d made it clear that it was over. That they were done.

Running to the boathouse, Tara knew she couldn’t stay here any longer, not without the only man she had ever loved – the only man she wouldeverlove.

Chapter 23

Tara fled to the boathouse but Calan didn’t follow her. There wasn’t anything left to say. He desperately wanted to comfort her but thought it best not to even try. What good would it do apart from giving her false hope?

He remained on the jetty for quite some time, silent tears trickling down his face as he battled with his grief. Once again, he had pushed away the woman he loved, but there wouldn’t be another chance. He’d been remarkably lucky to have a second one – a third would be impossible. Tara would never trust him again and who could blame her?

When his tears abated, he returned to the cottage, washed his face, and drove to the village.

Yvaine was even less pleased to see him standing on her doorstep than she had been an hour ago. She’d changed out of her work clothes and was wearing a loose-fitting T-shirt and joggers. She looked tired.

‘What do you want, Cal?’

‘To talk to Bonnie.’

She shook her head and sighed. ‘Didn’t we just go over this? The answer is no.’

‘I’ve broken up with Tara.’

The flash of satisfaction in her eyes was brief. She cloaked it quickly, but not before he noticed.

‘Can I tell her that?Please.’

Yvaine shrugged and gestured for him to go inside. ‘Don’t expect her to welcome you with open arms though. She’s been an absolute nightmare today.’

Cal could well imagine. Bonnie was a happy, chatty child on the whole, but when she had her moments, everyone knew about them.

He’d only ventured into Yvaine’s house a handful of times and didn’t feel comfortable poking his head into first the living room and then the kitchen, in his search for his daughter. Both rooms were empty, so he called up the stairs. ‘Bonnie? It’s your dad. Can we talk?’

Yvaine said, ‘Go on up.’

His tread on the stairs sounded loud, and he guessed Bonnie knew he was on his way. Hers was the smaller of the two bedrooms at the front of the house, and he knocked tentatively when he reached her door.

‘Bon-Bon? It’s Dad. Can I come in?’

No answer.

‘Bonnie? Please, I want to explain.’

‘Go away.’

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