Page 44 of A Summer of New Beginnings
Bess appeared at her side againand dropped the ball at her feet. ‘You’ve got the right idea, Bess. Just chilling out and doing what you love, eh?’ Perhaps that was what she should do for the couple of days she was stranded? Lachy’s offer of his laptop echoed inside her head. She might just have to take him up on it.
She gazed across the water to the mountains that stretched up from the water’s edge and she imagined what itwould be like to climb right to the top. She guessed this vista from up there would be spectacular. It was a shame, she mused, that she wouldn’t be here long enough to find out. Sheep meandered round her, munching at the verdant grass, too busy to notice the interloper admiring the view. The air was fresh and in spite of the sunshine there was a coastal nip to the breeze. Every so often her companionwould drop the ball at her feet and she dutifully threw it, sometimes crouching to nuzzle the dog’s fur. As she watched the billowy white clouds overhead casting shadows on the ground and the striations in the rocks over the inlet, a flash of inspiration hit. Her eyes widened and her heart skipped. The ending of her novel had appeared as a flash of inspiration and it was all because of this view;this incredible landscape before her. She called Bess and dashed back to the croft to wait for Lachy.
Lachy appeared back home around lunchtime looking dishevelled and incredibly sexy in a rugged, dirty kind of way. His overalls were slipped down and tied round his waist and he wore a black T-shirt that contoured to his muscular abdomen.
‘How are you feeling? Did you get sorted?’ he asked inthat lilting, gentle Scottish accent as he washed his hands at the pot sink.
She relayed the details of the conversations she’d had that morning with the bike-hire place and work. ‘So I wondered… could I take you up on the offer to borrow your laptop?’
He smiled, apparently happy that she had asked. ‘Absolutely. Who am I to stand in the way of the next Emily Brontë? It’s in the desk drawer bythe window in the lounge. You can set it up there and enjoy the view of the beach whilst you’re writing. Might just be the inspiration you need, eh?’
It had been that view that had sparked this urgent need to put fingers to keyboard and she had to stop herself from squealing with excitement. ‘Fantastic, thank you.’ Giddily she jumped up from the table and went through to the lounge, closely followedby Bess. The laptop was a top-of-the-line model and worked at lightning speed once turned on. She inserted her memory stick and pulled up the file. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach as her words appeared before her on the screen. It had been a long while since she had worked on the book in earnest and she had to familiarise herself with the last chapters she had written. Bess sat underthe desk, resting her chin on Zara’s feet and keeping them toasty warm.
About an hour later Lachy approached her with a bowl of home-made soup and a chunk of that delicious bread. ‘How are you getting on?’
She grinned from ear to ear. ‘Really,reallygood. I can’t tell you how amazing it feels to be writing again. I mean, yes, I write for work and I do love my job but…thisis what I’ve wantedto do for so long. Thank you.’ She smiled up at him and hoped the sincerity of her gratitude shone through.
He gazed down at her and seemed transfixed for a moment before clearing his throat. ‘Hey, don’t thank me. You’re the multitalented one. I’ve put a beef stew in the range so it’ll be ready about six. I’ll leave you to it.’ He hurried away and closed the door.
*
The hours ran away withher and by the time Lachy called Zara through to the kitchen for dinner she was exhausted but filled with a sense of accomplishment. She had figured out where the plot of her novel was going astray and had typed up the miraculous end scene. Now all she needed to do was proof read it and check for any obvious plot holes. It would be completely finished by the end of her stay at the croft – somethingshe’d never dreamed would happen so soon.
She walked through and was hit with a delicious aroma that made her mouth water.
‘Wow, this smells incredible.’ She took a seat in the place she had been using since she’d arrived. Bess was lying dutifully in her basket but kept her eyes trained on Zara in case any morsels landed on the floor.
‘Aye, I’m not a bad cook, I suppose. But that’s what livingalone will do, eh?’
Zara huffed. ‘Oh, I don’t know about that. I enjoy cooking but until Marco moved in there were lots of ready meals for one at home. Or takeaways.’
‘Is your boyfriend a good cook, then?’ Lachy asked without making eye contact.
‘Oh, no, Marco isn’t my boyfriend.’ She giggled at the prospect. ‘I’m not really his type, if you know what I mean?’
‘Ah, he’s gay?’
‘As the dayis long. It’s a shame really as he’d probably make a pretty good boyfriend.’
‘So what does youractualboyfriend think about you being up here all by yourself?’
She smiled with a tinge of sadness as she thought about Josh’s last call. ‘Currently single, I’m afraid. I was seeing someone. Josh. We were together for a year and I thought it was love but I scared him off back to the arms of his ex.’
Lachy tilted his head and frowned. ‘Oh, I doubt that. I’m pretty sure if he went back to his ex it was all hisowndoing, not yours.’
‘Hmm. Well, whatever it was he broke my heart, just before I set off to come to Scotland actually.’
‘Well, you didn’t deserve to be treated that way. No one does.’
She was unwilling to bring the mood down and tried to turn the topic round to him. ‘What aboutyou? Don’t you get lonely up here by yourself?’
Lachy chewed thoughtfully for a few moments. ‘I don’t have the time to feel lonely really. Too much to do around the place. My last girlfriend wasn’t too keen on the prospect of moving up here so it ended just before I left the city. I think the whole thing had run its course anyway, if I’m honest.’
‘That’s a shame. I bet you miss her. After all,people need people.’
He shrugged. ‘Not really. She was a very dramatic person. You know the kind: everything had to be about her and if it wasn’t, she’d make it so. I didn’t get much say in anything. Well, not if I wanted a peaceful life.’ He laughed. ‘I think moving home was the right decision and the timing couldn’t have been better.’ He cringed and placed his fork down. ‘Shit, I didn’t meanthat to sound like I was happy my dad was ill.’
Zara reached out but couldn’t quite touch his hand. ‘Hey, I didn’t think that at all.’ A companionable silence descended for a while as they both tucked into the meal.
