Page 22 of Dreaming Under An Island Skye
‘Oh! Are those your pieces in the café?’
He lowered his gaze to the ground. ‘They are, yes.’
His current manner was the antithesis of the man she had initially conversed with on the phone and this surprised her. ‘I was admiring them earlier today. I was thinking of taking one home as a gift for my mum and dad.’
‘Oh, you don’t need to do that. It’s just nice to know you like them. Thank you.’ His response was one of humility and it struck her that he didn’t realise quite how talented he was.
They reached the front of Thistle House and stopped. ‘Your work is beautiful, Reid,’ she told him with a smile.
If the light wasn’t so dim, she thought she may have seen him blushing. ‘That’s very kind of you.’ He locked his gaze on her for a moment but quickly frowned and looked away. ‘Well, thank you for today. I know I keep saying it, but—’
‘It’s fine, honestly. No further thanks needed.’ She held out her hand, but he leaned forward to kiss her cheek, so she leaned to reciprocate just as he pulled back and held out his hand. They both laughed awkwardly and chose to do neither.
‘Goodnight, Juliette,’ he said softly.
He had definitely softened from their first encounter and she had begun to believe he might be a nice guy after all. ‘Goodnight, Reid. And please, call me Jules, all my friends do.’
With a wide smile, he nodded his agreement and walked towards his home.
Feeling drained, Juliette tiptoed into the house and managed to sneak up to her room without alerting Morag. She felt a twinge of guilt at doing so but desperately wanted to speak to her mum and go to sleep.
Once inside and changed out of Caitlin’s clothes, she picked up her phone, replied to texts from Dexter and Millie asking how things were going – she would fill them in tomorrow – and, even though it was ridiculously late and she risked causing panic by calling, she dialled her parents’ number.
‘Hi, Dad. Boy, have I had a strange day…’
9
At breakfast the following morning, Morag couldn’t do enough for Juliette. She fussed around her like she was royalty. Nothing was too much trouble. And she must have asked if she was okay a dozen times at least. Thankfully, her headache was gone, and her appetite had returned, which was just as well, seeing as Morag appeared to be trying to fatten her up.
‘You’ve not been toThe Coxswainyet, have you? The pub just along the lane?’ Morag asked as she cleared away the plates.
‘Not yet, no. But I thought I might go this evening, for a change.’
Morag’s eyes lit up. ‘Aye, you should definitely do that. You should see if Caitlin’s busy. It’d be nice for her to have a friend her own age. She spends a lot of time with her wee girl, Grace, eleven years old. But it would be nice for her to have some more adult company.’
Juliette stifled a smile. Morag sounded like a dear old grandma looking out for her granddaughter. ‘Thanks, yes, I might just do that.’
She waved her hand and shook her head. ‘Och, listen to me; a right old fusspot. It’s just that she’s got no family here any more, so I suppose I see myself as a mother figure.’
‘That’s very kind of you,’ Juliette reassured her.
‘What time might you think of going?’ the older lady asked with somewhat forced nonchalance.
Juliette shrugged. ‘Oh, I don’t know. Seven maybe. I think I’m going to have a walk across the Skye bridge today, seeing as the storm has passed over. I bet the views from up there are lovely.’
‘They are indeed. Well, I must get on. I’m covering the shop today. Kenneth is off golfing on the mainland with Donny, Leanna’s husband.’
Juliette decided to refrain from commenting further in case her feelings for the frosty Leanna leaked out by accident. ‘Right, well, I’m going to go and get ready.’
‘You go and have a lovely day,’ Morag instructed in a singsong voice.
* * *
The sun seemed to hover, suspended in an almost cloudless sky, as Juliette made her way towards the arched structure that spanned the mouth of Loch Alsh. From the centre, she could see the houses and businesses nestled along the shore at Kyleakin and, on the other side of the bridge, a little white lighthouse sat below at the edge of a rocky outcrop – no doubt a necessary structure considering the number of chunks of boulder jutting out from the silvery blue sea, and her own experience of how the weather was wont to change at the drop of a hat.
Juliette inhaled the fresh, salty air as the breeze whipped her hair about her face, causing it to dance a merry jig before her eyes. She couldn’t help smiling as she gazed out to the mountainous horizon, watching the seagulls floating on the therms high above her head.
As she stood there, she mulled over the proposition put to her by Reid. Her only concern was that he had offered out of duty for what she had done, although he had assured her that wasn’t the case. Running the museum would certainly give her a focusanda purpose for being here, which is what she’d hoped for all along after Dexter had suggested a working holiday all those weeks ago. Simply put, even though the place was wonderful, she feared that she may have too much time to think if she didn’t havesomekind of occupation to fill her mind; too much time hadn’t done her any favours in the past. Plus, it may be a way to satisfy her curiosity about her mother’s upbringing or at least the place in which she grew up. Two birds, one stone. She made the decision, right then and there, to accept the role and a flip of excitement rolled around her stomach. Finally, she would get to discover the delights that lay within the old Lifeboat House Museum.
