Page 7 of Wishing Under a Starlit Skye
Caitlin gasped. ‘Don’t you dare!’ She laughed, shaking her head. ‘I think I’ll manage sorting my own love life out thanks.’ His relationship status was an intriguing surprise, although come to think of it, she hadn’t seen his wife Fenella on her travels, out jogging, for a while.
‘Suit yourself. But if you change your mind…’ Grace sang as she jogged up the stairs.
* * *
After Caitlin had showered and changed out of her flour-covered work clothes, they arrived at 6 p.m. sharp on the doorstep of Cora Budge’s one-storey, whitewashed house in Breakish and knocked.
Cora’s dad, Lyle, came to the door, drying his hands on a grey and white striped towel, and Caitlin found herself blushing bright pink at the sight of him, thanks to what Grace had said earlier.
‘Oh, hi, Caitlin. You’re looking very nice. Are you going out?’ Lyle asked with a smile.
Caitlin touched her hair. ‘Oh, thank you. I—’
‘She’s going to a singles night,’ Grace blurted.
Caitlin’s face turned from a slight blush to the point of near spontaneous human combustion, and she glared at her daughter.
Lyle nodded. ‘Oh, the one at Broadford? Aye, I thought about going to that mysel’, but then Cora invited Grace, so it’s a pizza night instead.’
Caitlin widened her eyes. ‘Oh gosh, I hope we haven’t inconvenienced you. I can always take the girls—’
‘Och, no, don’t be daft. There’ll be others. You’ll have to let me know if it’s good craic, eh?’ Lyle grinned. ‘Anyway, come away in, Grace. Cora is just on the phone to her mum.’
Grace kissed Caitlin’s cheek. ‘Bye, Mum. See you tomorrow. And remember what I said about drinks,’ she said with a stern gaze and a pointed finger.
Too shocked to chastise her daughter, Caitlin simply nodded and said, ‘Bye, love.’
Once Grace had disappeared inside the house with her overnight bag and platter of tray bakes, Lyle turned to her. ‘Dinnae worry about that, lass. Kids will be kids, eh? No filter. Cora is just the same.’ He shook his head and smiled warmly. ‘And I don’t know about you, but I’m not into the dating app things. My guess is someone on there will look like Cindy Crawford on their profile, but end up looking like Michael Crawford fromPhantom of the Operain real life.’
Caitlin burst out laughing, probably down to the nerves. ‘Aye! I said the same.’
‘Great minds, eh?’
She nodded. ‘Indeed. Well, have a lovely evening with the pre-teen monsters. I hope they don’t completely beat you into submission.’
Lyle rolled his eyes. ‘Already done, I’m afraid. They’re going to watch some soppy movie on the big screen, and I’m demoted to the little TV in ma room to watch the footy.’
‘Well, make sure you at least get a piece of tray bake,’ she told him.
‘Oh, don’t you worry. I always make sure I get some of your amazing baking. Anyway, have a nice evening. And… erm… good luck.’
Caitlin smiled. ‘Thanks. You too.’ She grinned.
He laughed lightly. ‘Aye, I might need it more than you.’ And with that he closed the door.
Caitlin couldn’t help the smile that stayed on her face as she climbed back into the car.
Despite Grace’s obvious excitement about the singles event, it didn’t start until seven. She’d had every intention of calling in to see Jules for another pep talk, seeing as she had talked herself into knots over the idea of going. Instead, she headed home and was greeted by Cleo, skipping around at her feet, her whole body wagging in excitement.
She crouched to fuss the dog. ‘What should I do, Cleo? Should I risk it and go? Or should I stay here with you and watchOutlanderinstead?’
Cleo gave a yip that sounded distinctly like ‘Go!’
Caitlin stood again and flopped onto a kitchen chair. ‘You’re trying to get rid of me too, are you?’
Cleo tilted her head and continued to wag.
‘A fat lot of use you are, eh? Come on then, come and help me decide what to wear. I’ll go for an hour, but that’s all. I wish I’d never bloomin’ mentioned it to be honest. It was definitely the wine. I’m sure of it.’
