Page 28 of A Christmas Wish on Arran
It was Saturday morning, the sky was dark and heavy, and Beth wondered if it might even snow. She parked her car at the school and shivered as she got out, glad she had pulled on her winter boots and her thick red coat. It had become really cold these past few days, and she laughed in delight as a few wisps of snow started to fall, landing on her nose. She followedthe bustling crowd, making her way through the school’s main entrance, then into the sports hall where the market was being held. Jim had warned her it could get really busy, but Beth hadn’t expected to see quite so many people. It was as thougheveryoneon the island was here. She scanned her eyes across the hall, looking for any familiar faces.
‘Beth,’ Jim’s son Murray tugged at her hand, ‘you made it. Come on and buy some raffle tickets.’
‘Sure.’ She smiled, happy to be pulled along by him. ‘Wow, it’s busy in here, isn’t it?’
‘Yes, it’s always like this. Right, it’s three for a pound or twenty for a fiver.’ He had the prowess of a Barras Market stall holder.
‘Twenty it is.’ She pulled her purse out of her bag, glad that Jim had warned her to make sure she had plenty of cash on her, as the kids were experts at getting everyone to part with it.
‘Thanks Beth.’
‘Where is your dad’s stall? And Rory? I promised I would go and buy some of his cakes.’
Murray pointed in the direction of their stalls and she gently made her way through the throng of bodies, reminding herself to be observant — she’d need to write something for the paper. It was warm in the hall and she pulled off her coat. When she reached the tombola stall she saw a harassed-looking Jim with only a few bottles left on the table.
‘It’s been crazy,’ he said. ‘No wonder Freya signed me up instead of her. You take your life in your hands doing this.’ He threw his hands up in a gesture of defeat. ‘I’ve only been open an hour and that’s the bottles almost finished. I’m going to need a stiff drink by the time I get out of here.’
Beth gave a wry smile, knowing that Jim was actually in his element. Murray had told her that her dadlovedthis kind ofthing. ‘I do have to admit, I am quite partial to a tombola Jim. I’ll take three tickets.’
Jim grinned and held a bucket out to her, giving it a good shake first. Beth put her hand in to the small folded pieces of pastel-coloured paper. She looked at the first number and showed it to Jim. He frowned as he scanned the few bottles of wine that were left — along with a bottle of washing-up liquid, ginger beer and a bottle of Babycham, which looked like it needed a good dust. ‘That has to be vintage.’ She pointed at the green bottle.
‘Do you know what? I think you can still buy it in the shops. But I think this particular bottle has clearly been in the back of someone’s cupboard for a while.’
‘It looks positively historic.’ Beth watched him hopefully as he scanned the tickets on the bottles, trying to match hers up with one of them.
Jim shook his head. ‘Sorry, no luck. Try again.’
Beth reached in and was again unlucky with her second ticket.
‘Third time lucky?’ he asked.
‘Sure,’ she smiled happily, ‘you never know.’
Jim’s eyes lit up when he realised she had a winning number. ‘Youarea winner.’ He laughed. ‘Congratulations Beth. And I hope this comes in useful for all those dishes.’ He handed her the bottle of washing-up liquid.
Beth burst out laughing. ‘Well, yes, at least it will come in handy. And I’m sure it’s far better for my health than a bottle of wine. Thanks Jim.’ She slipped it into her handbag. ‘I’d better go and see the kids at the baking stall before that sells out too.’
Jim raised his eyebrows. ‘You should be okay. Rory and Freya were up late last night, baking. The house was like a cake shop this morning. I was told in no uncertain terms to keep my paws off it all.’
‘See you soon.’ She gave him a small wave and made her way across to the baking stall. It was crowded, and for a moment Beth was lost in her own thoughts as she waited to be served. Maybe it would be better to come back later? She had also spotted the local cheesemaker’s stall, and wanted to buy some of that too. Just as she turned to move away, she stumbled, then felt a strong arm catch her before she fell flat on her face.
‘Elizabeth?’ asked a voice above her.
With the strong arm still holding her, she looked up to see who it belonged to. Beth was then glued to the spot — speechless — and her legs turned to jelly.
‘Callum?’ she eventually croaked.
He hadn’t let go of her arm and his eyes were full of concern. ‘Are you okay? That was quite the tumble.’
She nodded, studying his face, which was older and a bit more lined. He was still as rugged and good-looking as ever. His dark hair was now flecked with grey, and he was standingveryclose to her. ‘I’m fine, honestly. Thanks for helping me.’ She used as measured a tone as she could, given that her heart was now dancing to its own disco beat.
He shrugged, let her go and took a step back. ‘No worries.’ He paused and looked at her inquisitively. ‘Well, this is a bit of a surprise after all this time . . . What brings you to Arran?’
Beth felt her cheeks flushing. ‘I moved over at the start of the month. To work on the local paper.’
His gaze didn’t waver from her face. ‘Right.’ He paused. ‘I see. So you’re living here now?’
Beth nodded, trying her hardest to stay calm and not show her utter shock at seeing him. Her arm was still tingling from his touch. ‘I live in Brodick, near to the office. And you? Are you still near Lamlash?’ She tried to sound casual, but her voice was more high-pitched than usual.
