Page 11 of Highland Games
‘Oh, there you are, love! Come in, come in. How did you sleep?’
Zoe’s smile froze. The man-bear stood at the counter, a muscle in his jaw twitching, a German Shepherd at his heels. He looked away.
‘You remember, erm.’ Morag turned to him. ‘What’s your name, love?’
There was a pause as she watched the muscles in his face fighting with each other. Eventually enough tension was released for him to reply. ‘Rory.’
Morag smiled. ‘Nice to meet you, Rory. I’m Morag.’ She turned to Zoe. ‘You got your wood from him yesterday?’
The dog trotted forward, its tail wagging, pushing into her legs to say hello. She dropped to her knees, stroking it.
‘Hello! And who are you? Aren’t you gorgeous!’
The dog licked her face and she laughed. Rory whistled and it trotted back to sit at his side. Zoe stood, wiping her cheek. She turned to Morag.
‘He wasn’t in, so I had to drive to the garage on the road to Inverness and buy as much as I could from there.’
‘Oh, love, that’s daylight robbery!’ Morag wailed. ‘Anyway, this is Rory. Rory, Zoe; Zoe, Rory. Rory will sort you out now. Won’t you, love?’
Rory swallowed and swivelled around mechanically to look at her. ‘What do you need wood for?’
Zoe smiled beatifically at him. ‘I’ve moved up to the cabin where Willie Laing used to live and I need wood for the Rayburn. I cleaned it out yesterday and it’s running like a dream. I even made porridge on it this morning!’ she said proudly before holding out her hand. ‘I’m Zoe Maxwell, Willie’s great-niece. I now own the cabin. It’s all mine. My property. Mine.’
There was a long pause. After an age, he stuck his hand out and gripped Zoe’s.
Jesus! thought Zoe, as he gave her a death grip. Despite the pain, as he attempted to crush every bone in her hand, she smiled at him and pumped vigorously up and down, squeezing right back as hard as she could.
‘So wonderful to meet you, can you bring a load up this afternoon? Do you need directions?’
Rory dropped her hand as if she had leprosy. ‘I’m out of wood right now.’
Morag hooted. ‘Mrs McCreedie told me you’ve got more trees up there than you can shake a stick at. I’m sure you can spare a bit for our Zoe?’ She continued processing his letters, oblivious to the thunder rolling off him in waves.
The dog left his side again to make amends and Zoe dropped to her knees. ‘You are so beautiful! What’s your name?’
Rory cleared his throat. ‘His name is Bandit.’
‘Well, I think you’re the most gorgeous male I’ve met since arriving in Kinloch.’
‘What about our Jamie?’ interjected Morag.
Zoe grinned and looked up at her. ‘Okay, Bandit’s the second most gorgeous male in Kinloch.’ She sighed. ‘I’ve always wanted a pet.’ She looked at Bandit. ‘Fancy a new home? Want to come live with me?’
Bandit barked his approval and Rory stood in front of him. ‘He’s not for sale.’
Zoe glanced at Rory’s boots. A couple of tiny pieces of hay were stuck behind the laces. She frowned. Surely not? She straightened up and looked at him. An unwanted jolt of awareness shot through her. She stuck on a vacuous smile.
‘Oh, I don’t need a pet any more, I’ve got about thirty. Although I’m sending them off to market this afternoon. Possession being nine tenths of the law. Finders keepers and all that. I’ll make enough to fix the cabin up good and proper. Might even put a hot tub on the deck.’
‘Eh? What are you talking about love?’ asked Morag.
Zoe’s attention was all on Rory. His eyes widened and his jaw tightened. He pushed past her to the door, whistling for Bandit and walked out. ‘See you later!’ she called after him.
The only response was the tinkling of the bell as the door shut. Zoe turned back to Morag. ‘Oh, I was just being silly. A load of cows got onto my land this morning but I walked them back up the road so they’re safely home.’
‘Well, that’s good, love. Now, Jamie says it’s not as bad as we all feared. Come and tell me all about it.’
Morag led the way out to the sitting room at the back, calling through as she went, ‘Fi love, Zoe’s here!’
