Page 13 of Highland Games
Bandit had only been to Inverness a few times, but had decided that The Time is MEOW! was his favourite shop. He would pace up and down, tail wagging, barking hellos at all the pets on display. Rory didn’t know whether his interest was friendship or food, and didn’t want to take the risk of finding out, so outside the window was as far as he had ever got. He thought back to his encounter with Zoe that morning in the post office and his fingers curled possessively in Bandit’s fur. She may have always wanted a pet, but she wasn’t getting his. He zeroed in on a small cage in the window. He wanted her out of the cabin and she wanted a pet. Time to kill two birds with one stone.
A few milesback down the road towards Kinloch, Rory realised he had made a terrible mistake. Bandit, usually the best-behaved dog in the world, was taking an unhealthy and overly excited interest in the cardboard box on the back seat. Rory was strong, but it was taking all his strength to keep the dog from leaping into the back. He drove with one hand gripping Bandit’s collar and the other on the wheel to keep the truck on the road. Traffic was getting heavier and there was nowhere to stop and turn around.
What was I thinking? First the cows and now this? What the fuck is wrong with me?He glanced at the clock on the dashboard. He had just about enough time to get to the cabin, unload the logs currently filling the boot, put the box in their place away from Bandit, and drive back to the pet shop to return it. It would be tight, but if he was quick dumping the wood he could do it.
By the time he reached the track to the cabin he was sweating, and Bandit was beside himself with excitement. It was pouring with rain, and as he rounded the bend he saw how much the land had been churned up by the cows.God, I’m an arsehole. But that stopped here and now. He reversed the truck to get as close to the porch as possible and leapt out, dragging Bandit after him and dropping the tailgate. He then walked back and shut the driver’s door before releasing his hold on Bandit’s collar.
‘Bandit, stay!’
But Bandit was having none of it, and careered around outside the truck, barking and whining. Exasperated, Rory threw the logs out of the back of the truck towards the porch. He didn’t have time to carry them up, this would have to do.
Zoe rushed out of the cabin, pulling on her wellies. ‘Hey, hey! What are you doing?’ She ran down the steps into the rain. ‘You can’t do that, they’ll get soaked!’
He kept throwing. Some of the logs thudded against the outside wall of the cabin, some hit her makeshift door, and most bounced back off the porch onto the muddy ground.
‘Why are you being such a tool? What have I ever done to you?’
Bandit was now trying to get under the cabin, barking crazily. What was wrong with him? ‘Bandit! Heel!’ he yelled.
Bandit continued to ignore him. Now Zoe did too, grabbing the wet and muddy logs and throwing them onto the relative shelter of the decking. It became a race. Rory, with determination and urgency throwing the logs to the ground, and Zoe with fury and rage throwing them up onto the porch.
As soon as the back of the truck was empty, he ran to the cab to get the cardboard box to put it safely out of Bandit’s reach. As he lifted it off the passenger seat, a trail of sawdust floated down. He saw with horror that a hole had been eaten into the side. He threw back the lid to confirm the worst had happened. The creature had escaped. Frantically he searched the cab. Nothing.
He ran back to the cabin, scanning the ground, calling for Bandit.
Zoe stomped up to him. ‘What is your problem?’ she yelled. Her wet T-shirt was clinging to her heaving chest. The rain had turned her hair into a river of red curls. She angrily swiped a long, wet strand from her face, smudging her flushed cheek with mud. Her eyes, framed by wet lashes, were glistening.
Rory’s mind went blank, then his mouth unfortunately moved for him. ‘That’ll be one hundred pounds.’
Zoe’s jaw dropped. ‘Whaatttt? I’m not paying a hundred quid for sub-standard merchandise and shoddy service!’
Rory felt split in two. The better half of him was imprisoned inside someone who just shrugged in response.
She ran up the steps to the porch, kicking off her wellies and striding into the cabin. When she returned, she thrust three twenty-pound notes and a tenner towards him. ‘That’s all I’ve got,’ she said quietly. Bandit called off his search and ran to her. She stroked him with her free hand. Rory took the money. ‘I don’t understand why you’re being such an arse.’ She held his gaze.
Rory turned away, whistling for Bandit, and got in his truck. As he drove down the track, he saw her walk back to the cabin, wiping her eyes with her sodden sleeve.
I don’t understandwhy you’re being such an arse.The words went around his head as he drove along the road.What have I ever done to you?
He banged his fists on the steering wheel. ‘Fuuuuuuuuuuuucccccccccckkkkkkkkkkk!’ The truck swerved and he pulled to the side of the road, killing the engine. ‘Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuuuuuuuuucccccckkkk!’ Each word was punctuated by another bang of his fists against the wheel. Bandit began to whine, and he put his hand out to calm him.
He didn’t recognise the person who had just behaved so badly. She didn’t deserve to be treated like that; no one did. Zoe was right. He was an arse. He was an arsehole of the highest order. He ran his fingers through his hair, tugging it away from his scalp to relieve the tension. He relived the flash of pain that shot across her face as he asked for the money, her unshed tears glistening.
He dropped his hands and slumped back in the seat, resting against the headrest. He let out a sigh. It was quiet now. The only sound the pitter-patter of raindrops on the windscreen and roof. What could he do? How could he make amends without fessing up to everything he had done?
In his mind he saw her deep dark eyes, her cascading curls of red hair, her luminous pale skin with its sprinkling of freckles. He saw her tall lithe frame, her perfect breasts revealed by the rain. God, she was beautiful.
He realised he had been holding his breath, tension thrumming through him. He let out another sigh, and stared out through the windscreen blurred with rain. He needed to stay away, leave her alone. Even if he hadn’t just burned his bridges in a pyrotechnic display of stupidity, he’d never lay his heart on the line again. There was no space for romance in his life, and definitely no room for love. His mother and saving the estate had to come first.
Zoe stackedthe logs against the side wall of the cabin, her emotions radiating so much heat her clothes were beginning to dry. What was his problem? Even the worst of her London dates hadn’t treated her with such harsh indifference. And to add insult to injury, why did he have to be so freaking gorgeous?
A shiver of goosebumps breezed over her skin. His cheeks were the same burnished bronze as yesterday. Water droplets had gathered in his hair like jewels. His eyes burned like silver stars. She had wanted to kiss him whilst simultaneously punching him in the face. Her heart thudded in her chest, hammering in a nail of frustration and anguish. He was a man of stone. Rock hard body and granite heart.
By the time Jamie rolled up the track, Zoe was sweeping the deck. Jamie gave her a wave and pulled a bale of wool tied together with orange twine out of the boot of his car.
She plastered on a smile as he walked up to the porch. ‘So, you got some insulation then?’ she asked, eying the fleeces. They looked like they’d been sheared from the dirtiest sheep in the flock.
‘Yeah, they’re not in the best of nick but they’ll do the job.’ He rummaged in his pocket. ‘And I got you these.’ He pulled out a pair of voluminous tan women’s tights. ‘They’re for the doorstop. I thought we could stuff the legs with some of the wool.’
