Page 18 of Highland Games
‘Basil?’
‘Yes, Basil, my pet.’
As if on cue, Basil poked his head out from under her curls, checking out the person in front of him, his nose and whiskers twitching. Zoe bit the inside of her cheek. She couldn’t laugh now, but she would piss herself later remembering the look on Rory’s face.
He opened his mouth but no words came out. He cleared his throat again. ‘That’s a rat.’
‘Oh yes, isn’t he gorgeous! He’s a wild Highland rat. He found his way into the cabin last night and we’ve become best friends.’
‘Friends,’ repeated Rory in a monotone.
‘Oh yes,’ her voice even more enthusiastic. ‘He’s going everywhere with me. Although rats are sociable creatures, so I’m going to buy him a girlfriend, and maybe,’ Zoe crossed her fingers, looking earnestly at him, ‘in a few months’ time, if they get on, they might have a couple of babies so I can have a whole family!’
‘Acoupleof babies…’ If words were solid, Rory’s were lumps of lead.
Inwardly, Zoe was doing cartwheels. Watching him squirm was the best revenge ever. If he thought she was stupid then she was going to play that role to perfection. She put her head to one side, looking at him as ifhewas the stupid one.
‘Yes… If a boy rat and a girl rat like each other and the timing is right, then they can, erm, make ratty love, then after nine months, the girl rat has one or two ratty babies. It’s biology. Science.’
Rory sighed. Zoe bit the insides of both cheeks. Rory extended his hand. ‘Give me the rat.’
Zoe disentangled Basil from her hair and spoke to him. ‘Now listen up, sweetie pie, this man is going to help you out of the tree first. I know you’re scared, but Mummy’s right behind you. Okay?’
Rory looked in pain. Zoe carefully handed over Basil. Who bit Rory hard on the end of his thumb. ‘Agghhh!’ he cried, dropping him.
Zoe screamed. ‘Basil!’
But he was off, jumping and scurrying down from branch to branch. He’d clearly had enough of this tree for one day.
‘He bit me!’
‘Yes, well he’s a good judge of character,’ retorted Zoe. ‘You could have killed him. He doesn’t know how to climb trees.’
‘Really. So how come he’s now on the ground?’
Zoe looked down. Basil was in the leaves beneath the tree, looking for something to play with, shag or eat. ‘Oh. Well, if I had known that, I wouldn’t have been stuck up here. I only came this high to rescue him.’
Rory sucked the end of his thumb, then took it out. ‘What were you doing climbing the tree in the first place?’
‘I needed to check out the roof and find a phone signal.’
Rory shook his head. ‘I’ve had enough of your lunacy for one day.’ He reached up, and in one fluid movement grabbed Zoe and flung her over his shoulder, holding her tightly with one arm, anchoring her legs to his chest.
She screamed. ‘What are you doing?’
‘Getting you down from this tree, going home, and removing this entire episode from my brain with a bottle of whisky.’ He held the ladder with his free hand and began his descent. ‘Now stop wriggling or you’ll kill us both.’
Zoe kept as still as possible, her eyes tightly shut. If she opened them, she would have ringside seats to the rear of the year, but also to the exact distance she would plummet to her death if Rory lost his grip. She put her arms around his waist and held on. The loss of sight ramped up her other senses; he smelled divine. It was an intoxicating mix of soap, freshly cut wood, woodsmoke, and a musky essence that was all man. There was nothing artificial about him, no cloying aftershave, just pure, unadulterated masculinity. Zoe had never been so aware of a man before in her entire life. She wanted to press her face into his chest, breathe him in like he was the oxygen keeping her alive. She could feel his muscles moving as they descended the ladder, hot steel under her hands. Her pubic bone was resting on his shoulder, giving exquisite friction with every step. Her insides throbbed and her legs turned to jelly.
He stopped and Zoe looked to see grass under his feet. Neither of them moved. How could she prolong the connection? A squeaking sound finally broke the spell and Rory lowered Zoe gently to the ground, moving away.
She busied herself with Basil, hiding her burning cheeks. ‘There you are, my darling, safe and sound.’
Rory went to the tree and took down the ladder.
Zoe spoke to the back of his head. ‘Thank you.’
He stilled and nodded in response. Zoe felt reckless. Now she had him here, she wanted his knowledge. She knew after he left that would be it. Until the time he decided to gift her a snake. ‘Can you stay for another five minutes, please? I could really do with some advice about the roof.’
