Page 25 of Highland Games
‘Don’t be. I’m glad you never met him.’
‘Does your mum miss him?’
‘Every minute of every day. If there was one good thing in his life, it was his relationship with her. He treated her like a queen and she worshipped him.’ Rory tried to keep his voice calm but he recognised the edge of bitterness in it; the voice of a little boy whose mother always put him second.
‘Do you have any siblings?’
‘Nope. I think one was enough for my dad. Once my mother had produced me, that was it.’
Zoe took a breath in, as if to speak, then chewed her bottom lip. ‘And now you’re here, working for the estate?’
He managed to shrug, even though his muscles were strained with tension. He cleared his throat. ‘Anyway, what about you? Brothers? Sisters? Apparently, your mother was a wild one who ran off with your dad.’
Zoe snorted. ‘Wild? My mum? Her definition of wild is giving my dad pasta with pesto for his tea. The wildest thing she ever did was leaving Kinloch to marry him. She used up her lifetime’s allowance on that one.’
‘How did they meet?’
‘My dad was on a walking holiday and got lost. Willie was out wandering, found him, and brought him back to my granny’s house. When my parents saw each other it was love at first sight. In less than a week my mum had left with him. I don’t think my granny ever got over the shock.’
‘Did they have any other kids?’
‘No, just me. Not through lack of trying though, I know they wanted more. But it’s all good. They love each other and they love me. I know how lucky I am. I know what unconditional love is.’
Rory’s heart expanded and contracted with every beat. Expanding with Zoe and contracting with memories and the knowledge he wasn’t sure he’d ever known unconditional love. He needed to change the subject. ‘Have you considered selling the cabin? Buying a small place in town? The estate would buy the lease back from you, turn it into a holiday let. It would be for the best.’
‘Best for who? In what way exactly?’
Rory cringed. ‘Don’t you miss toilets, hot showers, a bed?’ he mumbled.
Zoe rolled her eyes. ‘There’s more to life than modern plumbing. And I have a bed, it’s just currently on the floor.’
She turned back to the loch as the sun rose. Her face flooded with golden light. Rory watched her. She was more beautiful than any sunrise or sunset could ever be. He thought back to what had happened in the bothy, the thought that he may have hurt her. ‘I’m sorry, Zoe, god, I’m so sorry about earlier.’
Zoe put her hand to her throat and swallowed. ‘Yes, about that.’ Her voice rose with a crescendo. ‘What the fucking fuck were you doing? I thought you were going to kill me!’
Rory put his head in his hands, running his fingers through his hair and pulling at it. He dropped them into his lap as if they were toxic. ‘I was in the military for years, and in some bad situations. I was asleep, but my subconscious took over when you fell on me… It won’t happen again.’
She nodded. ‘What were you doing here anyway?’
‘I came up last night to get away from everything and wake up the sun. I just forgot the hot chocolate.’
Zoe held out the flask to refill his mug. ‘Well, we managed it. We woke up the sun. Willie would be proud.’
Rory clinked the edge of his mug against the side of the thermos and they said ‘cheers’ in unison, as the sunlight crept towards the loch.
‘King and queen of the world,’ Zoe said, looking out.
‘King and queen of the world,’ repeated Rory, looking at her.
They walked back downto the road together, Bandit bounding ahead, walking side by side when the path was wide enough, and single file when it narrowed. When it got narrower, Rory would hang back, his palm outstretched, ladies first.
His actions might have appeared chivalrous but were entirely selfish. Walking behind, he could admire her, lust after her, without guarding his expression. But as they descended the glen, the reality of what he was going back to pricked at the tiny bubbles of happiness Zoe had brought fizzing into his heart, popping them with every step. By the time they reached the truck, he was beginning to think his mother might have been right. Zoe was trouble. Her very presence rocked the foundations of his carefully constructed life. He needed to avoid further involvement before her smile brought his walls tumbling down. However, he still needed to sort the shingles for her roof. It was the least he could do after the animals he had inflicted on her.
They stopped by the muddy estate truck.
‘I know you don’t have any signal at the cabin, but we might as well exchange numbers so I can text you when I’ve finished making the shingles,’ he said, bringing out his battered phone. Zoe fished in her pocket, bringing out a phone with a pink glittery cover and a picture of a unicorn on the back. She ignored his raised brows, concentrating on the screen. When she finished tapping away, she handed it to him.
‘You can put your number in now. I’ve created a contact for you.’
