Page 27 of Highland Games
Zoe turned to Duncan. ‘Please excuse me whilst I make myself presentable. This will be the first bath I’ve had in four days.’
Duncan stood and offered her Liam. ‘Fancy doing him whilst you’re at it?’
Fiona thumped his arm. ‘You daft bugger, you’ve only been back a few hours and you’re already skipping out on the dirty jobs.’
Duncan kissed Fiona tenderly on the top of her head. ‘Only playing, love, only playing.’
Zoe felt she was a witness to a private moment not meant for her. She grabbed her glass and went up the stairs to the bathroom. She was going to have a bath, and by god, was it going to be bubbly.
An hour later, the only thing that could be seen under a blanket of foam was her head. She’d washed her endless locks, put on a deep conditioning treatment and wrapped them up in a towel. She cut her nails, shaped her eyebrows, and let the hot water soak away all her cares. From downstairs, she could hear the crash of pots and pans from the kitchen and the sound of music. She couldn’t work out what they were listening to, maybe an acoustic album, but it was beautiful.
After a while, Fiona knocked to give her a fifteen-minute warning. Zoe reluctantly sorted out her hair, got out of the bath, pink and glowing, and redressed, feeling much more human.
She followed Fiona into the small dining room, where the table was heaving with food. Apparently, Christmas dinner had married an all-you-can-eat buffet. Her eyes bulged. Jamie had arrived and gave her a hug. ‘Zo, you’ve got to come around every Sunday if this is what Mum puts on.’
Zoe grinned. ‘Are you up for the challenge?’
Jamie patted his stomach and pulled the waistband of his trousers away. ‘Aye, I’ve got my fat pants on ready for some serious food action.’
Fiona shook her head as Zoe dissolved into giggles. Morag brought the last dish in, whipped off her pinny and ushered everyone to the table. They held hands as Morag said grace.
‘Dear you upstairs. Bless this family and bless this meal. Thank you for bringing Zoe back to us and keep safe in your love the ones who are no longer with us. Amen.’
A squeeze ran through the hands around the table.
‘Now then, girls, boys and babies, let’s eat!’ said Morag.
Zoe ate as she had never eaten before. There were two roast chickens, a side of ham, roast potatoes and parsnips, carrots, and cabbage covered with at least half a pat of butter. Morag was a feeder, and the moment anyone’s plate looked a bit empty she piled more food on, whilst fretting she hadn’t cooked enough. After too many basic meals at the cabin, Zoe felt like she’d been dropped into the middle of Sunday lunch in heaven. Even though Morag and her mother had kept in touch sporadically over the years, it seemed there was a lifetime of catching up to do. Zoe was happy to talk about home, but the more she did, the more homesick she felt. She wanted to learn more about Kinloch, to immerse herself in the history and culture of her new home.
‘So, the castle,’ she asked. ‘Does anyone live there?’
Morag shook her head. ‘Not for decades. It gets opened up every summer to the public, but even that stopped a few years ago. It’s such a shame.’
‘Who owns it?’
Morag shrugged. ‘We’re not sure. It was for sale a while ago, but then the boards went down and we didn’t hear anything. It might still belong to the current earl, Stuart MacGinley, but apparently he lives in London.’
‘He’s a wanker,’ supplied Fiona.
Morag jerked her head towards Liam. ‘Fi! The baby!’
Fiona rolled her eyes. ‘Sorry, he’s abanker.’
Zoe grinned. ‘Don’t worry, I know the type. So why doesn’t he come back?’
‘Why would he?’ asked Jamie. ‘Down south he’s got a cushy life. If he came back, he’d have to spend time and money sorting it out. I’m sure he just wants to forget about it until he can find someone nuts enough to take it off his hands.’
‘Is it really that bad?’
‘Aye,’ said Duncan. ‘It’s a mess. I think that’s why they closed it to the public.’
When people couldn’t eatany more the table was cleared and dessert brought out. Jamie made a noise that sounded half joy, half fear as he confronted an enormous apple crumble with a jug of custard, and a tiramisu. By the end of death by food, Fiona was green, Jamie’s trousers were completely unbuttoned and Duncan was breaking a sweat. Only Morag, Zoe and Liam were still going strong, although most of what went near Liam ended up on the floor.
When they finally conceded defeat, everyone staggered through into the living room. Morag flicked the TV on for background noise and they slumped in their chairs, unable to move. Zoe was the first to fall asleep, followed by Jamie. One by one they all dropped into a happy food coma.
It was over an hour before Zoe woke. The smell of coffee percolated through the air and the sounds of a guitar had replaced the TV. She opened her eyes to see Jamie gently strumming a tune. He grinned at her.
‘I took it up after you left. The first tune I learned wasJoleen,only I changed the lyrics,’ he said. He sang in an atrocious American accent, changing the wordJoleento ‘Zoe’.
