“If I remember correctly, your mum said you weren’t supposed to come up here.” Though, if anyone is to blame for this little excursion, it’s me, seeing as I gave him the idea.
He shrugs and turns back to look at the loch. “I was careful.”
I nod, remembering how invincible I felt as a ten-year-old. “Can I sit with you for a few minutes? Before I force you to come back down.”
“Aye.” He eyes me where I sit a few feet away with my elbows locked around my knees. “So, you grew up here?”
“Until I was fourteen. Did your mum tell you that we met when we were your age?”
“Yeah, she said she came here every summer to stay with her grandparents. They owned that farm, right?” He points toward the farm that’s now owned by a new family. The barn looks better taken care of and they have a bunch of highland cows—including adorable baby ones—munching in the back pasture.
“They did. We used to run around and get into all sorts of mischief… and messes. The day your mum and I met, we fell into a mud puddle under the tire swing. I’m lucky your great-grandparents let her play with me at all after that.” I probably shouldn’t have told him that… I’m just giving him more bad ideas. “You never met them?”
He shakes his head. “No. They died last year. We never came up to Skye before that, and they never visited us either. Mum doesn’t talk about them. But we came up last summer to sell the farm and I met your grandparents. I like them.”
“They’re pretty great. I think they’re excited to have you here. They’ve missed having kids around. It’s been a long time since your mum and I were here.” An easy silence falls, but when I look at Lennox, his brows pinch together slightly. “Are you excited to come to Skye?”
“Aye. I wish I could come up now. I’ll miss Gran and Pa, but…” He trails off, looking glum.
“But what?” I ask, wondering if the fading bruise around his eye has anything to do with it.
“You moved away, right? Did you like where you went?” I note the change of subject but don’t press. It seems Avi’s told him a little bit about me.
“I did—to America—when I was fourteen. I love it there. It’s been my home now for a long time.”
“So, it was good when you left? Going somewhere new?”
“Yeah. I didn’t want to go initially, but once I got there and met new people and made new friends, I loved it.”
His pinched look relaxes. “I hope I can make new friends here.”
“You will. It’s a small town, but it was always very welcoming. I’m sure the kids your age will be thrilled to have someone new around.” I think of how I was with Avi. “I was so excited the day your mum came to stay with her grandparents—that I’d have someone right next door to spend time with. I pretty much forced her to be my best friend.” I shake my head and chuckle, but inside, my heart squeezes.
“She was your best friend?” he asks, cocking his head to assess me.
“Yeah, for a very long time, she was.”
“I thought I had a best friend,” he states, looking out toward the water, “but he isn’t.”
“Why not?” I ask, matching his posture and looking at the loch.
“He just…” He pauses, shrugs dramatically, and blows out a breath. “He isn’t very nice, I guess. And now I’m suspended.”
Those two things don’t exactly add up in my mind, but I’m not sure how far to push. “You got suspended?” I ask with as much nonchalance as possible.
“Aye. I hit him. Then he hit me back.” I meet his gaze and once again note the greenish bruise under his eye.
“Ouch.” I grimace, remembering that feeling. It’s been a long time since I got into a fight, but it’s not something you easily forget. “Mind me asking why you hit him first?”
“It wasn’t my fault. He said—” With a shake of his head, blond hair flopping with the movement, he changes course. “It doesn’t matter. He shouldn’t have said it, and I just snapped.”
I nod. “I get that. I got suspended once for fighting.”
His eyes blow wide with interest and I can’t help but smile. “You did?”
“Yeah.” I chuckle. “My parents were not pleased.”
“Did you get into trouble?” He scoots a little closer to where I’m sitting.
