Brodie had been kissed before, many times, and lots of those times he had really enjoyed himself, but this was on another level and he never wanted it to stop.
Thistle barked and Lettie jumped away from him. ‘What’s the matter?’ she said bending down to check the dog was all right. She looked up. ‘I think he’s OK.’
Brodie hoped Thistle wouldn’t make a habit of ruining kisses with Lettie, if indeed he was lucky enough to have any more. ‘I think he just didn’t like the attention being taken from him.’
Lettie stood again. ‘You could be right.’ She stared at him for a moment, then indicated the living room. ‘Should we eat something before it gets cold?’
Brodie nodded. He had lost his appetite and would much rather stay in the kitchen with her and kiss her again, but sharing hissupper and spending the evening with Lettie was still a very welcome option compared to sitting alone in front of the television, watching something he’d already seen many times.
They ate in silence for a little while until Thistle came through to the living room and made himself comfortable on the rug in front of the unlit fireplace. Brodie saw Lettie shiver and realised it was cooler now that the sun had gone down. Not wishing to give her any reason to want to leave too soon, he stood.
‘Is something the matter?’ Lettie asked her fork halfway to her mouth.
‘I thought I’d light the fire.’
‘Please don’t worry on my account.’
Brodie had to think quickly. ‘I don’t want you to be cold but when you just shivered then it made me think that maybe Thistle could do with a bit of warming up. It won’t take a moment anyway and I love having a fire going, don’t you?’
‘I do. It’s so rom—’ She glanced at her plate, and without looking up again, said, ‘So calming.’
‘It is.’
Could she possibly like him as much as he liked her?
Her mobile rang interrupting his thoughts.
Lettie took it from her pocket, then seeing the name on the screen gave Brodie an apologetic smile. ‘Sorry, I’m going to have to get this.’
‘Hi. Joe?’ Lettie laughed, clearly surprised by something. ‘Sorry, I had no idea you were the one who does the shearing. Talk about a man of many talents.’
Not wanting to appear to be listening to her conversation, Brodie busied himself by taking the kindling and began setting the fire, then lighting it. He wondered what exactly there might be between Lettie and Joe. Handsome, charismatic, confident Joe. So different-seeming to himself. His joy in their evening so fardissipated when it occurred to him that maybe she had only reacted to his kiss so that he didn’t humiliate himself yet again. She was such a kind-hearted girl, he knew that much about her. He thought about how she had rescued Thistle and taken him to the surgery and then his cottage so Brodie could check the dog was unhurt. Maybe it was the sort of thing she would do. His mood dropped but not wishing to make her feel uncomfortable, he finished lighting the fire.
‘Yes, come up whenever you’re free. The alpacas will be waiting.’
He wondered if she would be too and immediately pushed the thought away, annoyed with himself for being jealous. ‘There we are,’ Brodie said going to wash his hands, wincing as he dried his burnt fingers with too much vigour. He returned to the living room and sat back down at the small table.
‘You’re right,’ Lettie said finishing her food and sitting back in her chair. ‘It is lovely with a fire burning.’
‘It helps the room look more welcoming too.’
She cocked her head in Thistle’s direction. ‘Someone is making full use of it.’
Brodie saw her look down at the dog stretched out in front of the fire on the rug.
‘He does appear very at home already,’ she said. ‘He doesn’t seem much like a street dog.’
He hadn’t come across any of those on the island. ‘I didn’t realise there were stray dogs here. I’ve not seen any.’
Lettie considered the question. ‘Nor have I, actually, but I know there are some feral cats because the supermarket down the road collects tins of food from shoppers and someone goes out to feed them.’
He was relieved to hear it. ‘Then Thistle must belong to someone. We just need to find out who he needs to be reacquainted with.’
‘I’ll be sad to say goodbye to him.’ Lettie pulled a face and leant forward to stroke the snoozing dog.
‘So will I,’ Brodie admitted.
He wasn’t sure if it was having company in the cottage for once or having a dog snoring by the fire but the place felt like a home to him for the first time since he had arrived, and he rather liked it. ‘I think that when I’ve found Thistle’s owners I might look into rehoming a rescue. I’d like the company.’
