‘Considering I was born a girl and Murray has all the added benefits of being a bro in a bros world?’
Roz held Ally in a firm gaze. ‘I cannae argue that he hasn’t had the breaks.’
‘Do you think it’s just luck?’ Ally appealed.
‘I think we make our own luck, but he has put himself out there, and doors have opened for him.’
Ally knew anything she said now would come out in a whine and that was not what she wanted.
She’d put herself out there too. At first. Before it all got so hard and suddenly every place advertising any living wage job was inundated with a thousand qualified applicants.
And it hadn’t only been Ally feeling the hard bite of reality. It was a generational thing, she’d concluded, especially if you lived in a picturesque tourist spot like this where local houses that had once belonged to families were now snapped up as extortionate second homes and Airbnbs, and the difficulty getting mortgages without a humungous deposit meant loads of people her age had lost out on opportunities that her parents’ generation had.
In an incredible stroke of generosity, Roz McIntyre had inherited the mill house from her grandmother. Ally often wondered how much it would be worth these days, but since her mum never showed any interest in finding out, Ally wasn’t going to ask. She was simply glad she had a place to stay, and a lovely historic place at that.
It hadn’t escaped Ally’s notice, however, that recently people her age from Cairn Dhu had been getting promotions or going on holidays, or were organising their hen and stag dos. Some were even moving into homes with proper gardens, starting businesses, and having kids.
Why wasn’t she moving on, she wanted to know? Hadn’t she worked hard enough? Hadn’t she put herself out there with Gray? She’d tried. What did the world want from her before she could level up too?
Murray popped his head around the kitchen door. ‘Mind if I hop online and catch up with some work? Sorry I can’t help in the shed today. You know I’d love to.’
He pulled up a chair at the kitchen table, switching on an expensive-looking black tablet thing that opened like origami and propped itself up as if by magic.
He threw a wink at his sister, out of sight of Roz at the dishwasher, before tapping away soundlessly at the screen.
‘I’ll bet you’re devastated to miss out on checking toddler bikes’ innertubes,’ said their mother knowingly, but nevertheless kissing Murray on the head as she made for the door. ‘Come on then, Ally Cat,’ she said, taking her daughter’s hand. ‘Let’s chalk up some repairs; see if we can’t get to the one thousand mark this weekend.’
With a fixed smile, Ally left her brother to his work and made her way out into the damp summer Saturday morning.
6
‘Nobody?’ asked McIntyre, incredulous.
‘Not a soul,’ confirmed Sachin, looking out onto the repair shop’s driveway where the drizzle was turning into heather-and-ozone-scented rain.
Cary Anderson, in a dark slouchy linen suit and braces over a buttoned-up summer shirt, glanced from the McIntyres to the Gifford sisters stationed behind their piled cairn of unsold rock cakes. ‘The news’s put them off comin’,’ he whispered, and for once everyone caught his words.
Ally organised her screwdrivers on her workbench. The neon sign had been aglow for three quarters of an hour and the doors propped open, but not one client had come in. This was all deeply unusual, even on a drizzly Saturday.
‘And no Willie and Peaches either,’ said Roz, all by herself at the sewing station.
‘Ah! Here we go!’ Sachin announced chirpily, and everyone watched as a lone figure stepped inside clutching a carrier bag rolled tightly at the top with both hands. It was the young Special Constable, moisture caught in his dark hair.
The sight set off an odd instinct in Ally. Her nervous system sent a burst of chemicals through her, fizzling like a firework upon seeing the appealing shape of him and the placid expression on his face. Before she even knew it had happened, she heard her voice gasping sharply, ‘Jamie.’
It seemed to reverberate round the shed, startling a pigeon who’d been sleeping amongst the dusty beams. It made her parents, the Gifford sisters and Sachin all snap their heads towards her in surprise, then their eyes flitted between one another. She caught their smirks, followed by expressions hastily re-arranged into neutrality. Even Jamie must have noticed them suddenly pretending to be far too busy to deal with him themselves.
‘Uh…’ Ally tried to recover herself, pulling her eyes away from the sheen of light summer rain on tanned cheekbones. ‘Do you need something?’
He crossed the shed floor, stopping just before her workbench. She was only now realising that at some point in the last few seconds she’d automatically got to her feet too. Why were all her systems going haywire?
They observed one another.
She flatly refused to speak again until he’d spat out some words. Any words. But he was oddly starry-eyed. She held firm.
After a gulp, he blurted, ‘You look nice in green.’
‘Oh!’ Bewilderment mixed with delight.
