Had he really? The way he remembered it was pretty hazy, but that had less to do with the alcohol still in his system and more to do with what it had felt like kissing Ally McIntyre.
It came back to him now. The faintest memory of the soft scratches of her short fingernails as she caressed his neck, both her hands at his throat, her fingertips moving over the shorn areas of his short back and sides like she’d loved the feel of him there. She’d done it a few times, each time letting her fingers tangle in the longer hair at his crown, her touch setting off dizzy sensations. He’d ran his hands along her arms until he could hold her hands in place back there, their fingers lacing in his hair…
‘You were with young Allyson McIntyre, am I right?’
‘Yes, sir.’ He snapped out of the memory. Was he really in trouble over this?
‘A key witness in a robbery investigation.’
Yep, he was in trouble.
‘That’s correct, sir. It was her who made the ID, positively linking the woman…’
‘Special Constable Beaton. An off duty, voluntary officer cannot and should not follow any suspect on foot, especially while under the influence of alcohol.’
Jamie lowered his head. ‘Is it only the drinking that’s the problem, sir?’
Edwyn’s jaw jutted. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Was I wrong to be out with one of the McIntyres, sir?’
Edwyn searched for an answer, grumbling as he thought. ‘Well, there’s no especial rule against socialising with members of your own community, of course.’
‘But dating someone?’
‘Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem.’ Edwyn must have seen it on his face, the hope. ‘Except in this case, Allyson is, as you yourself acknowledge, an identifying witness.’
‘Right.’ Jamie’s shoulders dropped. He tried to sit straight again but couldn’t quite draw himself up.
‘Discretion has always been an important quality in a trainee officer,’ Edwyn began, a touch of sympathy and condescension in his voice.
‘Yes, sir.’ Where was this going? Was he saying it was OK to see Ally if he was discreet about it? How exactly would that work? Sneaking about? Keeping it secret?
‘That’s all,’ said Edwyn.
‘Oh.’ How could that be all? Where was the advice? The dating line drawn to help Jamie maintain the Thin Blue Line of authority and respectability?
‘Dismissed.’
He was on his feet. ‘Yes, sir.’ With more questions than answers, Jamie made for the door. ‘Sir?’ He turned. ‘We’ll search for that woman with the black eye?’
‘You won’t,’ Edwyn answered. ‘The Mason brothers are abreast of the latest intel. Let’s leave it in their capable hands.’ Edwyn’s mouth drew into a thin smile before he sat down at his computer to get on with his important work.
Crestfallen, Jamie left the room and made his way into the office area where Andrew was busy working on a screen. They didn’t acknowledge his arrival so he sat at the empty desk and waited to be assigned a job to do, thinking long and hard how, with one kiss, a few drinks and an ill-considered foot chase, he may well have blown the good opinion of Edwyn and the entire application process to become a regular officer.
14
While the gale raged on all the next day, bringing chilly, whipping rain in from the east, everyone in Cairn Dhu stayed close to home. The shops didn’t open and the buses didn’t run. A few phone and power lines were brought down by toppling ancient trees. Nobody dared set foot on the mountains. Chimney smoke from the remotest crofters’ cottages spread sparsely across the range where it was whipped up and away in the winds. The birds hid in the hedgerows and heathers. Everywhere fell quiet except for the heavy gusts beating at the windows.
Jamie hadn’t called Ally. Her brother hadn’t replied to her text. Her friends hadn’t acknowledged any of her comments on their socials from days ago. Her mum and dad were watching TV, cuddled up on the sofa, enjoying the chance to stop and relax. Ally’s work systems were down, so she couldn’t even do her day job. Everyone seemed to have somewhere to shelter and something to do, except for her.
The hiatus of the gales gave Ally time to think. One thing she wasn’t going to do was slip back into her dark mood of late spring. She’d come too far for that and, yes, having an incredible time with Jamie was partly responsible for the great big boost of confidence and adrenalin she’d been surfing, but she had also gone a long way towards turning a corner on her own too.
Seeing Gray and Laura had helped. She’d faced the moment she’d dreaded since the break-up and, to her surprise, upon seeing him there in the club, gangly and oblivious, being dumped by Gray hadn’t felt like a huge loss, a thorn in her heart, or even a devastating betrayal, any more. He’d looked, well, kind of grey. The hold he’d had on her was gone, those big desperate feelings she’d nurtured for him sapped of all their strength and colour.
Laura was welcome to him: welcome to his long monologues about his work, his bland taste in practically everything from food to fashion. She was welcome to his shifty ways. Ally tried and failed to remember one interesting thing she’d ever heard come from his mouth. She must have been in a bad place, wanting to tie herself to someone like that for life.
Sure, spending time with Jamie might well have helped her reach this realisation quicker (the contrast between the two men could not be starker), but the curious little buoyant feeling within her was her own doing.
