AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Aaah!” Effy picked up her own glass, tilting her arm with the obvious intent of tossing the contents into her brother’s face.
Rob set his down with a click, pointed a finger at his sister, and said, “Dinnae,” in a voice as calm as the loch on a windless night beneath the moon.
Effy’s glare became even more evil, but she didnae.
Rob’s movement pulled up the long sleeve of his shirt, revealing the tattoo of a flipper on his wrist.
“Hi,” Kris said.
The two turned their heads at the exact same time, with the exact same tilt. However, Effy’s face welcomed Kris even before she saw who it was, while Rob’s held no expression at all.
Kris pointed at Rob’s wrist. “Can I see?”
Rob glanced down, then yanked the cuff of his shirt over the tattoo.
“It—uh—looks like a duck,” she said.
“If it looks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck,” he took a hearty draw on his ale, “then it must be a duck.”
Did that mean it was a duck?
“There are a lot of tattoos in Drumnadrochit,” Kris observed.
“Is that so?” Effy asked. “Who else?”
Kris’s gaze lowered to Effy’s breast, but when she lifted her eyes Effy still appeared only mildly curious. Kris didn’t have the guts to ask about hers. Perhaps it had been a bruise.
“Jamaica has a snake on her ankle,” Kris blurted. “And Alan Mac has a…” She paused. Line wasn’t very descriptive.
“Never mind,” Kris said. What difference did it make if everyone in Drumnadrochit had a tattoo? It didn’t mean anything except the village had a high tolerance for body art.
“Join us!” Effy cooed.
Rob continued to drink.
“Actually, I’m … meeting someone,” Kris said. “I just wanted to ask—”
“Ye’ve got a man friend already?” Effy clapped her hands over her apple cheeks. “How lovely.”
“Mebe she’s got a woman friend,” Rob muttered.
Effy let one hand fall back to her pint, where she caressed the glass thoughtfully, and glared. Rob continued to drink. He didn’t appear worried. Nevertheless, Kris jumped in to smooth things out: “I wanted to ask if you’d fixed the door to the cottage?”
Effy’s face crinkled in confusion, and Kris’s heart took a quick, concerned thud. Then Rob murmured, “Ye think there’s a mad handyman strollin’ through the Highlands, repairin’ whatever he finds broke as he goes?”
Both Effy and Kris glanced at him. Rob took a slow sip of his ale before continuing. “Of course I fixed it.”
“What was wrong with the door?” Effy asked.
“What wasnae?” Rob returned.
“How did you know it was broken?” Kris asked.
“Had a note on me own door this morning.” Now he frowned. “That wasnae from you?”
Kris shook her head. Maybe it had been from—
A mere brush of his fingertips across her arm, and she knew it was him.
