Sitting around the shack all weekend long reminded me why I had left Scotland in the first place.
It was lucky I had the memories of Lew’s and my shared breakfast, and the pictures and videos, to keep me busy on Saturday. It pissed down all day, so staying inside was a given.The shack was cold and damp, and I bundled up in multiple layers. Wrapped in a fluffy blanket, I curled up on the couch with my laptop and worked all day.
I’d given up trying to light a fire in the grate after three or four failed attempts. It had been over nine years since I’d last needed that knowledge. My brain clearly hadn’t seen it as important enough to keep it somewhere I could access it again.
Fuck.
I didn’t want to call Lew. He’d already sacrificed two days to my antics this week.
Let him have a break.
It was mild enough on Sunday so I could actually go for a walk and not freeze.
That’s the spirit, Bright. Celebrating the small wins.
I’d hurried past the two cars parked in front of the main house. My parents hadn’t given me any details about the people who rented their home, and I wasn’t even sure I wanted to meet them.
My heart rate slowed when I headed towards the hills. Damn. My brain had forgotten about another thing: Scotland’s wild, raw beauty. It was breathtaking.
I walked a trail that I had loved as a child, past the spot where we’d gone swimming all those years ago. Before my mind’s eye, I could see Ollie dozing in the shade, and Lewis and me splashing in the shallow pool a little upstream from the small waterfall. I entered the forest that lined the riverbanks and climbed up a small hill. Damn, it had looked so much bigger to twelve-year-old me. This had been our entire world.
I could see myself lying on the flat rock next to the burn, drying in the sun.
I want to marry you, Noah.
I let out a little huff, sniffed, and turned away.
No need to get sentimental about the past.
My feet carried me to the McBride family farm. Damn, I hadn’t visited there since Mom and Dad had last taken us to the pumpkin patch. Their son Hunter was a couple years older than me. If I remembered correctly—and that was never a given with my brain—he’d been in Ollie and Lew’s year at school.
I wonder if the pumpkin patch is still a thing.
Cars lined the street leading to the farm, with more parked in a field. A happy family climbed out of a tiny car, all of them with curly hair. The woman was heavily pregnant.
“Edgar, wait for us! There could be more cars coming.” The man sprinted after the small child, snatching it off the ground and setting it on his shoulders.
What a cute family.
We greeted each other as all of us set off down the muddy path to the pumpkin patch. Childhood memories surfaced.
Little me stumbling over a pumpkin. Ollie helping me up and trying to get the mud off my clothes. My mum telling him off because I got myself dirty.
My heart squeezed in my chest. He’d been a kid, just like me. It wasn’t his fault that he always had to take responsibility.
No wonder he doesn’t like me anymore.
I turned away and crossed the patch to a small stall where they sold hot drinks and sweet treats.
The guy behind the counter turned around, and I didn’t have to see the long, thick snake’s tail curling behind him to recognise Hunter McBride.
“Hello, what can I get you?” he asked, then contemplated me. “Hey, I know you. You’re Ollie’s younger brother, right?”
“Yes, hi, Hunter. It’s good to see you again.”
Holy. Shit.
Hunter McBride had had aseriousglow up. He was way taller than a human and quite handsome. He had a finely cut face with high cheekbones, and dark, almond shaped eyes. Sleek, shinyblack hair fell into his brow with the casual elegance someone like me would never achieve.
