“Go, Daddy!” Kenna cried.
“Go, Weston!” Aisling cried. The two of them kept cheering, trying to out-shriek each other. I had to cover my ears at one point.
“Did they win?” Aisling asked breathlessly when it was all over.
“They certainly didn’t lose,” Lena said diplomatically, which seemed to please Aisling.
“I never fail to be amazed at how many of them attempt this race after multiple pints,” Jo said, walking up next to us, shaking her head.
There were still several contestants lying face down on the ground in the field, surrounded by their friends, the lot of them doubled over with laughter. “Don’t worry,” I said. “I’ve got plenty of that on camera.”
“Can’t wait to review those photos later,” Jo said. “Anyway, I came to collect Locke. I need him at the judging tent. Figured he’d be out there with Weston and Alistair.”
I rubbed at my forehead, fighting the spark of irritation. I was getting really sick of having to tell people I had no idea where Locke was. I’d thought for sure he’d be here by now. Bad enough that he’d missed time with me last night, breakfast at Lochbrae,all the setup,andthe kilted dash. But the haggis judging was the one thing he’d actually signed himself up to do! As fanatical as he was about being responsible, I never would have imagined he’d miss that.
“He was driving up this morning,” I told Jo. “I really thought he would have been here by now.”
Jo’s face fell. “I sure hope he didn’t get stuck behind that accident on the motorway coming out of Edinburgh. Sounds like things are pretty backed up there.”
Accident?My heart lurched uncomfortably. “What accident?”
“Some bloody produce truck overturned on the motorway about an hour ago,” Jo said. “Potatoes everywhere. The news is that no one was seriously injured. They’re already making a farce of the entire thing.”
“Potatoes!” Kenna and Aisling cried at once before breaking into giggles.
“They’re going to be cleaning up that mess for hours,” Jo said. “I don’t think anyone’s getting out of there any time soon.”
I pressed my hand to my temple, grimacing. If Locke was stuck in the traffic behind the overturned truck, that meant he’d left even later than he’d said he would. I whipped out my phone to message him, finding a text. I hadn’t even heard it come through with all of Aisling and Kenna’s shrieking during the race.
“Is that from him?” Lena asked, setting Kenna down and taking her hand.
I read it quickly. “Yeah, he says the motorway basically looks like a car park, and he doesn’t know when it’s going to clear up.”
Jo sighed. “Bested by potatoes. Guess I better look for someone else to cover his judging duties.”
“I’m so sorry, Jo,” I said, genuinely feeling horrible as I responded to Locke, telling him to drive safe.
“Well, don’t look at me,” Lena said as Jo’s head snapped in her direction. “I did the haggis tasting last year, and we all remember how that went.”
“I can do it!” Aisling insisted, blinking up at Jo with wide, eager eyes.
“Sweetheart,” Lena hedged, “I don’t think you’re going to like most of it.”
“It’s a lot of food,” Jo said, intrigued by the idea. “You think you can handle it?”
Aisling nodded solemnly. “I’m starving, I promise.”
“You just ate a cookie,” I pointed out.
Lena rolled her eyes as Jo reached for Aisling’s hand. “This isn’t going to go well, Jo,” she warned. “She’ll just end up spitting everything out.”
Jo smirked. “It’s good to shake things up a little.Andkeep everyone honest. I’ve long suspected some of the contestants are buying their votes.”
“Now this I’ve got to see,” I said, deliberately choosing to set my frustration aside. So what if Locke was stuck on the motorway? Why should that stop me from enjoying myself? I followed them all toward the judging tent, prepared to take one hundred photos of Aisling wrinkling her nose at everyone’s dishes.
As we approached, I could smell honey-glazed pork, and my stomach grumbled. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be a taste tester, but I sure as hell couldn’t wait to get my hands on one of the fancy sausage rolls being sold by the Highland Sausage Company.
“Hello, love!”
