Page 51 of A Scottish Country Escape

Dexter had steepled his long fingers together. ‘Why are you doing this, Elle? Why are you helping me?’

My heart juddered and I placed the pen on top of my notebook. ‘You know why.’

‘Do I?’

‘I’m doing this as a favour to my grandmother.’

‘And that’s the only reason?’

My fingers scrambled for my pen again in my lap. ‘What other reason could there be?’

He sank back in his chair, his bold gaze refusing to leave my lips. ‘You tell me.’

I cleared my throat, searching around for something witty and decisive to say, but my increasing frustration was starting to reveal itself. It had started off like that – as a favour to my grandmother – but the longer this went on, the more I realised I wanted to help Dexter. I wanted to be around him; to forget about all my protestations about not getting romantically involved with anyone again, after Lloyd and my insistence that I would never open up my heart to another man again. Something was happening and I felt as though I was at a loss to stop it. Perhaps I didn’t want to.

The flurry of colour in my face made Dexter stare at me harder.

‘Do you know what I think?’ he said after a considered pause.

My breath stuck in the base of my throat. I couldn’t drag my eyes away from him.

But then haunting images of the hurt and disappointment Lloyd had inflicted reared up again. The way I had assumed he would support me when my parents died, only for him to turn his back on me when I needed him most. Shit. I had to get a grip of my emotions here. What was I doing? What was I thinking? I’d promised myself I wouldn’t allow myself to go through all that again. and yet here I was, teetering right on the edge. I was the only one capable of stopping this.

I cleared my throat. ‘I think we should concentrate on finding Linda Carlucci.’

Dexter’s black lashes blinked at me from across the desk. ‘Right. Yes. Of course.’ He paused, watching me, but all I offered, despite my internal turmoil, was a friendly smile. ‘So, what about the wording for this ad?’

I was grateful to turn my attention back to my notebook. This was for the best. Whenever I loved someone, I seemed to lose them in the end or they let me down. I focused hard on my notes. I would be saving myself from more heartache in the long run. ‘I also thought about having a broadcast put out on local radio.’

‘Do you think it could work?’ asked Dexter.

‘I think it stands a great chance and anything is worth a try.’

I leant forward, rolling my glittery silver pen between my fingers. ‘Someone must know something about where she lives now and all we need is one small lead to kick things off.’ My thoughts gathered enthusiasm. ‘I think we’ll need to use these same mediums to protect the nature reserve.’

Dexter sat back in his chair and appraised me.

I narrowed my eyes at him. ‘What is it?’

‘Nothing,’ he said through a small smile. ‘Nothing.’

Chapter Thirty-Two

‘He’s offering how much?!’ choked Cate the next morning.

I repeated the amount of the reward Dexter was putting up for locating Linda Carlucci.

Cate shook her corkscrew curls in disbelief. ‘Bloody hell!’ She turned her attention back to unpacking a new delivery we had received of photo frames decorated with dried twigs and leaves.

‘What can I say? He’s desperate.’

Paper Roses was gilded now with watery summer sunshine. It lay across the floorboards like a gold cloak.

Cate took a step backwards in her red and white trainers and admired the display of frames she was arranging on the shelf. ‘And saving the reserve? What’s the latest on that?’

I folded my arms and explained that as well as contacting our local MP and the regional media, I was going to run a photography competition on the Paper Roses website for the best picture of the reserve and have it printed up into a greetings card to sell in the shop.

I was also going to put up protest posters, sell badges with ‘I Heart Nature’ which one of Gran’s local artist friends was organising, and speak to the other businesses along the street to see if they would also be willing to get involved. ‘I also wondered if the likes of the garden centre would give a contribution from all proceeds of their tree sales and publicly support us too.’ I pulled a horrified face. ‘If this fight becomes protracted, we will need money for a court case.’