Page 77 of A Scottish Highland Hideaway

Sorry to jump in, but what Betty said is unfortunately true. Zach Stern is no longer a reporter on that paper.

My sister’s best friend works in another department there and she heard he was let go – some sort of misconduct breach.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news,

Harry D

I shot forward and read over the messages again. Misconduct breach?

But why? What was he supposed to have done?

I sank back against my sofa, letting this sink in.

I leant forward again and scrawled through the next few pages on my laptop screen, but there was no more mention of Zach or why the newspaper had let him go.

If this was true, what on earth had he done that had led to the newspaper dismissing him?

I chewed the inside of my mouth.

If Zach had committed a sackable offence, then that would explain a lot. It would explain why he was so evasive about his personal life and career move to Stargazer, and it would explain why he was so closed off when I asked him anything.

The more I thought about it all, the more it was starting to make sense. That must have been why Zach quit his life in London and came up to Scotland. Whatever had happened at the London Inquirer he wanted to leave behind. I wasn’t the only one trying to escape a previous life. Ezra King, and now Zach, too…

Was becoming a gossip columnist Zach’s way of trying to move on after his dismissal from that newspaper? It still seemed an odd choice for him, and it still left me wondering why he was let go.

I picked up my mobile from the coffee table and stared down at the dark screen for a moment. I’d no idea what I was planning to say, but the desire to speak to Zach was too irresistible a force to ignore.

My breathing galloped harder as I pulled up his number and dialled. I waited for him to answer, but he didn’t pick up. I frowned as it went straight to voicemail.

I moved to say something and stopped. What to say? I would have to admit that I had been stalking him online because only a deep dive had revealed this. When I had googled him previously, none of this had come up on the first few pages of results.

He probably didn’t want to speak to me anyway.

I opened and closed my mouth a few times, desperate to say something coherent. In the end, I hung up.

I peered at the clock on my laptop screen. It was coming up for 8pm.

Still clutching my mobile, I returned to my contacts page and sought out Mum’s number. Her regal-looking image loomed at me on the screen while I waited for her to pick up.

I couldn’t control whatever was happening with my feelings for Zach, but I could do something about helping Ezra. It would also keep me busy and my mind occupied.

I still felt conflicted about Jacob and Samuel now that she’d told me she’d essentially paid them to do a disappearing act. The least Mum could do in return was help me with this.

The beginning of the call was stilted. We both danced around one another. But once I assured her that I hadn’t revealed anything to Marcus about Samuel accepting the money, things seemed to thaw between us. No sooner had I mentioned the words Ezra King, party, and Bannock House in the same sentence, Mum was salivating down the line. There was one point where I thought she was about to spontaneously combust.

“But of course, sweetie!” she gasped. “You assure Mr King he’s more than welcome to hold his gathering here.”

“Right. Good. Thanks, Mum. I’ll ring Ezra now and confirm that with him.” I paused. “He’s asked me to do the floral arrangements for his house and for the party.”

There were a few beats of silence. “Seriously? You?”

I rolled my eyes heavenwards. “Yes, Mum. Me. Your florist daughter. Flower Power. As shocking as that might sound.”

* * *

“Then everything’s good to go,” Ezra said when I rang him moments later and told him about my Mum almost biting my hand off about staging his do at our family home. “At least that will give me something to look forward to, after all this debacle with my autobiography. And no one should need an excuse for a little party!” He hesitated. “Now, you’re sure you feel up to supplying me with flowers for my house and for my do on Hogmanay?”

I reassured him. “I want to keep busy, so I don’t dwell on what a mess I’ve made of everything.” I sighed as thoughts of Zach took hold again.