Page 36 of A Scottish Lighthouse Escape

I examined the man again. I didn’t recognise him, and his name didn’t mean anything to me either. Was he an old friend of Grandma’s? He must be. Glimmers of sadness shimmered through me. ‘Yes, we’re related. I mean, we were. Tilda was my grandmother.’

He gazed at me and back towards the moody water of the bay below us. He turned back to me, his mouth downturned. ‘I’m so sorry for your loss.’ His mouth hinted at a smile. ‘You’re her double when she was your age.’

I found my voice cracking. It was the stunned look in his washed-out, blue-flecked eyes. ‘Thank you.’

Reece’s attention shifted from my hair back to my face. He stood there, gathering his thoughts. ‘When I saw you through the window, I thought for a moment that I might’ve travelled back in time. It was as though I was looking right at her again, after all these years.’ An emboldened colour bloomed in his cheeks. ‘I didn’t mean to scare you. I thought the property would be empty. Sorry, I’m wittering on.’

‘No,’ I assured him. ‘It’s alright. I still expect both of them to come through the door any time.’

I basked in the sudden burst of lemon sunshine drizzling through the clouds. ‘She was married to my grandfather, Howard Michaels, for sixty-five years.’

‘Yes. She told me. Quite an achievement.’

My curiosity was alight. ‘Sorry, Mr Stewart, but how did you know Tilda?’

He sighed, his shoulders sagging. ‘We were close, years ago… Er… Sorry … I didn’t ask your name.’

‘Rosie. Rosie Winters.’

‘Ah. Well, nice to meet you Ms Winters.’ His eyes were soft, sentimental. ‘You use her maiden name?’

‘I’ve always liked it.’ I offered a smile. ‘My original surname was Ward but I’ve gone by Rosie Winters for years now. Please. Just call me Rosie.’

Reece hesitated and shuffled in his coat. ‘Alright. Thank you, Rosie. Call me Reece.’ He fidgeted on the spot. ‘Me and your grandma, we were close once, very close.’

My eyes widened at his inference. What?! When was this? It must have been a long time ago, seeing as Grandma and Grandpa were married for sixty-five years.

There was an expectant hush. I was mentally willing Reece to tell me.

‘I take it from your reaction that she never mentioned me?’

‘Sorry, she didn’t. At least not to me.’

Reece nodded, resigned to the fact. ‘I thought as much. I’d have been surprised if she had, after what happened.’ He set his shoulders. ‘I wouldn’t blame her for not wanting to think about me, after the way I treated her. She didn’t deserve it.’

‘Reece, please tell me what happened. How did you know her?’

Reece looked troubled. He forced a hand through his windswept, collar-length hair, sending it flying back from his forehead. ‘When we were young, Tilda and I were engaged to be married.’