Page 81 of A Scottish Lighthouse Escape

I gazed up at him, my eyes imploring. ‘Please don’t report her. She didn’t mean to cause any trouble. She wasn’t thinking.’

‘Rosie, I’m the local lighthouse keeper.’

‘And I know there’s a heart beating in there, otherwise you wouldn’t have thrown yourself into the water to save her.’ Without thinking, I pushed out one hand, thrust it under his open coat and rested it on his chest. I could feel his warm skin through his jumper and the throb of his heart. ‘And you are a selfless, kind man who thinks of others. Just look at all the things you’ve done for me.’

Mitch’s gaze followed my hand and rested on it.

My eyes drifted to where my hand was on his chest. Oh shit! What was I doing?

I yanked it away as though I’d just received a third-degree burn. ‘Come on, Mitch.’

He pushed a hand through his wet black curls. ‘Do you know where the boat she purloined is now?’

Rhea had heard. The two paramedics were gathering up their equipment and about to escort her back up towards the ambulance and to hospital. ‘It’s just past Raven’s Rock, so not far.’

Mitch sighed, defeated. He gazed down at me from under his wet curls and nodded. ‘Okay. I’ll jump in my boat now and go and retrieve it.’

Rhea let out a relieved breath. She took Mitch’s hand and clasped it in her freckled one. ‘Thank you. The next time you come into the corner shop, you get your stubby beers on the house.’

Mitch dismissed the paramedics’ requests to check him over. I insisted that I’d return him to his accommodation and make sure he had a hot shower and thawed out.

We watched the three figures of Rhea and the two paramedics in their dark green outfits make their way back up the path and to the ambulance. ‘Thank you,’ I smiled up at him.

‘For what?’

‘For not dobbing her in it.’

Mitch shook his head, exasperated. ‘I must be losing my mind.’

I took a long look at him. I think I was too.

* * *

Mitch took his boat, went to retrieve the one Rhea had borrowed, and brought it back to the bay.

As soon as he left the snow-battered bay behind and returned to the warmth of his accommodation, he thawed himself out for a few minutes in front of the orange, crackling fire. ‘I’ll go grab a shower in a minute and put on some fresh, dry clothes.’

I promised myself I wouldn’t dwell on images of Mitch in the shower. ‘And I’ve just made a fresh pot of tea.’

Mitch’s features were bathed in the warm crackle from his fire.

‘So, you managed to locate the boat that Rhea borrowed?’

‘Aye. It wasn’t that far out and was floating just a few feet away from Raven’s Rock, like she said. I tied it to mine and brought it back to the harbour.’

‘Thank you,’ I smiled gratefully at him. ‘What about the boat’s owner?’

‘He had no idea it had gone missing.’ He flicked me a look. ‘Old Arty, one of the fishing guys, told me who owned it. Some guy called Tam Love. Told him I’d spotted it floating. Must’ve got free in the storm.’

‘Thank you again,’ I said. ‘Really.’ I blushed. ‘You gave me such a scare,’ I told him, as we studied one another.

‘Why was that?’

‘Because you charged off into the water and I didn’t know what had happened to you.’

‘All part of the job, ma’am,’ he joked.

‘Please don’t be flippant.’ I heard my voice crack.

‘Rosie. What is it?’ His face was brimming with concern.

The thought came to me in a blinding panic that something could have happened to Mitch today, someone else I cared about. I couldn’t go through that again. I’d had enough of it. Living on a knife edge all over again. Expecting the worst to happen. Waiting for them to be stolen away from me. I realised as I processed these emotions, that I wasn’t so much thinking about Joe but about my parents and grandparents.

I shook my head and forced my mouth into a smile. ‘Nothing, I’m fine. Just cold.’ I was doing it again, allowing my feelings for Mitch to start to bubble. I gestured to his tea. ‘Now go grab a shower, enjoy the tea and if you need anything, you know where I am.’

Then I grabbed my coat and left.