Page 66 of Chasing a Highland Dream

Harris replied through gritted teeth. ‘I’m on duty. I only came to make sure she got to Isla as soon as possible.’

‘She’ll be okay on her own, won’t you, sweetheart?’ Aiden said in a sickly, patronising tone. ‘She’s tough, aren’t you? Tougher than me. I don’t do needles and bleeping and the smell.’ He visibly shivered.

If she hadn’t been so terrified of losing her granny, Bella would have been appalled with his attitude. ‘Forget it, Harris, let’s go, please. I want to see my granny,’ Bella whispered as more tears spilled over.

‘Aye, okay. Thanks for nothing, Aiden,’ Harris said before he turned and held out his arm to Bella. She linked hers through it and they headed to the patrol car parked just in front of the castle.

A crowd of onlookers had gathered, and Brodie stood with Beau’s lead gripped in his hand and a crumple of worry in his brow. ‘Don’t worry about Beau. He’ll be fine with us,’ he told her.

Bella nodded, grateful. The tears cascading down her cheeks had now soaked into her blouse. ‘Thank you, Brodie.’

Bella sat silently staring out of the window as Harris drove her to the hospital. The sky overhead was cloudy now, and the grey matched her mood. Even the water in the loch appeared dull and there was no one around. The distant hills were shrouded in mist, their colours muted by it.

Once they arrived at the hospital, Harris dashed around to her door to let her out of the police car.

‘Come on, I’ll take you straight up. There may be a wait as I don’t know how long she’ll be in surgery.’

She grabbed his arm. ‘Thank you, Harris. I really appreciate this. I really appreciate you.’

He placed his hand on hers and fixed her with a sincere and compassionate gaze. ‘No thanks needed, Bella. Come on.’

They made their way up to the ward and were greeted by a nurse behind the desk. ‘I’m sorry, but she’s still in surgery. She may be a while. Why don’t you go on home and call later?’

Bella’s heart thudded at her ribcage and her throat restricted but she straightened her spine and spoke assertively to the nurse. ‘I’m sorry, no, I won’t go home. I can’t leave. I need to be here. And I’d like an update as soon as possible, please.’

‘But she⁠—’

Bella held up her hand. ‘Will be in surgery for a while, yes, I get that. And I appreciate all you’re doing but I won’t be going anywhere, so please come and inform me when there’s any news.’

The nurse nodded. ‘Of course.’

Harris put a hand on her arm. ‘Look, why don’t we go the café and get a coffee? I can call your mum and dad for you, if you’d like.’

Survival mode kicked in and even though her face was damp with tears, she said, ‘Thank you for the offer, but it’s best if I call them. Although coffee sounds like a good idea.’

Harris nodded and smiled briefly before holding his arm out to gesture he would follow her.

After breaking the news of Isla’s fall to her dad, Bella sat for what felt like hours, staring into her coffee cup. It was still full to the brim. Her mind was assaulted by memories of her granny’s smile and that glint in her eyes. The way she would mix up her words and giggle at things she shouldn’t. The way she’d always looked out for Bella. The way she had clobbered Kerr when he had dared to disrespect her. Her heart sank and she covered her chest with her hand. How would she cope if anything went wrong during the operation? How would she cope without her wonderful, vibrant best friend? She couldn’t bear to think about losing her. It made her heart ache and her eyes sting. Her stomach was one tight knotted ball of emotion, the pain was all too real and she began to replay her last conversation with Isla. Had she told her she loved her? She couldn’t quite remember. She hoped so.

She remembered again about Harris’s interview. She inhaled a deep breath and plastered on a smile, now wasn’t the time to be a damsel in distress. ‘How did it go, at the interview, I mean?’

Harris swallowed hard and a crease appeared between his brows. ‘I’m… erm… I was offered the position.’

Bella stared at the table and squeezed her eyes shut, willing the threatening tears to dissipate. ‘That’s… that’s great news. Well done. When will you be leaving?’

‘There’s a two-month notice period, but…’ He cleared his throat. ‘I haven’t accepted it yet… I’m⁠—’

Bella’s mum, dad and brother, Callum, rushed into the café and over to where she sat. She stood and almost fell into her dad’s arms.

‘Hey, shhh, it’s okay, love. She’s a tough old bird, my mum. Shh, it’s okay.’ He stroked her hair and she sobbed hard into his chest. ‘We’re here now. Shhh.’

Harris stood and greeted them. ‘Isla’s in surgery, it could be a couple of hours yet. We keep checking,’ he informed them.

Bella’s mum reached out and shook his hand. ‘Thank you so much. How do you know Bella?’

‘I know Bella through Isla, actually. Isla and my mum, Maeve, are friends. My mum lives at Sunnyside.’

‘Oh yes,’ Bella’s mum replied. ‘Where the day centre is.’