Page 57 of A Highland Family Affair

Olivia chewed her lip nervously but reminded herself how well Brodie knew Ben Blair since he had been spending more time up there. ‘I’m sure he won’t be long.’

‘Bloody hell, where did that rain come from?’ a soaking wet Kerr said as he appeared in the kitchen doorway with an equally drenched Sir Lancelot. ‘I didn’t even take a coat and now look at me.’ He gestured to the clothes that were sticking to his frame like papier mâché.

‘You’re dripping all over my clean floor!’ Mirren said as she walked towards him, gesturing her hands in a shooing motion for him to move. ‘Go get dried off. I’ve made coffee for when you come back down.’

Kerr grinned. ‘Any chance of a nice hot chocolate for your favourite bad apple?’

Mirren rolled her eyes. ‘There’s always one awkward so-and-so. Get on with you. I’ll make you a hot chocolate.’

He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. ‘You’re the best, Mirry.’

‘Bleurgh! Away and get dry, you soggy lout!’ Mirren wiped at her now damp face with her hand.

Olivia looked on, amused at the scene before her. She poured a coffee and turned to peer out of the window, but the glass was blurred with the rain beating at it, all she could make out were the trees bending severely in the gusts of wind that had joined the storm. She sat at the table and dropped a text to Brodie in case he was back in a place where he could get signal; she knew it was sketchy up Ben Blair at the best of times but guessed it would be much worse during a storm of this magnitude.

There was no reply.

Dougie arrived at half past six. ‘It’s blowing an absolute hoolie out there, I was almost blown of my feet. I reckon there’s going to be more damage to contend with.’ He shook his head. ‘Are you still making stovies, love?’ he asked before kissing his wife on the forehead.

‘Aye. Have you heard from Brodie? We thought he’d be back by now but no sign.’

Dougie’s brow crumpled. ‘Brodie? No, why, where’s he gone?’

‘He went up to Ben Blair to carry on mapping out the last trail for his new book,’ Olivia told him. ‘Went this morning and said he’d be back by sundown at the latest.’

Dougie nodded thoughtfully and Olivia thought she saw concern in his wrinkled forehead. As if he realised what she was thinking, he brightened quickly. ‘Ah, right. He probably got caught in the downpour and holed up to take shelter. There’re a few caves up there so he’s probably waiting it out. He’ll be back afore ye know it, lassie. Dinnae fash.’ He patted her shoulder.

Olivia knew she was probably worrying over nothing but decided to keep herself occupied so went along to the drawing room with a book to sit by the fireplace.

She had been sitting for a while but had found herself reading the same page over and over, unable to concentrate. A churning in her gut told her something wasn’t right. She stared at the flames dancing around the logs and kindling in the grate and was only pulled back to reality when Kerr poked his head around the door. ‘Hey, sis, mind if we join you? Warmest room in the castle and all that.’

She smiled, happy that he seemed keen to spend time in her company lately. ‘Not at all. Come on in.’

Kerr and a rather fluffy, puffball version of Sir Lancelot walked over to the sofas. Kerr sat opposite her while Sir Lancelot curled up in front of the fire.

‘He looks full of static,’ Olivia said with a giggle at the dog, which seemed to have doubled in size.

‘Aye, I may have gone overboard rubbing him down with the towel, but I had to make sure he was completely dry; didn’t want to suffer the wrath of Mirren,’ he replied with wide eyes and a laugh. ‘No news from Brodie yet?’

Olivia shook her head. ‘Nothing. I’m getting worried now, Kerr. It’s almost eight o’clock. It’s dark enough thanks to the weather but the sun has already started going down. It’ll be totally dark soon.’

Kerr’s eyes filled with concern. ‘Let’s give it a little longer and if there’s still no word, I’ll go out looking. Dougie will no doubt come too. No point heading out if he’s just sheltering from the rain.’ As he finished speaking, there was loud crack of thunder and the lights flickered before extinguishing, leaving them with only the amber glow from the fireplace. A loud creaking noise followed and then a kind of thwump.

With a pounding heart, Olivia scrambled for her phone and switched on the torch. ‘Shit. This is one hell of a storm, Kerr. And Brodie’s still out there in it. We’ll have to do something.’

Kerr leaned forward so she could make out his features. ‘Hey, he’s an experienced hiker with all the right equipment and he knows that mountain like the back of his hand these days. He’ll be home, don’t worry.’

Mirren appeared at the door with a lit candle. ‘Bloody storms. There’s a damn tree down across the driveway. We’re blocked in.’

‘Blocked in? Oh, no!’ Olivia pulled herself to the edge of her seat and Sir Lancelot rushed to her side, resting his head on her lap.

‘Aye, Dougie was going to head out to search for Brodie, but I don’t know what he’ll do now.’ Worry etched lines on Mirren’s face. ‘I rang the power company from my mobile and they’ve said it could be a while before electricity’s restored. I don’t like the thought of Brodie trying to find his way home in the dark.’

Olivia’s heart palpitated; if Dougie was worried, that meant there was something to actually worry about. ‘What are we going to do?’ It was a rhetorical question but Kerr stood.

‘Mirren, tell Dougie to join me outside. Looks like my chainsaw is about to get some use.’

They all made their way to the foyer, where Dougie and Kerr pulled on coats and boots. Mirren tugged open the door and to their horror Marley was standing there, whining and shivering, soaked through to the skin and the lead still attached to his harness.