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“Want some hot chocolate?” Logan asked, and she nodded.
As he headed over to a stall selling drinks, Agnes watched the market play out around her. Two rows of stalls, one on each side of the road, sold everything from handmade candles to elaborate cat scratching posts. There were paintings and secondhand books, beautifully turned wooden bowls and odd papier-mâché sculptures, knitted jumpers and quilted blankets. It was a celebration of the Highlands craft makers, and it was wonderful.
“Do you want to tr
y some tablet?” a young woman asked Agnes as she held out a tray of Scotland’s favorite candy.
“Absolutely.” It melted in her mouth, making her groan.
With a knowing smile, the woman moved on, and Agnes wandered over to a stall selling handmade covers for e-books and laptops.
“These are lovely.” Agnes ran her fingers over a beautifully detailed embroidered design.
“Thanks,” the woman said. “I mostly sell them online. You can take a card if you like. I make them to order.”
“You do?” As Agnes picked up the card and stuffed it in her pocket, a kernel of an idea she’d had for a while took root in the back of her mind.
“Here you go,” Logan said as he came up to her. “I got you a sausage roll as well because we don’t want hangry Agnes coming out and decimating the market.”
“Funny.” But she ate the sausage roll and, as they strolled down the high street, she filled her pockets with yet more business cards.
“Look what I got.” Darcy bounced up to them. “I got a spinning top and a cool bag.”
“Very cool,” Logan and Agnes agreed.
“Where’s your brother?” Logan said.
“He’s flirting with Zoe.” She pointed up the street and, sure enough, there was Drew hanging out with a cute young girl. “I’m going to talk to them.” And Darcy ran off.
“Don’t embarrass your brother,” Logan called after her.
“You’re wasting your time,” Agnes told him. “Siblings live for these opportunities.”
With caution and nerves dancing in her stomach, Agnes reached out to take Logan’s hand. Thankfully, he didn’t make a big deal out of it. He just gave her a smile and kept on walking.
“Nice bum,” someone called to Logan as they passed, making Agnes laugh.
Logan felt ten feet tall walking hand in hand with Agnes. He wanted to wrap an arm around her and pull her into his side, but he was aware that his Agnes was cautious—unless she was drunk. Then, she was all about letting her emotions loose.
He wondered if she remembered what song she’d sung to him, and what she’d said after it. How she’d told him she was already falling in love with him, and how it scared the pants off her—her exact words. Glancing down at her as he held her hand tight, it seemed impossible to imagine what he’d do if she kept to her decision to leave. He suspected that getting over Agnes would take a whole lot longer than it’d taken to get over Danielle. Mainly because Danielle had been the love of his youth, and they’d outgrown each other, but Agnes was the choice of the man. And he knew he’d never grow so much that he’d leave her behind.
“You know that weird building behind the main street?” Agnes asked.
“You’ll have to be more specific. This is Invertary—weird is a common descriptor here.”
“The one that looks like lots of hexagons shoved together.”
“Oh, the experimental school. Aye, that didn’t last long. As far as I remember, it was the government doing what it usually does and trying out new ideas in the Highlands before inflicting them on the rest of the country. They called it pod schooling. Lots of little rooms with different subjects going on in them and the kids were free to float between them. Kind of like pick ’n’ mix education. All it meant was that no one monitored the kids because the teachers weren’t sure where they were supposed to be. So the kids spent most of their time hanging out and playing on their phones. Like I said, it didn’t last long.”
“What’s the building used for now?”
“Nothing. There was talk a few years ago about turning it into an old folks’ home, but the old folk didn’t want to be dumped in there either. Why are you asking about it?”
Agnes shrugged. “It’s just a weird building, even by Invertary standards.” She grinned at him. “Not as weird as the folly, but close.”
“Agnes,” a distinctive voice shouted as they neared the hotel. “Agnes, can I talk to you for a minute?”
Agnes tensed and took a step closer to him as Dougal approached, looking more flustered than usual.
