AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘I don’t have enough experience to be taken seriously. I’ll be overlooked. There are lots of consultants with more going for them.’
‘Oh, come now, you’ll never get anywhere with that attitude. If you need experience, why not volunteer somewhere? I’ve seen a couple of community digs here the past few years.’
Rhona slumped a little further. So much of her working life had been volunteering it made a mockery of her degree.
‘This is the career you chose,’ said Alister. ‘It was a tough one to get into but you did it, so now make the most of it. Look at your sisters.’
Of course, the obligatory comparison. Catriona had studied law and was a partner in a solicitor’s office. Mhairi had done economics and was a management accountant.
‘And Arran. He struggled with ADHD all through school and look at him now.’ Alister beamed with pride. Arran was an insurance broker and always had a lot of cash.
Unlike me.
Rhona was the baby. Her sisters always saw her like that anyway. And then they’d fight. First over who would look after the cute and funny baby sister. Then about who wouldn’t when they got older and couldn’t be bothered. Her arrival had brought so much internal feuding. Rhona hardly saw them now.
‘Where’s Mum?’
‘In her shed.’ Alister jabbed his thumb over his shoulder towards a wooden summer house in the garden.
‘I’ll go see her.’ Rhona left via the French doors in the dining room adjacent to the kitchen. Not bothering with shoes, she snuck across the soft lawn. The summer house doors were thrown wide open. The garden was on the slope of a hill covered with gnarled old trees. One of them had long branches hugging their old tree house. Rhona had climbed up on her second day back and given it a spring clean. Sitting inside, watching the sea was so romantic – if she could banish the vision of the time she’d caught Arran snogging a girlfriend in it. Some things were best forgotten. ‘Hey, Mum.’
‘Hello, darling. Where are your shoes? You’ll get filthy socks.’ Judy squinted over her easel, a palette knife poised in her grip.
Rhona scanned down and pouted. ‘Honestly this is nothing, Mum. You should see the state of my clothes after a dig.’
‘Let’s hope I never have to. Archaeology is one of those careers that sounds better on paper. I love the idea of living history but all that dirt…’ She wrinkled her nose.
Rhona pinched a fold-out chair from behind the door, plonked it on the grass and lounged on it. ‘You’re not wrong.’
‘Oh! That tattoo.’ Judy scrunched up her whole face this time. ‘It’s all I see when you’re dressed like that.’
Rhona peeked over her left shoulder. She’d got used to it now, though she still wasn’t sure why she’d let them talk her into it. She adjusted the strap on her white vest top. ‘Is it that bad?’
‘You should have it removed. You’re such a pretty girl and tattoos are so harsh.’
‘It’s a shell, not a skull.’ She craned her neck to nosey in the space her mum called the studio. ‘Can I see what you’re doing?’
‘No.’ Judy angled the easel firmly away from Rhona. ‘You know I don’t like people looking before I’m finished. You have your shower and let me finish. Maybe you could message Arran for me. Find out the exact dates he’s coming back.’
Rhona returned her gaze to the sea. ‘Ok.’ She pulled out her phone and sent him a quick message. ‘Would you like me to bring you a coffee or something to eat?’
‘No, thank you.’ Judy focused on the easel.
Rhona replaced the chair, leaning further in, trying to sneak a glimpse of the painting.
A hand landed on her shoulder and she spun around. ‘Dad, you made me jump.’
‘You just missed a call on the house phone.’
‘Who was it?’
‘Will Laird.’
‘Who?’ Rhona frowned for a second, blinking until a picture of a smiley man formed in her mind. ‘Oh, him, I remember.’ Why would he call her? He was a friend of Arran’s from ages ago but she barely knew him. ‘What did he want?’
‘He didn’t say but asked if you could call him back. I told him you would when you were decent.’
Rhona burst out laughing. ‘He can’t see me down the phone. And how am I not decent? This is running gear, it’s not like I’m topless or anything.’
