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‘Yes, he just left.’
‘And how did that go?’
‘It was ok.’
‘Oh, god. I don’t know what to make of it.’
‘Did you see Rhona?’
‘Yes, she was here, she didn’t say much. She looked upset. I was angry with her parents before… well, the floodgates opened.’
‘You know I really care about her?’
‘Yes, sweetheart. Did I scare her off at the karate? I think I might have.’
‘No, it wasn’t you.’
‘I was so convinced she would let you down. But now I’m not sure. I’m not sure about anything. Your dad’s in shock too. He hasn’t spoken for the last ten minutes.’
‘Just take it easy.’ Calum fiddled with his pen again. ‘No one’s asking you to be best buddies, only to be civil.’
‘It’s the oddest feeling after all these years.’
‘I need to talk to Rhona. Did she go straight home?’
‘I’m not sure. I don’t think so though. It’s a bit of a blur but I think Judy said Rhona was leaving to set up a dig site.’
‘What?’ Calum’s heart sank to his shoes. If she had a site to set up, it wouldn’t be on the island. How could it be? Had she set this up only to disappear? Maybe she didn’t believe he’d accept the apology or give in after stubbornly hating her family for so long. Was this her parting gift?
‘I think that’s what she said.’
‘Ok, take it easy, Mum. I’ve got stuff to do.’
As soon as he ended the call, he tapped out a message.
CALUM: Are you there? Please call me. X
Concentrating was impossible. His eyes kept dipping to his phone. No reply. She could be on a remote site or travelling. She worked all over the world. Who was to say where she was or where she was heading?
For the first day in a long time, nobody phoned. Nobody called him out and Calum filled the hours attending to admin. His phone was so ominously quiet, he restarted it after lunch. Nothing from Rhona. When he locked up at five, he still hadn’t heard anything. Should he drive to her house? But if she was on a dig, she might be away for several days.
Back home, he logged into Facebook. He rarely used it or posted anything but he’d responded to her friend request some weeks ago. Her feed was full of archaeology-related pictures, shares and links – even a picture of the Kilnarkie dig. But nothing since last week. Nothing to give any clue of where she was or what she was doing now.
He gazed out over the colourful village from his lofty window. This view was great but part of him longed to be on the other side of the island, looking out on the setting sun at Kilnarkie. That was the kind of place to put down roots and build a forever home.
His phone lit up and his heart bounced.
RHONA: I hope you and Arran got on ok today. I always trusted you and knew you’d never hurt anyone. I believe what you did at school was a culmination of events. I’m sorry it’s shaped your life like this but maybe things can turn a corner for our families now. I really hope so.
I’m also sorry to have to add this…
Calum’s pulse quickened at the words.
… but I was looking back over my research and noticed something important at Kilnarkie. You need to come over ASAP. Bring a change of clothes, this might get dirty. It’s urgent. X
His shoulders tightened and he clenched his fist. What? That was where she’d been. And why? He responded briefly.
CALUM: Ok, on my way x
