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A heavy weight impeded his breathing as he drove along the twisty roads, taking the corners a little too fast. Why would she go back to the dig? What had she seen that had prompted it? And what the hell had she found? He’d packed a change of clothes but why did he need them? She didn’t want him to help her dig something up, did she? Was it something huge? Something that would prevent him building the house he desperately wanted? The one he wanted not just for himself but for both of them. Would she want that too? Was he too late? Had he blown his chance with her?
He crunched the car into the quarry car park at the site entrance and jumped out. The ground yielded soft and dry underfoot as he made his way over the grass. A faint smell of woodsmoke drifted in the air. The trench came into view. Not far. Rhona should be visible too. Where was she? He moved to the edge and peered in. Exactly as it was before. He put his hands in his pockets and frowned. What was going on?
Chapter 27
Rhona
The sticks glowed red in the pit Rhona had dug. She prodded them, hoping for a little more flames. What a pitiful attempt compared to the blaze Jay had got going on the beach in Crete. A lifetime ago. Jay and Annike still occasionally appeared on Facebook, posting pictures of their current digs.
Rhona had spent the latter part of the day penning a strongly worded email to Annike’s latest project director. It may never get her research back but it finally got it off her chest. If it sounded whiny or like sour grapes, so be it, but she’d tried. Simon had agreed to back her up.
And now she’d set the ball rolling with her family and the Mathesons, the only future she could see had Calum in it – if he wanted that. And she was ready to sell it to him. She’d set up her bivvy tent and her pulse raced as she checked inside. Recreating an Iron Age home in a few hours wasn’t possible, but this had the ambience she was after. Small and cosy. Sleeping mats replaced straw floors and fleece blankets would be softer than animal skins.
Crawling on her knees to the edge of the bush, Rhona peered out and her skin prickled. Calum was there, standing at the trench. How had she not heard the car? Brain fuzz! Ever since the meeting with Ron and Anne, her world had been spinning on double time. Anne had been furious, ranting and screaming, but Ron had calmed her and they’d got talking. Judy had cried. Anne cried. Alister had spoken calmly but Rhona had seen him twitching. It might be a short-lived ceasefire. Years of hurt couldn’t be swept away in a few minutes, but it was a start. Time would tell.
Now for Calum. Rhona swallowed, rubbing her palms together. This was it. As she stood, he pulled out his phone and turned the opposite way. His voice carried on the wind though she couldn’t hear exactly what he was saying. He pushed his finger into his free ear, as if blocking the noise of the wind and waves. Head bowed, he paced and chatted. Then, no! He started to walk away, gesticulating. His voice sounded grim. She pushed forward, she had to go after him. He was trudging towards the exit.
‘Calum!’ Her shout was carried on a sharp gust.
He kicked the ground, his phone still pressed to his ear. A frown creased his face as he turned. Of course he was annoyed. He thought he was coming to see something important, something which might ruin his building dreams. What she had to show him was important but hopefully it wouldn’t ruin anything. He ended the call and squinted towards her.
She edged towards him, biting her lip, not sure what to do with her hands.
‘What’s going on?’ The crease in his forehead deepened. ‘What have you found?’
‘Myself.’ She pulled a shrug alongside her smile.
He shook his head. ‘I don’t follow.’
‘I lost my way before I came home. Then you came along and made me believe again.’
‘I didn’t do that.’
‘Indirectly you did. I’ve always been terrible at making up my mind and trusting my own judgement. I tried to please everyone, even if it meant going along with things I didn’t like. But I realised I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t go along with my family and their treatment of you. Not when I feel so much for you.’
He fiddled with his wristwatch. ‘You already know what I feel for you.’
‘I do. And I should have said it before. I love you too. There’s never been anyone like you.’
From several feet apart, they stared at each other, then at the same moment, he opened his arms and she pounced on him, flinging her arms around his neck. He swung her off her feet and she giggled, dangling in mid-air.
‘And you trust me?’ he said.
‘No one more so.’
They smiled and gazed at each other for a long moment. ‘So, why the suspense?’ He set her back on her feet. ‘You had me freaking out. What am I here to see? Why do I need spare clothes?’
‘Because you’re not going home tonight, not to Tobermory anyway.’
‘You want me to stay with your parents? Much as I love you and am thrilled with how you’ve started to heal things between our families, I’m not sure I’m ready to crash on them like that.’
‘I meant we’re staying here.’
‘Here?’
‘You want to live here, don’t you?’
‘I do. One day. I thought, maybe, well, it’s early days but…’
