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‘I didn’t know that,’ said Kirsty in surprise. ‘Why did she never say anything?’
‘Your mum always wanted to move on and leave negative things in the past,’ he said, looking around for something to dunk in his tea. ‘She never liked dwelling on things, as you know.’
Kirsty jumped off the stool and reached into the back of the cupboard where she had spotted a packet of digestive biscuits earlier. ‘There you go.’
‘Thank you, dear.’
‘You were saying . . .’
‘Your mum didn’t like going over the past. She was grateful she had you all and didn’t see the point in raking stuff up.’ He focused on dipping the biscuit into the tea.
Kirsty watched him until she knew the biscuit would end up at the bottom of his mug if he didn’t pull it out. ‘That’s probably enough, Dad.’
He laughed as it crumbled into his tea. ‘Oopsie.’
‘I’ll get you a fresh cup.’
‘No, don’t worry, it’s fine. It doesn’t bother me.’
‘How was she when she was pregnant with me? Did she have any bother?’ She watched her dad’s face closely as he answered.
‘You were a dream. A beautiful gift,’ he said, adjusting his glasses. ‘You always were and always have been. I don’t know what we would have done without you.’ He suddenly reached for her hand. ‘You, my precious girl, were the best thing that happened to us,’ he said firmly. ‘You truly were.’
Kirsty felt quite taken aback. It was the first time her dad had ever said anything like that to her and she was lost for words.
‘Your mum adored you and she maybe didn’t tell you enough, but she was so proud of you when you came back to Arran to make a go of the business at Meadowbank. She knew out of the three of you that you would be the one to make it a success. You’ve not always had it easy, my love, especially with her illness and now me being a burden.’
‘Dad,’ she said, shocked. ‘You’re not a burden. Please don’t ever think that.’ Kirsty felt gutted he thought of himself that way.
‘I forget things and it scares me,’ he admitted sadly.
‘That’s understandable, Dad, and you’re doing a brilliant job of taking steps to do things that will help — like the sticky notes on the cupboards and things like that.’ She paused. ‘How about we make an appointment to go and speak to the doctor after the wedding?’
He nodded. ‘Sure.’
Kirsty knew that the wedding felt like a watershed in lots of ways for all of them. Because no matter what happened, things were going to change one way or the other and their lives as they knew them would change for ever.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Emma was waiting anxiously at Lilybank Cottage for Max to arrive off the ferry with his mum, sister Lauren, and her partner, Milly. The cottage was just minutes from Meadowbank Cottage, and it was a clever conversion of an old stone steading, beautifully refurbished throughout with an open plan layout and sunken sitting room with lots of different seating areas.
Dependent on your mood, you could curl up on a love seat in the corner, on the large squishy sofa, or lie on the chaise longue by the window and admire the view. The spacious kitchen was bright and airy and had French windows opening out to the decking area. The three generously-sized bedrooms all had ensuite bathrooms with walk-in showers and baths. Kirsty knew the owners and had managed to secure it as soon as she and Max had settled on a date for the big day.
Emma ran through all the rooms once more to check everything was in hand then gulped as she heard a car pull into the driveway. They were here. She ran out to see Max climbing out of the car, his smile widening when he spotted her. He ran over and threw his arms around her. Her mother-in-law-to-be, Helen, was also beaming as she looked around.
‘Oh, Emma, this is such a beautiful spot. And the weather! You couldn’t have picked a better time or place to get married,’ said Helen, leaning in to hug her tightly.
‘It is amazing, isn’t it? And we have been so lucky with the weather. It looks set to hold, fingers crossed.’
‘Hey, Emma,’ said Lauren, smiling shyly. ‘Nice to see you. This is Milly.’
Emma was very fond of Lauren, who was so different to her brother. She was petite and blonde and much quieter and more reserved, definitely the introvert of the family.
Milly stepped forward to shake her hand.
‘Thanks so much for inviting me,’ she said smiling. ‘This is just amazing. I can’t believe we’ve never been here before.’
‘Well, you’re here now, and have plenty of time to go and explore. It is a beautiful place. Come on in though just now and get yourself settled.’
