AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘So many things have started to slot into place since I discovered this, you know and I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you. It’s just like it’s all been falling into place very slowly. When I was pregnant with the twins, Mum urged me to take it easy and phoned me in London most days to remind me I was growing not just one but two babies,’ said Kirsty. ‘Later, when we moved back with the babies, Mum told me that she had miscarried twins before I came along.’ And Kirsty could remember her dad being anxious and worried when Mum was pregnant with Emma and then Amy. She had vague memories of her mum being in bed a lot and suffering from terrible morning sickness.
Emma’s gaze drifted over to Kirsty. ‘That would make sense, wouldn’t it? Especially with my fertilitysituation.If Mum had problems conceiving then perhaps she passed that gene to me. It at least sheds a bit of light on things,’ she said, sounding a bit more reassured.
Kirsty nodded gratefully at how understanding and kind her sisters were being.
‘You did the right thing by telling us this, Kirsty, and I’m glad you did,’ said Emma.
Amy nodded. ‘The main thing you need to know is that this doesn’t change a thing between us. Not a thing.’
Chapter Forty-Eight
It was the quietest that Meadowbank Cottage had been for a long time. All the wedding guests had left the island and Max had returned to scoop up his new wife and take her away for a couple of days. Tom and Becky were busy trying to cram in as many shifts at the hotel pool as they could. However, they had promised Amy that they would help out with the guesthouse as much as they could when she took charge.
Amy had encouraged Steve to take Kirsty to Glasgow for a couple of days. He had booked her into a spa hotel and intended on making sure she rested and relaxed. They agreed that she was shattered and had done an amazing job of holding everything together especially given the secret she’d harboured for so long. Kirsty was nervous about leaving Amy in charge. But she had also managed to enlist the help of James which reassured Kirsty a little.
Amy had told Emma about her plans to stay on and she was thrilled at her decision. ‘You just have to do what is right for you. If you know, you know,’ Emma teased.
Amy had tried her best to ignore her as the last thing she wanted was for her sisters to think she was planning her future around a man with whom she wasnotin a relationship. She hadn’t even told him about her plans, other than to casually say that she would be extending her stay to help Kirsty out.
‘Now promise me you won’t set the place on fire,’ said Kirsty for the umpteenth time, as they were getting ready to leave. Steve had been waiting patiently in the car but started to honk the horn.
‘You’ll miss the ferry if you don’t hurry up,’ said Amy crossly. She grabbed a tea towel and flicked it at Kirsty in a bid to shoo her out the door. ‘Don’t worry. I have your spreadsheet and various bits of paper with instructions. How hard can it be?’ she said innocently.
Kirsty’s face drained of colour. ‘I will pretend that I didn’t hear that. I’m out of here before I change my mind.’
‘Don’t worry, sis. And I’ll look in on Dad a little later.’
The girls had agreed to get him checked out at the doctor’s surgery as soon as possible and an appointment had been booked for next week.
‘And absolutely no hanky-panky in front of the guests,’ yelled Kirsty as she ran out the door and straight into James who had just arrived. Flustered and flushed, she jumped into the car. ‘Go, go, go, Steve. I can’t believe I just said that. Let’s get going.’
James looked around puzzled. ‘Was it something that I said?’ he quipped. His eyes twinkled in amusement.
Amy hoped that he hadn’t heard Kirsty’s comment but, given his reaction, had a feeling that he had.
‘Okay, so what needs to be done?’
‘Good question,’ she said, consulting her list. ‘The guests are out at the moment and due back in a couple of hours. None of them are having dinner, so we don’t need to worry about that.’ She paused and chuckled. ‘Thank goodness. Cooking isn’t really my forte, but don’t tell my sister . . . The bedrooms are all clean and tidy. I just need to check the coffee van and then pop down and see Dad.’
‘It sounds like you don’t need me. You have it all under control?’
She turned to look at him and cocked her head to the side. ‘That’s okay, you can stick around if you want to. I’m sure I can find yousomethingto do.’ How she wanted to lean over and kiss him. But she had to resist. There was plenty of time. Just then her phone pinged. It was a message from Josh. She beamed. ‘Give me one sec,’ she said, nodding at her phone.
‘Of course,’ he said, raising an eyebrow quizzically. ‘Kirsty checking on you already?’
‘Nope. It’s Josh.’
‘Josh? That’s your friend from Vancouver?’
She nodded. ‘How are you? Missing you and want to know when and if you are coming back,’she said, reading his message aloud.
‘What are you going to say?’
‘Mmm . . . I will keep you posted,’ she said, winking. ‘Now, come on, I have things to do and people to see. Are you helping or not?’
James laughed and grabbed her hand, pulling her to him for a hug. ‘You are very demanding, Amy.’
‘I know. But you wouldn’t have me any other way, would you?’ she said, loving the feeling of being close to him. ‘Now, come on.’ She pulled herself away which was extremely challenging especially when he smelt so good. ‘Let’s go.’
