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‘Do you want a cup of tea?’ She walked over to him and linked her arm in his.
‘I’d better get off,’ he said gruffly. ‘Grant will be expecting me.’
‘You sure? Just ten minutes?’
He hesitated and managed a tight smile. ‘Okay.’
‘Give her some time,’ Edie repeated as they went into the house. ‘And if it’s meant to be, dear, it will be. Just trust things will work out the way they are supposed to.’
There was no point lecturing him about life and love. She could say they both needed to let bygones be bygones and move on. Yet that would be completely hypocritical given what had happened with her and Christine. Yet her sister’s death also made her realise life was too short. Fergus already knew that after losing Ellen. She was aware that he was scared about his feelings for Amelia. It was something she had also been through with Jim. The very idea of falling in love again after losing her soulmate was awful.
She thought momentarily about the one brief affair with George, the artist who’d spent a summer on Arran a few years ago. At the time she’d enjoyed his company, but afterwards, as she’d reflected, it had felt like a betrayal of her marriage to Jim.
She and Fergus sat by the fire with their tea, but he shook his head when she offered him some shortbread. ‘Oh-oh. That’s a sure sign things are bad, Molly.’
Fergus smiled weakly, but she could tell from the crumpled look on his face that he was far from happy.
‘I wish I could talk to her one last time . . .’
‘I know, dear.’ Edie sighed. ‘Fergus, it sounds like you’re feeling guilty about having feelings for Amelia?’
He looked at her in surprise and nodded.
‘That’s okay. It’s normal to feel like that . . . I remember it with Jim. It felt like I was letting him down.’
‘I want to ask Ellen if it’s okay, and if she minds that I have feelings for someone else.’
Edie reached to pat his hand. ‘She would want you to be happy, Fergus.’
He frowned.
‘What if you had died instead of Ellen? Wouldn’t you want her to move forward with life and find love again?’
‘Of course.’
‘There you go. Why should it be any different for you? And it’s not about moving on from Ellen. It’s about moving forward.’
‘I mean, I saw Kelly for a bit, but that was all very relaxed . . . My feelings for Amelia are completely different.’
‘Well, it’s about making connections with the person who is right for you, and timing can play a big part.’
He nodded gratefully at her. ‘You’re right. Thanks, Edie. You always know what to say to make me feel better.’
‘It’s one of the advantages of age,’ she said graciously.
Fergus took her hand and gently squeezed it.
‘The answers are inside us, Fergus. Just trust you will work out what they are.’
Chapter Sixty-Three
‘No.’ Jack gasped as Amelia filled him in on the events of the past couple of days. ‘Oh my God, Amelia, I am so sorry. I thought I was doing the right thing telling him where you were. He sounded so contrite . . .’
They were on a FaceTime call and Amelia pursed her lips but reminded herself there was no point in being cross with Jack. ‘It’s not your fault. You weren’t to know what he would do, and I know it was well intentioned.’
‘Thanks for being so kind,’ he said sheepishly.
‘I guess it has made me wonder if you ever really know someone and what they’re capable of.’
