The prospect of witnessing something so inherently Scottish sent shivers of excitement down her back. ‘That sounds perfect. When is it?’
‘First weekend in August.’
‘Well, I’ll look forward to that. If I can help at all just let me know, okay?’
Morag laughed. ‘Whoops, you’ve done it now. You’ll be roped into all sorts. We’ve a meeting tomorrow evening, so I’ll let everyone know you’re a willing participant.’
‘Fantastic. I’ve never been to a Highland games before. I’m quite excited.’
As Juliette left the bed and breakfast, she walked over to the railings overlooking the inlet. She had lost track of time whilst at Morag’s and the evening sun was making a slow descent behind the houses, the sky a glowing palette of orange, cerise and indigo. She inhaled a deep breath and a serene smile spread across her face. The village and the people she had met were already firmly ensconced in her heart, and whilst her stay on Skye was temporary, she wouldn’t allow melancholy to take a proper hold. Choosing instead to embrace the time she did have and to make every moment count: every sunrise, every sunset, every conversation. Then, slowly but surely, she knew she would return to her happy-go-lucky former self. Obviously, she would never forget Laurie. He was the love of her life. But one of their final conversations meant that she had promised to carry on. To live life. And even though she had been grieving for longer than she promised – Laurie insisted she not be sad for more than six months, but he must have known it was unrealistic – she knew the time was right to start thelivingpart. The time already spent in Glentorrin had highlighted that.
She’d witnessed three extremes since her arrival: Morag, widowed many years before but finding new love and happiness with Kenneth; Hamish, also widowed but choosing to stay alone with only his memories to keep him company; and, of course, Reid, a bitter divorce had left him with apparent trust issues and the impenetrable wall he’d constructed around himself. Juliette thought perhaps there had been a shift after the incident with Chewie and that maybe they could be friends, but after today’s encounter and her chat with Morag, she’d realised there may not be much chance of that, after all. The thought saddened her. At his house, she’d seen something in his eyes that screamed of loneliness but also hope. But it was as if he’d realised he’d let his guard down and had quickly repaired the ramparts with reinforced concrete.
14
Waking before her alarm wasn’t an issue Juliette had ever had before, but it seemed to be becoming a habit. She took her mug of tea out to the back patio to drink it and enjoy the early-morning sun. She had dreamed of Laurie again, which was nothing new. But whatwasnew was the way he looked in the dream and how this affected her on waking up. Instead of the shaven head and sunken eyes of when he was sick, Laurie was back to being his usual handsome, bright-eyed self. Just as he was when they had first fallen in love. And for once, she wasn’t sad or angry… just calm. Morag’s words about finding peace of mind rang around her head again. Was that what was happening? Was she finding peace?
She closed her eyes and let the sun warm her skin as she remembered sitting in their own garden the summer he was seriously ill, and they had been told he wouldn’t recover. He sat in the blue and white striped deckchair under the umbrella and covered with the quilted throw from the spare room. They held hands and sat in a loving, companionable silence, enjoying the chatter of birdsong and watching the sparrows fighting off the pigeons from the feeding table.
‘I know I’ve said it before, but I could definitely see you travelling, you know. When I’m gone,’ Laurie had said, completely out of the blue.
She had stopped fighting him now when he said such things. They had been told it was inevitable, a matter of time, so she had promised herself that she wouldn’t altercate needlessly. Instead, she smiled. ‘You could?’ She’d glanced over at him and her heart had squeezed in her chest. How the hell could she imagineanysuch thing in the future, when she was so desperate to hang on to the very last threads of the present?
He’d nodded and smiled. ‘Oh, I can. Zipping off to all the places we didn’t have a chance to see. Finding your way into people’s hearts and making friends all over the place. Cajoling them into reading all your favourite books.’ He’d chuckled. ‘I remember how insistent you were for me to readThe Goldfinch. You wouldn’t leave me alone until I agreed. Badgered me senseless.’
‘Charming. You loved it in the end though, didn’t you? Admit it.’
Laurie had perked up and said playfully, ‘Maybe I did.’ He grinned. ‘Why not leave the library and buy a motorhome or campervan? You could write a book about your travels. Put your creative writing degree to use. How much fun would that be?’
She’d grinned and squeezed his hand. ‘I don’t think there are enough hours in a day for such a frivolous plan. As appealing as it might be.’ It was her way of stopping the conversation she knew was coming. Laurie needed to know she was going to be secure without him. It evidently preyed on his mind.
His expression had turned serious and he’d fixed her with stern eyes. ‘I’m making sure you’ll be comfortable, you know. I won’t leave you unless I know you’re going to be okay. I can’t,’ he’d told her as if he had a choice in the matter. ‘When I’m gone, I want you to go ahead and make something wonderful of your life, Jules.Pleasedon’t sit around missing me and grieving for me. Where’s the joy in that? And you deserve so much joy. You’ve broughtmeso much joy and I’m so grateful that I met you. That you love me.’ He’d punctuated his words with a squeeze of her hand and his eyes welled with tears. ‘I hate the fact that after us being so happy together, after Ipromisedin our wedding vows I’d never hurt youorleave you, that I’m going to be the reason your heart breaks, and that there’s nothing I can do about it. All I can do is ask you to promise me you’ll do something thatwillmake you smile. Something that will fill the void I leave behind. Don’t sit around thinking about me. Move on. Live your life. Be damn well happy.’ His voice broke and he’d closed his eyes for a moment. ‘I know you’d make the most wonderful mother and I’m just so very sorry we didn’t have the chance to make a baby of our own. I know how much that would have meant to you. I feel I let you down so badly there. And it would’ve made things easier to bear probably. I’m so sorry—’
Juliette’s throat had constricted, and she’d turned in her seat to face him. ‘Laurie,pleasestop apologising. You have nothing to be sorry for. Nothing at all. I wouldn’t have changed a single second of our precious time, apart from taking this bloody, wretched illness away. Andpleasedon’t ask me not to grieve for you. At this point in time, I can’t even begin to think about how I’ll cope without you. Sopleasedon’t ask me to make promises I can’t keep. Nothing will make this easier. Nothing.’ By now, tears were cascading down her face and she had fallen to her knees before him, her head in his lap as he stroked her hair and tried to soothe her as best he could.
* * *
The museum got busier as the days went on and Juliette greeted every customer with the same enthusiasm and positivity. Sharing her love of the place was in no way difficult. It was a pleasure rather than a chore. And every visitor that walked away from the Lifeboat House Museum did so smiling and holding, in their memory and their heart, a little snippet of the history of the beautiful village and the fascinating people who made it so special.
After lunch, she was dusting the display cases with a brightly coloured, feathery contraption on the end of a long stick that reached high enough to clean the light shades, when her very first visitor returned.
‘Hi, Sparkly Jules!’ Evin said brightly as he walked in through the door.
‘Oh, hi, Evin. How are you?’ she asked as she glanced outside to where Chewie sat, tied to the hook and obediently waiting for his master, tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth as usual.
‘Brilliant!’ he announced proudly, in a singsong voice.
‘Really? Well, I’m very glad to hear that.’ Juliette grinned.
‘Yep. This morning, me and Chewie sat in the garden while dad was feeding the chickens and we learned a new trick. It’s awesome! I reckon I’ll be a good dog trainer when I grow up.’
‘I bet you will too. You could work with police dogs or maybe on movie sets.’ She smiled, his enthusiasm was contagious.
Evin rubbed his chin. ‘Ooh yes. I’ll maybe do something like that.’
‘Well, I’m glad you’ve got something you enjoy doing with your best pal.’
Evin’s cheeks coloured a bright pink. ‘Thank you. Are you having fun running the museum?’
