She frowned. ‘Oh… erm… yeah, sure.’ She wondered what on earth he could be talking about and what idea he could possibly need to run pasther, someone he had literally just met.
‘Great, see you tomorrow. Here’s my card, just drop me a text when you’re ready.’ He turned to his nephew. ‘Come on, champ, let’s get you home to bed, eh?’ Evin grumbled but his words became lost in a huge yawn. Kendric turned back to Juliette. ‘I could pick you up and take you for lunch or something?’
She wanted to say that lunch wasn’t necessary. That they could chat at the pub or somewhere else less…date-like. But she didn’t get a chance as he had already turned and left.
Once he had left, Caitlin whispered loudly, ‘Ahhh, he fancies you. I knew it. So obleous. I mean obvelous… urgh, you know what I mean.’ She waved a hand in Juliette’s face.
‘Muuuum!’ Grace moaned, clearly embarrassed.
‘I think you need to get home, Caitlin, you’re oot yer tree.’ Morag laughed. ‘Come on, I’ll walk you both over. Night, Jules.’
‘Night, Morag. Night, Caitlin. Night, Grace.’
She turned and almost walked slap bang into Leanna. Before the woman even spoke, Juliette groaned and rolled her eyes.
‘Not satisfied going after justonebrother then, eh? Hedging your bets. Probably not a bad idea for someone like you.’ Leanna said, arms folded across her chest, lips pursed in that sour way she had.
‘Leanna, believe me when I say I’m not aftereitherof the MacKinnon brothers. Regardless of what you and your toilet buddies were talking about. Just drop it, please. Do us both a favour, eh? Go home with your husband and be happy.’
Initially, Leanna’s eyes widened and it was clear she was embarrassed at being caught in her gossiping, but then she huffed and changed her stance from leaning on her left leg to leaning on her right. ‘You’d love that, wouldn’t you? If I was out of the way.’
Juliette sighed deeply, suddenly feeling drained. ‘I don’tknowyou and I have no clue why you have such a strong opinion of me. You know nothing about my life, about why I’m here. But you seem hell-bent on making me feel unwelcome. And, to be honest, that says a lot more aboutyouthan it does about me.’ She felt quite proud of herself for not turning into a shrinking violet during the confrontation. ‘Anyway, I don’t have the energy to argue with you, Leanna. Or the inclination. You’re seeing something that simply isn’t there. But, really, it would be absolutely none of your business, if there was. I’m single, Reid is single. And, to top it off, Kendric is single too. You’re the one making assumptions and pining for a man that’s not your husband. Seriously, take a long hard look in the mirror. See if you like the person looking back. Now, goodnight, I’m going home.’ She turned and headed towards Lifeboat Cottage.
‘Home?Home?’ Leanna almost shrieked. ‘It’s notyourhome though, is it? It’smyhome. It’sReid’shome. You’re only here for the summer. AndI’llstill be here long after you’ve gone. So will Reid!’ she shouted.
Juliette couldn’t be bothered to respond and so continued to walk without looking back. She’d never met anyone so vindictive and unpleasant. Poor Donny. What had he done in a previous life to deserve such a woman as a wife?
As Juliette reached the inlet, she spotted a rather bedraggled-looking Reid sitting on the bench where they’d had their altercation. With a little trepidation, she made her way towards him and sat down warily. ‘Reid? Are you okay?’ It was a stupid question, she realised, as soon as the words had fallen from her lips.
He jumped and sat up straight, wiping at his face. He cleared his throat. ‘Oh, hi. I’m… I’m fine.’
In the tiny dots of light from the strings strewn around the inlet, she could see his assertion was far from truthful. ‘Look, I know I’m probably the last person you want to speak to after… well, you know… but… I’d really like to help, if I can. I’m a good listener.’ She shrugged.
‘Shall we add that to your ever-growing list of talents?’ he asked snidely and immediately closed his eyes. ‘Shit, sorry, that was totally uncalled for.’
‘It’s okay. It’s clear to me that something’s not right. I hate to see anyone looking as despondent as you do right now.’
‘Despondent?’ He laughed humourlessly. ‘That’s putting it mildly. Honestly, I wouldn’t even know where to start.’
‘Well, I have nowhere else to be. And it’s a lovely evening. We could just sit for a while maybe. Enjoy the stars,’ she said, glancing up at the clear navy-blue blanket overhead, its twinkling adornments putting on their own light show.
‘You want to rescue everyone, don’t you?’ he said, turning towards her. ‘But who’s rescuing you?’ That question had been one she’d considered and dismissed, telling herself she didn’t need rescuing. She couldn’t think of a reply and Reid took her silence as an invitation to continue. ‘It seems to be your life’s mission. I’ve never met anyone quite like you.’
She wasn’t sure if this was a compliment or another gripe at her newfound talent for sticking her nose where it didn’t belong. ‘I guess I’ve learned from my own experiences of despondency and I just want to help others to get through it like I did. I think it can be misconstrued though, so I know I need to curb my enthusiasm.’
He nudged her with his shoulder. ‘No, don’t do that. It wasn’t a dig. I think it’s really sweet. I thinkyou’rereally sweet if the truth be told.’ He smiled and she felt her face warming as butterflies set to dancing in her stomach and the alcohol clouded her thought processes. He laughed. ‘That sounded a lot less cheesy in my head.’
They sat there in silence for a few moments, but she could feel his gaze on her.
Eventually he sighed. ‘I know there’s been a lot of talk about me today. And it’s not the first time. In fact, there’s been a lot of talk about me ever since Kate left.’
‘I think people just care for you, and for Evin. They don’t want to see you suffering when there’s help available.’
He gave that humourless snort again. ‘Well, unfortunately, it’s not going to stop any time soon.’ He clenched his jaw and closed his eyes, lowering his head.
Concern nagged her. ‘What is it? What’s happened?’
‘Well, apparently, I’m acrapfather.’ He lifted his chin and fixed his gaze on her.
