Following their breakfast, Caitlin showed Juliette the sights of Inverness, the most northern city in Scotland and, much to her delight, one of those sights was a huge bookshop in some kind of converted church building with arched windows. It was bizarrely called Leaky’s and apparently it was the largest second-hand bookshop in Scotland. Juliette walked through the doors and stood open-mouthed, just staring at the thousands of books surrounding her. The smell of old paper, the log fire, the myriad possibilities, all contributed to a heady feeling of euphoria.
‘Oh. My. God. I’ve died and gone to heaven,’ she eventually said and hugged her friend tightly.
Caitlin laughed. ‘I had a feeling you’d love this old place. Now, I’m giving you an hour, okay? I need to hit more charity shops and I’m taking you drinking and dancing tonight.’
Juliette nodded slowly. ‘An hour. Right. I’ll try my best to stick to that.’
* * *
The evening air was balmy as they walked along the road to The Coxswain. When they pushed through the doors, they found it already busy with familiar faces. They made their way to the bar and were greeted by Kendric MacKinnon.
‘Hi, ladies. It’s good to see you. Can I get you a drink?’
‘Oh no, it’s—’ Juliette began.
Caitlin nudged her and said, ‘That’s really kind of you. We’ll have a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc to share please, Kendric.’
‘Absolutely. Joren, can I have a bottle of your finest Sauvignon Blanc for the ladies? Make sure it’s nice and chilled.’ He winked at Joren, who rolled his eyes in response.
‘So, what have you been up to today?’ Kendric enquired. ‘I understand you weren’t around when the estate agents came.’ His expression was unreadable.
Juliette found herself bumbling a little around him. He was the complete opposite of his brother and she found it a little intimidating. ‘We just had a girls’ day in Inverness. Bit of lunch and some shopping.’
‘Buy anything nice?’ he enquired with a genuine smile.
She shrugged. ‘A few books, some clothes…’
He eyed her outfit. ‘Did you buy that?’
Juliette self-consciously smoothed down her skirt. ‘I did, yes.’
Kendric nodded his appreciation as he appraised her. ‘Great choice. You look lovely. Very summery,’ he said with a smile.
She wasn’t sure what to say. She didn’t want to encourage him and give more power to the rumour mill. ‘Thank you,’ she said in a small voice.
Silence fell between them and the general hum of conversation in the pub filled the void for a while. ‘I hope you’re going to do me the honour of dancing with me this evening, Jules,’ Kendric said eventually.
Caitlin interjected. ‘Oh yes, she’s getting good at theThe Dashing White Sergeant.’
Juliette felt that familiar and unwelcome blush rising under her skin. ‘Oh no. That’s absolutely not true.’ She laughed. ‘Don’t listen to Caitlin.’
He leaned closer. ‘Well, I think we should dance anyway, and I’ll be the judge.’
‘Kendric’s a great dancer too. He was always the lad the lassies wanted to dance with at school, weren’t you?’ Caitlin nudged him.
He too, seemed to turn pink in the cheeks. ‘Oh, I wouldn’t say that. Anyway, Jules, how about saving a dance for me?’
She glared at Caitlin, hoping she’d rescue her, but when Caitlin chose to stay quiet for a change, she had to think on her feet. ‘We’ll see. I’m quite tired from our shopping trip.’
A flash of disappointment crossed his face but was gone in the blink of an eye and he shrugged. ‘Ah well. I’ll ask again later maybe.’ He glanced at Caitlin as if unsure how much to say in front of her. ‘Reid said you’d been to see him.’
Someone caught Caitlin’s attention. ‘Back in a sec, guys.’
Once Caitlin was out of earshot, Juliette turned back to Kendric. ‘Yes.’ She lowered her voice. ‘Do you know how he got on at the GP at all? I was going to phone him when I got home, but time has run away with me. I did send a text, but he hasn’t replied.’ Reid had popped into her mind on several occasions throughout the day and she hoped he had followed through with his appointment.
Kendric nodded. ‘Yeah, good, from what he said. I’m sure he’d appreciate a call though. Knowing Reid, he probably forgot to charge his phone, so I’d give him another try and he can tell you all about it himself. Probably not my place, really.’
‘Oh yes, of course. Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry,’ Juliette said just as Caitlin returned.
