A wide smile spread across Kendric’s handsome, clean-shaven face. ‘Hey, please don’t apologise. I think it’s really sweet that you’re concerned for him, he needs all the friends he can get. And I’m sure you’d brighten his day if you called round.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘Well, I’ll leave you lovely ladies to it for a while. I think I’ll go and mingle. Catch up on the gossip.’ He gave another of his heart-stopping smiles and then made his way through the other patrons to the opposite side of the pub.
Once he’d gone, Juliette turned to her friend. ‘Shit. I think he’s trying to sweet-talk me into doing this interview.’
‘Oh, come on, it’s more than that. He clearly has the hots for you. He couldn’t take his eyes off you, for goodness sake. I thought he was going to trip over his own tongue. Poor Reid.’
‘Why poor Reid?’
Caitlin sighed and leaned closer. ‘There’s always been this rivalry between them. Reid was a grade-A student, but it was Kendric that got into the best university. Reid was the artistic one, but Kendric is the one who got famous. I’m not sure the rivalry stopped there, to be honest.’
It explained some of the disdain Reid showed when talking about his brother. Juliette raised her eyebrows. ‘Oh, right.’ The last thing she wanted was to become some kind of perceived third wheel between the brothers.
Caitlin nodded and pursed her lips. ‘Yeah, that’s why I wanted you to be careful, you know? Small-village mentality.’ Her eyes widened. ‘Not that you’ve done anything wrong, of course.’
‘Like I said, I’m not in the market. I’ve had my match made in heaven and now he’s back up there.’ She touched the locket that remained eternally round her neck and glanced heavenwards.
Caitlin clamped her mouth shut, then grappled her into a hug. ‘Me and my huge, gigantic gob. I’m such a tube. Please, forgive me for my constant talk about men.’
Determined not to bring the tone of the evening down, Juliette nudged her. ‘Oh god, let’s not get all morbid. My fault.’ She waved her hand and took a big gulp of wine. ‘Let’s have a brilliant night, eh?’
‘Deal,’ Caitlin replied with a grin.
* * *
Back at the cottage later that evening, Juliette unlocked the joining door that led to the museum. She stepped inside and flicked on the lights and the radio. The sounds of a beautiful ballad called ‘Caledonia’ danced through the room and the warm glow of the lamps filled the space. It looked magical. Itwasmagical. There was no other way to describe it. The place had once stored a vessel that saved lives and now it contained so many memories, so much local knowledge and so many wonderful stories that, even after all this time, it wasstillhelping to change lives. The song faded and the announcer talked about local news.
She wandered down to the wedding photo of Hamish and his beautiful bride and her heart ached for him. The thought of seeing the poor man’s face when he found out that his beloved museum was being sold caused her stomach to clench and her eyes to sting.
Turning her back on the picture and the veil, she let herself slip to the floor and rested her head back on the glass display case. Snow Patrol’s ‘Run’ came on the radio and the lyrics hit a little too close to home. A lump formed in her throat as images of Laurie played in her mind and she allowed tears to flow freely. He had begged her to live life to the full, but how could she let herself? At first, she had been the same with Laurie as Hamish was with his wife’s memory. But, lately, Reid was taking up too much space in her head, meaning guilt was constantly tugging at her insides too. If she allowed the thoughts about Reid to continue, would this mean memories of Laurie would completely fade? She knew she had to move on, but she wasn’t ready to let go of him. Not yet.
She closed her eyes, inhaled a shaking breath and allowed her consciousness to wander. ‘Oh Laurie. I wish I could hold you one last time. I wish I could feel your arms around me and your heart beating against mine.’ Tears continued to escape and slip silently down her face.
Laurie’s voice could be heard from somewhere off in the distance, like an echo of a time gone by. ‘I know, my love. But you can’t live in the past forever. This is who you are now. And you need to embrace it. Maybe not here but somewhere. This is what you need to do. To be in your element. And in the happy moments know that I’m there with you…’
Sometime later, Juliette awoke with a start and glanced around, startled as the memory of Laurie’s voice returned. But, of course, the place was empty. The dream had been so vivid and her heart filled with a heaviness that wouldn’t seem to lift.
She clutched at her locket and allowed herself a few more tears. She tried to cling on to the sound of his voice before it evaporated into the ether, as dreams inevitably do when you wake from slumber.
She checked her watch. Four thirty in the morning. She had a few hours left before she needed to be in the museum again, so she took herself off to bed, hoping she might jump back into that same dream again…
26
After a busy day at the museum Juliette decided to walk along to Reid’s. The trees rustled and waved in the warm breeze, letting shards of light dance and fall about the path before her. Birdsong floated sweetly from the lofty branches overhead, and every so often a brave little winged creature would swoop down to pick up a treat from the ground close by. It was such a peaceful location, the perfect setting for an artist.
Evin came to the door. ‘Sparkly Jules! It’s so good to see you!’ he said as he launched himself at her with open arms.
She staggered but managed to keep her footing, hugged him tight and giggled. ‘It’s good to see you too, Evin. How have you been?’
‘Great! Uncle Kendric took me to the cinema to see a film calledHow to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. It was incredible!’
‘That sounds like fun. A bit different to training Chewie, I guess?’ She grinned.
Evin frowned. ‘Oh yeah, totally! Imagine if Chewie could fly. I’d never be able to keep up!’
She laughed. ‘Oh wow! Now, that would be something. Is your dad in?’
‘Yeah, he’s in the kitchen. Uncle Kendric is out for the day, I think. You can go through to see Dad. I’m off out to play fetch with Chewie. He’s waiting on me round the back.’
‘Okay, fab. See you later then.’
