Over at the shower block, Caitlin stood under the cascade of hot water and allowed it to relax her muscles. She was so tense after the events of the night before. Partly because she had let Archie kiss her when she knew he was seeing someone else. And partly because she hadn’t just confronted him about the whole thing so she could find out the truth. But it was too late for that now. They couldn’t talk in front of Grace, that wouldn’t be fair on her. So, it would have to wait. Or maybe it just wouldn’t happen at all. She was so damned confused. Why the hell would he kiss her if he had feelings for someone else? Did he even have feelings for someone else? Maybe she was just a friend? But if so, why hadn’t he said something about her? Was he trying to hide his relationship?
Oh, for goodness’ sake, Cait, just stop it! It doesn’t matter now! You’ve blown it!Her inner voice hurt, and she once again felt her throat tightening.Just go back to the tent and act like nothing happened, then maybe you can return to normal, to being friends?
Yeah, right…
* * *
Back at the tent, Archie was sitting on one of the chairs with a mug of coffee in his hand. His eyes were puffy through apparent lack of sleep – she knew how that felt – and he was chatting to Grace about the stars they had observed the night before.
‘Morning,’ Caitlin said with a forced bright smile.
‘Hi,’ Archie replied. ‘You know I can bring Grace home later. That way she can stay a wee bit longer. I think Sophie might be upset if she wakes and finds you both gone.’
Caitlin glanced at Grace whose eyes were now filled with hope. ‘Erm… okay. So long as you don’t mind? Sorry to be rushing off. It’s just…’
Archie shrugged, but his face remained stoic. ‘It’s okay, I understand.’
I don’t think you do and therein lies the problem. She nodded. ‘Right… okay… good. Do you need help to take my tent down?’
He shook his head. ‘I can manage.’
‘I’ll help,’ Grace said brightly.
Archie smiled at her. ‘Thanks, sweetheart.’ His smile was tinged with sadness and Caitlin wanted to smack herself in the head.Idiot! You could’ve just been straight with him.
‘Right, well my stuff is packed, so I’ll be off. See you later,’ she said, awkwardly stepping from foot to foot.
Archie gave a single nod. ‘Aye, see you later.’ It was clear from his expression and minimal replies that he was hurt, or perturbed… or both.
Grace ran over to hug her. ‘Bye, Mum, love you. And thanks for letting me stay a while.’
Caitlin nodded, smiled, and turned to walk to the car.Follow me, Archie, follow me and we can talk. I want to explain, please…
But he didn’t. She wasn’t really surprised.
* * *
For the rest of the day, Caitlin busied herself preparing stock for the bakery and trying to blot Archie out of her mind. But the memory of that kiss and of his fingers entwined with hers made her heart ache. What had she done? She vowed to herself that she would go and explain at some point because even if he had found someone else, the last thing she wanted was to ruin their friendship.
The radio mocked her with every love song the DJ could find, but when ‘Rule the World’ came on she figured that was enough torture for one day and immediately switched it off.Pfft, do they only have five songs on this bloody station?
She was surrounded by the smell of fresh baking bread, shortbread, and tray bake. The sweet and savoury aromas mixed and sent her senses into overdrive, and she had to step out to gulp in the crisp salty air coming in off the sea. The village was quiet, apart from Morag and Kenneth’s shop with its steady run of locals calling in for essentials. Mitch waved as he turned the corner and drove out of Glentorrin with Ruby in the passenger seat. Why couldn’t she have a love like theirs? Uncomplicated – apart from Ruby’s ex-Hollywood star status of course – and true.
By the time Grace and Cleo arrived home at around four, everything was ready for the start of the week. As they bustled into the kitchen, Caitlin glanced over Grace’s shoulder, half expecting Archie, Sophie and Bowie to follow her, but they didn’t, much to her disappointment.
‘Hey, Mum. We went to Dunvegan Castle today! Have you ever been? It was built by the MacLeod clan, and it’s been their family home for eight hundred years! Imagine that! And it’s so fancy. The main staircase is beautiful and looks just like something you would see a princess coming down in a ball gown, or maybe Cinderella. It’s amazing!’ her words fell in a long run, enthusiastically from her smiling lips, and Caitlin wondered if she would stop for breath. ‘The gardens are so pretty too! Bowie and Cleo loved it, but we had to keep them on their leads. We saw lots of bees too. I’ve always been scared of bees, but Archie says they keep the planet going, so I have a whole new respect for them. He also said that they will never sting you on purpose because they’ll die if they do, which is so sad. But anyway, I’m not scared of them any more. They’re tiny but have such an important job.’
Eventually Caitlin got a word in. ‘It sounds lovely. I’m glad you had a fab time. Did Archie say anything? Any messages?’
Grace scrunched her brow. ‘Erm… nope. Nothing. Sophie is so cute. When she laughs, you can’t help laughing too. She’s like the little sister I never had. But I do miss Cora…’ Her mood dipped suddenly on mentioning her best friend. ‘I can’t believe she’s gone to Canada, and I’ll never see her again, Mum.’ It was quite a dramatic change and her eyes welled with tears.
Caitlin pulled her daughter into her arms. ‘I know, sweetheart. I’m so sorry about how things turned out.’
Grace clung to her mum. ‘It’s okay. I don’t blame you. Even Cora said her dad was acting like a tube. I blame him completely. But at least he let us say goodbye. And I have her email address. She has only emailed a couple of times, but I know she’s busy getting settled. I just miss her so much.’
Caitlin’s heart ached for her daughter. ‘Look, why don’t you go get changed and we can take Cleo for a walk.’
‘Okay. Come on, Cleo!’ Grace picked up her bag and headed upstairs, followed by her furry canine companion whose tongue was lolling out and tail wagging at the mention of her favourite W-word.
