Meredith gave a quiet squeal and enthusiastically shook his shoulders. ‘He’s such a cutie! And he seems so sweet, Cam. Really besotted with you. I’m so happy you found someone.’ She finished by chucking a light punch on his arm. ‘My little Loch Ness hero.’
‘Thanks. That’s not patronising at all.’
Meredith’s face softened. ‘I’m proud of you, Cam. Your mum and dad would be, too.’ She patted his Scorched cheek again. ‘I know you’re doing your best.’
Then, just as quickly as she’d melted, she toughened up again. She jerked her head at the kitchen. ‘Does cutie know about the Scorch? I can’t imagine you being able to hide it from him, considering it’s literally all over your face.’
Cam exhaled heavily. ‘Yeah. Yeah, I’ve told him everything.’
He suddenly wanted to ask how his dad had reacted when his mum had shared the knowledge with him. Had they begun their relationship sharing everything? When was the right time to tell someone you loved that you were going to die?
Some of his heartache must have bled over onto his face, because Meredith gave his arm a quick squeeze. ‘I’m glad you have someone else to lean on through all this, so you don’t have to go through it alone.’ Her mouth tipped into a sad smile. ‘You do know you’re not alone, right, Cam?’
After all the heart-wrenching talk with Lachlan, Cam wasn’t up for one with Meredith right now. He swallowed back the croak in his voice and squared his shoulders. ‘I know.’ He steered the conversation in a different direction. ‘So aside from Bryce, why have you come all this way?’
‘Oh!’ Meredith picked up her purple holdall and rummaged through one of the outer pockets before producing a small glass jar. It contained dried purple petals which a handwritten label marked asWolfsbane. ‘Found it.’
Cam pursed his lips. ‘You didn’t seriously drive all this way just to give me that.’
‘I don’t think you understand how hard it is being a single woman of a mature age in an isolated rural community.’
He snorted at that. ‘You’re shameless.’
Lachlan returned, carrying a full tray of thistle-patterned teacups next to a steaming teapot, a tiny jug of milk and pot of sugar cubes, along with a selection of small cakes and biscuits. ‘I thought you might be hungry after your journey,’ he said, setting it down on the nearest table.
‘Oh, my god. That looks incredible!’ Meredith sat down eagerly and began pouring herself a cup of tea. She winked at Cam. ‘Definitely keep him.’
Lachlan took the seat opposite her and beckoned Cam to sit between them. After his urgency to get moving earlier, Cam was thrown by Lachlan’s suddenly unhurried approach to entertaining Meredith. Cam himself was itching to go fix his bike. It was like Lachlan had lit a fire under him—poor choice of words, he reflected, but nevertheless true that he couldn’t sit still. For the first time in years, Lachlan had made him feel like maybe he could take control of his own destiny.
He watched Lachlan languidly pour two more cups of aromatic tea and begin asking Meredith polite questions about her journey. Was the snow any trouble? What did she think to the area? Did her car handle the roads all right? Would she be staying long?
And then, right on the tail of her happy reply that she hoped to run into Bryce before heading home, Lachlan slipped straight in with, ‘I’m sure Cam could arrange that. I wonder if you would be willing to drive us to Glencoe, first?’
Caught completely off guard, Meredith paused with carrot cake halfway to her mouth. ‘Uh…’
‘Cam’s bike is broken,’ Lachlan continued smoothly, ‘and we need to travel to look through your family records as soon as possible. Today.’ Despite the subtext of urgency in his words, his voice remained disarmingly light-hearted. He refilled Meredith’s cup with an easy smile while she glanced at Cam.
‘What happened to your bike…?’
‘It doesn’t matter now,’ Cam said quickly, catching on. ‘Um. I hate to ask. But like Lachlan says… could we get a lift?’
‘Of course, honey. Though I can’t believe you’d leave your bike here all alone,’ Meredith said teasingly.
Cam took a breath. ‘And. Uh. We’d need to ask for a lift back, as well.’
‘Obviously.’
‘Tonight.’
Meredith set down her teacup with a firmclink. ‘That’s taking the piss a little bit, Cam. What’s the hurry?’ Her expression darkened. ‘You’re not going after this werewolf again, are you?’
Cam held up his hands. ‘No. I promise.’ He glanced at Lachlan, caught the flash of tension in his expression. No way was he going to put Lachlan on the spot over this. He tightened his jaw and gave Meredith an imploring look. ‘How about this. If you can get us to Glencoe and back today, IswearI’ll set something up with Bryce for you. I bet he’d join you for a meal in the café, even.’
Meredith’s eyes lit up. ‘Is that so?’ She swallowed her last piece of cake and clapped her hands together. ‘Then I suppose we should all get moving!’
Lachlan was on his feet in an instant, whipping cups back on the tray and rearranging it with a hasty clatter.
‘He’s… eager,’ Meredith remarked as Lachlan strode to the kitchen.
