‘Okay. I will. Thanks Kirsty. Take care.’ Beth threw her a grateful smile, wondering if she knew how much she appreciated her kindness. Stopping to talk to her on the street may not have been a massive thing, but it meant a lot to Beth. It made her feel a bit more anchored and connected to this community. She was increasingly finding it was small acts of kindness that were making a huge difference to her life. She walked briskly towards the terminal, scouring the passengers making their way off the ferry, looking for her dad. She stood on her tiptoes, anxious and excited to see him. When she spotted him, she waved. ‘Dad, over here.’
His face lit up as he walked towards her, pulling his small suitcase. ‘Hello dear. I’ve made it. I tell you what, I’m glad I didn’t bring the car over. They were packing them on like sardines.’
Beth chuckled as she took the handle of the bag from her dad. ‘You made it. Come on. Let’s go home. It’s not far from here. I bet you could do with a cuppa?’
Barry nodded. ‘That sounds nice.’ He linked his arm through hers and they walked the short distance to the flat.
* * *
The following morning, Beth decided that, while it was dry and fine, she would take her dad for a short drive to Lamlash and treat him to coffee at Cèic the café. She’d heard lots of positive things about it from Jim, who raved about their almond croissants in particular. Her dad was on good form as they drove down the hill into the village, as he admired the view of the bay ahead.
‘It’s been years since I’ve been here. I forgot about that view.’ He pointed at the Holy Isle. ‘Your mum and I did a trip over there once. A man in a wee rowing boat took us across.’
She smiled at him.
‘It’s really nice to be back. Isn’t it funny how things sometimes work out. I would probably never have come back if I’m honest. And that’s all down to you coming here to work.’
Beth reached a hand over and patted his arm. ‘You’re welcome, Dad, and hopefully you’ll thank me even more once you’ve been to this café.’
When they arrived it was busy, and she quickly scanned for a free table. There were a couple of free stools over by the window, so she directed her dad towards them. ‘Is over there okay, Dad?’
‘Yes of course.’
‘You go and sit down and I will get the drinks. Would you like something to eat?’
‘Just surprise me please.’ He chuckled.
As she stood in the queue she grinned when she realised Jim was in the corner with Freya. They both looked up and smiled. Jim then waved at her and mouthed, ‘Is that your dad?’, pointing at Barry, who was now perched on a stool.
Beth nodded and watched as Jim stood up and made his way over to introduce himself to her dad. As she looked at the mouth-watering array of goodies on the counter, she decided to order a hot chocolate with marshmallows for her dad, a coffee forherself, an almond croissant and a special Christmas scone with cranberries and cinnamon. They looked as though they were fresh out the oven — a delicious festive scent lingered in the air. After paying, she made her way over to her dad and Jim. They were deep in conversation.
Her attention was focused only on what they might be saying to each other when she walked straight into another customer. ‘Oh, I am so sorry.’ She looked up and immediately flushed when she realised it was Callum. His eyes widened in surprise. What were the chances? She realised with a jolt that his chest felt solid. She jumped, pulling away as though he was burning hot.
‘Hi again.’ He raised an eyebrow.
‘Hello.’ Her voice was squeaky. ‘Sorry about that. I seem to be a bit clumsy these days.’
‘No problem.’ He stood for a moment, his face unreadable, and Beth wondered if he was waiting for her to elaborate.
‘It was good to see you the other night. I meant what I said about Daisy. I’m happy to help.’ She couldn’t help admiring how effortlessly handsome he looked, even though he was dressed in old jeans, trainers and a navy padded coat.
‘Thanks. I’ll be in touch. She has your number?’
‘Yes.’ She nodded, wondering if he couldbeany more gorgeous? ‘I’ll let you get your coffee. My dad is visiting. He’s just there.’
He glanced over. ‘That’s nice. I see Jim has him cornered. There will be no escape.’
Beth smiled. ‘I’d better go and rescue him. See you later.’ As she walked towards her dad, she tried to take a few deep breaths. She was trying her best to be friendly towards Callum, even though her physical reaction was a very strong desire to pin him against the wall and kiss him passionately. But her head reminded her that he was a family man now. Not to mention the memory of the pain he’d caused all those years ago. She hadbeen head over heels in love with him, and he had ripped her heart in two. She wondered if she would ever find the courage to ask him what went wrong, why he disappeared completely from her life. Or whether she should just leave the past alone.
Chapter Thirty
Beth may only have been on the island for a few weeks, but she was starting to realise that living and working in a real community had softened her. The hard edges she had needed to survive in London were slowly starting to disappear. It was so nice to be able to stop and chat to a friendly face when she nipped to the shops or out to a café. She’d enjoyed showing her dad around, and it had been an added bonus that Jim and Freya had been there at Cèic too. She’d driven round to the high school to show her dad the outside of the building, so he could get a picture in his head of where she was working on the newspaper with the kids. This afternoon, they had picked up Margaret from the ferry and taken her to the hotel, which was looking very festive, a large tree draped with tinsel lighting up the entrance. Fortunately Alessandro had been nowhere to be seen. Beth and her dad promised to let Margaret get settled and “freshen up”, and then they would walk back over to meet her for a drink before they had dinner.
When they arrived back at the hotel, Margaret was already in situ at the bar, holding court with Alessandro. Beth felt her heart drop. Who knew what he’d been saying to her. He flashed a dazzling smile at Beth and she was half-expecting him to say, ‘Ciao Bella,’ just for show.
‘Hi lovelies.’ Margaret waved them over. ‘Don’t worry, I’ve just been on the lemonade until you arrived. I didn’t want to be sloshed . . . although the cocktail menu looks very nice indeed.’ She gave a hearty laugh. ‘I’ve just been chatting to Alessandro here and telling him about my trip to Italy in the summer.’
‘Erm, did you tell Margaret that you’re from Dundee?’ asked Beth.
