‘I’ll have the same.’ Beth sat up straighter in her chair, practically hearing Margaret’s voice in her ear.Ask the questions. ‘You’ll never guess who I’ve bumped into a few times since I last saw you.’
‘Who?’ Kirsty frowned.
‘Callum. From way back.’
‘Ah.’ Kirsty nodded slowly. ‘I wondered if you might come across each other.’
‘Yes. Turns out I’ve been helping his daughter on the school newspaper.’
‘His daughter?’ Kirsty sounded surprised.
Just then their coffees arrived. Beth watched as Kirsty picked up her teaspoon and stirred her coffee. There was something she knew and wasn’t telling her.
‘Yes,’ said Beth. ‘Daisy.’
‘Mmm.’ Kirsty smiled faintly.
Beth looked at her quizzically. ‘Is there something I’m missing?’
‘Look, I don’t really want to be the one telling you. I think this is a conversation you should be having with Callum.’
‘What do you mean?’
Kirsty took a sip of her coffee and looked at Beth thoughtfully. ‘It’s easy to jump to conclusions . . .’
‘You might have to spell it out to me.’ Beth really didn’t understand what she was getting at.
‘I don’t like gossiping about folk, but I think you should know that Daisy isn’t Callum’s daughter. Daisy is Callum’s niece.’
Chapter Thirty-Five
Beth was stunned into silence. She hadn’t expected Kirsty to say that. ‘I had no idea.’
‘It’s easy to make assumptions. We all do it,’ said Kirsty kindly.
‘But how . . . why . . .’
Kirsty fidgeted with the napkin in front of her. ‘Look, I’m not really at liberty to say anything else. It’s not my story to share. It’s something you should talk to Callum about. I would say you both have a lot of catching up to do.’
Beth sat back in her chair. ‘You’re right. I think we do need to have a chat. Isn’t it funny how our minds quickly create stories around people? I was convinced he was married with a squad of kids.’
Kirsty smiled. ‘We all do it. I’m as guilty as anyone else for making up narratives and getting it completely wrong. But, I can confirm that he is not married, nor does he have a big team of kids. It’s just him and Daisy.’ Kirsty frowned, looking as though she was about to say something else.
‘What is it?’ Beth leaned towards her.
‘Beth . . . I’m just going to come right out and say this. I have the feeling you’ve been badly hurt in the past. I know I’m now the one making assumptions, so please correct me if I’m wrong. But what I will say is that it’s okay to give Callum a chance. He’s one of the good guys. Don’t let the past ruin your future.’
Beth was thoughtful for a moment. She realised that she’d missed having good and dependable girlfriends. She had pushed everyone away after what had happened with Tim. After their relationship had broken down, she vowed never to get involved with a man again. She promised herself she would remain single forever. Tim had reduced her thoughts of love and romance to ash. Until she bumped into Callum, she never thought anyonewould spark that fire again. She wrapped her arms tightly around her body, trying to make sense of the maelstrom of thoughts whirring around her head.
Beth had tried so hard to hold things together over the past couple of years. She didn’t want to let the house of cards she’d so carefully constructed to collapse. Yet she knew she had changed since she’d arrived on Arran. She looked at Kirsty and took a deep breath. ‘Can I tell you what happened to me, Kirsty? Do you have time?’
Kirsty’s eyes widened and she reached for Beth’s hand, grasping it. ‘Of course I do Beth. I’m here and I’m listening.’ She smiled and tilted her head. ‘But before you start, would you like another coffee?’
Beth could have hugged her. ‘Yes please. I certainly need one.’ While they waited for their coffees to arrive they made small talk about Christmas and the weather. Then, once they were settled with their coffees, Beth began to tell her about Tim.
She shuddered as she thought back to when she met him — a sophisticated and extremely handsome entrepreneur, on an online dating site, not long after her mother had died. ‘He was a good listener, attentive, and came across as very caring and supportive. Things moved slowly to begin with as we were both busy with work. But after a year he had moved in with me and I thought we were both happy and in love.’
Beth had Kirsty’s full attention as she told her about Tim’s work interests abroad, how he would often fly to Switzerland and Dubai where he had business interests. Beth thought this was glamourous and brought more excitement to their relationship. Especially when their reunions were passionate and he would shower her with gifts. Looking back, because hindsight was such a handy thing, she wasn’t quite sure when she started to question his commitment, or started to see thelittle cracks. It might have been when he started to borrow money for yet another new start-up he was involved with.
