‘It’s okay. Yes, to answer your question, I was born and brought up in Inverness, then I moved to Rosemarkie when I got married.’
Logan choked back a cough.
‘I’ve been there ever since.’ Kitty looked at him curiously as he snapped a twig he’d been holding.
‘It’s a great spot,’ said Logan. ‘Some of our tours in the Highlands are really popular.’
‘And do you normally work up there?’
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘There’s a tour that runs most of the year, but I usually lead it in the autumn. We meet in Inverness, walk up the north side of Loch Ness and stay in Fort Augustus, then Loch Oich and Glen Tarff, Glen Moriston and the Dundreggan, then finishing up back in Inverness. That’s a five-day tour, and that time of year, as you can imagine, the colours are just stunning.’
‘It is a beautiful part of the world,’ she said. ‘I should really try and get out more and explore. It can be too easy to fall into the same old routine.’
‘And how did the summer house here come about?’ he asked.
‘I think you must know my cousin, Fergus, who runs the outdoor centre in Lamlash?’
‘I do know Fergus, yes. He’s a great guy. Olivia said that there was a bit of miscommunication, which meant you both ended up in the same house?’
‘That’s right. Though it seems to have worked out okay — so far, fingers crossed.’ She told him about her plans for the rest of the summer, and how nice it was to have a break from work.
‘I can only imagine how exhausting that must be. I admire you, though. Working with little ones can’t be easy.’
She smiled. ‘It has its moments, but I wanted to work with kids to get away from adults. I was a counsellor for a while,’ she explained, ‘and then, well, after the pandemic I was exhausted. I needed a break.’
He looked at her, his brow creased in concern. ‘That must have been tough.’
She waved her hand dismissively. ‘It’s been tough for loads of people and still is. Things couldalwaysbe worse.’
‘And your son?’
‘Yes,’ she said unable to stop herself from smiling. ‘Cameron. He’s eighteen and has just left school. He’s off having the time of his life working at a camp near New York.’
‘What a brilliant experience. And really great of you to support him to go off and do that.’
‘It was tough saying bye, and I really had to hold it together so I didn’t upset him, and I do miss him. But I had to let him go. He’s got to go off and live his life. It’s just always been me and him . . .’ She could feel tears well up and was grateful when she felt Logan place a reassuring hand on her arm.
‘Tell me about him,’ he said gently.
Kitty was thoughtful as she spoke quietly. ‘Well, he’s taller than me, funny, kind, smart, handsome and one of the nicest kids I know. Clearly, I’m biased. But I’m so proud of him. It’s not been easy.’
‘Well, I really admire you, Kitty. I see my sisters with their kids and know how challenging it can be, and they both have partners.’ He paused. ‘I lost my mum when I was younger, and my dad didn’t cope at all. It seems like you’ve done a great job of raising him on your own.’
They had been walking for some time now and the path was getting steeper as they ascended. Adam and Olivia were about a hundred metres ahead of them. ‘Thank you,’ she said automatically.
‘Do you mind me asking about his dad?’
Normally Kitty would feel her hackles rise when she was asked that question, which she had been many, many times over the years. But she didn’t think Logan was being nosy. He was looking at her with kind eyes and she could feel a surge ofemotion at the back of her throat. Oh God, the last thing she wanted to do now was start crying. ‘He . . .’
Logan looked at her in concern. ‘Oh, I’m so sorry, Kitty. The last thing I wanted to do was upset you. Please, let’s change the subject.’ He reached for her hand and squeezed it.
Kitty wanted to lean into him and open up and let all the words and emotions tumble out of her. So much for trying to keep her distance — he made her want to do the opposite. She had never felt so at ease with any man, other than Ryan, and she wanted to tell him what happened. But she was frightened, so instead she managed to give him a grateful smile and squeezed his hand back.
For just a tiny moment, their gaze connected, and Kitty felt a surge ofsomethingripple through her. She could have stared into his deep brown eyes forever and didn’t want him to drop her hand. She wanted to tell him what happened. She wanted to tell himeverything, but a high piercing shriek jolted them both back into the here and now.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Usually it didn’t take Logan long to gather his thoughts together, but today was different to anything he had experienced before. His head was in a complete jumble. Although he had been back in the flat for a couple of hours, and showered and had something to eat, he felt completely wired. He couldn’t getthatmoment with Kitty out of his head, which was then interrupted by an emergency.
