‘It was all my fault . . . this is all my fault. If I hadn’t agreed that Cameron could go do this camp, then he would be with me at home and fine and safe.’
‘Oh, Kitty, you can’t blame yourself for this. How were you to know this would happen? It’s not your fault.’
She dropped her voice to a whisper. ‘Yes, it is.’ More tears slid down her face. ‘It serves me right.’Ryan’s accident was her fault.
She told Logan how she had asked Ryan to get home as soon as possible that night. That she’d been so excited, wanting him home so she could tell him of their pregnancy. He’d been going to stay overnight at the conference as it had finished later than expected and he was tired. He was planning on driving back in the morning. But when Kitty said she had some good news for him, he’d agreed to be home as soon as he could. Ryan had died, and it was all her fault. If she hadn’t pressurised him, he might still be here and Cameron would have a dad.
‘Don’t you see?’ she said in a whisper. ‘I’m the common denominator. I must be bad luck.’
‘Oh, Kitty. It was an accident. You mustn’t blame yourself.’
She dropped her head onto the table and closed her eyes, feeling as though her heart was being squeezed out like a dishcloth.Oh Cameron, please be okay. I couldn’t survive if anything happened to you.The pain in her heart was so intense that she wondered if actually she’d been carrying around a broken heart since Ryan died.It’s okay, she could hear him say to her.Our Cameron will be okay, Kitty. Just trust.
Then she felt her phone vibrating next to her on the table, its jauntyStar Warstune sounding so inappropriate at that moment. Snatching it up, she saw the number was withheld.
‘Hello,’ she said tentatively.
‘Is that Ms Galbraith?’
‘Yes,’ said Kitty, holding her breath and urging the woman to say something.
‘It’s about your son, Cameron.’
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Kitty’s gaze was fixated on a print of Brodick Castle, hanging in a black frame on the opposite wall of the kitchen. She realised she hadn’t ever properly noticed it before. Instead she had taken it for granted, failing to notice the detail of the brush strokes and the different shades of brickwork.
‘Ms Galbraith, it’s Jenny, one of the camp team. I can tell you that your son is okay. Cameron is okay. Can you hold for me a moment, please?’
‘Oh, thank God,’ was all she could muster. Her gaze turned to Logan, who was watching her, his face etched with concern and his eyes filled with anguish. She gave him a tentative thumbs-up, though she frowned — him being ‘okay’ wasn’t definitive that everything was fine. But he wasalive. That was all that mattered. Her son was alive.
‘There’s someone that wants to speak to you,’ she said.
‘Hey, Mum.’
‘Cameron,’ she gasped. ‘What happened? How are you?’
‘I’m fine. Don’t worry. Honestly, it’s been a drama out of nothing . . .’
‘Tell me, tell me,’ she said, her words tumbling from her mouth. ‘Where are you now?’
‘We’re at the hospital. Just a precaution. The bus had a bit of an accident and some of the kids got a bang to their heads. And, well, they wanted to make sure we were all okay.’
‘And are you?’ she asked with bated breath, not daring to contemplate that there could be any casualties.
‘Everyone is fine, Mum. We’ve all been checked over. And the bus driver is fine too.’
‘But what happened?’
‘He had to swerve to avoid an oncoming car. He’s a bit of a hero.’
‘Oh Cameron. Are you sure you’re in one piece? No cuts and bruises? Do you want me to come over? Do you want to come home?’
Cameron chuckled. ‘Mum, I’m not like five years old. I’m fine and I’ll look like a right snowflake if you get on the first plane over.’
She smiled and shook her head. ‘I’m yourmum.I’m allowed to worry.’
‘I know, and honestly if I needed you, I would tell you. I promise. But we’re all okay, and we’re heading back for a campfire party tonight. I’d look like a right tool if you turn up tomorrow when I’m supposed to be on kayak duty.’
