Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 105748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
I nodded as my face crumpled.
But I didn’t want to disappear or hide for once.
“When Dad left, I came down here and I just … I just, like, yelled. I yelled and yelled and yelled.” Quinn rubbed the back of his neck, his cheeks turning a bit red. “And I felt better.”
“Really?”
“Aye. Loads better.” He took a step toward me. “You can try it. If you want.”
I wanted to. But embarrassment stopped me.
Quinn stepped toward the water. And then he roared like a lion cub, the sound echoing around the cove.
A giggle of surprise burst out of me.
Quinn glanced back, grinning. “Try it.”
Taking a step toward the water, I tried not to think about the sand that had gotten inside my shoes and was squishing against my socks.
At first, nothing came out but a squeak.
Then I drew in a breath and let out a scream.
It was weird, but it did help. Like I didn’t feel quite so heavy.
So I screamed some more.
I screamed until I was hoarse.
Then I fell on my bum and cried really hard. Like I hadn’t allowed myself to in front of anyone. It felt like every part of me was crying.
To my shock, Quinn sat down next to me and took my hand in his.
We sat there long enough for Laird to come looking for us. He was mad I’d left.
But for once, I didn’t care.
Quinn had made me feel like I wasn’t alone for the first time since Dad died. And that was worth an annoyed big brother and soggy socks.
5. Taran
July, This Year
Istared at Quinn’s daughter, Heather, trying to figure out how to answer her question.
Did I miss Glasgow?
I missed my job and my coworkers. But Glasgow had never felt like home.
Not like here. I couldn’t have borne my grief back in Glasgow. Being here made me feel closer to Mum. And I’d forgotten how much the sea at my door strangely grounded me.
“No, I don’t,” I finally answered.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Quinn stiffen at my answer. Felt his attention intensify.
It was difficult to be here with him and his children, but I found it hard to say no to his daughter’s invitation. Heather’s curiosity made me wonder if she knew more than she let on about my and her dad’s history. If Quinn hadn’t told her, had Kiera? She looked so much like her mother.
And Angus … goodness, when he smiled, it was like revisiting a memory. He was so much like Quinn at that age. It hurt. It hurt so badly because when I was Heather’s age, I thought I’d be sitting here on this beach that meant so much to us … but with our children.
Why did it still hurt so much?
Heather cocked her head in thought, as if she could see everything I felt, but I kept my face perfectly blank. “Really?”
“Aye, really.”
“I’m off to Glasgow for uni and I can’t wait.”
I glanced at Quinn, unable to help myself. He stared at the sandwich in his hand as if he couldn’t bear to take another bite. This time, the sharp sensation in my chest was for him. Heather leaving for school had to be hard. Maybe even a familiar pain.
“You should go out and see what’s beyond the island,” I told his daughter. “And maybe you’ll prefer life in the lowlands. Maybe you’ll travel beyond even those borders. But it might surprise you how much you’ll miss the sea air. The community. In Glasgow, if my heating was on the blink, I had to wait for days for someone to come out and fix it. Here, there’s always someone to help you. Even if it’s just to offer you a warm place to stay.”
I could feel Quinn staring at me again.
Heather narrowed her eyes. “Is that what you really believe?”
“Aye.”
“Then how come this is the first time you’ve been home since you left?”
“Heather,” Quinn clipped out.
She blanched at his disapproving tone, but I waved my hand. “It’s fine. I … uh … I had a job I loved there,” I hedged.
“I miss it here,” Angus announced after swallowing a massive bite of food.
His sister scowled. “That’s not what you said yesterday.”
“Yesterday I was missing hockey practice with my friends.”
It was then I remembered Quinn’s children no longer lived on the island with him. According to Tierney, they lived with Kiera on the mainland.
I would be lying if I didn’t admit I was rabidly curious to know why their marriage broke down, but it was none of my business.
“Missing one practice isn’t going to ruin you.” Quinn held out another sandwich to his son.
Angus took it with a “Nuh-uh.”
“Oban isn’t exactly the big city, but at least our friends are there. Well, mine are in Paris.” Heather shot her dad a look that could kill.
I instantly surmised she wanted to be in Paris with her friends and not on Glenvulin with her dad.