Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 109368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
She made a huffing noise. “It was until it wasn’t. We all thought they’d end up together. Finding love here isn’t easy. But Taran left Leth Sholas for Glasgow Uni and things fell apart between them. They broke up and my brother in a drunken, miserable state, made the stonkingly bad decision to sleep with Kiera.”
“That’s his ex?” So far, I hadn’t been given many details about the personal lives of the villagers I now found myself among, but it felt good that Cameron trusted me enough to share.
“Heather and Angus’s mum.” She referred to Quinn’s children. I’d learned over the past few weeks that Quinn was a single dad to a seventeen-year-old girl and twelve-year-old boy of whom he shared joint custody with his ex.
“He became a dad at eighteen and because our own father bolted when we were kids, leaving Mum to raise us alone, Quinn didn’t want that for Heather.”
“Wait. I thought your parents owned a farm.”
“Greg is our stepfather,” Cammie explained. “He came back to Leth Sholas to take over his parents’ farm and he and Mum reconnected from their childhood. Don’t get me wrong, we think of him as Dad now, but he didn’t come into our lives until Quinn was eleven and I was eight. Quinn remembered how hard it was for Mum. He didn’t really get a chance to be a wee boy because he had to help her out so much, even taking care of me so she could work nights. Anyway, he married Kiera because he didn’t want Heather to grow up without a dad in the house. They tried for years to make it work, even going so far as to deliberately have Angus. I love my brother, but he should never have … Anyway, Kiera did what was best for her in the end and left. She’s moved on and is happy with her new partner.”
I’d noted the lack of ring on my contractor’s wedding finger. “And Quinn? Did he move on?”
Cammie huffed. “One thing you should know about island life is that it makes for a very shallow dating pool.”
That I didn’t mind at all. I wasn’t here to date. I shoved thoughts of Ramsay McRae from my mind. “Now Taran’s back …”
“Aye, that’s not going to happen. Taran … When she found out Kiera was pregnant, she was beyond devastated. She never came back to Leth Sholas. Taran and I were close, but she cut me off too.” Cammie gave me a sad shrug. “I understood. Quinn broke her heart so badly she hasn’t returned to Leth Sholas in eighteen years. Isla and Taran’s brother, Laird, would always leave the island to go visit Taran in Glasgow. Last I heard, she was engaged … I wonder if her fiancé is here too.”
Not only was her mom dying, but Taran had to return to a town where everyone knew her painful history … where she had to face the man who broke her heart. I hoped her fiancé was with her to support her. “That is too much for anyone to deal with all at once.”
“Aye.” Cammie took a shuddering breath. “Her dad died when she was eight. So all she’ll have left is her brother Laird and Laird’s wife and their kids too. But maybe if she has a fiancé … I don’t know. I wish she’d let me be there for her.”
“Have you tried?”
“I don’t think she’d want me to.”
“Cammie, I just looked into the grief-stricken eyes of a woman who probably needs all the support she can get right now.”
My new friend halted in her steps, biting her lower lip as she considered this. “You’re right. I’ll … I’ll make an approach. Let her know I’m here if she needs me.”
“Good. And I know I’m new here and all, but I would like to be helpful. And I … unfortunately know what it’s like to lose a parent.”
“You more than anyone will be able to offer her comfort. You don’t have the baggage we all do. And you get it. I’m sorry that you get it. But you do.”
“I’ll check in with her,” I promised.
Cammie smiled. “I’m so glad you chose our wee island to start over on.”
Grateful she’d offered her friendship so easily, I returned her smile. “Me too.”
The B and B was bustling, organized chaos as the demolition crew tore down walls and pulled out the old kitchen and bathrooms under Quinn’s direction.
He greeted us at the door. “We’re making this quick,” he said stone-faced. “Too easy for accidents to happen in this midden.”
“We need to talk after this,” Cammie replied, her tone pointed.
Sorrow flickered over Quinn’s expression. “If it’s about Isla, no need. I heard.”
“Did you know Taran is back and working at Pages & Perks?”
His chin jerked back, nostrils flaring. “What? No.”