Wildflower Bay (27 page)

‘
Love me tender . . .
’

The sound of Bruno’s deep voice as he sang along to his favourite Elvis track made Ruth smile. She’d decided on a whim that morning to hop on the bus along to town, and, pleasing
herself, had hopped straight off and in for a plate of scrambled eggs on toast and a pot of tea. Surprisingly the cafe, which was usually packed at this time of year, was almost deserted.

‘There you are, my darling,’ Bruno beamed at her. He’d been on the island for donkey’s years, but the Glasgow accent still bore a hint of his native Italy. He’d
kept a teenage Finn out of trouble, giving both him and his best friend Roddy part-time jobs working there in the holidays – Finn washing dishes behind the scenes, Roddy out front making
coffees for the tourists who came in off the boat in droves back then, oblivious to the fact they were being served cappuccinos by the future Laird of Duntarvie. Ruth smiled to herself,
remembering. She sat back on the red leather seat of the old-fashioned booth and relaxed. This was the life.

‘Ruth!’

Talk of the devil – Kate, Roddy’s wife, came through the door, smiling as always. She was a lovely girl, a real breath of fresh air. Smelling of roses and carrying an armful of
flowers wrapped in paper, Kate leaned across the table, kissing her on the cheek.

‘How are you?’ She put the flowers down on the empty table opposite. ‘I’ve just nipped in for a sneaky bit of Bruno’s chocolate cake.’ She looked down at her
stomach.

‘I’m fine,’ Ruth smiled, motioning to the empty space beside her. ‘Are you staying here, or taking it back up to the big house?’

Kate sat down with an exhalation of breath. She looked from side to side in a jokily conspiratorial manner, lowering her voice. ‘Don’t tell anyone, but Jean’s up there making
mushroom quiche for dinner, and the
smell
–’ Kate pulled a face, making Ruth giggle. ‘And she’s got it into her head that I’m eating too much rubbish, so
between her and Mum they’ve cleared out all the things that taste nice in the house, and I am
desperate
for cake.’

‘I won’t tell a soul. Let me get it – my treat. Bruno,’ Ruth called across, ‘can I have a nice big slice of that chocolate cake, please?’

Jean was a lovely woman, but fairly set in her ways. Poor Kate; Ruth could remember being dreadfully sick when she’d been expecting Shona.

‘Here you go.’ Bruno frowned slightly as Kate reached across and took it gratefully.

‘Ohhh,’ she sighed, blissfully.

‘That solves the problem. If any of the food police come in, we can tell them you’re just having a wee taste of my cake.’

‘You are an angel,’ Kate beamed, her mouth full.

Later that afternoon, with the salon closed as usual for the Wednesday half-day, Isla was just pottering around when she heard a knock on the glass. Looking up, she felt her
cheeks flush scarlet.

‘Hi.’

‘I’m
so
sorry about last night.’ There, it was done.

‘It’s fine. It was nothing.’

Oh good
, thought Isla,
we can just pretend it didn’t happen
. She brushed away a slightly miffed feeling that she’d hoped it might be slightly
more
than nothing
to Finn; but then, with his reputation he probably dealt with people making passes at him three times before he’d even made it to work in the morning.

‘I wondered – as you’re closed this afternoon – if you fancied a trip over to the other side of the island? See the seals?’

‘I’d love to. Give me five minutes.’

They parked in a lay-by overlooking the bay. In the distance, purple against the sky, was the huge sleeping giant of Eilean Mòr, the island that stood several miles
across the sea beyond Auchenmor. The air was still, and filled with the sweet, coconut scent of the yellow gorse bushes.

‘If we walk through this field,’ Finn explained, ‘we can take a shortcut down to the rocks where the seals hang out. I’m not the expert –
Roddy’s the one who knows all the marine biology stuff – but it sort of rubs off on you when you grow up with someone like him.’

‘You two seem really close.’ Isla clambered over the stile that led into the field.

‘Yeah, we are. Neither of us had any siblings – well,’ he looked at Isla, his face clouding for a second, ‘I didn’t know I had any, let’s put it that
way.’

‘Have you thought about what you’re going to do about Shona?’

Finn shook his head. It was clear that he didn’t want to talk about it, and Isla was happy to enjoy the peace and not push it.

‘You’re lucky to have Ruth, anyway. I love spending time with her.’

‘She loves you.’ Finn gave her a nudge. ‘I think I’ve been replaced in her affections, actually.’

‘Hardly. You’re her blue-eyed boy.’ Ruth had chatted away about how proud she was to see Finn back in the workshop, doing the creative work he loved. Isla had promised to call
round after the reunion and let Ruth know how it had gone. It was an unlikely friendship, but they enjoyed each other’s company enormously.

Finn and Isla walked down towards the beach together in a comfortable silence, the sea birds swooping overhead. As they stepped onto the rugged black stones, Finn pointed out the first of many
seals basking in the sunshine. It was amazing that just hours away the city was gearing up for Festival time – and she’d soon be back there, with all this just a distant memory. Until
recently the idea of wanting to come back to Auchenmor ever again had horrified her, but of late, as her friendship with Shannon and Jinny – and, Isla admitted to herself, with Finn –
had grown, she’d realized that once Jessie was back, she could see herself coming over for the occasional weekend. The bustle of city life was in her blood, but the island had an unexpected
charm that she’d grown to love.

She and Finn sat down on a couple of rocks and he produced some chocolate, which tasted delicious in the salty air. They sat together for a while, looking out to sea, before he spoke.

‘So, not long now. What are your plans for when you get back to Edinburgh?’

‘I honestly don’t know.’ Isla shook her head. ‘Maybe I’ll open a meditation retreat like Lily, get a load of guests in to redecorate the place, charge them a
fortune.’

Finn laughed. He scooped up a handful of tiny pebbles, letting them run through his fingers and down into the rock pool at their feet.

‘Well, you’ve transformed Jessie’s place for her. Maybe that could be your thing. You could set off around the Highlands, create a chain of high-fashion salons and scare all
the old ladies out of their blue rinses and perms.’

Isla frowned. ‘I don’t think so.’

‘What did you want to be when you grew up?’ Finn shifted around to look at her, his gaze open and direct.

‘Me?’ Isla looked at him, thoughtfully. He was a good listener, Finn. He looked you right in the eye, made you feel like he was really interested in what you had to say. It was part
of his charm – she winced slightly, remembering the other night. ‘Um, actually, when I was younger, I wanted to be an English teacher.’

‘Interesting choice of career, then, hairdressing.’ Finn’s eyes crinkled as he laughed.

‘Yeah, well, it wasn’t really a choice. It just sort of happened.’

‘You’ve done a brilliant job with Shannon. Ma was telling me you’ve taught her loads.’

‘I like teaching the girls far more than anything else,’ she admitted.

‘So go back to college. Train as a teacher. It’s not too late, y’know.’

Isla looked at him with surprise. She’d shelved that plan a long time back.

He raised a quizzical eyebrow. ‘Just a thought.’

Isla fell back into silence, watching as a tiny crab made its way from one edge of the rock pool to the other. Overhead the gulls wheeled, their calls rising and falling on the wind. Eventually,
they set off for home, Isla still lost in thought.

It had been a quiet afternoon, but a lovely one. When Finn reached across to give her a kiss on the cheek, Isla surprised herself by turning it into a hug of thanks.

Finn drove back over the hill to Kilmannan, Isla by his side. He was going to drop her off in town and nip back for a chat with Ma – talking to Isla, he’d realized
that there was no point putting it off any longer. Flicking on the indicators, he turned across the junction, catching sight of a rainbow-coloured flash of tattoos and brightly dyed hair climbing
out of a beaten-up old Corsa.

‘That’s Shannon,’ said Isla, leaning across to wave. ‘What’s she doing at Ruth’s place?’

Finn let down the window, slowing the car to a stop. ‘You OK?’

‘Yeah, Ruth left her purse on the counter when she nipped in earlier.’

Finn switched off the ignition, suddenly feeling the need to check on Ruth. ‘D’you mind if I just pop in? Shannon, I’ll take it – thanks.’

‘No probs,’ said Shannon cheerfully. She handed the purse over and clambered back into the Corsa. It roared off, leaving a black cloud of exhaust fumes in its wake.

‘I’ll come in with you,’ said Isla, ‘say hello. We’re meant to be getting together tomorrow evening – I’ll just make sure she’s still OK for
meeting after work.’

Finn smiled at her as he pushed the door open. She genuinely loved spending time with Ruth – maybe it was growing up without her own mum around, but they’d formed a bond that was
really sweet.

‘Ah, hello, you two.’

Finn frowned down at the sofa where Ruth was sprawled, half-lying, half-sitting, still wearing her coat.

‘Are you OK, Ma? What’s going on? I’ve got your purse here – Shannon said you left it in the hairdresser’s.’ He placed it on the mantelpiece and squatted down
to Ruth’s level. She looked paler than usual, the wheeze on her breath evident.

‘Vertigo,’ she said, hefting herself upwards, ‘that’s all. I think I had a little spell when I got home, so I just sat myself down for a moment. Nothing to worry
about.’

Isla sat down beside her, smiling. ‘Shall I take your coat?’

‘Och, yes, go on then.’

Watching Isla as she tenderly helped his ma back into place, Finn found himself asking, almost without thinking, ‘Ma, I was about to take Isla back into town before I came back –
would you mind if she –’ Isla looked up at him, dark eyes on his – ‘I mean, Isla, d’you fancy staying for a bit of early supper?’

‘That would be very nice.’ Ruth smiled up at him. She looked tired.

The little kitchen in the cottage hadn’t changed in years. He filled the kettle and discovered that she’d made a pot of his favourite Scotch broth. Switching on the gas ring, he
turned back to the fridge and started with surprise at finding Isla just behind him.

‘Sorry.’ She flushed slightly. ‘I thought maybe I could give you a hand?’

He shook his head. If Roddy and Kate could see him now, they’d be teasing him mercilessly. He was as jumpy as a bloody kitten with Isla around.

‘That’d be lovely. If I cut this bread, d’you want to butter it for me?’

They worked side by side, Isla’s arm brushing his from time to time. She was ridiculously beautiful and beyond distracting. He felt a pang every time her remembered that she was only going
to be here for another few weeks. Maybe he could try just staying friends with her, make sure she was looked after . . . He snorted with sudden laughter.

‘What is it?’ Isla turned to him, pushing her hair back from her face.

‘Sorry, just thinking about something funny that happened the other day,’ he lied. He couldn’t tell her he’d laughed because the idea of Isla – feisty, sharp-edged,
no-nonsense – needing someone to look after her was completely preposterous.

‘Finn,’ Isla lowered her voice to a whisper, putting down the butter knife for a moment, ‘d’you think Ruth’s OK? She looks a bit pale to me.’

‘Yeah.’ He’d hoped he was being paranoid in thinking that. He sighed. ‘I dunno; you know what she’s like. She’ll say it’s nothing.’

‘I’ve never met anyone with such an aversion to doctors. Seriously, you’d think they were all trying to kill her off.’

‘I’ll maybe try and persuade her to pop in to the surgery tomorrow.’ Even as he spoke, he knew it was highly unlikely to happen. He tipped the soup into three deep bowls.

‘I can hear you two whispering away in there,’ came a voice from next door, ‘and you’d better not be gossiping about me, or I’ll come in there and skelp your
backsides.’ There was a cackle of laughter.

Ruth, sitting on the sofa, was quietly pleased that she’d been caught out having a small nap in her raincoat. At Bruno’s earlier she’d had a lovely chat with Kate, who’d
agreed that Isla was the best thing that had happened to Finn in a long time and that it was a pity the two of them couldn’t blooming well see it.

It was lovely to hear those two pottering about in the kitchen together, and she was fairly sure she’d managed to fob them off with the excuse that she’d suffered a bit of vertigo
– she had her friend Ethel to thank for that one, Ethel having recently been laid low with dizzy spells that had kept her at home for a few days. Ruth had finished her chat with Kate and
decided that that was enough for one day, and had been very grateful to accept a lift back home in Kate’s car.

Taking her flower-sprigged walking stick in one hand, she pushed herself up out of the sofa – it was too damned close to the ground, that thing, which was precisely why she never usually
used it. Straightening the embroidered tablecloth, she laid the table neatly before sitting down at her place.

Finn dropped Isla back in town after they’d eaten.

‘Will you pop in and make sure Ruth’s OK on your way back?’

He’d already planned to – he had something he wanted to say, something he hadn’t wanted to talk about in front of Isla. ‘Course I will.’ He was struck again by how
much she evidently cared for Ma. With Shona half a world away in Australia, it was nice that they’d created such a bond. Hopefully, even if Isla was back in Edinburgh getting on with her city
life, she’d keep in touch. He suspected, somehow, that she would. There was a small part of him – he gave a wry smile, realizing as he did so that he could hear Roddy saying
‘yeah, very small’ with his eyebrows raised in amusement – that really hoped she’d make a regular habit of visiting the island once she was gone.