Page 29

‘I think Fergus knew that no one could do the job better than Grandad, and Grandad knew he’d never find a job he loved more than this. And he didn’t want to uproot Mum. That was another crazy relationship. Apparently no one even knew Grandad was seeing anyone, then he turned up with this young woman and announced that she’d had his baby and they were a family now. Well, it wasn’t a family that lasted long. She left when Mum was only two, leaving Grandad to be Mum’s sole parent. Didn’t even stay in touch. I think that’s part of why Fergus let them stay. You know, she’d already had a lot of change to deal with.’

‘Wow.’

Bex knew lots of families had complications, but her heart went out to Duncan’s grandfather. To have lost his best friend and then for his wife to walk out and leave him with a toddler must have been one hell of a lot to deal with.

‘Who’s the girl?’ Bex asked, looking at the third person in the photo. Fergus had his arm slung around the woman’s shoulder, while Duncan’s grandfather had his hand around her waist.

‘No idea,’ Duncan said, frowning.

‘Do you think maybe she’s the reason they fell out?’ Bex was weaving a story in her head, with these three people as the main characters. ‘Maybe they were both in love with her?’

She could see it now, the beautiful young woman, torn between the dashing laird and the good-hearted groundskeeper. It was the type of story novels were based on.

‘I guess it’s possible,’ Duncan replied quietly.

‘Aren’t you interested in knowing more?’

‘Not really.’

It took Bex a mere heartbeat to realise why Duncan’s voice had taken on a distant quality. The instant it did, guilt stirred through her.

Two childhood best friends, torn apart because they loved the same woman. The story she had described was pretty much exactly what had happened with Duncan, Archie and Katty. And yet here she was talking about it like it would be a fun, exciting piece of gossip. Silence swilled around the room. Bex found herself desperate to reach out and take Duncan’s hand. To apologise for her thoughtlessness. And yet she suspected he would hate that. Hate her feeling sorry for him.

‘Come on,’ she said, attempting to break the tension. ‘Let’s set those aside in case Fergus wants them later. We’ve got plenty to get through. Unless you’re already tired from moving books and need a rest?’

He lifted his gaze and quirked an eyebrow at her.

‘Don’t worry about me. I’ve got enough stamina for days. I’ll show you if you like.’

‘Perfect,’ she replied, unable to grin back. ‘Because I need that filing cabinet open next.’

29

When they finally finished, it wasn’t because they had run out of work to do, but because Ruby was standing at the closed door, scratching to go out.

‘What time is it?’ Bex asked, having left her phone somewhere in the detritus.

‘Um, six,’ Duncan replied as he looked at his watch. ‘I guess she must be ready for her dinner.’

‘Six?’ Bex grabbed Duncan’s wrist so she could turn his watch around to face her. ‘Where the heck did the last three hours go?’

‘Well, you know what they say about time flying when you’re having fun.’ Duncan grinned. ‘I guess it must be the company.’

‘Yeah,’ Bex said in a very noncommittal way. Not that she hadn’t enjoyed Duncan’s company, but at some point in the last three hours, they had pretty much stopped talking and just got on with work. Now, as she stepped back, she was incredibly grateful for that.

‘This actually looks like we’ve made progress,’ she said, surprise raising her voice. ‘This is great. Thank you so much. I don’t think I would have been able to do this without your help.’

‘Well, how about I get to take you out for that meal now? I mean, if you don’t need my help with any more sorting.’

Bex offered him a withering glare.

‘I said we’ve made progress, not that we were done. There’s still that extra cupboard at the end that I haven’t opened since the first day because I’m pretty sure there are mice living in there.’

Duncan let out a chuckle. ‘Well, I can do that one for you then. But I ought to go back now. Kenna hates it when I’m out all day. I’ve tried to have her come to work with me, you know, just hang around in the truck while I go off and do things, but she doesn’t like doing that either.’

‘Kenna the cat?’ Bex replied. ‘You wanted to take your cat to work with you?’

‘Why not?’ he said, looking most put out by the comment. ‘People take dogs to work with them. Why should it be any different?’