Page 55

‘What are you going to do, then?’ Claire asked.

‘Not much. Just take a walk to the village, clear my head. Get a pub lunch.’

‘That sounds nice. Just stay in touch, won’t you?’

Bex was about to assure them she would when her phone buzzed with a new message. She glanced down and saw it was from Duncan.

‘What is it?’ Claire asked, noticing the sudden flicker of emotion on Bex’s face. ‘Is everything all right?’

‘Everything’s fine,’ Bex said, sweeping her finger across the message to delete it without even reading it. Whatever it said, it wouldn’t make things better. She knew that. Right now, she needed to get Duncan out of her mind and that meant forgetting he even existed.

49

It was warmer than Bex expected as she walked. Or maybe it was simply the pace she’d set that made her so hot. She crossed the castle grounds and headed towards the loch, her eyes fixed forward, careful not to glance in the direction of the lodge. There would have been tears, she thought. Lots of apologies. Promises that things would be okay. Lies they knew they had to say to one another because their lives were changed forever now. They were going to be parents.

As she wiped the tears from her cheeks, she wondered how it was possible that she still had any left. This wasn’t the first time she’d cried over a man, but all those other times it had felt like something she needed to do to get them out of her system. And half the time it hadn’t been about them anyway. It had been about her. Her failure to find that happy ever after that she dreamt of. Her failure to find someone who thought of her as theirs and theirs alone. But Duncan had thought that, hadn’t he? After only two weeks knowing each other and one night together, he had said those words to Katty. ‘I’m not yours any more.’ That’s what he’d said. But words meant nothing. Not now.

By the time she reached the pub, it was three o’clock in the afternoon and she was sweaty and hot. Even though she wasn’t particularly hungry, she knew better than not to eat anything. And so she headed to the Lion, wanting nothing more than to hide herself away, but when she walked in, she realised her mistake. There, standing behind the bar, doing one of her countless jobs, was Lorna.

The redhead’s eyes lit up at the sight of Bex and before she realised what was happening, Lorna was out from the bar, squeezing her in a hug.

‘So?’ Lorna said when she broke away. ‘I believe you’ve got something you need to tell me? Something about my brother.’

Bex froze, wondering if Lorna already knew about the pregnancy.

‘Liz rang me last night,’ Lorna said, giving her a wink. ‘She said you and Duncan were all over each other at The Haven. I mean, I should be mad. I am mad, but from what Eilidh said after you four had dinner, apparently it was inevitable. According to her, you two were sneaking glances at each other the entire night, and he offered to walk you home… She also said Duncan was the happiest she had seen him since… well ever, really. And I’m guessing that’s down to you. So I take back what I said before. You have my blessing to date my brother, for what it’s worth. Not that it stopped you before.’

Lorna’s smile was genuine, her happiness clear. She approved of them, was actually happy about it, and now Bex had to crush that happiness.

‘It’s not quite that straightforward,’ Bex said hesitantly.

‘Why? What happened?’

‘I’m not sure it’s my place to tell you.’

Bex didn’t want to break down again. She had only just got a grip of her tears and the last thing she wanted was to turn into a blubbering wreck in the middle of the pub, even if it was on a Wednesday afternoon. But she could feel her eyes welling and her breaths growing shallower, and she already knew there was nothing she could do about it.

‘Bex?’ Lorna’s eyes narrowed. ‘Either you tell me what happened right now, or I’ll march right over to my brother’s house and kick his arse for making you look like that. So, which is it going to be?’

50

Five minutes later, Lorna was no longer behind the bar, but sitting at one of the tables with a large whisky in front of her.

‘No, no way. There is no way that I can possibly be related to the spawn of Katty McLeod.’

Given that Lorna and Duncan were stepsiblings, she and the baby wouldn’t actually be blood relations, Bex thought, but she didn’t think it was a good idea to bring that up. Not considering how truly horrified Lorna was by this news.

‘Have you spoken to him?’

‘No, not since I left there this morning. The last thing he needs is me complicating the situation right now. He’s obviously got a lot going on.’

‘You see, this is why you’re perfect for him – because you actually think about what is best for him. She never did that. Ever.’

Bex wasn’t sure whether being described as ‘perfect for him’ should have made her feel good, but all it did was cause a knot to twist in her stomach.

‘He’ll do the right thing, won’t he?’ Bex asked, echoing the words she’d said to the girls earlier in the day. ‘He’ll stand by her.’

‘Oh, of course he will. He’ll be miserable forever. Jesus, people always said he took after his grandad, but now this is getting ridiculous.’