Page 60

‘Fine, then let me walk you to your car.’

As they stepped out onto the road, the loud sound of bleating rattled through her. Bex had grown used to the sound of sheep since moving here, on her walks around the loch and castle grounds that woke her each morning. But this sounded particularly loud. She assumed it was another side effect of her extreme hangover – that was, until Lorna spoke.

‘I think you might have to delay your plans to leave for a little while longer,’ she said, nodding towards the road ahead.

Bex looked up, eyes widening. A huge flock of sheep had gathered across the road, blocking the exit entirely.

55

‘Who do they belong to? Where have they all come from?’ Bex asked, staring at the droves of sheep. There had to be two hundred of them, and they were blocking the entire road. The cacophony of bleating was worse than being in the middle of a rock concert, and the way the animals seemed determined to stay fixed on the spot and not let anyone else past was irritatingly similar to some of the gigs she had been to too.

‘Surely this can’t be allowed. People have to be able to get somewhere.’

‘I guess they’re moving fields,’ Lorna said. ‘Not sure whose they are. Maybe Fergus’s?’

‘Well, they need to move them faster.’

Lorna laughed. ‘Said like a true city girl. I know it’s annoying, but maybe you could do a bit more work up at the castle for a couple of hours. Or if not, just consider it an extra day on holiday. This is a holiday spot, you know – you could go down to the loch or?—’

‘I don’t want to go down to the loch. I want to get away from here, that’s all,’ Bex snapped before catching herself, her hand going to her head as she shook it in apology. ‘I’m sorry. I’m just… I haven’t done any work for a day and a half and on top of everything else, falling behind is the last thing I need.’

‘Then why don’t you look at today as an early weekend,’ Lorna suggested, ‘and do your work on Saturday and Sunday? You can do that, right? People do that in jobs all the time, don’t they?’

‘Possibly.’

As much as Bex loved Lorna’s free-and-easy approach to things, that wasn’t what had gotten Bex where she was in her job. The truth was, she had told Nigel earlier in the week just how massive the task was, and his response had been not to worry about it, so she didn’t have a hard deadline. But the longer she stayed, the greater the chance of Duncan returning before she left, and that was what she wanted to avoid. It wasn’t really about work or traffic – she just didn’t want to see Duncan.

‘I know you’re under a lot of stress, but these things have a way of working out,’ Lorna said, trying to be helpful. ‘And even if they don’t, sweating won’t make it any better.’

She was right. Bex knew that. But that still didn’t mean it was easy. Telling someone not to stress was a little like telling them not to think about a pink elephant; all it did was remind you how much you had to worry about.

‘Actually,’ Bex said, eyeing the flock in front of her, ‘the sheep are moving faster than I thought. I reckon they’ll be gone in an hour, so I can leave then and just get to Glasgow a bit later.’

‘You sure you want to do that?’ Lorna said. ‘You still had a pretty late night last night. You must be fairly shattered. I know I am.’

‘It’s fine. It’s not like it’s winter or anything – I don’t mind driving late as long as it’s light.’

‘Right, of course. So, what do you want to do until then? Café? My place? Or back to the castle?’

Bex thought about it. The castle was definitely out. That was the one thing she knew for certain, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to sit around food any longer. Also, while the throbbing behind her temples had eased, it was still definitely there.

‘Would it be really wrong of me if I just had a nap at yours?’ she asked.

Lorna smiled. ‘Of course not. That’s what friends are for, and this time, I’ll even pull the sofa bed out for you, too.’

56

When they got back to Lorna’s, she reached down the side of the sofa and pulled on a small handle. Immediately, the entire front section pulled out and converted the piece of furniture into a full-size bed.

‘Why the hell didn’t we do that last night?’ Bex said, still feeling the bruise down her arm from where she’d rolled off the sofa just a few hours before.

‘Well, I’m sure I told you about it at some point, but we were probably too drunk to remember,’ Lorna said, laughing. ‘But I got you a blanket and pillow, didn’t I? Considering the state I was in, I think that was pretty good going.’

Bex dropped onto the sofa bed, her muscles sinking into the soft springs. Yes, coming for a nap was definitely the right choice to make. She grabbed the pillow and blanket Lorna had fetched for her, kicked off her shoes and lay back.

‘Thanks,’ Bex said, navigating the alarm app on her phone. ‘I’ll just set this for an hour – that should be enough for a decent nap before I head home.’

‘Sounds good. I’m going to head out to meet Eilidh for a bit. You don’t mind being on your own, do you?’