Page 38 of A Scottish Lighthouse Escape (Scottish Escapes #9)

As I was about to head to my bedroom to put on clean clothes, I glanced out of my window.

Mitch was standing outside the lighthouse, scanning his surroundings. He spotted me at the bedroom window and began gesticulating wildly at the top of the cliff path. What was going on?

I grabbed a fresh jumper, jeans, socks and underwear and threw them on. Then I hurried back to the front door and opened it. Mitch was scrambling his way through the melting snow towards the cottage fence. I stuck my head out. ‘Everything okay?’

Mitch looked grim. ‘It looks like someone’s in trouble in the bay.’

And then he was off, slipping and sliding down the wet, slushy path to help whoever it was in difficulty.

My heart lurched. Christ, that water would be freezing! Was Mitch going to tear into the water and conduct a one-man rescue?

I didn’t know what to do. But I had to do something. Racing to my grandma’s linen cupboard, I grabbed some clean, fresh towels and a couple of thick picnic-style rugs. ‘I won’t be long,’ I called out to a confused Bronte.

I dropped them to the floor, pulled my coat, hat and scarf back on, laced up my walking boots and bundled the towels and blankets back up in my arms. I locked the cottage door behind me and made my way down the path to the bay.

My heart stilled in my chest, as I took tentative steps on the slick, wet stones. I could see that Mitch had made his way to the bottom of the path. There was somebody thrashing about in the water sending chilled, grey spray up into the air. Mitch was shouting to them.

I watched with an increasing sense of dread as Mitch tugged off his coat, jumper and boots.

‘I don’t have time to go and get my boat.

’ He threw his clothes onto the sand and then charged towards the water and dived in.

It closed over his head. Panic and horror gripped me.

‘Shit! Mitch! What are you doing? No! Don’t! ’

Hanging on to my armful of blankets and towels as though my life depended on it, I managed to keep myself upright on the thick, melting snow. When I got to the bottom of the path, I staggered towards the shoreline and dumped my armful of linen on top of a nearby rock.

Worry rattling through me, I squinted out towards the water.

The person who had been bobbing up and down in the water like a spinning top was still there but there was no sign of Mitch.

I swallowed. Where the hell was he? Why did he have to try and be bloody Action Man all the time?

Why did he insist that he had to try and help everyone, and put himself at risk?

Bile rose up in my throat. Don’t tell me I was on the brink of losing someone else that I cared about.

Oh, thank God! Relief charged through me as Mitch’s head forced its way out of the water beside the struggling person. He took them in his arms and began making his way back to the shore.

Under the churning winter sky, time seemed to slow down. The water was strong and resistant, disturbed waves slapping against each other, but Mitch ploughed on with his swim, kicking his legs as he guided the person in his arms back to shore.

I watched him, with burning admiration, awe– and irritation. What if he’d got into difficulties?

I reached for the towels and blankets I’d brought and rushed towards Mitch and the bedraggled figure he was carrying out of the water. Her sodden clothes were clinging to her like a shiny second skin and her mascara was trailing down her face in black streams.

It was only when Mitch set her safely on a rock and I bundled her into one of the thick blankets that I recognised her. Her burgundy hair was stuck to her face. It was Rhea Stafford. What the hell had she been doing that she’d fallen in the sea?

Rhea gazed up at Mitch and me with big sorrowful eyes. She gulped in some of the tangy sea air before dissolving into tears. ‘Thank you,’ she managed in racking sobs to Mitch. ‘Thank you.’

I crouched down in front of her.

‘You need to get checked over by a doctor,’ said Mitch through jittery teeth. He grasped another blanket and whirled it around himself, like a superhero.

‘Here’s my phone,’ I said, plucking it from my jeans’ back pocket and handing it to him. Mitch was towel-drying his hair with one of my spare towels. He was standing there like some topless, sinewy male model.

I jerked my eyes away and focused all my attention on poor Rhea. From wanting to bop her on the nose, I now felt sorry for her. ‘Rhea, what are you doing out here after the weather we’ve had? It’s freezing.’

She was fighting to look me in the eyes from under her straggling fringe. She clung to the blanket around her. ‘I took a boat out.’

She shot Mitch a fearful glance, but he was too busy speaking on the phone asking for an ambulance.

‘In this weather? Whatever for?’

She rubbed the seawater from her face. ‘I wanted to say goodbye to him properly. You know, just me, on my own, privately…’

‘Say goodbye to who?’

‘Freddie’ she struggled. ‘My husband. He died ten years ago today. He loved coming out here to fish.’ She took a breath.

‘So, I pinched one of the boats that was tied up further along the shore and took it out with some flowers to throw in the water. But I lost control.’ Her voice caught. ‘Och, I’m just a stupid, old woman!’

Rhea’s grief, and her actions because of it, swam through me. It resonated. Emotions can do that to you, make you do things that under normal circumstances you would never even consider. I swallowed. ‘No, you’re not. You’re still grieving.’

‘I stood up and then toppled into the water. Lord knows what would have happened if your chap hadn’t arrived on the scene when he did.’

Poor Rhea. Misery and embarrassment were radiating out of her lined, grey eyes.

Mitch came striding back over. He’d thrown his coat, jumper and boots back on, but his jeans were still sodden. ‘Ambulance will be here shortly.’

‘Oh no!’ groaned Rhea. ‘I don’t need a doctor or the hospital.’

‘Just get checked over,’ ordered Mitch. ‘Best to be careful.’

Moments later, the zingy yellow sight of the ambulance appeared at the top of the footpath and two paramedics made their way down to us.

While they attended to Rhea, I cornered Mitch. ‘You need to get home and get those wet clothes off.’

Mitch arched a brow. ‘Only if you promise to help me.’

I became flustered. ‘I mean, get dry clothes on after your Aqua man stint.’

Mitch nodded his head towards Rhea. ‘Has she told you what happened?’

‘Yes. She borrowed a boat and went out on the water to leave some flowers for Freddie, her late husband, but she got into difficulties.’

Mitch tutted. ‘Fancy going out after that storm last night.’

Defence of Rhea and her emotional, impulsive actions kicked in. ‘Grief can do funny things to people.’

‘And who the hell let her borrow a boat? That’s just irresponsible.’

A blush stung my cheeks. ‘Well, Rhea didn’t actually borrow it.’

‘What do you mean?’

I shuffled on the spot, then started moving around, gathering up the remaining wet towels and blankets. ‘She took it.’

‘You mean stole it?’

‘She was going to return it,’ I insisted. ‘Her head is all over the place right now, Mitch. She’s upset and embarrassed. It’s the tenth anniversary of losing her husband.’

I gazed up at him, my eyes imploring. ‘Please don’t report her. She didn’t mean to cause any trouble. She wasn’t thinking.’

‘Rosie, I’m the local lighthouse keeper.’

‘And I know there’s a heart beating in there, otherwise you wouldn’t have thrown yourself into the water to save her.

’ Without thinking, I pushed out one hand, thrust it under his open coat and rested it on his chest. I could feel his warm skin through his jumper and the throb of his heart.

‘And you are a selfless, kind man who thinks of others. Just look at all the things you’ve done for me. ’

Mitch’s gaze followed my hand and rested on it.

My eyes drifted to where my hand was on his chest. Oh shit! What was I doing?

I yanked it away as though I’d just received a third-degree burn. ‘Come on, Mitch.’

He pushed a hand through his wet black curls. ‘Do you know where the boat she purloined is now?’

Rhea had heard. The two paramedics were gathering up their equipment and about to escort her back up towards the ambulance and to hospital. ‘It’s just past Raven’s Rock, so not far.’

Mitch sighed, defeated. He gazed down at me from under his wet curls and nodded. ‘Okay. I’ll jump in my boat now and go and retrieve it.’

Rhea let out a relieved breath. She took Mitch’s hand and clasped it in her freckled one. ‘Thank you. The next time you come into the corner shop, you get your stubby beers on the house.’

Mitch dismissed the paramedics’ requests to check him over. I insisted that I’d return him to his accommodation and make sure he had a hot shower and thawed out.

We watched the three figures of Rhea and the two paramedics in their dark green outfits make their way back up the path and to the ambulance. ‘Thank you,’ I smiled up at him.

‘For what?’

‘For not dobbing her in it.’

Mitch shook his head, exasperated. ‘I must be losing my mind.’

I took a long look at him. I think I was too.

* * *

Mitch took his boat, went to retrieve the one Rhea had borrowed, and brought it back to the bay.

As soon as he left the snow-battered bay behind and returned to the warmth of his accommodation, he thawed himself out for a few minutes in front of the orange, crackling fire. ‘I’ll go grab a shower in a minute and put on some fresh, dry clothes.’

I promised myself I wouldn’t dwell on images of Mitch in the shower. ‘And I’ve just made a fresh pot of tea.’

Mitch’s features were bathed in the warm crackle from his fire.

‘So, you managed to locate the boat that Rhea borrowed?’

‘Aye. It wasn’t that far out and was floating just a few feet away from Raven’s Rock, like she said. I tied it to mine and brought it back to the harbour.’

‘Thank you,’ I smiled gratefully at him. ‘What about the boat’s owner?’

‘He had no idea it had gone missing.’ He flicked me a look. ‘Old Arty, one of the fishing guys, told me who owned it. Some guy called Tam Love. Told him I’d spotted it floating. Must’ve got free in the storm.’

‘Thank you again,’ I said. ‘Really.’ I blushed. ‘You gave me such a scare,’ I told him, as we studied one another.

‘Why was that?’

‘Because you charged off into the water and I didn’t know what had happened to you.’

‘All part of the job, ma’am,’ he joked.

‘Please don’t be flippant.’ I heard my voice crack.

‘Rosie. What is it?’ His face was brimming with concern.

The thought came to me in a blinding panic that something could have happened to Mitch today, someone else I cared about.

I couldn’t go through that again. I’d had enough of it.

Living on a knife edge all over again. Expecting the worst to happen.

Waiting for them to be stolen away from me.

I realised as I processed these emotions, that I wasn’t so much thinking about Joe but about my parents and grandparents.

I shook my head and forced my mouth into a smile. ‘Nothing, I’m fine. Just cold.’ I was doing it again, allowing my feelings for Mitch to start to bubble. I gestured to his tea. ‘Now go grab a shower, enjoy the tea and if you need anything, you know where I am.’

Then I grabbed my coat and left.