Page 28 of A Summer House on Arran (Scottish Romances #3)

They were on their descent from the falls and making their way down the woodland trail towards the Giants’ Graves, when Logan became aware of Olivia next to him.

He wasn’t going to lie, he was worried that he had offended Kitty, as she had distanced herself since he stood next to her on the viewing platform.

He thought they had been getting on well and there had been a definite connection between them when he accidentally brushed his arm against hers.

It felt like an electric current. He wondered why she had bolted.

Did he smell or have bad breath? Or say something inappropriate?

He racked his brain trying to relive their conversation, but all he could remember was some light-hearted banter and laughter.

Maybe he had read the situation wrong after all, and she and Olivia were together .

Then he reminded himself he was working, and needed to focus on the group he was responsible for.

The last thing he wanted was to lose concentration right now.

This was so unlike him, and he was worried he was losing the plot.

‘Are you enjoying it so far?’ he said politely to Olivia.

‘It’s incredible,’ she replied. ‘Not like anything I’ve ever done before.’

‘First time in Scotland, then?’

‘Yes.’

Neither of them spoke and Logan watched Kitty, who was now at the head of the group. He couldn’t take his eyes of her tumble of red curls.

‘Look,’ said Olivia, taking a deep breath. ‘I think I owe you an apology. I’m so sorry for being rude at the pub the other night. I had a terrible day, and I shouldn’t have accused you of trying to steal my bag.’

Logan shrugged. ‘That’s okay. Apology accepted.’

‘I wanted to clear the air. It wasn’t fair of me to project my stuff onto you.’

‘Please don’t worry. We all have bad days. But for the record, I was just trying to help.’

‘I know. And I appreciate it.’

Logan turned to her and smiled. ‘Thank you. So what brought you to Scotland?’

She chuckled. ‘A long story. But in essence, my aunt and uncle visited last year and loved the place, and I had the summer off so randomly ended up coming to Arran. I was in Italy and met some Glaswegians who also raved about it, so I decided to take that as a sign, then took a bit of a leap of faith.’

Logan was impressed. ‘That’s a brave thing to do.’

She shrugged. ‘Not really. I’m just lucky that I have the summer off work and got the chance to come.’

He was intrigued that she hadn’t mentioned Kitty and their connection, and he wondered if there was a polite and subtle way of asking if they were together.

‘And how do you and Kitty know each other, then?’

‘Well, we don’t. That’s the strange thing,’ she said.

‘What do you mean?’ He was surprised.

‘We didn’t meet until a few days ago.’

‘Seriously?’ he said, genuinely shocked. ‘I just assumed you were here together.’

Olivia raised her shoulders in a shrug. ‘We didn’t get off to the best start,’ she admitted. She filled him in on their clashing summer house plans and their decision to trial a house share at Lilybank Cottage.

‘Wow,’ he said. ‘I would not have guessed that at all. So you’re housemates, then.’

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘And so far, so good. We seem to be getting along just fine. Well, apart from her dodgy singing,’ she joked. ‘Kitty’s son has gone away to do Camp America and so she thought she would make the most of her summer here as it’s just her.’

Logan felt relief wash over him when he heard this. So she was single, and she had a son. Interesting. And they were staying at Lilybank Cottage. He would have to get more information from James. He chewed his lip thoughtfully as he glanced at Olivia. ‘And where is home for you normally?’

‘I’m based in New York. Though I can travel a lot with my job . . . I’m a dancer.’

‘You’re used to living out of a bag, then?’ He chuckled good-naturedly.

‘Yip. So having one base and one bed for six weeks is a treat.’

They were nearing the prehistoric site of the cairns, which were built sometime between 5500–4500BCE.

‘This will be something that you don’t see back home,’ he said to Olivia, then edged his way ahead to stand at the front of the group.

‘Here we are. As you can see, the tombs are mostly ruined, there’s a lot of turf covering some of the remains.

But this style of cairn is part of the Clyde group; there are many of these Clyde tombs scattered across the island.

’ He paused to let everyone look around.

‘When they were excavated, shreds of pottery, fragments of cremated bone, and flint knives and arrowheads were discovered.’

‘When was that?’ asked Olivia.

‘That was back in 1902.’ He looked across at Kitty, who now seemed to be avoiding eye contact. ‘Have a look around, take your time.’

He peeled his rucksack from his shoulders and circled them a few times. It was hotter now than it had been when they started their walk, and he was parched. Taking a swig of water, he stood observing the group as they wandered around the site, taking photographs and quietly talking to each other.

He fleetingly thought about the last significant woman in his life.

He and Julia had dated for a few months, until she became increasingly keen that they move in together and settle down.

She didn’t understand his passion for the outdoors and adventure and the need he had to explore.

When she started making suggestions that he settle down and work more ‘regular’ hours he knew that was the end.

He never wanted to feel trapped or suffocated in a relationship.

He knew he would perhaps never find someone who would understand his nomadic lifestyle.

Anyway, he reminded himself, he had been perfectly happy with that.

Until now , a voice in his head whispered.

His T-shirt was damp and sticking to his back.

He would be glad to have a cold shower when he got back to the flat.

Glancing at his watch, he was relieved that they were on time.

He liked to have a bit of a schedule to follow, as some guests liked to plan their day meticulously, especially if they were here for a short time.

However, he would never rush a tour, particularly if conditions were tougher, or they were genuinely immersed in the moment.

When everyone started to gather around him again, he clapped his hands together. ‘Okay, let’s make our way back to the bus.’

* * *

By the time they arrived back in Brodick, the bus was almost silent, and Logan knew that most of the party would have fallen asleep.

There were also a few loud telltale snores, always the sign of a well-walked lot.

He was glad that they seemed to have enjoyed their first day of the tour.

It was a gentle start to the next four days of walking, and it had gone well.

This was one of their easier walking tours, in contrast to the Arran coastal way, which was a path that took them right round the island, staying in different places each night.

He would be doing that trip a couple of times later in the summer, and he felt a sense of relief knowing that he would be spending a bit of time on Arran over coming weeks. He had always felt at home here.

Tomorrow they would visit the Machrie Moor Standing Stones and the King’s Cave; the day after they would go and explore the northern coast at Lochranza, with an optional stop at the distillery there.

Day four would be a walk through forest trails from Brodick to Lamlash, and then the fifth day they would climb the highest peak on the island, Goatfell.

He just hoped the weather would stay fair.

He pulled into a parking bay at the ferry terminal and switched off the ignition.

‘Wakey, wakey, sleepyheads,’ he called gently, and then cleared his throat when he realised that there was no movement.

‘That’s us back.’ He coughed noisily and stood up to face everyone.

He was met with a few bleary-eyed looks of surprise as people realised they had arrived in Brodick.

They began to slowly gather their belongings together.

‘Make sure you remember all your stuff, water bottles too,’ he said, pointing to one that had rolled to the front.

He picked it up. ‘Thanks for today, everyone. I hope you enjoyed it and are raring to go tomorrow?’

There was a collective murmur of ‘yay’.

‘Glad to hear it,’ he said. ‘Now, enjoy the rest of the day and I’ll see you here at the same time tomorrow.

We’ll drive to the other side of the island this time, which should take around forty minutes.

We’ll walk to the standing stones then down to the King’s Cave, where we can have lunch on the beach.

Just remember the usual stuff. Your water, your lunch, a waterproof jacket just in case . . .’

‘Thanks, Logan,’ said the Australian man called Adam, who had been sitting at the front of the bus with his wife, Liz. ‘Thoroughly enjoyed that. But I’m not going to lie, I’m looking forward to a cold beer now. And maybe a little lie down.’

Logan chuckled. ‘Indeed. And so you should. You’re on your holidays.’

As everyone clambered down the steps with their backpacks, he braved a glance at Kitty, who was last off the bus behind Olivia.

She had scooped her hair into a ponytail and a few tendrils fell around her face.

He felt himself wanting to reach out and tuck them behind her ear — he thrust his hands into his pockets so he didn’t do anything stupid.

He didn’t want to end up having a complaint filed against him on day one.

‘Did you enjoy the day, girls?’ he said brightly.

‘It was great,’ said Olivia. ‘Just loved it. Thank you.’

‘Yes. It was lovely. Thank you very much.’ Kitty’s cheeks were flushed, and he wasn’t sure if that was from the sun and fresh air or if she was embarrassed.

‘See you tomorrow, Logan,’ said Olivia. ‘And thanks again.’

He watched the women make their way over to their car, then set about locking up the bus and getting it ready for the next day.

When he glanced across, he could see Kitty looking back.

She raised her hand in a small wave. It was a tiny gesture, but one that made his heart soar. He lifted his hand and waved back.