Page 33 of Fixing a Broken Heart at the Highland Repair Shop
Jamie reached the same conclusion only a moment before her, and turned himself to face her, lifting onto his knees. She closed the space between them in an instant, joy bubbling up where before there’d been churning feelings.
‘Can I?’ she asked, pausing an inch from his lips, waiting for him to kiss her as confirmation, before pressing herself closer to him, nothing holding her back.
His mouth, tracing down her neck, sent her nerves sparking like the fire in the grate as they struggled out of their jackets, laughing and kissing all at once.
He kept his mouth to her throat as they tumbled messily onto their strewn coats, his hands catching her head before it bumped the floor. She was safe, she was warm, she was happy.
Mouth to mouth, hard then soft, alternating lip pinches, sharp and tight, then wider, deep opened-out moaning kisses, her tongue softly swept between his parted lips, making him gasp, the sound of his breath building and hitching and sending her dizzy.
She’d pulled off her T-shirt before her brain could fathom what was happening, and he’d mirrored her, the sight of his broad chest and the fading bruises at his ribs filling her up with astonishment and pity.
He asked if touching her was all right and waited for her reply before he’d lowered himself in the slowest, most careful way over her, his bare chest and stomach against her skin. The sensation loosened any grip she had on herself.
She pulled him nearer, hands spread over the pockets of his trousers, the material crisp as she gathered it, high-altitude kisses starving them both of air, switching off every polite inhibition within her.
They were still laughing, amazed, as they kissed, shucking off socks and trousers, him moving his lips to her bra, moving the thin fabric aside to take her into his mouth.
It was agreed between them that he should search out his wallet and the condom, which he did without dragging his eyes away from her, without taking his mouth off her skin.
With a hungry-eyed, devilish pause where he kneeled over her, rolling the protection into place, showing her his whole self, she couldn’t wait any longer and pulled him close to kiss him again.
Body to body, and in the blaze from the fire, they kissed and ground and held each other closer than they’d ever held anyone in deep connectedness, not caring about the cool floor, not feeling the shifting air pressure from the clouds lifting as the sun broke through again, forgetting everything but one another as they shared the deep shuddering burst of pleasure together, holding each other tightly until it subsided into a softening glow.
* * *
Jamie woke from the sleepy bliss first, thinking he’d slept for hours but finding it had been a matter of minutes. Still, he felt curiously rested. It was broad daylight outside, the Cairngorms really delivering on its promise of throwing four seasons in any given day at the unsuspecting traveller.
The bothy was close and quiet. No one needed anything from either of them.
Nothing needed to be done, other than watching the fire, delivering soft kisses to Ally’s closed eyelids as she too awoke, running his hands over the smooth curve of her shoulders, and contemplating with wonder how they’d been so incredibly good at this, and on their first time together too, then remarking with laughter what would the next time be like?
Jamie, however, knew more keenly than Ally that they’d better find their clothes and get down the mountain before the heavens chose to hail or snow, yet still he submitted a little longer to the longing to lie still, his body mirroring Ally’s, curled like bears in their winter den, happy to hibernate, not thinking of the world waiting for them when they emerged into the sunlight once more.
Sadly, reality has a bad habit of not knowing when to keep its nose out of innocent lovers’ business, and today was no exception.
There came the sound of a fist hammering at the bothy door. Jamie guessed from its agitated insistence which grumpy, camo-clad survival expert stood outside.
‘Ranger service,’ called the cross voice, trying to peer in at the steamed window under the eaves. ‘Open up! Let’s get you down off my mountain!’
* * *
Finlay Morlich escorted them home without a word.
Jamie couldn’t help but think of the officer who’d brought him back to his dad’s that night when he was a wayward kid an inch away from going right off the rails.
Only now, Jamie wasn’t wracked with squirming shame and powerlessness, wasn’t eaten up inside with grief and missing his mother.
He’d come a long way in recent years, and most of that distance he’d covered in great strides since meeting Ally McIntyre.
He quirked an eyebrow at Ally when they reached the car park at the foot of the slope next to the ranger hut. Finlay unlocked the doors of a beaten-up old jeep and gestured impatiently for them to get in. He was set on driving them to their doors, apparently.
Ally hadn’t taken the interruption to her bothy escape quite so easily as Jamie.
She was still squinting against the light now, looking ethereally tired and more beautiful than he’d ever seen her with her hair messy at the back and her cheeks blushing pink with embarrassment after the heated scramble for underwear while Jamie, amused, had curbed the bothy fire and laced his boots.
Ally didn’t think it was funny, so he didn’t push her to see it that way.
In the back of Finlay’s jeep as they bumped their way down the road to town, Cairn Dhu Mountain shrinking in the rear-view mirror as though it wasn’t some magical place up in the clouds where they’d excursioned in heaven itself, Ally hurriedly switched her phone back on.
Finlay, who’d been seemingly oblivious to their embarrassment – as though he hadn’t even suspected what they’d been doing – didn’t fail to notice Ally had followed his advice on relay running their phone batteries.
He nodded approvingly to himself now as he drove not one mile an hour over the speed limit.
Jamie, who had nothing to fear and not a drop of awkwardness or tension left in his body, reached a hand over the space between them, thinking Ally would take it in hers.
He wanted to squeeze her fingers, take that preoccupied look from her brows, make her smile again.
But Ally was reading from her screen, engrossed.
‘Oh!’ she said, and Jamie caught the flush bloom in her cheeks.
‘Everything OK?’
She handed him the phone so he could see it for himself.
Future Proof Planet are delighted to extend you an offer of twelve months’ employment in the role of Blue Sky Thinking Technician based in our Zurich office.
He scrolled a little further over the details of salary, benefits, the included flat share, and all the rest of it; the promise of a wonderful opportunity for Ally.
A glance told him she was about to burst with excitement and something else, something regretful, something anxious, preventing her from enjoying her success fully. He knew the cause, the fly in the ointment: it was him.
Thinking fast, he had precisely one second to get his response absolutely right or he’d risk blowing this whole thing.
It had to be pitch-perfect. Too sorry sounding, and there was a risk she’d turn this dream job down to stay with him or if he seemed sulky she might think he believed he had the power to stop her going and would hate him for it.
Too cool and she’d think he didn’t care about her now he’d got what he wanted.
She hadn’t spoken at all since Finlay’s arrival at the bothy, and she wore a startled expression like she couldn’t quite process what they’d done. Gently was the only way to go now. A show of unwavering support. So he wet his lips, set his face in a delighted smile and began.
‘Ally! This is… this is wonderful! Congratulations!’
He took her hand and squeezed it on the seat between them, like he’d wanted to a moment ago, only now he was sort of patting it too.
Her eyes flew to his, questioning. ‘Really?’
‘Of course, really! I’m thrilled for you! Switzerland? You’re going to have the best time!’
She didn’t look sure.
‘Aren’t you happy?’ he asked her.
‘Uh, of course I am.’ She took her phone once more and set her eyes on the screen, scrolling absently like she couldn’t make out a word of the job offer.
‘You should be. Did I say I was delighted? Because I am, truly.’
‘Yes, you said that.’
Why did she look close to tears? What was he getting wrong?
‘You should reply right away, tell them you accept!’
She looked blankly back at the message. ‘I should?’
‘Heck yes, you should!’ Heck, yes ? Since when did he say heck anything?
He rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb.
Finlay flicked the indicator for the turning into the McIntyres’ mill house and the repair shop driveway. The sight of it gave Jamie the feeling astronauts must have when they splash down in the ocean having spent weeks in orbit. Everything looked the same and yet nothing was the same.
Finlay cut the engine, turning in his seat with an arm over the passenger headrest. He looked ready to deliver a steely message about irresponsible behaviour and the deadliness of mountain terrain and the brainlessness of the pair of them, but surprisingly even he seemed to get the measure of the mood in the back of the jeep and he kept his mouth shut.
‘I’ve got a lot to do,’ Ally said, gesturing at the phone in her hand.
‘Of course. You crack on!’ Jamie’s cheeks hurt from the artificial grin. ‘I’ll see you in a bit.’
Finlay waited impatiently for her to get out of his vehicle as though he had other silly people to save from themselves.
Jamie leaned across the seat and kissed her. She let him do it. ‘You’ve got this. Don’t think, don’t panic, just get ready for the trip of your lifetime.’
She nodded like she was on a slower setting than him.
‘Right,’ she said. ‘See you in a bit.’ With a look of bewilderment, she hesitated before opening the door. She turned again, preparing to say something, but Finlay was getting tired of whatever this was.
The ranger handed Ally a leaflet as a parting gift. ‘There’s yin for you an’ all,’ he said, giving another to Jamie.
Staying Safe in the Cairngorms , the cover blazoned. Jamie wanted to laugh at Finlay’s hard headedness but when he looked to Ally he was met with the swinging shut of the door.
Finlay fixed his eyes on the windscreen and pulled away once again.
The last Jamie saw of Ally that day was her standing on the gravel outside her house, her phone in one hand, the leaflet in the other, her face frozen in astonishment.
Jamie sunk in the seat as Finlay barked something over his shoulder about whether he was still belted up in the back.
Visions of their morning, shrouded in white, replayed in his head now.
Neither of them had been aware in the slightest they’d been striding headlong into danger.
Something told Jamie as the jeep hit the high street he wasn’t quite out of the fog even now and his mind raced trying to work out why he still felt so lost.