Zoe laughed. ‘He’s remarkably house-trained for a rat and so intelligent – I swear he can understand me.’
‘O. M. G. That is it! You have got to get back to civilisation. I bet you haven’t even had a bottle of Prosecco since you got there. You’ll have swapped it for Irn-Bru.’
‘Oh, I have, I drank a whole bottle on the first night and was convinced I was about to be attacked by a bear. So, when are you coming to visit?’
‘You know how much I love you. But seriously? I am not spending any of my precious time re-enacting Deliverance. I’ll see you when you’ve regained your senses and come home.’
‘Not going to happen anytime soon, sweetpea, I’m falling in love with this place.’
‘The place or a person? What’s going on with Jamie? For a country boy he is proper hot!’
‘Eww, no! He’s like my brother! You can have him, although I think you might be too much for him to handle.’
Sam sighed theatrically. ‘I’m always too much to handle. Ooh, hang on. Shit. Gotta go, agent on the other line.’
She hung up and Zoe rested back against the trunk. ‘That was Sam. She sends her love and says she can’t wait to meet you.’
Basil crawled out of her hair and ran along the branch, sniffing and moving his head.
‘What is it? Can you hear something?’ Zoe listened as the sound of a car engine drifted towards them. ‘It’s someone come to save us. Now be as cute as possible. Okay?’
Zoe craned to see the track more clearly between the branches of the tree. The engine roared closer but she didn’t see it until it rounded the bend. It was the filthy truck with the coat of arms she’d seen in the back courtyard of the castle.
She groaned. Please, let this not be Rory.
7
Zoe watched Rory swing out of the truck with ease and unstrap an extending ladder from the roof. He worked quickly and efficiently. Not once did he even glance in the direction of the tree where she sat, trying to make herself small and invisible.
Such a humiliation. Stuck up a tree like a sad cat, waiting to be rescued by the hunky fireman. He looked gorgeous, like a mountain lion crossed with a Chippendale. She thought of him stripping for cash in the local pubs on the weekend and couldn’t help snorting with laughter. That would be something she would pay a lot of money to see.
On the ground, Rory paused. Zoe clamped her hand to her mouth. She needed to pee and didn’t want him to leave her up there.
He moved the broken chair, put the ladder against the tree and kicked the feet into the soft earth at the base. Climbing up, he extended the ladder further until it reached the branch where Zoe was sitting. He climbed the ladder like a panther, light and lithe but all muscle and power. Zoe fixed her attention on his forearms; they were bigger than her calves. Did he possess any body fat at all? He got to the top of the ladder and met Zoe’s eyes at last.
There was an uncomfortable silence.
‘Er, hello,’ she said finally.
Rory cleared his throat. ‘I was in the post office at the wrong time.’
‘Okay, that’s great. If you could just move out of the way I’ll shimmy down,’ Zoe said brightly.
He didn’t budge. Zoe lay on her front and swung one leg down towards the ladder.
‘Stop!’ His voice a command all sentient beings would have no choice but to obey.
‘What is it?’
‘It’s too dangerous. You might slip and take both of us out at the same time.’
‘It’s fine! I got up here, didn’t I?’
‘Breaking a chair in the process and getting stuck. Sit back up and we’ll do this my way.’
His way? Zoe took a big breath, drawing in the energy she needed to unleash a tirade, when he stopped her.
‘Please?’ The request was gentle, pouring oil on her troubled waters. She moved back up. ‘Thank you.’
‘Wow. Please and thank you back to back.’
He raised one eyebrow, sending a bolt of awareness through her. Holy crap was he hot. Oh my god, was he hot!
He climbed to the top rung of the ladder, his face now level with hers, just inches away. ‘Now what we’re going to do is—’
‘WAIT! You have to rescue Basil first.’
‘Basil?’
‘Yes, Basil, my pet.’
As if on cue, Basil poked his head out from under her curls, checking out the person in front of him, his nose and whiskers twitching. Zoe bit the inside of her cheek. She couldn’t laugh now, but she would piss herself later remembering the look on Rory’s face.
He opened his mouth but no words came out. He cleared his throat again. ‘That’s a rat.’
‘Oh yes, isn’t he gorgeous! He’s a wild Highland rat. He found his way into the cabin last night and we’ve become best friends.’
‘Friends,’ repeated Rory in a monotone.
‘Oh yes,’ her voice even more enthusiastic. ‘He’s going everywhere with me. Although rats are sociable creatures, so I’m going to buy him a girlfriend, and maybe,’ Zoe crossed her fingers, looking earnestly at him, ‘in a few months’ time, if they get on, they might have a couple of babies so I can have a whole family!’
‘A couple of babies…’ If words were solid, Rory’s were lumps of lead.
Inwardly, Zoe was doing cartwheels. Watching him squirm was the best revenge ever. If he thought she was stupid then she was going to play that role to perfection. She put her head to one side, looking at him as if he was the stupid one.
‘Yes… If a boy rat and a girl rat like each other and the timing is right, then they can, erm, make ratty love, then after nine months, the girl rat has one or two ratty babies. It’s biology. Science.’
Rory sighed. Zoe bit the insides of both cheeks. Rory extended his hand. ‘Give me the rat.’
Zoe disentangled Basil from her hair and spoke to him. ‘Now listen up, sweetie pie, this man is going to help you out of the tree first. I know you’re scared, but Mummy’s right behind you. Okay?’
Rory looked in pain. Zoe carefully handed over Basil. Who bit Rory hard on the end of his thumb. ‘Agghhh!’ he cried, dropping him.
Zoe screamed. ‘Basil!’
But he was off, jumping and scurrying down from branch to branch. He’d clearly had enough of this tree for one day.
‘He bit me!’
‘Yes, well he’s a good judge of character,’ retorted Zoe. ‘You could have killed him. He doesn’t know how to climb trees.’
‘Really. So how come he’s now on the ground?’
Zoe looked down. Basil was in the leaves beneath the tree, looking for something to play with, shag or eat. ‘Oh. Well, if I had known that, I wouldn’t have been stuck up here. I only came this high to rescue him.’
Rory sucked the end of his thumb, then took it out. ‘What were you doing climbing the tree in the first place?’
‘I needed to check out the roof and find a phone signal.’
Rory shook his head. ‘I’ve had enough of your lunacy for one day.’ He reached up, and in one fluid movement grabbed Zoe and flung her over his shoulder, holding her tightly with one arm, anchoring her legs to his chest.
She screamed. ‘What are you doing?’
‘Getting you down from this tree, going home, and removing this entire episode from my brain with a bottle of whisky.’ He held the ladder with his free hand and began his descent. ‘Now stop wriggling or you’ll kill us both.’
Zoe kept as still as possible, her eyes tightly shut. If she opened them, she would have ringside seats to the rear of the year, but also to the exact distance she would plummet to her death if Rory lost his grip. She put her arms around his waist and held on. The loss of sight ramped up her other senses; he smelled divine. It was an intoxicating mix of soap, freshly cut wood, woodsmoke, and a musky essence that was all man. There was nothing artificial about him, no cloying aftershave, just pure, unadulterated masculinity. Zoe had never been so aware of a man before in her entire life. She wanted to press her face into his
chest, breathe him in like he was the oxygen keeping her alive. She could feel his muscles moving as they descended the ladder, hot steel under her hands. Her pubic bone was resting on his shoulder, giving exquisite friction with every step. Her insides throbbed and her legs turned to jelly.
He stopped and Zoe looked to see grass under his feet. Neither of them moved. How could she prolong the connection? A squeaking sound finally broke the spell and Rory lowered Zoe gently to the ground, moving away.
She busied herself with Basil, hiding her burning cheeks. ‘There you are, my darling, safe and sound.’
Rory went to the tree and took down the ladder.
Zoe spoke to the back of his head. ‘Thank you.’
He stilled and nodded in response. Zoe felt reckless. Now she had him here, she wanted his knowledge. She knew after he left that would be it. Until the time he decided to gift her a snake. ‘Can you stay for another five minutes, please? I could really do with some advice about the roof.’
Rory stopped, the ladder suspended in his hands. Then he appeared to come to a decision and snapped the final extension down, lifting it to put it back on the roof of his truck. ‘I can’t. I have to get back.’
‘To visit your girlfriend?’
Rory turned abruptly. ‘What?’
Zoe frowned and chewed her lip thoughtfully. ‘Well, you told the owners of The Time is MEOW! Basil was a present for your girlfriend. And I’m definitely not your girlfriend, so I’m just a teeny tiny bit confused as to why he ended up with me. Unless as soon as you’ve hounded me out, you’re going to install her here and turn my home into your love nest?’
Rory’s cheeks flushed. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but Zoe cut him off.
‘Oh, save your breath. Get your ladder and look at my roof. I have no idea why you hate me so much you resorted to buying a rat to get me out, but you could at least credit me with a modicum of intelligence. I mean, look at him. He’s beautiful, house-trained and clearly comfortable around people. Anyone who thinks Basil could pass for a wild rat needs their eyes tested. Oh, and you also owe me a new step after you sent Clarrie the cow and her friends round for tea.’
Zoe could see embarrassment, guilt and rage fighting for supremacy across his face. She giggled. ‘What’s the matter? Rat got your tongue?’ At her own joke, she guffawed with laughter until she snorted like a pig, which set her off even more, doubling over at her own hilarity.
Rory freed the ladder from the truck roof and walked it to the side of the cabin. ‘What do you want?’
Zoe swallowed. What she wanted, what she really, really wanted, was for him to drop the ladder, throw her over his shoulder again, carry her into the cabin and lay her down on top of her sleeping bag. She wanted him to tear his shirt off and bring his body down over hers.
‘Well?’
Zoe, flustered, quickly rallied. ‘Erm, well, the roof is leaking and I need to know if I can just replace some of the shingles or if the whole roof has to go. I then need to know how much each shingle costs, where to get them, and if I can fix the roof myself. I also need to know about replacing the guttering and setting up a greywater system.’
Rory nodded, fixed the ladder against the side of the cabin and climbed up. She started running for the outhouse.
‘Where are you going?’ he called after her.
‘I’ve been stuck up a tree for the last two hours. I need to pee!’ she yelled back.
* * *
Rory was already up the ladder when she returned and had crawled to the top of the roof. She got her laptop out and stood with it wedged on a rung whilst he relayed how many shingles were loose or needed replacing. She then ordered an assessment of the guttering, firing out questions and tapping in the answers.
She’d twisted her curls to the top of her head and secured them with a pen, but one tight corkscrew had escaped and hung down by her neck, acting as a toy for Basil. She heard Rory sigh and looked up, to see his gaze flick away from her.
‘What?’
‘Nothing, just thinking about the state of your roof,’ he replied.
Had he just said your roof rather than the roof? She felt light, like a fluffy pink marshmallow of happiness was expanding in her tummy.
‘I know it’s bad. I just didn’t know how bad. I’ll have to do the bare minimum to keep me watertight and warm until I can save up for extravagances, like a toilet or a chandelier.’ She grinned up at him. He stared back at her, blankly. Her smile wavered. She turned back to her computer screen as he looked back to the roof.
Ten minutes later he was done. Zoe closed her laptop and graciously allowed him to step off the ladder. Rory indicated the computer. ‘Can I see what you’ve been doing?’
Zoe stopped, surprised. ‘Yes, yes of course. We can sit down and I’ll go through it with you.’
She walked up the steps to the porch, hesitated about inviting him in, then sat on the top step, scooting her bottom to the far right-hand side as if she had to make room for a sumo wrestler next to her.
She cleared her throat, opened the laptop on her knees, and began. ‘So, I’ve done a few simple spreadsheets to cover the renovation of the cabin and anything else I might need for my life here. I’ve created a pivot table so I can easily see which bits, for example, the roof or greywater system will cost, as well as some work on forecasting and allowing contingency of different percentages into each section, so the less I know about a job, the bigger the contingency. It’s easy and quick to update and adapt and gives me a clear overview of exactly how I can’t afford what I want to do.’
As she spoke, her fingers flew like startled birds across the keys, going from spreadsheet to table, to projection, showing him different views and calculations. He pinched the bridge of his nose. ‘Are you all right?’ she asked.
Rory nodded, let his hand drop and stared out into the distance at the loch. ‘Numbers aren’t my thing.’ He stood abruptly. ‘I’ve got to go.’ He walked off to the truck.
Zoe called after him weakly, ‘Okay, bye then.’
She closed the laptop and watched the truck drive off. What on earth had just happened? For a moment she actually thought they were getting on. He wanted to see what she was doing. He’d asked to see it. But then he shut down. She was well aware her job wasn’t exactly synonymous with excitement. No little kid ever ran around their school playground pretending to be an accountant. But numbers helped you order the world, make sense of it. Without her spreadsheets, she wouldn’t have a clue where she was with the cabin.
Was she that boring on top of every other negative emotion he had for her?
Zoe smiled, remembering his face in the tree when she’d played dumb, when she told him she knew he bought Basil, and when she blackmailed him into helping. His face had been a picture, so transparent. One day she was going to challenge him to a game of poker and fleece him for everything he owned. She’d even have the shirt off his back.
She let out a sigh. She would love to have the shirt off his back, and his trousers off too. When he sat next to her and leaned in to see the laptop screen, she could smell again the musky smell of man and woodsmoke, and feel the heat radiating off his body. She thought her heart was going to jump out of her chest. Her nervous excitement had made her speak faster than normal, move her fingers across the keys faster than normal. Was that it? Had she gone too fast for him to keep up?
‘Agghhhhhhhhhhhhh!’ She let out a cry of frustration and confusion and Basil squeaked. She stroked his soft brown body. ‘Sorry, darling, I just can’t work him out, and I doubt I ever will.’
She stared out at the loch under a darkening sky, then at her watch. Each day was getting noticeably shorter. And it was only going to get darker and colder as winter kicked in. She had chosen the worst time in the world to begin a renovation project.
She thought about driving up the road to get some phone signal and sighed again. It could wait till tomorrow.
Rory entered the small flat he shared with his mother, oscillating betwe
en shame, frustration, rage, humiliation, and despair. He had never felt so impotent, so useless. He was someone who got the job done, who was reliable, who you could depend on in the worst possible situations. The kind of man every soldier wanted by his side. And now? How could he explain to his mother how bad things truly were? As he hung up his jacket his mother called out to him: ‘I’m in the sitting room.’
He walked through and stood in the doorway, filling the space, not knowing what to do or say. His mother, Barbara, was reading a thick novel about medieval history. She inserted a bookmark and carefully put it down on a small side table, before pushing her reading glasses up into her impeccably styled blonde hair, and fixing him with her cornflower blue eyes. ‘Oh dear. Is it really that bad?’
His mother was immaculate as always. Small, trim, and stunningly beautiful. He always thought he’d failed to do her genes justice. She was in her early fifties but could have easily passed for his older sister. He dragged his hands through his unkempt hair and sighed. ‘I still can’t find a way to make the estate profitable. It’s going down the toilet. And fast.’
His mother arched a perfectly plucked eyebrow. ‘There’s no need for language like that, dear. And I wasn’t talking about the estate, you know what to do. I was talking about the woman who’s squatting in William’s old cabin.’
Rory started.
‘Oh, do close your mouth, you look like you’re trying to catch flies. She must be a relative of his. It stands to reason. That family are always trying to take what isn’t theirs. You can’t keep secrets from me, darling. I know you were entertaining a wild notion you were going to live there, and you’ve been in an absolutely foul mood for the last two days; ergo, this woman. I bet she’s as bad as Mary Laing’
‘What?’
‘William’s niece. You know the sort. Flighty, untrustworthy, a good time girl if you know what I mean. Before I married your father, she set her cap at him. It was very distasteful. The whole village was relieved when she ran off with that English man.’
Highland Games: sparkling, sexy and utterly unputdownable - the romantic comedy of the year! (The Kinloch Series) Page 7
