She stuffed her things into her bag, desperately trying not to cry, grabbed the sheet from the printer and dashed out the building. She had to get back to the cabin.
20
Rory knew his time was up when he heard the truck screech to a halt, the door slam and the sounds of her feet as she ran to the cabin, Bandit barking to greet her. He leaned forward against the kitchen units he was making, his head bowed, adrenaline surging through him.
She pushed open the door, kicked off her boots and ran to the back of the cabin to a stack of boxes. She pulled them down and rifled frantically through them. Bandit, seeing Zoe, an open door and smelling a rat, bounded in barking excitedly, running for Basil’s cage. Rory bundled him out the door, and turned to Zoe. She was standing, papers strewn around her feet, her face white.
‘You, you…’ Her lower lip was trembling, her eyes flashing with hurt and rage, struggling to speak. ‘You bastard. You lied to me. All this time.’
Rory swallowed. The speeches he had prepared for this moment vanished from his mind. All he could feel was her pain.
‘You think I wouldn’t find out? Put it all together? All of this?’ She threw her arms out indicating the cabin. ‘I thought it was odd the rest of Willie’s furniture wasn’t here when I arrived, and how quickly you made everything.’ She brought her fists to her forehead, then dropped them. ‘You wanted to live here. Whilst Willie was down south dying, you were planning your move. I bet he wasn’t even dead when you started making the front door. Then I showed up. First you won’t sell me wood. Then I get your childish and pathetic attempts to hound me out, and when that doesn’t work you seduce me? For what end? To move yourself in with benefits?’
He could see her fighting to hold back tears.
‘This is my cabin and my land. But you just couldn’t accept that, could you? You had your own plans for it. So, you stole from me. You stole my copy of the lease agreement so I had no way of proving this was mine.’
‘What?’
Zoe indicated the papers on the floor. ‘The lease agreement. The proof this belongs to me. It’s gone. I had it with my passport, birth certificate, all my most important papers. I checked it was there after the first night when you said it wasn’t my land. It was there then and it isn't there now. You’re a fucking liar and a fucking thief and you need to leave.’
‘Zoe—’
‘Now!’ she screamed.
Bandit was barking and whining outside.
‘Zoe, please listen to me. Yes, I wanted to move in. I had no idea anyone would want to live here. But you did and it’s yours, I accept that. I didn’t take anything. I promise. I have no plans for the cabin. Please believe me.’
‘Then what the fuck is this?’ she yelled, tugging a sheet of paper out her bag and thrusting it at him like a knife.
He took it, scanning the page then shook his head. ‘This is fucking bullshit,’ he said quietly. ‘And it’s not going to happen.’
‘Says who? You’re not the boss! It’s a planning application to turn my land into a bloody spa and retreat centre. How can I fight that without the lease agreement?’
He crumpled the piece of paper in his fist, walked to the Rayburn and threw it in the firebox. ‘I’m going to go back to the estate office now to get the other copy. I know it’s there. This application isn’t going anywhere and neither are you.’
He held her gaze, seeing her uncertainty. The ground was slipping from under him. Sooner or later she was going to find out exactly who he was, but right now he couldn’t leave her without a home.
‘I’m so sorry, Zoe. I’m sorry for everything. There are some things I’ve done that I can’t undo. But this is something I can fix. Can I come back when I’ve sorted it? Please?’
She gave him a terse nod. ‘Just go now,’ she said quietly.
* * *
By the time he finally found his mother on the main staircase of the castle, he was filthy and fuming. He’d turned the estate office upside down until the room had gone from untidy to burgled and the air was thick with dust. But the papers he’d been given by the solicitor were nowhere to be found.
He stood at the bottom of the staircase, watching his mother as she glided down from the first floor. Barbara noticed him, paused to take in his expression, then continued on, unperturbed.
‘Mother, when were you going to tell me about that ridiculous application? We can’t apply for permission for land that isn’t ours.’
She took his arm, and steered him down the long corridor. ‘Darling. You said it yourself. She won’t last the winter. And besides, who’s to say there was even a legal agreement between William and your grandfather? The proposals for the croft are only a small part of the plans Lucy and I have for the future of the castle.’
Rory stopped abruptly and pulled his arm away. ‘Lucy?’
‘Darling, that’s no surprise. You know the part Lucy plays in her family’s company. If you get into bed with Colquhoun Asset Management, then you, well, you know what I mean. Anyway, I know how stressful things have been for you recently, so I’ve been doing my bit to help behind the scenes.’
She went to take his arm again but he didn’t budge.
‘And by helping, you mean trespassing on Zoe’s land, breaking into her home, stealing her property, removing the second copy of the agreement from the office, and going behind my back with an insane plan for a bloody spa by the loch?’
Rory was used to reading people during his army tours, but Barbara’s face was impressively impassive.
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ she replied smoothly. ‘The estate is experiencing some difficulties, and Lucy and her family are trying to help. The land by the loch is a prime asset for development, and part of a much bigger plan we’ve been working on for you. Colquhoun Asset Management have had some very positive discussions with the planning board, and we believe the meeting next week is a mere formality. This is happening, darling, whether you like it or not, and I’m not going to sit back and allow it to be derailed by a cheap little tart who’s turned your head.’
Rory lifted his hands as if to throttle her, hesitated, then dropped them to his sides. He was done. He’d never been able to please his father and he was giving up trying to please his mother, here and now.
‘I want to make myself absolutely clear,’ he said. ‘I am going to get a new agreement drawn up for Zoe, and they aren’t going to be leasehold, they’re going to be freehold. The cabin and the land will belong to her forever and she can do what the hell she likes with it. Whatever deals with Colquhoun Asset Management you’ve agreed to are off, as of right now.’
‘You can’t do that! They’ve invested significant time and money into the estate. You can’t cut them off,’ Barbara protested.
‘I can, and I will. I never wanted to go along with their ideas for the castle anyway, I did it for you and because I saw no other way. But now there is another way: Zoe’s. I’m following her advice from now on. I don’t want anything more to do with the Colquhouns or their money. I want them out of our lives for good. My future, our future, the castle’s future is in my hands, and hers if she’ll still have me.’
Barbara’s mouth opened. Her pale skin went puce with rage. She grabbed his arm. ‘You can’t do this to me. I can’t live here!’
Rory carefully pulled his mother’s fingers away. ‘We need to accept that Kinloch is our home now. This is happening whether you like it or not, and there is nothing you can do to stop me.’ He strode down the corridor, her protestations echoing off the walls around him.
* * *
Rory showered off the dust from the office, redressed, and drove straight to Inverness. He went first to the Highland council offices and withdrew every application Colquhoun Asset Management had lodged on behalf of the estate, then strode along the high street for an impromptu meeting with Alastair McCarthy. He instructed him to draw up a new set of freehold lease agreements for the cabin with Zoe’s name on them, and to have them ready as
soon as possible. He also informed them in no uncertain terms that from now on, the only person able to speak for the estate was him.
He then went home, dropped Bandit off, picked up some supplies and drove out to the cabin. Heavy rain chilled the air and the sky was darkening with dusk when he rounded the final bend of the track and cut the engine. He could see Zoe inside the cabin, facing away from him. She was lit up by the lamps inside, her curly hair a glowing halo of light around her head.
He could think of nothing but her. She was like a virus, endlessly replicating herself inside him. Every thought he had, every movement he made, she was there. It was like staring into the sun, then away again, a spot of light still burned into his vision, overlaying itself on top of everything else he tried to look at.
And it wasn’t just her beauty that captivated him, it was everything else that went with it. She was funny, sweet, resourceful, determined. Her reaction to the arrival of Basil had been totally unexpected, and she wasn’t shy in telling him when he’d been a complete arse. She had left the safety of a secure job and the loving arms of family and friends to discover something about herself up here. She wasn’t running away as he had always done, she was running to try and find something new, even if it meant living in a hovel in another country.
Time passed with Rory suspended in it, the rain drumming on the roof and blurring the windscreen, his mind detached from everything but her. The raindrops seemed to settle on him, drenching him in a deep realisation. He loved her. He loved every single crazy and magical part of her. A blinding pain lacerated his heart. She deserved the world. And what had he offered her? Lies.
He wanted to run. Fly to Tibet, join a monastery, hitch a ride to Mars. Or just drive home, put his old army Bergen on his back and run north. Run till his body screamed for mercy, run until he collapsed. He started the engine. He needed to leave before she noticed the truck. Now he was a coward as well as a liar. He shook his head at himself, disgusted.
‘Rory!’
He jerked up. She was standing on the porch waving at him. He cut the engine, got out and walked up the steps. Her beauty dumbstruck him.
‘Well? Did you find the lease agreement?’
Rory nodded. ‘It’s with the lawyers. They’re making another copy. It will be ready within a couple of days.’
Her shoulders sagged. ‘Thank you.’
‘I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened to your agreement, but you’ve got a proper door now, so no one can get in.’
‘I hope so.’ She didn’t sound convinced.
‘You’re the only one with keys. It shouldn’t happen again.’ Rory turned to go.
She grabbed his arm. ‘Where are you going?’
‘I thought, after earlier, it was best…’
‘You promised me dinner. Surely that’s the least you could do to make it up to me?’ she replied. ‘I was looking forward to something a little better than tinned soup or pasta.’
‘Are you sure?’
She folded her arms but was smiling. ‘Yes. I’m bloody starving.’
The light from her smile stabbed him in the chest and made a beeline for his groin. He had to tell her who he was tonight. He couldn’t put it off any longer, no matter how happy she made him.
‘Get yourself out of the rain. I’ll get things going,’ he told her, stepping off the porch and walking back to the truck.
Five minutes later she poked her head around the cabin door. He was crouched down at the end of the porch. ‘What are you doing?’ she asked.
He stood, showing her the barbeque he had brought. Wisps of wood smoke curled up into the cold air.
‘I thought you could do with a proper meal.’
Her eyebrows lifted. ‘What’s on the menu?’
‘Dry-aged steaks from the estate’s herd. Food miles about four, flavour out of this world.’
‘Sounds amazing. When’s it ready?’
‘It depends how you like your steak. I have mine so blue they’re practically still moo-ing. I’ve also brought steak knives and proper plates. There’s no way I’m eating these off plastic ones. Despite what you think of me, I do have some standards.’
She grinned. ‘I’ll have mine rare then. I’m ready whenever you are, just give me the plates and I’ll set the table.’
He passed her a box containing the crockery. ‘How many do you want?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘How many steaks do you want?’
‘Er, one? Isn’t that the normal amount?’ Rory raised an eyebrow. ‘You may be a mountain, but I’m only a few inches taller than a normal, er, man, so one should do fine thank you very much.’ She walked back to the door, and paused. ‘Although, they are average-sized, aren’t they? They aren’t small?’ she asked, sounding worried.
‘I would confidently say they are way above average, and therefore perfectly sized,’ he deadpanned back.
Zoe flushed to the roots of her hair and fled back into the cabin.
A few minutes later, Rory entered carrying a massive wooden board, piled high with steaming steaks. He kicked off his boots and put the board on the table where Zoe was sitting. He bowed deeply. ‘Dinner is served.’
‘Thank you, it smells incredible. Careful of the plates, I’ve been warming them in the Rayburn.’
Rory served her an enormous steak, then went to serve himself two even bigger ones. He looked between the board and the plate, trying to reconcile the amount of meat he intended to consume with the size of the plate that was meant to carry it. Maybe if he stared long enough, a solution would present itself.
‘Oh, for goodness sake!’ Zoe cried.
She pulled her sleeve over her hand to move his hot plate away and pushed the board in front of him. ‘Eat.’
He gave her a relieved smile, then went to the door and put his boots back on.
‘What now?’
‘I forgot something. Eat, don’t wait for me.’
21
Rory went back to the end of the porch. He had thought about what Zoe might have missed most about her previous life, apart from her friends, family and a hot bath, so had brought with him a bottle of Prosecco. He carefully poured her a glass, then went back to the door.
He opened it to see Zoe at the table, her head thrown back, groaning with ecstasy as she ate a piece of steak. It was the most erotic sight he had ever seen and he stood staring at her, his mouth open and his cock rigid, as the door slammed shut behind him.
Zoe’s eyes snapped open in horror and she started to choke. He moved forward, one arm raised as if to thwack her on the back. She held up her hands in alarm to stop him and he stepped away.
‘You okay?’
She nodded, still coughing, and gestured for a glass of water. Rory gave her the glass he was holding. She gulped at it, then coughed and spluttered even more, looking from the glass to him.
‘It’s Prosecco. I thought you might be missing one of your five a day.’
Zoe’s coughs turned into giggles and hiccups, followed by the most enormous burp that burst out of her. She clamped her hands to her mouth as he started laughing.
‘Shut up!’ she finally managed.
He sat down, still smiling, and tucked in. Zoe looked at the glass in her hand. ‘Don’t you want some?’ she asked.
Rory swallowed before replying. ‘No thanks, I don’t drink.’
‘But what about the other week when you helped me rescue Basil from the tree?’
‘Rescue Basil?’
‘You said you were going to go home and drink a bottle of whisky.’
He grinned at her. ‘That’s the power you have. You could drive any man to drink.’
‘As far as I know, I’ve only driven one man so nuts he’s bought a rat to scare me away and chased a herd of yaks into my back garden.’
Heat ran across Rory’s high cheekbones. ‘You’re right. You drive me absolutely crazy.’
There was silence, a tingling current of electricity fizzed in the air between them.
Rory swallowed. ‘Is it okay? The steak.’
Zoe dropped her cutlery. ‘Oh my god, yes! I’m having a foodgasm. It’s the most incredible meal I’ve ever eaten in my entire life. If only I could eat like this every day.’
‘You can. This is pretty much all I eat.’
‘What? You just eat steak? For breakfast?’
‘I eat other meat too, and fish and eggs and occasionally dairy, but mainly beef.’
Zoe’s mouth dropped open. ‘What? But you eat fruit and veg, right?’
‘Nope. Plants are overrated.’
‘But?’ she sounded utterly bewildered. ‘Bread? Cereal? Pasta? Nuts?’
‘Nope, nope, nope, nope. Just meat.’
‘But won’t you get scurvy?’
Rory flashed her a killer smile, showing off his perfect white teeth. ‘Not in the last four years.’
‘FOUR YEARS? Doesn’t your mother force-feed you spinach?’
‘She gave up trying long ago,’ he replied with a grin.
He could see her confusion and questions so decided to help her out. ‘No, it’s not expensive if you eat the whole animal. My food bill is less than it used to be. I’m far less worried now about cancer and heart disease than I was before, and I presume you want to know how my bowels function? They’re now perfect.’
Zoe was beetroot red. ‘But, doesn’t it get boring?’ she asked sceptically.
He looked intently at her. ‘Are you bored right now?’
She swallowed, and shook her head.
They ate in a companionable silence for a few minutes. Rory mirrored Zoe’s smiles, but his guts were churning. When should he tell her? And how? He kept stalling, hoping that Prosecco and the best steak in the world might soften the blow. She finished eating before him and sat back in her chair, studying him. When he finished eating she leaned forward, her elbows on the table, resting her chin on her hands.
Highland Games: sparkling, sexy and utterly unputdownable - the romantic comedy of the year! (The Kinloch Series) Page 20
