The rain has died down by the time I’m out of the shower and heading for the kitchen, my mouth watering as I open the door.
“Hey, Grandad,” I say, finding him standing over the large island in the middle, a towel thrown over one shoulder and his hands in a pile of dough.
“Jameson.” It’s just my name, but the way he says it makes me stand a little taller. Oof. Maybe I am in trouble. I glance around the kitchen, at the hustle and bustle of servers and other staff hard at work to get plates out to the patrons in the pub.
“I’m sorry we were late getting back,” I say. Might as well jump into the excuses before I forget what they’re supposed to be. “The rain—”
“Let me guess,” he interrupts me, grey eyes pinning me in place. “The rain hit and you thought you’d wait it out at the castle, but then it was getting late so you walked your bikes back…”
“Aye…” I string the word out, wondering how he knew the exact story I was about to tell.
“Hmph…” It’s just a sound under his breath, but it’s a distinctly Scottish one, and it tells me in an instant that he doesn’t believe me. “I’ve never taken you for a liar, Jameson.”
I startle back like he struck me. “I—” I don’t know what to say because Ididlie to him, but the word “liar” hits me hard.
“Hamish saw you on the ferry,” he states.
My face falls. Hamish is the T&T’s sous chef.Shit.
“I’m sorry. I should’ve told you.” No point continuing the lie now. “Did you… did you tell the Campbells?”
I glance toward the window that faces the farmhouse. I’m not really concerned for my own fate here, but I don’t want Avi to get into trouble with her grandparents. This was all my idea and is all my fault.
Gran walks in at that moment and says, “No, we didn’t. Thought maybe we should talk to you first.”
My shoulders relax and I breathe a sigh of relief. “It was my idea. Avi just went along with it. I don’t want her to get into trouble. I shouldn’t have lied to you guys. I promise we just rode the ferry over to have lunch and hang around the quay.” All the words tumble out of me as I try to convince them to keep this between us.
“Yeah, Hamish saw you two ride your bikes to the Bakehouse,” Grandad says.
He must’ve had the day off if he was going over to the mainland. I want to be mad about him ratting us out, but I know this is my fault, not his.
My shoulders slump forward. “I’m so sorry.” A gnawing guilt forms in the pit of my stomach. I hate letting people down—my grandparents most of all. “It won’t happen again.”
“No. It won’t,” Gran says, and her tone brooks no argument. “If we can’t trust you to be where you say you’ll be, Jameson, then you won’t be allowed to leave the grounds of the inn. What do you think your parents would think if they knew we let you go galivanting over to the mainland by yourself? They might not let you come back for another summer if they can’t trust you to be safe. Anything could’ve happened and we wouldn’t have known where you were.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry, Gran. I promise it won’t happen again. We’ll stay in Cluaran, we’ll only ever be where we say we are. Promise.”
They exchange a glance and I think I have them convinced that I don’t have any intention of breaking their trust again.
“You’ll be helping with dishes after dinner service each night this week,” Grandad says with his stern voice. I’ve only ever heard it a couple of times and I hate that he’s having to use it with me now.
I nod and don’t let my disappointment show. I deserve worse and just hope Avi gets off as easy.
I’m elbow-deep in sudsy water when Avi knocks on the kitchen door. She doesn’t say anything as she grabs a second pair of gloves and joins me at the sink.
“Did you get into trouble?” I ask, looking sideways at her.
She shrugs. “Grannie was mad I was late, but I think she believed my story. She doesn’t want us taking the bikes out of Cluaran anymore.” Her face falls but my lips lift. At least that’s the worst of it. “What about you?”
“Gran and Grandad know we left the island,” I say, shoulders slumping as I press my hands into the counter.
“What?” She whips her head to look at me and drops the plate she was washing into the water with aplop.
“Yeah.” I blow out a big breath and meet her worried eyes. “Hamish was on the ferry this morning.” I grimace at the look on her face. “Don’t worry, they’re not going to tell your grandparents. But they don’t want us riding out of Cluaran anymore either. They’re disappointed in me that I lied to them.”
My eyes burn and I blink back the wetness that tries to gather there. I will not cry in front of Avi, absolutely not.
“I’m sorry, Jamie.”
