‘I already gave him one. Burns Night.’
‘You already gave him a sample?’ Bex’s breath caught in her throat as her stomach somersaulted and landed a good three inches higher than where it’d started.
It was a question Bex had been meaning to ask him for days now, but had never quite found the right time.
‘Aye,’ Duncan whispered, only for the phone to start ringing again. ‘And I reckon he’s got the results.’ He looked back at her, a weak smile flickering on his lips.
‘Ready to find out who my grandpa is?’ he asked, a glaze sheening his eyes.
‘Ready as I’ll ever be. I guess,’ she replied.
Duncan nodded in agreement as he looked back at his phone.
‘Aye, sounds right. Ready as I’ll ever be.’
25
Had Duncan’s phone always been that shrill? Bex thought as the sound tore through the quiet of the room. It was as if it was demanding their attention, wanting them to know that right now, it was the most important thing in the world and they had to pay attention to it. Even Ruby was sitting up, her head resting on the top of the bed, like she was waiting to hear the outcome. Yet for a moment, all the group could do was look at it.
‘You need to answer,’ Bex said quietly.
Duncan nodded, but although he still had the phone in his hand, he made no attempt to use it. Another sharp ring ripped through the silence of the room. Half a second later, he thrust it at Bex.
‘You answer,’ he said.
‘What?’
‘I cannae do it. I need you to.’
‘Are you sure?’
He nodded.
Bex swallowed the oversized lump that filled her throat, trying to stem the way her pulse was crashing in her chest. Who knew that answering a phone could be even more nerve-racking than a potentially deadly collision with a deer in your parents’ rental car?
As she continued staring at the device, she was half-tempted to tell Duncan that he should do it. It was his future they were about to learn about, not hers, but then hadn’t they, only moments before, told each other that this was it? That they were still in love with each other and determined to make this work? That meant being there for each other no matter what, and that started now.
Her hand trembled as she clicked the answer button.
‘Hi, Gordon,’ she said, her voice tight.
Her greeting was responded to with nothing but silence.
‘Rebecca?’ he said after a moment. ‘I’m sorry, I thought I called someone else.’
‘Duncan. Yes, I know. He’s here with me. He asked me to answer the phone for him.’
‘Oh, okay.’
She could almost see the way Gordon was rubbing at the bridge of his nose as he pondered this unexpected outcome. ‘Well, I kinda need to speak to him.’
‘Sure.’ She lowered the phone from her ear and held it out to Duncan, who immediately shook his head.
‘I cannae,’ he mouthed at her. Her pulse quickened further still. He wasn’t going to take it. So where did that leave them?
‘I’m going to put you on speakerphone now, Gordon,’ Bex said, her eyes on Duncan to ensure he agreed. ‘If that’s okay?’
The butterflies in Bex’s stomach intensified as Duncan nodded. A heartbeat later, her fingers were fumbling to tap the speaker icon.
