Then there was his expression—so full of love. The way it made me ache.
I am clearly all kinds of messed up.
I try to gather my wits with a long shower, then dress for a day of travel. A shapeless sack of a dress, an oversize cardigan I stole from Poppa, and an old pair of boots. The outfit will annoy Janet, and that cheers me a little.
Una appears the moment I find a seat in the dining room and sets a minuscule cup of juice in front of me. “You’re a fair sight this morning. Rest well, did you? Och, I wager not. Up to your armpits in worry, nae doubt. You relax. I’ll make you a pot of the French press.”
I open my mouth to say tea would be fine—her coffee is godawful strong, with black grit at the bottom—but before I can reply, she rattles on.
“Myra—you mind Myra, aye? Works dinners at the pub. Well, Myra says old Betsy was at your door late last night, and I’m sorry for it. But it was a blessing in a way, it was. Itmade Myra miss her lift, so she got one from Dan, who said he’d seen your mum. She was in the drink—your mum, not Myra—and Dan helped Myra track her down so she could put her up for the night. She rang this morning—Myra, not your mum—and she said your mum’s not fit for the day yet.”
As she goes on and on, the knot in my stomach pulls tighter and tighter.So it begins.
“All right. Is there a bus I can take?”
She blinks. “A bus?”
“To get to Janet.”
A laugh bursts from her. “Travel by coach to Myra’s flat?” She pats my shoulder. “Dinnae mind me. You’ll not be knowing up from down. She lives just past the visitor’s center. But you’ve nae yet seen the loch, have you?”
Loch Lomond. From my mother’s song.
My ghost carried a sword. Had he been a soldier, like in the lyrics?
“Not up close,” I answer with a shrug, not sure if I’m curious or if it’s the last place I want to think about.
“You cannae leave without seeing the loch,” she exclaims. “I imagine your mum’ll nae be fit for some time, in any case. You should have a wee wander around the grounds. Put the color back in your cheeks. You can walk up to the old ruins. It was once a Campbell holding. Your people, aye?” She winks.
My people.Might I really havepeopleout there? Family who’d claim me?
I sigh. This whole trip has been about Janet. I can take one morning to make it about me. I’m stuck here anyway. Unless we leave in the next half hour, there’s no way we’ll make our flight.
Maybe it’s the visits from my ghost guardian, but now, standing on the banks of Loch Lomond is all I want to do.
“You’re right.” I meet her eyes. “How do I get there?”
“You could get a lift with the postie.”
“The postman?” Cramming myself in a mail truck with yet another stranger is more than I can deal with right now. “Can’t I walk?”
“You surely can. The fastest way is along the main road, but then you’ve cars, lorries, and the like speeding past.” She thinks for a moment. “There is a shortcut through the woods that’s a sight more pleasant.”
The rightness of it hits me instantly. I push back my chair, practically on my feet when she stops me.
“Nae so fast,” she laughs. “Have a care not to get lost. And keep an eye on the weather. It turns quick this time of year. Watch the sky—if the clouds darken it’ll be a dreich day.”
I frown. “A what day?”
“Wet, lass. It could turn wet outside.” She points at my boots. “And you without a decent pair of wellies.”
I glance out the window. The sky is blue as a robin’s egg, with puffy, white clouds gliding across the horizon. The vastness of it draws a sigh from my lungs. A strange comfort settles over me. The mountain, the loch, even my ghost—it all feels right.
Maybe it’s the Campbell in me.
Poppa wouldn’t let me mope.Quit your sulking and get your butt outside, he’d say. And that’s exactly what I’ll do. I’ll salvage this trip. Make it mine.
I look up at Una. For the first time in days, I smile—really smile.
