Quinn looked at me, his blue eyes intense as he searched my face. When we were younger, his cheeks had been smooth. Before we broke up, he’d stopped shaving, but he’d never gotten to a full beard. Not like now. Between his fairly well-groomed beard and the faint lines at the corners of his eyes, his boyish handsomeness had roughened into a rugged sexiness that bothered me on multiple levels.
“Any time they need me,” he said. “Annie is retiring. And we can’t afford to hire anyone, so we’re struggling to keep it going, to be honest.”
That piqued my interest and my dismay. “There’s no funding?”
“Not enough. The shop owners have started adding the choice to donate to the LSLS to their pay machines, but it isn’t enough. Priority goes to the volunteer ambulance service. We might lose the LSLS, which would be a damn shame, considering how many rescues it makes in the year.”
Well, that just wouldn’t do at all. My heartbeat picked up in anticipation as I asked, “Who is in charge of the funding?”
“Aodhan.” He referred to the owner of the Fisherman’s Lantern and many a rental property on the island. He was also on the community council.
Irritation thrummed through me. “So, what you’re saying is that Leth Sholas has rented an entire building to a global charity that funds overseas social issues, but there’s no store for its local charity so we can raise the funds to keep it running?”
A familiar gleam entered Quinn’s eyes. “I didn’t say that, but aye, that’s the right of it. I sense Aodhan’s about to hear a little something about it too.”
A sharp flare burned under my sternum.
Because even after all this time, Quinn still knew some things about me.
“You’d be right.” Despite my annoyance, a weight lifted off my chest.
I realized it was my lack of purpose. It drifted off into the sky, leaving me on the beach having a picnic with my ex and his children.
A scenario that would have filled me with dread just a few days ago.
But now I itched with purpose, a plan forming in my mind as Heather let go of her bad mood long enough to engage in conversation with me about Glasgow and books and music. She seemed so desperate to be grown up.
I wanted to tell her to slow down.
To enjoy what she had now.
Because before you knew it … time would come to take it all away.
6.Taran
April, Twenty-Three and a Half Years Ago
Drizzle clung to the loose strand of my ponytail as Quinn, Cammie, and I walked home from school. The high school and primary school were in one building on the hill behind Main Street and only a five-minute walk from our houses.
Before we knew it, we’d be home and I wouldn’t have another chance to ask Quinn why he was so quiet.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked again.
He’d been like this for two days, barely saying a word to me. It was making me panic. While I had friends at school, I wasn’t as close to any of them as I was to Quinn. Since the day of my dad’s funeral, we’d become good friends, but lately I’d felt a bit lonely. Laird was eighteen now and working for one of the fishing crews, so he wasn’t around as much. He’d started going out with Finella Kirk and was talking about getting his own place.
A new boy Quinn’s age had moved to the island to stay with his aunt and uncle. His name was Forde Dallas, and Quinnthought he was the best, so he wasn’t around as much. And now with his mum and stepdad married and planning to take over his stepdad’s farm, we wouldn’t even be neighbors.
My chest tightened, waiting for Quinn’s response.
“Don’t be rude, Quinn.” Cammie shoved him. “Taran asked you a question.” She glanced past her brother to me. “Don’t feel bad, Taran. He’s been a moody wee shite lately.”
Despite my fear over losing my best friend, I couldn’t help my wobbly smile. Cammie might have been two years younger than me, but the eleven-year-old had far more sass and confidence. The fact that she was the same height as me also made it easy to forget we weren’t the same age. But she was still at the primary school part of the building. Maybe when she got to high school, we’d see each other more, spend more time together.
Quinn abruptly halted, scowling at his wee sister. “Cammie, do me a favor and walk on without us.”
Cammie wiped the drizzle off her face and huffed. “What’s in it for me?”
“Greg said he was baking today.” Quinn referred to their new stepdad. “I’ll give you my share.”
