When I say it out loud, it sounds utterly bonkers, and I wonder yet again why I fell in love with the idea. The fact that gruff, tough I’m-a-cop Brody Quinn did the same does make me feel marginally better though. I expect these people to laugh at me, but instead they just nod, like it’s all completely normal.
‘Right. Sounds like something Moira would do,’ the man answers. ‘I’m Xander, by the way, and this is Shirley.’
The barmaid passes me the Guinness, and adds two small glasses of brandy and a bottle of ginger ale.
‘You look like you need warming up,’ she says. ‘The weather’s fair dreich today. On the house.’
‘Dreich?’ I echo.
‘Damp, drizzly, a pain in the arse. Which can happen any time of year in Bonnie Bay. That or glorious sunshine, no telling which. Get that down your neck, you’ll feel better.’
With a final pat for the dog, I manage to carry the drinks back over. Brody is on his phone, probably messaging his daughter, a suspicion that is confirmed by the indulgent smile on his face.
I pass him his Guinness, and show him the brandy. He tells me he’s fine with the pint, and I shrug, and tip both into my glass. It’s a double brandy kind of day, and it tastes divine. After a few sips I fill him in.
‘Moira is living with her sister Joanne,’ I tell him. ‘She gave up on the bookshop, like Ginny said. And when I told them about the cards, Xander – the hot fisherman at the bar – said it sounded exactly like something Moira would do. So I suppose we’re not complete idiots, are we? It was genuine, it wasn’t ascam, it just hasn’t worked out like we imagined. Or like Moira imagined, I’m sure. Plus the weather is fair dreich, apparently.’
He frowns, and processes my ramble. I need to work on my brain-to-mouth coordination.
‘Hot fisherman?’ he finally says, blue eyes narrowed.
‘That’s what you took from all of that, Brody? Anyway, here he is, you can see for yourself…’
Xander is approaching, but the dog gets here first, racing towards us in a blur of red and white fur. It makes a beeline for Brody, and immediately starts to hump his leg with an astonishing level of ferocity.
‘Betty! Leave the man alone!’ Xander says, speeding up. The look on Brody’s face as he’s assaulted is priceless. He stares at the dog with a stoical expression that says ‘yeah, of course I’m getting humped by a spaniel’.
Xander pulls her away by the collar, and tells her off. She doesn’t look like she regrets her life choices at all.
‘Betty?’ Brody says slowly, shaking his head. ‘Are you telling me I just got frisky with a female dog?’
‘Afraid so,’ Xander replies, smiling in a way that makes me as warm as the brandy. ‘She’s a wee bit confused about gender roles. Sorry.’
‘Hey, no worries,’ Brody says, leaning down to pet her. ‘I’ve been in worse situations.’
I see him grimace slightly as he straightens up, and wonder exactly how serious this injury of his is. Probably, like he said earlier, the dreich weather doesn’t help.
‘So,’ Xander continues, ‘I was having a chat with Shirley, and we were wondering if we could persuade you to go and visit Moira? She’s not been the same since the accident, hasn’t even come back down to the village. It’d be a braw thing to do to cheer her up.’
‘What’s braw?’ I ask.
‘It means nice, lovely, grand. Like your smile.’
He gives me one of his own, and Brody snorts in the background.
‘Where does she live?’ I ask, before he can say no. Not that I need him to agree. I’m perfectly capable of making my own decisions. It’s just that I’d prefer it if we went together. He might be grumpy, but there’s something very reassuring about Brody’s presence. Like he’s your dad, but also sexy. Words I must never utter aloud, obviously. What is going on with me anyway? I’ve not noticed another man in that way since my husband walked out, and now I seem to have turned into a hormone on legs. I’m no better than Betty.
‘Just up the hill,’ Xander assures us. ‘Maybe a fifteen-minute walk? But one of us would gladly give you a lift if you liked. She’s had a tough few years, what with one thing or another, and I think you two would do her the world of good.’
He’s looking directly at me as he says this, a sparkle in his deep brown eyes that makes me blush. Brody harrumphs a little, finishes his drink in one crazy gulp, and stands up. Xander is maybe six foot, but Brody is even taller, and seems almost as wide across.
‘We’ll do it,’ he says firmly. ‘We’ve come all this way. I for sure would like to look her in the eye and find out what she was thinking when she sent those cards out.’
The way he says this sounds slightly sinister, as though he’s planning on shining a bright light in her face and demanding answers.
‘She’ll tell you if she likes,’ replies Xander, shrugging and looking thoughtful. ‘But don’t expect her to be a pushover. Her legs might not be working but her mind is all there, and she has a sharp tongue when the mood takes her.’
I have to say, Moira sounds more and more interesting, and I can’t wait to meet her. Life might have dealt her some harshblows, but she still managed to convince me to come all the way to Scotland with the power of a few paragraphs written on a card.
