It really doesn’t answer my romantically charged questions, but if all I can ever have from him is friendship, I’ll take it. I’ll take whatever he can give me as long as he always stays around.
“So what does one wear in Orkney?” I tap my finger on my chin, contemplating what to pack, and he chuckles.
5
ORKNEY
The weather looks grim and unhappy as birds fly overhead through the gloomy clouds. But I’ve never felt more alive as we ride the ferry from Aberdeen to Orkney. My smile hasn’t faded once in our journey here and is currently smashed against our window as I admire the North Sea. The glass is cool against my cheek, but my excitement is warm throughout my entire body.
Lachlan chuckles as he glances at my delight. “It’s a 6-hour ferry ride. Ye might want to catch up on some rest.”
I gawk at him like he’s grown two heads. “And miss all this!” I fling my thumb to the view out the window.
“Aye, it is beautiful, isn’t it?” he agrees, but his eyes are on me and not the sea.
Lachlan’s hair is disheveled from the wind, and his dark green eyes are sparkling like emeralds in the sunlight that bursts through one of many clouds and streams through our window. I can’t help myself as I reach out and smooth his hair back from where it’s fallen over his eyes. His hair is as silky as I imagined it would be, and I savor the way it glides through my fingers.
“Thank you for letting me tag along. It’s been a while since I’ve been on an adventure.”
Lachlan clears his throat, avoiding my eyes. “The pleasure is all mine.”
He leaned in when I stroked his hair, setting my heart racing. Perhaps there is a bit more to this friendship, after all. Lachlan continues reading his book about Leif Erikson’s adventures while I admire the color of the sea and the birds flying by. As the sea passes outside my window, every second adds distance between me and Gran. My guilt rears its ugly head, and my smile fades.
“Are ye alright?” Lachlan eyes me from above the pages of his book.
I clear my throat. “Just worried about Gran.”
He smiles kindly, his teeth flashing brightly against his tan skin and trim beard. “We’ll be back soon.”
I sigh, knowing he’s right. I’m beyond grateful that Maggie agreed to stay with Lizzie and help with Gran in my absence. I didn’t realize how much her disease had begun to twist my every thought into a giant ball of anxiety. Immense masses of land begin to rise out of the sea before us, and my guilt vanishes.
I suddenly feel as if I’m headed towards home.
When we disembark, my anticipation has only increased, my body practically vibrating with my excitement. Lachlan runs me through our itinerary again.
“Alright, I ha’ to go check in on my place and drop a few things off. We can grab a bite to eat first, though, and then … which site did ye want to check out first?”
“Hmm, I’ve got a few thoughts about that. Our map,” I wiggle the folded-up parchment in the air, “has twelve stones drawn, but you said there’s actually only nine at the Ring of Brodgar, right?”
Lachlan nods his head in confirmation. “Aye, originally therewere twelve standing stones, but a few ha’ fallen or become damaged, and now there’s only nine still standing.”
“If our map is old enough that it was drawn with twelve, then maybe we need to see a complete site for answers, because what if one of the fallen stones had the answers, but now it’s gone, so we wouldn’t know? Does that make sense?”
Lachlan’s brows furrow as he thinks over my logic and turns the truck on. “Aye, that makes some sense. Where did ye want to eat?”
“Oh no, this is your home, you get to pick.” I tease.
Lachlan rolls his eyes and pulls off the ferry. “Street food it is. How do smash burgers sound?”
I purse my lips. “You do remember I was raised in the States, right?”
“Oh, I forgot you’re practically American, so burgers are a staple, right?” he mimics my accent and chuckles.
I cross my arms and push out my bottom lip. “I don’t like the way you said American.”
There’s no bite in my words, and he reaches across the console to tug one of the braids I have framing my face. “Nae of that sass, or I won’t be feeding you.”
I stick my tongue out at him when he looks back at the road, but he catches me anyway, and we break out into laughter. It’s so easy to be myself with him. The gray stone buildings are cozy in the light rain outside my window as I face away from him to hide my ridiculously large smile.
