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“I will. I just need some me time first, you know? Dealing with people all day—”
“Demanding fuckwits, you mean,” Sunita corrected.
Evie zipped up her khaki jacket, its nipped-in waist and feminine silhouette defying its wind- and water-proof sensibility. “I won’t be long—” Her pocket buzzed.
“That better not be work-related.” Sunita tossed back her G&T as Evie awoke her phone.
“It’s Gemma. She’s still having vertigo and headaches. Doc says they need to operate on her arm again.”
Sunita shivered. “Ouch!”
“She feels like she’s letting us down. Lemme just…” Evie typed a quick text and hit send.
Evie:
We’re okay! All that matters is you getting better. Let me know how the op goes & when you feel up for a visit. x
Ignoring the insistent itch of her healed burn, she put her phone away. “You’ll be okay till I get back?”
“With booze and a Lord of the Rings marathon on telly?” Sunita winked. “Couldn’t be happier.”
Leaving the B&B, Evie took a short detour and double-checked that the catering truck was still plugged into the electrical mains at the island’s motorhome facilities (she couldn’t risk a fridge full of food spoiling) then set off down a narrow road toward Roos Wick Bay.
Passing grazing cows on her left and endless green fields on her right hemmed in by dry stone dykes, Evie pushed forward into the bracing wind, allowing its salty persistence to disperse the stress of the day along with wispy strands from her messy bun. The treeless horizon stretching out in all directions would occasionally be interrupted by a farmhouse or an electrical pole, subtle reminders she wasn’t alone.
As she met the end of the road, she rounded a stone croft house and found sand and Nick, hair fluttering in the breeze, snapping a photo. Evie tensed as he lowered his phone.
“Of all the beaches in all the towns in the world, you walk onto…” He paused, his face doing the endearing scrunched-nose thing that still stole her breath. “What’s this one called?”
“Roos Wick.” She gave him a once-over. Nick didn’t took too windblown or tired, and his designer nylon jacket, dark jeans, and red-laced hiking boots were spotless. “How’d you get here?”
“Drove. My rental is parked at that croft over there.”
Evie would’ve fainted if he had walked.
“I haven’t been sleeping.” His gaze leapt, tracking a passing lapwing. “Too much time staring at spreadsheets in the production trailer, I reckon.”
“Fresh air should help.”
“Hope so. I’ve never been to Sanday before. It’s beautiful.”
“You’ll probably see more of Orkney this summer than you have your entire life,” said Evie.
“Feels that way, yeah.” Nick pocketed his phone. “I thought I had this place all to myself, but”—he pointed several feet away to three chubby seals basking on their sides in the late-day sun. Another surfaced in the water, its large puppy dog eyes and long whiskers judging from afar.
“Well”—Evie smiled—“enjoy your new friends.” She headed in the opposite direction.
“Hey, want company?”
No—yes. I dunno. She sucked back a groan and slowly turned. “Afraid of getting lost?”
“Yup.”
“C’mon.”
Nick grinned and matched her pace. “I’ll give you a lift after.”
“You’re at the hotel?”
