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And . . . what about all those women in that bloody photo album?

Elspeth opens the first vacuum bag and takes out items one at a time, holding them up. She and Iona coo over the cutest little dresses Iona wore when she was a newborn. I compliment them too, but my heart isn’t really in this today. It’s not that the clothes aren’t nice. I’m just distracted.

Folding an adorable pink coat, Elspeth lets out a contented sigh. “I’m so looking forward to becoming a grandmother. Now, the last thing I want to do is stick my nose in someone else’s business, Grace, but even if the baby wasn’t planned, I’m sure your mother will be pleased too. I hope you don’t wait too much longer before telling her.”

“Oh, I won’t. Mum said she’d come up to Bannock sometime between Christmas and New Year, although she’s still to confirm when. Anyway, I’ll tell her when I see her.”

“Wonderful!” Elspeth beams, satisfied.

The front door opens, and a moment later, Aidan strolls into the living room. He shoots me the same charming grin I saw in the photos of him with all those other women. I have to suppress a shudder.

“Wow, baby stuff! I didn’t know you kept all this, Maw. I don’t want to interrupt the party, but Grace, there’s something I’d like to show you. Can I steal you away for a wee while?”

“Er, sure.” I put down my tea. “If that’s okay with you, Elspeth?”

“Of course. We can go through the rest of this another time. She’s all yours, Aidan.”

Aidan drives me out of Bannock and through white-blanketed countryside. The roads have been cleared, but snow remains everywhere else. It’s late in the afternoon, and darkness is already drawing in.

“Do you remember, at the airport, you moaned about my brother and his love of surprises?” I ask.

Aidan chuckles, briefly glancing my way before returning his attention to the road ahead. “Aye.”

“Well, why are you now doing the same thing to me? Why can’t you just tell me where we’re going?”

“I thought a bit of mystery would be fun, no?”

“I’ve had my fill of surprises this year.”

“Fair enough. The thing is, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you, and it’ll be easier if we do it in the place I want to show you. It’ll make sense when we get there, I promise.”

“Can you at least tell me how far away it is?”

“Not far. It’s only ten minutes from Bannock, and we’ve been driving for a few minutes already.”

“Okay, I suppose I can wait that long.”

A short while later, Aidan slows the car as we approach a turn-off. “Ah, now that is a slight problem.”

Unlike the main road, the track Aidan wants to take is covered in untouched snow. He pulls over, lifts the handbrake, and kills the engine.

“We’ll just have to continue on foot. We’re close.”

I narrow my eyes. “This better be worth it. I’m a pregnant woman—I’d have put on warmer clothes if I’d known we were going for a winter walk.”

“I think you’ll like it. C’mon!” He winks then gets out, goes around the car, opens my door, and offers me a hand, my less-than-enthusiastic attitude not dampening his mood in the slightest.

Accepting his help, I step out, and we set off up the track, crunching through the deep snow. An unpleasant wetness seeps into the bottom of my jeggings and slowly rises up the fabric, which grows cold and clings to my skin. Ugh!

“As you know, I’ve not wanted to rush things between us,” Aidan says, oblivious to my discomfort. “But these last few days, I’ve been thinking a lot, and I don’t like how difficult it’s going to be for us when the baby comes.

“I live in the very north of this island, and you live in the very south. When our lass arrives, you’ll have your hands full, and I’ll want to help, but it won’t be easy. Bannock Adventures is quiet right now, but Ally and I will get busy again in the spring, and in the summer, all going well, we’ll be working seven days a week.

“It’s not like I’ll be able to take a break when I feel like it and nip to London to see you both. Ally and I make our money when the weather is good, and we can’t turn down work then. It’s not a ‘Monday to Friday, nine to five’ kind of job. It’s a ‘long hours in the summer, lots of free time in the winter’ job.”

He’s right, of course. It’s going to be tough.

“So . . . where is this conversation going?”