Page 40 of The Scottish Island Inn

‘Mum. Can I have a cookie?’ A young boy ran up to Briony and wrapped his arms around her waist. ‘Muriel says I have to ask you.’

‘Okay. Just one, though. And you have to wait with me.’ Briony put her hand on the top of the boy’s head affectionately. ‘Alex, this is my old friend Sorrel. Can you say hi?’

‘Hello.’ The boy smiled shyly up at Sorrel. He looked just like Briony: the same big green eyes, auburn hair, ruddy cheeks.

‘You’re a mum!’ Sorrel exclaimed.

‘Yep. He’s my joy.’ Briony hugged Alex to her.

‘Are you married?’ Sorrel asked. There was so much she’d missed by being away. It made her sad; she pushed away the empty feeling in her heart. I shouldn’t have gone. But I couldn’t stay.

Briony lowered her voice. ‘I was. He… passed away when Alex was two. Active service.’

‘Oh, my goodness. I’m so sorry.’ Sorrel put her hand to her mouth. ‘That’s terrible!’

‘It’s okay. I miss him, but that was four years ago.’ Briony mussed Alex’s hair. ‘And this one keeps me busy. We moved back in with my parents, and they’ve been a godsend.’

‘That’s good. But what a thing to go through. I’m so sorry, Briony,’ Sorrel repeated. ‘What happened? If you don’t mind me asking?’

‘I don’t mind. He was in the Special Forces. A mission went wrong. He was shot,’ Briony said, quietly. ‘Daddy was a hero, wasn’t he, baby?’ she added, hugging her little boy to her. Alex nodded, playing with the button on his mother’s cardigan.

‘Wow. That’s rough.’ Sorrel couldn’t think of anything helpful to say; obviously, there was nothing, but she wished there was. ‘I mean… if you want to talk, anytime. I’m here. I mean, I’d love to catch up. Maybe we should go for a drink or something.’

‘That would be great. There’s a nice little wine bar in Portree. We should go there one night. I’ll get Mum and Dad to watch Alex.’ Briony nodded. ‘Oh. Hey, Tam.’

Sorrel jumped.

‘Hey, Sorrel.’ Tam Blackwood ran a hand shyly through his mass of tumbling black curls. ‘Hey, Briony. What’s up, Alex.’ He high-fived the little boy.

‘Tam!’ Alex cried out happily. Without flinching, Tam caught him and picked him up, twirling the little boy around as if he was weightless.

‘So, I’m guessing that you two caught up already. Otherwise, that was the world’s most understated reunion after ten years.’ Briony looked from one of them to the other. ‘Alex, sweetie. Let Tam have some air.’

Tam lowered Alex to the ground, performing a complicated-looking handshake with the boy.

‘Every time we do that, you add a stage,’ he chuckled. ‘How d’you expect me to keep up?’

‘Dunno.’ Alex giggled delightedly. It was obvious that he adored Tam.

‘Yes. We’ve seen each other since I got back,’ Sorrel replied.

‘So, how’s it going, ladies?’ Tam returned to stand next to Briony, and Sorrel was surprised to see her thread her arm through his and lean into him companionably.

Oh, she thought. Was this something?

She was aware of the way her stomach lurched at the thought. Of course, Tam was allowed to be seeing someone. If that was what this was. Yet, the thought of it made her awkward.

‘Fine, thanks.’ Sorrel focused on acting normal and not staring at Tam and Briony’s interlinked arms.

‘Listen, Sorrel. I’m glad I ran into you. I’ve got to go to the mainland to get some supplies for the Inn, and I kind of need a hand choosing which finishes you want. For the flooring and stuff. We’ve got to order it. Would you come with me? A day there and back, but I’ll get the coffee. What d’you say?’ Tam asked; they’d reached the front of the queue.

‘Umm. Sure. Okay. I’ve been doing some designs for the new kitchen, paint colours for the downstairs, that kind of thing. I can show you, if you want.’

‘Definitely. That sounds great.’ Tam grinned. ‘Have your parents given their sign-off?’

‘Agh. I emailed some stuff to them, but they haven’t said anything yet. I’ll have to chase them up, but we can still look at options while we’re out.’ Sorrel thought with some trepidation about having to speak to Angus and Catriona. She was actually quite enjoying designing the new interiors for the Inn – it was something to immerse herself in, something she was good at – but she didn’t want to talk to her parents. She knew she had to; she’d agreed to help with the renovations. But she was willing to take any opportunity to avoid the conversations she knew she had to have with Catriona and Angus right now, especially now that the sisters knew everything. Sorrel’s stomach churned. The disintegration-into-goo feeling was just getting worse.

When will this end? she thought. This was why I stayed away. It was easier to pretend. Facing things is terrible.