Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 105748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
It was August 1st today, I realized.
Thirteen and a half months since Mum passed.
Feeling the rise of overwhelming grief, I quickly threw the thought from my head and chugged back a gulp of coffee.
“Fancy seeing you here.”
The familiar voice caused me to choke as I lowered the flask in shock.
Quinn leaned against the railing beside me, head turned toward me, his lips curled at the corners. Those blue eyes twinkled with amusement as I coughed around the halted coffee.
Butterflies fluttered in my belly and just like that, I had the distraction I’d sought.
“What are … what?” I glanced over my shoulder, wondering where the hell he’d come from. “I didn’t see you drive onto the ferry.”
“I was behind you.” He turned to face me, straightening but still leaning against the railing. Quinn wore a long-sleeved Henley with a tartan shirt over it. A nice pair of jeans. No dust or paint on them. And hiking trainers that looked brand new.
When I brought my gaze back up, he quirked an eyebrow at my perusal. Mischief gleamed in his expression. “Like what you see?”
I flushed and rolled my eyes, leaning past him to stare back at the town we were leaving behind. “What are you doing here?”
He settled beside me again, his arm brushing mine. “Angus’s field hockey team made it to the finals, so I booked a room at the Haven for the weekend. I’m taking the kids to dinner tonight.”
What were the chances? “That sounds nice.”
Quinn nudged me with his shoulder. “This is the part where you tell me what you’re doing here.”
“The post office on Oban called about a package they can’t deliver. It’s some electrical device that was sent by a big online retailer, but I never purchased anything. I’m going over to see what it’s all about.”
“Why can’t they deliver it?”
“Something about its value being over what they can put on the ferry for insurance purposes.”
Quinn’s brows furrowed. “Taran, I’ve never heard the like.”
I shrugged. “I checked, and the number that called me was the post office.”
He glanced at his watch. “I don’t need to be at the game until noon, so I’ll come with you to the post office.”
Irritated by his high-handedness, I straightened to full height to glower at him. “Oh, you will, will you?”
Quinn mirrored my stance. “Aye. Considering you’ve been broken into and almost mowed down in the space of a week, I will escort you to the post office for this weird and mysterious package.”
“Nothing has happened since. Has anything happened to you? I know Cammie hasn’t had anything else happen to her.”
“And you’d know that because you’re not avoiding her.” His tone was gentle, nonaccusatory.
Which made it worse. “Quinn … maybe if you told me your suspicions about who is behind it, it might go a long way to building some trust between us.”
He let out an exasperated sigh. “Not fair.”
“You’re not playing fair.”
“Fine.” He glanced over both shoulders to make sure there was no one else near enough to hear us. Then he leaned on the railing again, gesturing with his head for me to come closer. Despite the fact that his proximity befuddled my brain, I leaned in.
My preoccupation with how good he smelled, how handsome he was, was undone when I suddenly realized how grim his expression had grown.
“Quinn, what is going on?” I asked just loud enough to be heard over the ferry’s engine and the boat cutting through the choppy water.
He licked his lips as if they were dry and ran a hand over his beard, rubbing it like I’d seen him do when he was troubled or exasperated. “It was two days after I married Kiera,” he began.
My heart felt like it toppled out of my rib cage and into my stomach with a painful thud.
Quinn flicked me a wary look. “I have more than your forgiveness to earn, Taran. I was a selfish, fucked-up kid. Marrying Kiera was excruciating. Having to hide from her how excruciating it was, was hellish. Only Forde and Cammie really knew the extent of my depression during that time. Kiera was still pregnant, so Heather had yet to come along and give me purpose after losing you.”
Sympathy I never thought I’d feel scored through me in a burning ache. I nodded at him to continue.
“Forde suggested we go for a post-stag do since I’d refused to celebrate the impending nuptials. He thought it would help bring me out of my funk. In the end, three of us took out a small cuddy cabin cruiser we’d rented from the harbor to go fishing.” Quinn stared out toward Leth Sholas. “We took an icebox filled with beer and we did very little fishing and a lot of drinking.” He turned his head to me, and I sucked in a breath at the agony I saw in his eyes. “It was Forde, me, and Liam McCall.”