Years of experience across cutthroat TV shows meant that Kristie was more than prepared for any diva behaviour. She gave her most dazzling smile. ‘I’m afraid you have me at a disadvantage. Who are you?’ The words were amiable enough, but Kristie knew exactly how to deliver them. The implication of ‘not being important enough to know’ emanated from her every pore.
There was a flash of anger in the woman’s eyes but Rhuaridh broke in. ‘Kristie, this is Zoe.’
‘Zoe?’
The woman straightened her shoulders. ‘Zoe Brackenridge. Rhuaridh and I are...’ a calculating smile appeared on her lips ‘...very good, old friends.’
The ex. It was practically stamped on her forehead. But Kristie wasn’t easily bested.
Zoe seemed to dismiss her, turning her attention to Rhuaridh. ‘Rhuaridh, do you think we could go back to the cottage? I think we need to have a private chat.’
‘I’m not quite sure there’s room enough for three,’ said Kristie quickly. Too quickly, in fact, she was in danger of letting this woman make her lose her cool.
But it seemed that Rhuaridh had limited patience too. ‘What are you doing on Arran, Zoe? I thought you hated the place.’ His gaze was steely.
There was a tiny flicker in the woman’s cheek. She wasn’t unnerved. She was angry. She looked Rhuaridh straight in the eye, ‘Like I said, we need to talk.’
‘We talked some time ago. I think you said everything you needed to.’
Zoe leaned forward and touched Rhuaridh’s arm, leaving her hand there. Kristie resisted the temptation to stab her with her fork. ‘Rhuaridh, I’m sure there are some things we could catch up on.’
‘Like what?’
Kristie almost choked. She’d never heard Rhuaridh be that rude before. Funnily enough, she kind of liked it.
Now Zoe was starting to show some signs of frustration. ‘I think we have a lot of things to catch up on. One of the consultants I’m working with was enquiring about you—there could be a job opportunity in Glasgow. It would be perfect for you.’ She looked over her shoulder. ‘Get you away from this island. Now you’ve done that show, you should be able to recruit someone else for here. Get your career back on track. Get your life back on track.’
Rhuaridh stood up, his dinner untouched, and reached out for Kristie’s hand. ‘You’ve watched the show?’
Kristie felt as if she’d been catapulted back into high school. This seemed like teenage behaviour. Rhuaridh had never really talked about the relationship he’d had with Zoe, but in Kristie’s head she could see Zoe watching the show, seeing how captivated the world was with Rhuaridh, and realising exactly what she’d let go. Now she’d shown up like some high school prom queen back to claim her king.
Zoe rolled her eyes, then settled her gaze on Kristie. It was distinctly disapproving. ‘It doesn’t exactly show you in the best light.’ She waved her hand. ‘And as for that title...’ She gave a shudder and touched his shoulder. ‘I think it’s time a friend helped you get back to where you should be.’
Kristie ground her teeth. Did this woman even know how condescending she sounded? But she didn’t get a chance to say anything. Rhuaridh stepped up right in front of the woman.
He stood there for a few seconds. Zoe cast Kristie a triumphant glance that was short-lived. Rhuaridh spoke in a low voice. ‘Let me be clear. We don’t have anything to talk about. And you’ve just rudely interrupted dinner between me...’ he paused for the briefest of seconds ‘...and my girlfriend.’
It was like someone had sucked the air out of her lungs. Girlfriend. She liked that word. She liked it a lot.
‘Goodbye, Zoe,’ he finished as he gave Kristie’s hand a tug and pulled her with him as he headed to the door, leaving some money on the bar. ‘Sorry about dinner,’ he muttered as he kept walking.
She ignored her empty stomach as she cast a look over her shoulder. Zoe looked stunned. It was probably her best look.
* * *
‘Beans on toast,’ said Rhuaridh. ‘Fine dining. The staple diet of most Scottish students.’
Kristie raised her eyebrows at him. ‘I think we could have got away with taking the plates. No one would have noticed.’
He let out a sigh. She hadn’t said a word in the car back to the cottage. It was as if she knew he needed some time to sort out his head. He couldn’t believe Zoe had turned up here. There had been a few random emails that he hadn’t replied to. But he would never have expected her to show up in the place she’d shown so much contempt for.
There had always been a side to Zoe that hadn’t exactly been complimentary—one she tried to keep hidden. Zoe, at heart, was competitive. Whether that was in her career, in her love life, or in her finances. And it was the ‘at heart’ part that annoyed him most.
He’d been deluged with messages from every direction. Even though he still hadn’t watched the show, he couldn’t fail to notice its impact. Zoe’s competitive edge must be cursing right now. She wasn’t here really because she regretted her actions or her words. No, she was here because she wanted a bit of the limelight. This wasn’t an act of love. This was an act of ambition.
Kristie pressed her lips together as she picked up her plate and walked over to the sofa. It was clear her mind was somewhere else.
‘I’m not sure what you and Thea have planned for footage for this month’s filming. I imagine Thea will need to find her way around the surgery and hospital for now so I’ve not scheduled anything in particular. But I’ve arranged for filming in the school to happen next month,’ he said quickly, trying to pull her away from whatever was giving her that pained expression. ‘There’s a whole host of immunisations coming up. They’re handled by the nurse immunisation team, but I generally try to go along in case there are any issues.’
‘What kind of issues?’
‘There are usually a few fainters. The odd child who might have a panic attack. Consents are all done before we get there, and all the children’s medical histories have been checked.’
‘Mmm...okay.’
He put his plate down. ‘Kristie, what did you want to talk about earlier?’
She pushed her plate away and pulled her legs up onto the sofa, turning to face him with her head on her hand. She gave her head a shake. ‘I’m just tired. It’s nothing.’
‘It’s not nothing. It’s something. Tell me.’
She gulped. He could see her doing that so reached out and took her hand. After a few minutes she finally spoke. ‘I told you about my sister. But what I didn’t tell you was that after she died I contacted the helpline she’d phoned a few times and volunteered. The calls she made were short. She always disconnected. But I felt as if I wanted to do something.’ She ran her other hand through her hair. ‘I couldn’t get it out of my head that when she’d been feeling low, the place she’d called was there, not me.’
Her voice started to tremble. ‘And I realised that I could be that person at the end of the phone for someone else. So I volunteered, they trained me, and I’ve been manning the phone three times a month for the last few years.’
He’d listened carefully. He knew there was more.
‘So what’s wrong?’
She stared down at her hands. ‘The last few nights, someone has been phoning, staying on the line for less than a minute then hanging up. I know that’s what Jess did.’ Her voice cracked. ‘And I can’t help but wonder if I’m failing them, just like I failed Jess.’
Rhuaridh didn’t hesitate, he pulled her into his arms. ‘You didn’t fail your sister, Kristie, and you haven’t failed this person either. They’ve called. They’ve got to take the decision to speak. Sometimes people call six or seven times before they pick up the courage to speak. All you can do is be there. All you can do is answer and let them know that you’re prepared to listen whenever they want to speak.’
‘But what if offering to listen isn’t en
ough?’ Her wide blue eyes were wet with tears.
His heart twisted in his chest. He could see just how desperate she was to save any other family from the pain she’d suffered. He could see just how much she wanted to help.
He put his hands at either side of her head. ‘Kristie Nelson, you are a brilliant big-hearted person. But you have to accept that there are some things in this life we can’t control—no matter how much we want to. All we can do...is the best that we can. I know that’s hard to accept. But we have to. Otherwise the what-ifs will eat us up inside.’
He leaned forward and rested his head against hers. They stayed like that for the longest time. At first he could see the small pulse racing at the bottom of her neck, but the longer they stayed together, the more her body relaxed against his, and the more her breathing steadied and eased. He wanted to give her that space and time to gather her thoughts—just like he was gathering his.
She took another breath. ‘There’s more,’ she said quietly.
‘What?’
She licked her lips. ‘These last few months I started working on something—a book.’
He was momentarily confused. ‘A book?’
She nodded. ‘It’s fiction. But it’s based on Jess, and what happens when a member of your family commits suicide. The impact it has on all those around. It’s about a tight-knit family and a group of old high school friends. How they all second-guess themselves wondering if they could have done something—changed things—and how they have to learn to live and move on.’