Page 105 of The Grump I Married
Locke gave him the finger. Alistair smirked as he helped me position the bench, and it was a welcomed sight. When he’d arrived last week, he’d looked rough, but in the time he’d been at Lochbrae, the circles under his eyes had started to fade a bit, and I hoped being out here allowed him a reprieve from the media hounds. I couldn’t completely banish his concerns over the current lawsuit his company was putting him through, but I could give him and his daughter a safe space to escape to. Even for a short time.
“Where’d Kenna go?” Locke asked, looking around.
Alistair pointed over the hill. “Agnes took her up to the cattle shed. She wanted to see Arran again.”
Locke shook his head, flopping down on one of the benches. “I’ve never met a more popular coo.”
“I delivered her,” I reminded them.
Locke rolled his eyes dramatically. “So you’ve told us at least a dozen times.”
“A dozen?” Alistair snorted. “Make that one hundred. It’s been dinner conversation at least three nights in a row.”
“When was the last time either of you delivered a coo into the world?” I shot back, lips twitching. I was still extremely proud of that night, and no, I was never going to let them hear the end of it.
“Did you say Kenna’s in the cattle shed?” Aisling asked, racing over.
I nodded. She’d taken to the little girl from the moment Alistair and Kenna had arrived, and Kenna had been more than happy to toddle around after this older and wiser new friend. Aisling, it seemed, had filled the role of the big sister Kenna had never had, and she was deeply intrigued by everything the girl did.
“Okay, I’m going to the cattle shed too!” she announced, rushing off. “I want to show Kenna the flowers I picked!”
“Don’t let Bonnie rile up all the animals,” I called after her, despite knowing it was a lost cause.
Locke got back to his feet, staring out at the newly built cabins. “Looks just like it did when we were kids. Doesn’t it?”
“Aye,” Alistair said, a real,fullsmile taking up room on his face.
“I tried to rebuild as much as I could to match the original camp,” I said. “Lena dug up a bunch of pictures from Grandad’s office, and I gave those to the contractors.”
“Who would have thought we’d be here again?” Locke said, laughing to himself. “Back where it all started after all this time.”
“Who would have thought it would bethisguy restarting the Highland Adventure Camp?” Alistair said, nudging me playfully. “From what I remember, you could never even get your fire started.”
“That’s right!” Locke jumped in.
I scoffed. “My wood was wet.”
“Every time?” Locke teased.
I narrowed my eyes. “Yes.”
Alistair shook his head. “Just admit you were rubbish.”
“At least I didn’t sit in a big old pile of sheep shite,” I said, my eyes cutting in Locke’s direction as a wicked grin curled up my face. “I think we should erect a statue in honor of Shite Butt in the middle of camp.”
“That’s pure dead brilliant.” Alistair threw his arm over my shoulders. “The campers could pay tribute to the sheep gods every morning, asking for good fortune and to be spared the large piles of crap that turn good Highland boys into the dreaded creature known as Shite Butt.”
I threw my head back and laughed so hard my lungs burned. My next breath was a wheeze.
“You’re both arseholes,” Locke said. “You know that?” But he couldn’t hold back for long at the sight of me and Alistairbreaking into fits of laughter, and the next thing I knew, all three of us were snickering and wiping tears from the corners of our eyes.
The moment was sobering, the memories and the nostalgia filling my chest with a warmth that made me long for Grandad. I rubbed my sternum.
“All right?” Locke asked.
“I still can’t believe he’s gone,” I said, voice low. “I don’t know if this ache will ever go away.”
Alistair sighed. “I’m not sure it’s supposed to. I think it’s supposed to be there to remind us of how much he’ll always be missed.”
