Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 109368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
Beneath my irritation was something I didn’t want to consider.
Because what if someone had gotten to her on Kiln?
“Fuck,” I growled, steering the boat through the choppy waters. I could barely see a thing and knew too late I’d taken a big risk. Still, I’d been in worse situations in my life. Far worse.
By the time I reached the dock at Kiln, my boat had almost capsized twice and I knew I’d have to find shelter for the night too. There was no way I could chance traveling back in this weather. With sheer strength and physical will, I managed to get the boat tied to the dock next to Donal’s and hiked up onto the main footpath. I had a backpack with supplies, including a portable VHF radio so I could update Cammie and Leth Sholas on our situation.
The SUV took me by surprise, because I hadn’t heard the rumble of its engine over the crash of the water against shore. Its headlights blinded me before it suddenly swung to the side. I lowered my hand from my eyes and made out Donal Macintosh’s bearded face in the driver’s side.
“Donal?”
“Who is that?”
I approached the vehicle so he could see me better. “It’s me! Ramsay!”
“McRae?”
“Aye!”
“Are you crazy coming over in this weather, man!”
“I’m looking for someone! You brought her over this morning!”
“The blond lass? Aye, I’m out looking for her meself! Bloody tourists!”
“Do you know which way she went?”
“She took the coastal trail!” He pointed ahead of us. “If she’s smart, she made her way to the bothy!”
I knew which one he spoke of. The islanders here maintained the shelter for hikers who wanted to spend a night on the island. “I’ll head that way. You head home. I’ve got this!”
He scowled. “Let me drive you a ways. It’s ninety minutes by foot!”
Grateful, I nodded and rounded the SUV, jumping inside.
The sound of the weather dulled only somewhat as Donal righted the SUV and started down the coastal road.
“This lass something to you, then?” Donal asked quietly. “Considering you risked your very life in that water to get to her.”
“Honestly, I didn’t realize how bad the crossing would be. But she’s a friend of Cammie’s and Cammie was worried.”
Donal nodded. “Well, she seemed like a smart enough lass. I wouldnae fash yourself too much.”
“Is that why you’re out looking for her?”
“I dinnae like to think of anyone out here by themselves in this weather. And once my wife heard there was a young woman out here alone, she radioed everyone on the island to see if they had her. No one has seen the lass. The wife wouldnae stop nipping my ear until I went out to look for her.”
Because that was what a small community did for one another.
We fell into silence as he cautiously followed the road.
However, fifteen minutes later, as we came over the brow of a hill, we saw the light.
“That’s the bothy,” Donal told me. “Looks like she found it and the solar lamps.”
Something in me eased. “Good.”
“We’ve got another five minutes of track and then I’ll need to drop you off at the path. From there you’re probably another ten minutes by foot.”
“Thanks.”
A few minutes later, Donal stopped the SUV and I got out. He stayed there, lighting my way with the headlights until the footpath took me downhill out of sight. I couldn’t hear him drive off over the crash of water against the coastline and I could barely see through the rain battering down around me.
At the sight of the bothy and that light shining in the small side window, I felt the sudden urge to throttle Tierney Silver.
Not so much for dragging me out here in this fucking weather …
But for making me worry that I might not find her.
Or worse, I’d find her and be too late.
16. Tierney
Living the kind of privileged life I’d led, I’d seen more than most people in my twenty-seven years. I’d traveled the world and considered myself an adventurous person. London and I had once joined a camping tour in the Amazon Rainforest where the guide taught us survival skills.
Despite the deadly plants and insects there, I’d felt empowered by the experience.
Now I realized it was because I wasn’t alone. I’d had my best friend and two badass guides leading our small group.
Moreover, I was free of any threats six years ago when we did that tour.
Sitting on the double bed in the bothy, my arms wrapped around my legs, listening to the weather crash around me, I was afraid. I was alone and afraid and I hated it. There were moments when the loss of my parents’ hit me harder than others. Like when I bought the B and B and I forgot for a second and I picked up my phone to call my mom and then remembered I couldn’t. The grief had hit me then like a crushing weight. Losing two people who were that intrinsically tied to my happiness had made me feel so unanchored, I felt like I was losing my mind. Now and then, I’d get hit with flashes of that intense grief and have to meditate my way through it.