Baby It's Cold Outside (8 page)

Mitch was a very talented musician who was studying at music college in Glasgow. Mason, who was two years younger, was more like my straight-laced RAF dad. He'd joined the army and was training at Sandhurst.

‘I'll ring Mitch,' I said. ‘Find out who's where.'

‘What about the registrar?' said Mum. ‘We can't do much without one. Are they all outside Claddach I wonder…'

Harry was looking thoughtful.

‘We could use the Mountain Rescue helicopter,' she said. ‘I could persuade that Willie to let us use it.'

But Mum shook her head.

‘We could,' she said. ‘But when there are rock falls and avalanches happening all over the place, it wouldn't be right. He'd do whatever we asked him at the expense of everyone else.'

I shivered. I didn't want any people missing or worse dead just so I could have the perfect wedding day.

We all sat silently for a while, then I had an idea.

‘We could enchant whoever's working on clearing the road,' I said. ‘Get them to do it faster. We could even draft in some extra volunteers.'

This time Louise shook her head.

‘They're not doing anything,' she said. ‘Penny explained it all to me. The mountain's not stable, so they need to wait for it to start to thaw naturally.'

‘That could be weeks from now,' I said, shocked. Suddenly it wasn't just my wedding that was at stake but my job, our honeymoon – would we be stuck in Claddach for much longer than we'd thought?

‘They're going to divert the road,' Louise said. ‘About half a mile before the site of the avalanche, there's a track across a field that goes into town.'

Harry looked blank but I knew where Lou meant – I'd run along that track hundreds of times.

‘They're planning to bring in tons of grit to widen the track and have it as access only for now,' Louise said. ‘But they can't even do that until they know the mountain's safe.'

I felt tears fill my eyes again and my head began to throb.

Once more I was struck by happy and excited I'd been just yesterday – was it really only yesterday – and now everything had fallen apart. I'd been so thrilled about having a beautiful winter wedding – now I'd be happy if I never saw snow again in my life. I wondered if it would be worth emigrating to Australia. There was no snow there, as far as I knew. Perhaps Penny could help. She seemed to be the expert on everything.

Mum took my hand.

‘Breathe Esme,' she said. I realised I was gulping air in my efforts not to cry and gulped some wine instead.

‘It's going to be okay,' Mum said in a calm voice. ‘We will sort all this out. We've got the dresses and the food all arranged and there will be a way to make sure your dad gets here, I promise.'

‘I promise too,' said Suky.

‘And me,' Harry added.

Louise grinned.

‘I can't guarantee I'll be much help,' she said. ‘But I'll do everything I can to make this wedding happen.'

I looked round at them and felt much happier. We may have been snowed in, with my wedding dress on the wrong side of an avalanche and my future husband's ex-fiancée on the inside, but this could work. We McLeods were nothing if not resourceful.

Still gripping Mum's hand, I smiled.

‘Right,' I said. ‘Bring it on. Let's get this show on the road.'

Chapter 11

‘No,' Jamie said firmly. ‘No magic.'

I stared at him, a forkful of lasagne halfway to my mouth. I didn't really understand what he was saying. He'd come downstairs after saying goodnight to Parker, Mum had dished up the dinner and everything had been going great. He'd even raised his glass and toasted me and Harry, saying how proud he was that we'd saved those people.

Flushed with pride, red wine and love, I'd filled Jamie in on how we were going to make sure our wedding went smoothly. And that's when he'd turned to me, his face serious, and said: ‘No magic.'

‘What do you mean no magic?' I asked him, trying to keep my voice level.

Jamie looked worried. He swirled the wine in his glass, then drank it down in one mouthful.

‘Let me tell you about Tansy,' he said. ‘Her dad is black and her mum is white.'

I shrugged.

‘So?' I said sulkily.

‘So that wasn't easy in the southern states of America in the sixties,' Jamie said. ‘Her mum's family disowned her – they still don't speak, as far as I know. What got them through all that was education. Hard work. Tansy's dad is a brilliant doctor and his talent, eventually, overcame what other people saw as the limits of his race.'

Harry leaned forward. She loved America but she knew its dark side as well as its light.

‘I guess that's why they ended up in Boston,' she pointed out. ‘Easier than being in the south.'

Jamie nodded.

‘Definitely,' he said. ‘I think they moved there so they could get married – inter-racial marriage wasn't even legal everywhere in the sixties.'

I saw Harry and Louise clasp their hands together under the table. Their marriage wasn't accepted by everyone they met, so I guessed they could understand a bit about how Tansy's parents felt.

‘It's still not straightforward,' Jamie continued. ‘When Tansy and I were together, her dad got locked out of his house one day. He climbed through an open window, a passer-by saw him and called the police and he was arrested.'

‘For breaking into his own house?' I said, confused.

‘They wouldn't believe it was his house,' Jamie said. ‘Not until Tansy's mum arrived and backed up his story. Tansy was really upset when she heard.'

‘God,' I said.

‘So you can understand why they wanted their kids to be well-educated? They've always seen it as a way out. Tansy's got three older brothers – one's in banking I think and the other two are academics.'

‘That doesn't mean they're not open to witchcraft,' Louise pointed out. ‘You guys are all well-educated too.'

Jamie nodded.

‘I can't remember the whole story,' he said. ‘But back when Tansy was a teenager, her uncle died – her mum's brother. Because her mum had been cut off by her family, she'd not seen him for years. They didn't even bother to tell her he'd passed away.'

‘Horrible,' Harry said.

Jamie carried on.

‘Her mum developed depression, I think. She was so fixated on the fact that she'd never got to say goodbye to her brother that she went looking for a way to speak to him after he died. She spent thousands and thousands of dollars on dodgy psychics, mediums, spiritualists – you name it.'

I shuddered. Some witches could see spirits – Harry herself was often seeing things that weren't there – and I hated to hear about frauds exploiting grieving people.

‘What happened?' I asked.

‘It nearly broke their family – financially and in terms of her parents' marriage,' Jamie said. ‘But Tansy's mum eventually got help and they managed to rebuild their lives.'

‘Okay,' I said, beginning to understand Tansy's aversion to magic.

‘Tansy's a scientist,' Jamie explained. ‘She doesn't believe in God, she has no time for ghost stories or horoscopes – and she's positively hostile to anything “other-wordly”. If she so much as got wind of witchcraft she'd assume we were all crazy. She'd think this was like some weird version of The Wicker Man. And I can absolutely guarantee that she would pack her bags, leave Claddach as soon as that road opened, and I would never, ever see Parker again.

Jamie looked so upset at the idea of losing his little boy so soon after he'd found him that I clutched his hand tightly.

‘Don't worry,' I said. ‘It's fine. We'll sort it another way. If you say no magic, then there's no magic.'

There was silence round the table as we all contemplated what that meant. I felt a bit sick.

‘What about Esme's dad?' Harry asked suddenly. ‘He doesn't believe.'

She had a point. We'd never hidden our magic from Dad, who was as straight-laced as he was straight-backed. But despite our openness he'd have laughed if anyone had told him his daughter was a witch – it was like he just couldn't see it.'

‘Yes,' I said, seeing a chink of hope. ‘Tansy could be like Dad. She'll just think it's a wacky hobby.'

But Jamie shook his head.

‘She won't,' he said. ‘She's like a dog with a bone if there's something she doesn't understand. When she was little, if she asked her dad a question – you know like kids do, like why is the sky blue – he would make her look it up and learn the answer. It's how she works. If she thought there was something strange about us, she'd start asking questions. She'd talk to people. Loads of people here know all about you guys – remember when that guy wanted to buy the café? It didn't take him long to ask around and find out, did it. She'd make notes. She'd dig and dig and dig. And eventually she'd find out the truth and it would blow her mind. And then she would take Parker and she'd go.'

He looked straight at me.

‘Please Esme,' he said. ‘I know this whole thing is just shit. It's not how we planned our wedding to be. And the snow has made everything a million times worse. But that wee boy upstairs is my son and he's amazing, and I can't risk losing him, Ez. I can't.'

I knew when I was beaten. I laced my fingers together behind Jamie's head and pulled him in for a kiss.

‘Okay,' I said. ‘I promise. No magic.'

Sunday

Chapter 12

I slept like the dead that night, exhausted physically by the avalanche, emotionally by Jamie's request and magically by listening in to the people who were trapped. Magic looks easy but it can be draining if you do too much and I'd definitely done too much.

I woke up at ten a.m. to an empty bed and grey light flooding the room. Carefully, because I still pretty much hurt all over, I swung my legs out of bed and headed for the shower. Then, feeling marginally more awake, I went downstairs in search of Jamie and coffee – in that order.

I found the coffee first, in a cafetiere in the kitchen. I poured myself a mug, then stuck it in the microwave to warm up. I'd obviously slept a lot later than anyone else. When the microwave pinged I took my mug, and Harry's iPad, which I'd found on a chair in the kitchen, into the living room.

‘Ez, you're up,' Harry said. She was sitting on the floor with Parker on one side and Lou on the other, playing dominoes. I gave them all an uncertain smile.

‘Morning,' I said. ‘Where is everyone?'

Parker laid a domino down and punched the air in triumph.

‘I win!' he called. ‘Mom went out with Daddy Jamie,' he said, not looking at me.

‘She did?' I said, not happy about the rekindled friendship between Tansy and Jamie. ‘Where did they go?'

‘They've gone to help check on some of the people who were hurt yesterday,' Harry said. ‘Mum and your mum are at the café and we're just hanging out with Parker.' She gave him an adoring look and I tried to hide my smile.

‘How are you feeling?' Louise asked me.

‘Sore,' I said. ‘But not as bad as it could be. Any news on the people who were buried?'

‘They're all fine,' Louise said. ‘The two walkers are going home today – they're both from down south somewhere.'

‘And the driver?' I asked, remembering his bloodied face.

‘He's going to be in for a while longer but he's okay.'

Relieved, I slumped onto the sofa and leaned back against the cushions to drink my coffee.

‘Sooooo,' Harry said, super casually. ‘What are your plans for the next couple of days?'

I shrugged.

‘Trying to sort out this bloody wedding I suppose,' I said. ‘I'm not sure where to start now Jamie's vetoed…' I paused. I knew Chloe spelled out words she didn't want her kids to hear, but somehow I didn't think that would work with Parker. Fortunately he was busy organising the dominoes into odd combinations and didn't seem remotely interested in our conversation.

‘He's vetoed you know what,' I finished lamely. Harry and Lou glanced at each other.

‘So you've got nothing definite on?' Harry said.

‘Nooooo,' I said, wondering where she was going with this. Harry and Louise scrambled to their feet.

‘Could you stay with Parker for a little while,' Harry said, ruffling the little boy's hair. ‘His mum will be back soon.'

‘Oh I'm not sure,' I began, but Harry and Louise were already halfway out of the door.

‘Thanks Ez,' Harry called. ‘See you later.'

I heard them talking and laughing as they put on their thick coats, and then the front door slammed and there was silence.

I looked at Parker who was still rearranging his dominoes. He really was as cute as a button. His skin was the colour of milky coffee – a shade or two lighter than Tansy's but his mixed-race heritage was still obvious. He had dark silky curls, with glints of auburn when the light caught them and startling hazel eyes. Sensing my run-of-the-mill blue eyes on him, he looked up at me and gave me an awkward smile. I tried to smile back but I wasn't really feeling it.

‘I did some math,' Parker said. ‘Want to see?'

Knowing I had to make an effort with this odd little boy who'd soon be my stepson, I nodded.

‘Go on then,' I said, sliding off the sofa to sit next to him on the floor.

What he'd done wasn't obvious to me at first. I stared uncomprehendingly at the groups of dominoes.

‘It's all just adding,' Parker said, patting my hand in a reassuring manner. ‘It's quite easy.'

I blinked at him, then looked back at the dominoes, finally grasping what he'd done. He'd grouped them into three. I added up the dots on each domino and realised he'd done a sum – the total number of dots on each domino in the final group was equal to the other groups put together.