Page 89 of Highland Getaway
‘I say, what’s the prize?’ Ian says, his voice loaded with suspicion. ‘What am I supposed to be winning?’
I think quickly.
‘If you win, Ian, Hunter will sit down with you and discuss how the hotel could work more closely with the village,’ I say. ‘Buying your produce again, that kind of thing.’
‘And ifIwin?’ asks Hunter, his mouth a thin line of displeasure that makes me doubt for a minute whether I should really be pressing ahead with this hastily concocted idea.
‘If you win, the villagers have to accept whatever decision you make about the hotel,’ I tell him. ‘And stop calling you a bawbag.’
‘I feel like they have a lot more to gain here than I do, somehow,’ Hunter says wryly, reaching up to push his hair out of his eyes in a way that makes my heart give a traitorous little flutter.
‘Do you want to make it up to me for not telling me who you were or not?’ I reply, hoping the answer to this will be yes – and not just for the sake of the ‘competition’.
Hunter’s throat bobs as he swallows. ‘Fine,’ he says gruffly. ‘Let’s get it over with, then.’
Ian uses the blade of his weapon – I mean axe – to cut a small line in the middle of the tree trunk.
‘You take that side o’ the line,’ he says, pointing. ‘And I’ll take this. Rosie, if you wouldn’t mind timing us?’
I pull my phone out of my pocket, open up the timer and hold my finger above the start button.
‘OK, on three,’ I say. ‘One .?.?. two .?.?. three .?.?. GO.’
Without another word, Ian and Hunter start chopping as if their lives depend on it, and I take the opportunity to slip away.
My work here is done – for now, at least.
But there’s still more to do.
Chapter 36
Two hours later, the sun bursts through the drizzle that’s been falling on and off, creating another one of those shimmering rainbows that seem so common in this part of the world. As the influencers all rush to photograph it, a single ray lands on Hunter’s head, making him look briefly like he has a halo as he and Ian toil away at the end of the drive, two solitary figures who don’t stop chopping, even though the rainbow is, as Millie says, ‘fire’.
Beside them, Hannah and Rowan stand huddled under a bright red umbrella, cheering both men on simultaneously, apparently not caring which one wins. Right now, Hunter’s slightly in the lead, but Ian’s not far behind him, and one of the men from the village has started taking bets on who’s going to finish first, while a handful of others stand drinking beer and adding their expert commentary.
If it wasn’t for the fact that we’re all trapped in a castle by a tree, it would feel almost like a party.
Which is, of course, exactly what I was hoping.
‘OK,’ says Luna, joining me on the front steps of the hotel, where a small group of us have gathered to watch the two men hack away at the tree. ‘So, the bad news is that the band I’d booked definitely aren’t going to make it. The storm caused absolute chaos on the railway network, apparently.’
I nod in resignation. I’d expected this, but it’s disappointing, nevertheless.
‘The good news, though,’ she goes on, with a grin, ‘is that I’ve managed to find three guitarists among the villagers, one pianist and a woman who says she once sang backup vocals for the Bay City Rollers.’
I smile back at her, delighted.
‘There are no drums, unfortunately,’ she adds. ‘But there’s a ton of booze in the cellar, so hopefully no one will notice.’
‘Great,’ I reply. ‘And the rest?’
‘Tables have all been taken into the ballroom,’ Luna replies, taking a list out of her pocket and consulting it. ‘The kitchen has enough food to feed an army. And Dante’s in the attic.’
‘The attic?’ I raise my eyebrows, convinced I must have misheard her.
‘Yeah. I had to get him out of the way so he didn’t try to stop us, so I told him Sabrina was lost up there. He’s gone to find her. She’s actually in her room, putting together a presentation for the end of the contest, though, so he’ll be looking for a while.’
‘Good work, Luna,’ I say admiringly, trying not to think about the competition, and how badly I’ve performed in it; not that it matters now. ‘And did you manage to speak to her about your job?’
