"Next please!" Helen Andrews called to Rhona as
she stood in the queue at the Post Office. "NEXT PLEASE!!!" she
repeated a little louder. "Rhona Boyle are you in this queue or not?"
she barked as Rhona shook herself out of the daydream she was basking in.
"Sorry Helen, I was miles away!" she smiled and
approached the desk.
"So I see!" Helen frowned impatiently at her.
"What can I do for you then?" her manner was always very terse so
Rhona did not take offence at her tone.
"I want to send this card to California!" she
beamed, it was Oz's mother's birthday and Rhona thought it would be a nice
thought to send her a birthday card from Scotland.
"Well pop it on the scales then!" Helen pointed
a bony finger towards them as Rhona obliged. After tapping away at her keyboard
for a moment, she looked up with a sneer and said "First class will be
£2.34!"
"WHAT?" Rhona's eyes grew wide. "For a wee
card like that???" Helen closed her eyes and pursed her lips before
replying in a shrill tone,
"Rhona it's no the size, it's the weight!"
"Aye but still!"
"Do you want to send it second class? Because
that'll be £1.59!" Rhona thought for a moment then shook her head.
"No, no first class is fine! Thank you Helen!"
she smiled with difficulty, handed over the exact money and left. Just as she
got outside, Jamie was leaning on a blue Ford Escort across the street, his
hands were jammed in his pockets and he had one leg over the other as he
whistled cheerily. As soon as he spotted her he jumped up and sprinted over to
her calling her name.
"Rhona! Rhona darlin' over here!" Rhona groaned
as her heart began to pound with fear, fear of what she was going to do to him.
As he reached her he could see the disgust on her face and his smile faded.
"A know yer angry wi me!" Rhona laughed bitterly.
"ANGRY? Yeah Jamie I'm just angry with you! Not
heartbroken, torn to shreds, a former shell of myself no...just angry!"
"Rhona babe..." he began and reached out to
touch her.
"DON'T..." she pulled up her arms defensively
as he hung back with hurt in his green eyes. "...you TOUCH me Jamie
McGregor and I will have you singing castrato in two seconds flat!"
"I'm truly sorry for what I did back in
Glasgow!" Rhona cried out in exasperation as he continued, "But av
changed! Am no that guy anymore! A made a big mistake and...a want ye back
babe, a miss ye!" Once again he tried to touch her and she shoved his arm
away roughly.
"No! Jamie it's over, forever! I'm in a new
relationship now and he's the most amazing, kind, caring, HONEST and FAITHFUL
man I have ever known! I've moved on..." she looked him up and down, more
with sympathy than anger, "...and so should you!" she made her way to
the bus stop as he shouted back,
"Oh right is this the guy that telt ye he was dyin'
and he wisnae eh?" Rhona turned around slowly as the bus appeared at her
stop,
"Aye Jamie he did and it was hard to deal with...but
he never lied about loving me!" and left him standing alone in the street
as she jumped on the bus.
Oz Truman sat in the lounge area of the hotel, he wasn't
feeling all that well, after the wedding he caught a chill and ended up at the
doctors for some antibiotics, but he had a lovely red haired nurse tending to
his every need! It had been four days since the wedding and Lachie and Elspeth
were in Edinburgh on their honeymoon. Oz stupidly volunteered to take his place
at reception, but things were quiet around there and he'd probably picked the
best time to do it. As Rhona entered the front door looking as white as a
sheet, he ran to her and grabbed her hands in his. Looking straight into her
blue eyes, as blue as his own, he demanded to know what was wrong, "Rhona,
are you okay? What is it?"
"I...saw Jamie!" Rhona pulled out of his grip
and hugged him tightly; he reciprocated and rubbed her back.
"Did he hurt you? Coz if he did..."
"No, just...Oz just hold me please!" she
nuzzled her face into his chest and he could feel her body shaking.
"If he comes near you again, just tell me! I know
I'm not a patch on your brother but I can get in a few good punches if I have
to!" he chuckled as he squeezed her gently and rested his chin lightly on
her head. She looked up at him then, their blue eyes connecting as they always
did, a hint of a spark between them like their souls speaking to one another.
"I love you so much!" she smiled as a tear ran
down her cheek, a happy tear.
"I think you're pretty swell too!" he gave her
a cheeky smirk and kissed her on the forehead. But deep down he wanted to find
that Jamie creep and smash his face in! Just as they were having a quiet moment
in each other's arms, Hannah came striding through with a disapproving scowl on
her pretty face.
"Rhona it's the phone for you upstairs, your dad's
shouting his head off!" she tapped Rhona on the shoulder as she and Oz broke
off their hug.
"Oh, right thanks Han!" she rubbed her eyes and
straightened out her jacket before heading up to answer the phone. Oz looked
over at Hannah trying to smile but completely aware that she hated him, why he
did not know but felt he had to find out!
"So, Hannah! How's it going?" Hannah sneered at
him and folded her arms.
"Fine thank you!" she replied rather shortly.
"Now why do I get the feeling that you don't like
me, huh?" Oz cocked his head to the side, still with the strained smile
plastered on his face.
"It's nothing personal..." she began as Oz let
out a frustrated laugh and shook his head.
"You're a piece of work you know that?"
"Excuse me?" she unfolded her arms and scowled
at him with her mouth wide open as his voice took on an angrier tone.
"I have proven to ALL OF YOU that I'm not Jamie!!!
I'm serious about Rhona, I love her! But you still treat me like a pariah!
Why?" Hannah had no answer; she simply looked down at her shoes and
spluttered gibberish.
"It ends NOW!!!" Oz warned her through gritted
teeth, “Rhona does not need this! We have to try and get along, for her
sake!" As he went to leave her standing in the lobby, he stopped for a
moment and stared her down, "If you were any kind of friend to Rhona, you
would drop this bratty attitude and be happy for her!" her reply made him
want to scream,
"And if you were any kind of man you'd leave!"
"And there's a stag do booked for Thursday so I'd
better make sure Catherine knows the drill, man do I miss Elspeth around here!
Hey I wonder if she'll still want to work here or does she fancy being a kept
woman eh?" Terry laughed and nudged Rhona to get her attention, again she was
miles away!
"Sorry, what was that?" she mumbled and stared
blankly in his direction.
"I...never mind, will you get Catherine all trained
up before Thursday? We've got Aaron Mackay's stag do coming up so..." he
trailed off as Rhona still wasn't listening. "Okay, what's wrong
Pona?"
"Nothing...I just wish Jamie would bugger off you
know?" she sighed and swung her legs back and forth as she sat on top of
the washing machine.
"Yeah I know, he's a pain in the neck but only if
you let him! And anyway, Oz will sort him out! He's absolutely besotted with
you, in fact don't be too surprised if he asks you that big question!" he
winked and began folding towels on top of the dryer. Rhona felt a panic rise up
from her stomach, what question was that??? As if she didn't already know! She
wasn't ready for that yet, was she? Not after Jamie...forget Jamie! Everyone
said so, she knew it made sense! But why then was he constantly on her mind?
"Oz is a cautious kind of guy Terry! He won't be
asking any questions any time soon! Not until he works out what he wants to do
with his life. He can't go back to his mother's because that horrible man is
still after him, he doesn't really want to stay here forever I can see it in
his eyes, so what does that leave? No, he's mixed up enough as it is, he
doesn't need to add me and marriage to it!"
"If you say so!" Terry replied with an
unconvinced sigh. "I think you're underestimating his feelings for you
just a little bit Pona! But that's just my opinion."
"What is?" Hannah piped up as she came in to
join them.
"Never you mind, you caused enough trouble
earlier!" Terry shot an angry look her way.
"Shut it Terry, you don't know what you're talking
about!!!" she snapped and stormed back out.
"What was that all about?" Rhona looked
puzzled, she wasn't aware of the tension between Hannah and Oz.
"Let's just say that Hannah is not a fan of your
American boy! And she's giving him a hard time, still! Remember when she
conveniently forgot to pass on his message way back?"
"Yes?" Rhona didn't like where this was going
as Terry continued.
"Well she still doesn't like him and she shows it
every chance she gets. She and Oz had a right old barney in the foyer this
afternoon and it wasn't pretty! A couple of the guests told your dad and he's
on the rampage, he's disappointed with Oz! His words! He thinks he should be
able to hold his temper, which is pretty funny coming from ol' Hamish!"
Terry let out a huge belly laugh at the thought of Hamish Boyle lecturing
anyone on their temper!
"I wonder what it's all about!" Rhona mumbled
as Terry shrugged and continued to fold his towels.
Hamish did eventually catch up with Oz and sat him down
in the living room upstairs for a talk. "Whit am tryin' tae say is...ye
cannae shout in front of the guests ye understand son?"
"Yes sir!" Oz nodded. "I'm sorry Mr B it
won't happen again, we had a disagreement over...something silly and I owe you,
the guests and her an apology. I shouldn't have let my anger get the better of
me!" Hamish sat back and let out an enormous sigh.
"Son, whit wiz it?" Oz looked away from him and
fidgeted on the couch.
"She doesn't like me, she thinks I'm not good enough
for Rhona and...well she's probably right but I make her happy and she makes me
happy so what's the problem huh?" Oz raised his hands in the air in
frustration.
"Oz son, a think yer jist the man fur ma wee Rhona!
Dinnae mind Hannah, she's got a chip on her shoulder aboot everything! Jist you
and Rhona be yersels and be happy eh? Noo get oot a ma sight boy!" Hamish
patted him roughly on the back, almost knocking him off the couch and onto the
floor. Oz did as he was told and went to find Rhona; she was sitting cross
legged in her room making jewellery with her beads and wire all over the floor.
"Hey baby! Wanna go for a walk?" Rhona shook
her head as she bent the wire into a V shape with her pliers. "Okay, wanna
stay in and...snuggle?" he dropped onto her bed, leaned back and propped
himself up with his elbows. Again she shook her head. "Have I done
something wrong?" he enquired quietly.
"No, I'm...Oz you didn't tell me you and Hannah had
a disagreement!" Oz sat up straight and groaned.
"No, because it wasn't relevant!" she turned to
face him with a surprised look on her face.
"Oh really? So how come you were shouting at her?
Hmm?" her eyes grew accusingly wide.
"Because I'm a jerk!" he shrugged, "And
she pissed me off! She thinks I'm a waste of space who isn't fit to breathe the
same air as you, never mind be your boyfriend!" Rhona looked down at the
ground, feeling guilty that she was blaming him for the spat. "Look can we
just forget Hannah and all that crap for a little while and just...be with each
other? I've been stuck on reception for five hours and I missed you!" he
whined and pouted.
"Hannah hated Jamie too, and she was right about
him!" Just as the words escaped her lips, the look of hurt on Oz's face
made her go beetroot red. "But she's wrong about you! And everyone knows
it! Oz? Please don't take that the wrong way I..."
"I think you owe me major snuggles...and possibly a
little mouth to mouth rejuvenation!" he winked and grinned impishly.
"I think you mean resuscitation!" Rhona moved
along the carpet towards him on her knees and placed her hands on his thighs.
He laughed softly and took hold of her hands.
"I know what I meant!" and stole a kiss from
her unexpectedly. She sat on his knee and wrapped her arms around his neck,
rubbing noses with him. He held her tightly by the waist and pressed his lips
softly to hers, holding them there for a long time, as soon as he couldn't get
a breath he let go.
"Oz?" Rhona breathed.
"M-hmm?" he mumbled back, trying to steal
another kiss as she pulled away.
"Where exactly...are we going?" Oz laughed and
gave her a toothy grin.
"To bed hopefully, I'm exhausted!" She hit him
playfully on the chest and giggled.
"Don't avoid the question, I mean us as in our
relationship? I get the impression that you won't be sticking around here
forever!"
"And what makes you say that?" he frowned at
her and brushed her hair from her face with his hand.
"Do you want to live here forever?" He closed
his eyes, as if he was concentrating, then he finally replied,
"I want to live with you forever, so if that's here
then...so be it!" she seemed satisfied with that answer and hugged him
tightly. The truth was he would rather live in his own country but after his
indiscretion, that was going to be difficult. Not only that, Rhona would
probably hate America! He would always prefer home to Scotland, but he preferred
Rhona to home!
Lachie and Elspeth arrived back that Sunday. Everyone was
still trying to recover from the stag do and the damage those boys did! Rhona
was glad to have her brother back and decided to hold a special karaoke night
to celebrate his return, as well as her new sister-in-law. In order to get
people to come at such short notice she put a post up on Facebook and invited
as many friends as she could. Annie was pestering Elspeth with demands for a
grandchild, it wasn't going down very well as they had only been married over a
week! It seemed that Rhona's post had got round a good few people and there was
an amazing turn-out! It was loud, full of wine and song, a perfect homecoming
for her wonderful brother and his new wife! Oz and Lachie were catching up with
a few beers as were Rhona and Elspeth, even Hamish and Annie sang "Islands
in the Stream" together! In fact it was a huge success until Jamie
arrived! Yes Jamie McGregor appeared once again as Lachie, Oz and Hamish all
wanted to get their hands on him. "Yer no wanted here get oot!"
Lachie growled and balled his fists in anger, he didn't want his wife to see
him fighting but if need be, he would knock Jamie into next week!
"A jist want tae see Rhona!" he slurred,
obviously well-oiled and spoiling for a fight!
"Jamie go home! Please!" Rhona begged him as Oz
appeared behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist protectively.
"You heard her, beat it!" he chipped in as
Jamie smirked at him.
"Ye might huv her noo big man, but a wiz her first
love! Ye cannae beat that, ever!" he let out an annoying laugh and flipped
the bird at Oz before Lachie grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back, he
pushed him towards the exit and dispatched him with ease as he shouted and
squealed all the way. After the party ended and the guests had all left, Rhona
and Oz decided to leave the clearing up until the morning. Walking along the
corridor towards the stairs hand in hand, the couple were startled by the
presence of Lachie and Elspeth followed by Hamish and Annie.
"Went fur a walk!" Lachie chuckled and draped a
huge arm over Elspeth's dainty shoulders.
"Aye, we hud tae help yer Aunties in the
kitchen!" Hamish yawned as Annie stopped and took her shoes off, carrying
them in her hands.
"Well that wuz a great wee night!" Annie smiled
as they all stood in the corridor together discussing the success of the party.
Hamish continued his wife's statement by praising Rhona on her great
organisational skills when suddenly he stopped in mid-sentence.
"Whit ur you still dayin' here boy?" he
demanded in a cold tone as the others looked round to see Jamie leaning against
the wall at the end of the corridor. Rhona felt her blood run cold, but not
because Jamie was still there, no...because Jamie was holding her grandfather's
old hunting rifle by the handle as the barrel was facing the floor.
"Ye aw think yer it don't ye?" he muttered as
Hamish approached him, Annie grabbed his arm and brought his attention to the
rifle.
"Son, pit doon the gun eh? Whit ye dayin' wi it
anyway?"
"A want tae shoot masel eh???" he lifted it up
with difficulty and pointed it in Oz and Rhona's direction, then he laughed
eerily, "Naw, a want tae shoot her! NAW!" he pointed it at Lachie and
Elspeth, "You! Ya big troll ye!" waving the rifle back and forth he
chuckled and staggered back. "Aye, am gonnae shoot you!" he nodded at
Lachie and aimed at him square in the chest. Oz could see his finger bending
the trigger backwards and he instantly grabbed Rhona and pushed her to the
ground, shielding her with his own body as Lachie stood in front of Elspeth.
Jamie was waving the gun around aimlessly as Hamish raced towards him and
attempted to rugby tackle him to the ground. Jamie fell back as Hamish knocked
him down and towered over him. Still holding the rifle, he started to moan and
grumble, "Och Hamish man!" He struggled to his feet, still holding
it, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand. "It's no even loaded,
see?" he waved it about as his finger pressed down on the trigger and the
gun went off, knocking him off of his feet.
"JAMIE YA BAMPOT!!!" Hamish bellowed angrily.
"S***!" Jamie curse and tried to get up once
again, this time leaving the rifle on the ground.
"Aw man! Jamie yer a total eejit so ye ur!"
Lachie grunted and pulled Elspeth in for a hug. Rhona approached Jamie and
smacked him in the jaw as hard as she could; he fell against the wall and
squeaked in pain.
"IDIOT!" she shouted, "You could've killed
someone!" her mother and father tried to pull her back as Jamie touched
his face gingerly, tears welling up in his eyes like a child.
"It's awright wee Rhona eh? Jist calm..." her
father's words caught in his throat and he turned deathly pale, her mother turned
to see what he was looking at and she also lost all colour. Rhona's worst fears
were confirmed when she heard her brother cry out,
" Aw naw! Aw naw, Oz pal!" Afraid to turn
around as her parents rushed to Lachie's aid, Rhona knew exactly what had happened.
"What...have...you done???" she stammered as
she struggled to breathe, Jamie's eyes grew wide with fear and he cried out.
"A didnae mean it, a didnae!" he wept. Finally
Rhona turned around at the sound of Oz's faint voice calling her name. He was
slumped on the floor against the wall, the left side of his checked shirt
soaked in crimson, his face grey and clammy.
"Rhona!" he mouthed as she hurried to his side
and threw herself down beside him. "Rhona..." he repeated, the
weakness in his voice was heartbreaking.
"Shh, don't speak my darling; we'll get you sorted
okay? It's just a scratch eh?" she tried to laugh as she squeezed his hand
tightly and kissed it. Elspeth got off of her phone and paced.
"Ambulance will be twenty minutes!!!" she
muttered angrily.
"Ach there's nae time, we'll huv tae drive him!
Lachie get the Landrover, NOO!" Hamish ordered as he lifted Oz up
carefully and carried him out towards the back door. "C'moan wee man, am
no gonnae lose ye yit!" he reassured him. Safely in the back seat of the
vehicle, Oz seemed to be getting weaker and losing more and more blood by the
second as Lachie was wrapping the wound in towels and murmuring to himself,
"C'moan man, get it the gither eh?" his hands
were shaking as he pressed on Oz's stomach firmly but tenderly. Rhona kissed
his hand one last time as he looked at her with those big blue eyes and said
breathlessly,
"I love you!"
"Mon' Da!!!" Lachie shouted as the Landrover
started up and drove off up the hill towards the nearest hospital ten miles away.
Rhona's heart pounded wildly as she watched the vehicle get smaller and smaller
in the distance, until it was gone from sight...as was her beloved Oz!
To Be Continued...
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