A Christmas Wish on Arran (Scottish Romances #4)

Chapter Nine

‘I’ve made some porridge for you,’ said Daisy as Callum came in the back door, rubbing his hands together.

‘Oh brilliant. Thanks Daisy, you’re a star. It’s freezing out there and I am absolutely starving.’

It was still dark and Callum had just come in from walking Ruby and feeding the hens. He kicked off his boots, shrugged off his jacket and bent down to give Ruby another pat as she leaned into his legs.

‘Come on, before it goes cold,’ called Daisy.

Callum washed his hands at the sink, lathering them with soap and warm water. After drying them on a thick towel, he pulled out a seat at the table. He rubbed his hand over the reclaimed wood. It was the first piece of bespoke furniture he had made long before Daisy had come to live on the island. The table was a reminder of the kind of work he wanted to be doing rather than the functional joinery work that he had to do in order to pay the bills. Maybe one day he would when he had more time.

‘You can add some seeds and raisins if you want,’ suggested Daisy, passing him a packet of what looked suspiciously like bird seed. ‘It’s good for the gut,’ she said knowingly. ‘Though only have it if you want to. I don’t want to tell you what to do,’ she said in a sing-song voice. ‘Or be bossy. Like you are with me.’

Callum grinned as he eyed the packet dubiously. ‘I’ll pass.’ Picking up his spoon he took a mouthful of the porridge. It was surprisingly tasty. He could feel Daisy watching him and waiting for his response.

‘You know, this is actually really nice. Especially after trudging about all morning in the cold and dark.’ He took another spoonful and frowned. ‘You have definitely made it differently though to how I would do it.’

‘Urgh, of course I have,’ she groaned. ‘That’s because you use water and salt which is absolutely disgusting. No wonder I never want to eat your porridge.’ She didn’t speak for a minute and then hesitantly spoke. ‘Did my mum like porridge?’

‘Sometimes,’ he said gently. She’d caught him by surprise as she hadn’t mentioned her for a while. ‘And you did too when you were little. You loved it when she made you banana porridge.’

Daisy chewed her lip thoughtfully. ‘It was really creamy I think. I do kind of remember that.’

‘But when she was pregnant with you she preferred Coco Pops. She would eat boxes and boxes of them.’

Daisy pulled a face. ‘Yuck. No wonder I don’t like them. This is far nicer.’

‘Right . . .’ He didn’t quite know whether to keep talking about Isla or change the subject. He paused, waiting to take her cue.

‘Do you want to know how I made this?’ she asked.

‘Sure. Talk me through it then. What did you do? How did you make it?’

‘Okay . . . well, I have been researching all the different ways that you can cook porridge. Did you know that you don’t just have to use water?’

He nodded. The moment to talk about her mum had passed. ‘I did know that. You can use milk or cream and sugar instead of salt . . . Gran said her parents used to make it with water and salt and then pour it into a drawer to set. Then they would slice it up into bars and eat it later.’

‘That sounds horrid. A drawer? You mean like a drawer in the kitchen?’

‘Yes, some of the old-fashioned kitchen tables had drawers in them, or some people would just use one of the bottom drawers in their dresser. If you Google it, you’ll find pictures online.’

‘But why on earth would they want to pour it into a random drawer? I mean there could be stuff in it.’

Callum smiled, knowing he could easily wind Daisy up with this, even though he shouldn’t. ‘Well I don’t think health and safety was such a thing back then. But yes, sometimes they found old drawing pins and bits of fluff and stuff in the bars if they forgot to wipe the drawer our properly.’

Daisy’s face was a picture of horror. ‘That is totally gross. Yuck.’

‘Actually I am kind of joking about that bit. But not about the drawer thing, although it does sound horrible doesn’t it? What a mess it would make too.’

She sighed. ‘You said your early New Year resolution was to stop making stuff up.’

He nodded. ‘I know, you’re right, but porridge drawers were actually very common in the olden days.’ He grinned. ‘Gran said they would be lined with a cloth before the porridge was poured in and left overnight to cool and set. And sometimes babies would be put in the drawer above to keep them warm.’

‘Stop winding me up.’

He held up his hands. ‘Honestly, I’m not. Ask Gran and she’ll tell you. I promise you, I’m on my best behaviour and telling the truth.’

‘I will ask her and I will tell her that you’ve already broken your New Year resolution about making fun of me.’ She cleared her plate from the table and dumped it in the sink.

‘Anyway, you said your early New Year resolution was to go vegan, and there is definitely milk or cream in here.’

The look of sheer triumph on her face told him he’d managed to assume wrong.

‘You are so wrong. It has milk in it, but it’s coconut milk, with a splash of maple syrup.’

‘I was not expecting you to say that. Wow. Well done, Daisy. I really enjoyed it. I would definitely eat that again if you made it for me.’

Daisy rolled her eyes and tutted. ‘What’s the magic word?’

‘Soon . . . sorry, I meant, please.’ Crikey, she was a hard taskmaster.

‘Maybe you could go vegan as well?’ She grinned.

‘I love you very much, Daisy Thompson, but that is a step too far.’ Based on what he had picked up for her at the supermarket there was no way he was going to be eating any of the vegan stuff. Callum was a meat and two veg kind of guy and nothing was going to change that. Not even Daisy. Glancing at the clock he realised the school bus would soon be there.

‘Sorry, I don’t think I’ve time to clear up,’ she said sheepishly.

‘It’s okay,’ he said. ‘Get your stuff and I’ll do it.’

‘Thank you,’ she sang, looking very relieved. ‘You’re the best. Oh, and remember I won’t be home at the usual time. Murray and I are going to start working on the school newspaper this afternoon.’

He nodded thoughtfully. ‘It’s marked on the calendar. Shall I pick you up from school later?’

‘I’ll message you and let you know where we are. We may go back to his house and work from there.’

‘Okay, just keep in touch.’

Murray was one of Daisy’s best friends so Callum didn’t question it. If it had been any other boy he might not have been quite so relaxed. He knew that she was going to soon be attracting a lot of attention from the opposite sex, and he hadn’t prepared himself for just how protective he would feel over her. She was growing up to be such a beautiful girl — and she was so like her mother. Sometimes the likeness caught Callum by surprise and he felt as though Isla was actually in the room. He caught his mum watching her over the holidays, wiping away a few tears when she thought he wasn’t looking. Both Daisy and her mother had long and wavy blonde hair, with a dusting of freckles across their noses, and rosebud lips. Daisy was also very headstrong in the same way that Isla had been and had the same mannerisms. She’d started putting her hands on her hips when she was arguing, which was becoming more common, especially as she loved modern studies at school. He was glad it was a subject she enjoyed, as there was a lot about school that she didn’t seem to like at the moment.

‘See you later,’ called Daisy as she ran to the front door, pulling on her coat.

‘Bye D,’ he said, feeling an unexpected sob catch at the back of his throat.

Smiling, oblivious to the fact he was trying to choke back tears, she left him with a wave and ran out the door. He stood up and walked to the window, watching as she ran up the lane. His every instinct was to protect Daisy and keep her wrapped in cotton wool, away from the world in a way that he hadn’t been able to do with Isla. That was something he would always regret until the day he died.