A Christmas Wish on Arran (Scottish Romances #4)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

‘Good luck with the meetings,’ said Beth. They walked into the school’s entrance hall, decorated with streamers and tinsel, where lots of parents and carers were waiting. She spotted Freya, who was waiting with Murray, and gave her a wee wave.

‘You are actually on time.’ Freya was incredulous. ‘That is all down to you, Beth. Thank you. I wish you knew how glad I am that you’ve come into our lives. We are so much happier and on time for things. Isn’t that right Jim?’

Beth gave a gusty laugh. ‘I don’t think anyone has ever said that to me before. You’re making me blush.’ She turned to look at Murray. ‘Hope you get a good report from all your teachers. I’m sure you will. I’ve been telling your dad how much I’ve enjoyed working with you on the newspaper.’

Murray gave her a small smile, then shrugged his shoulders. She watched as he scuffed his feet following Freya, who had started to march along the corridor. What was it about kids and parents’ evenings? They always got so worried and anxious, and she knew Murray had no reason to be. Then she reminded herself that she had been exactly the same at that stage.

‘Right I hope your sessions go well too, Beth. I better keep up.’ Jim was full of mock horror as he gestured after Freya and Murray. ‘I’m sure our paths will cross again.’

‘Most definitely. I’m going up to the English department. See you there.’ Beth followed the signs that took her down a corridor and to the large classroom. Here she was to take up a small corner with examples of the kids’ work they’d produced over the past couple of weeks. It was incredible the amount of progress they had made in such a short space of time. Although she didn’t have to be on hand at the parents’ evening, as she wasn’t a teacher, she had offered in case any of the parents wanted to see and hear about some of the extracurricular work their children had been doing. Beth was extremely proud of what they had achieved with their newspaper. She busied herself, laying out printed copies on a table, along with some laminated photographs of the kids in action at meetings, discussing ideas and typing up their stories.

‘Hi Beth,’ said a voice behind her. She didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.

‘Daisy.’ Beth was genuinely delighted as she spun round and moved around the table towards her, reaching over for a hug. ‘It’s so good to see you. I’m glad you came over to say hello. How are you? How’s it going?’ Beth gave a conspiratorial wink. Daisy had told her last week she was worried she would get a bad report — she tended to talk too much in class.

‘Mmm.’ Daisy twirled a lock of hair absent-mindedly. ‘Okay, I suppose.’

‘That sounds a bit ominous.’ Beth looked at her in concern.

‘It’s English that I’m worried about.’ Daisy glanced across at a teacher who was on the other side of the room, in full flow with another parent. ‘I just find it a bit of a struggle. It used to be my best subject.’

‘How come? I mean, from what I’ve seen, you have a really good grasp of things when we’re working on the paper. What is it you’re finding hard?’

Daisy shrugged. ‘The reading for understanding bit, which then means I struggle with the analysis and evaluation . . .’ She lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘I don’t think the teacher likes me either.’

‘Ah okay.’ Beth had met the teacher earlier and she reminded her of teachers she dreaded when she was a kid. She wasn’t exactly warm or engaging, so it was fair to say she realised why Daisy was getting stuck. ‘You do know that you’re doing all that anyway when working on the paper? But I’ll let you in on a secret Daisy. I struggled with the way English was taught at school. I could do it, but as soon as they started doing the exam papers, I had a complete blank.’

From the way Daisy was looking up at her, she knew she had struck a chord.

‘Would it help if I spent some time going over stuff with you?’ Beth asked carefully.

Daisy nodded, smiling in relief as Beth’s suggestion. She perched on the table. ‘That would be amazing. If you don’t mind?’

‘Of course I don’t. I would love to help you, but we just need to check if it’s okay with your parents.’

‘It’s just me and my—’

‘There you are. I’ve been looking everywhere for you.’

Beth’s eyes widened. She took a sharp intake of breath when she turned and saw who was now standing alongside Daisy.

‘Hello,’ Callum said, his voice gruff. He nodded at Beth and smiled. ‘Long time no see. I have been hearing all about the famous reporter who’s been helping the kids. You seem to have made quite the impression.’

An unexpected frisson of excitement ran down her spine. Beth had no idea what to say. Her heart raced as she looked over at him, his face a mixture of shifting emotions. ‘Hi Callum. We meet again.’ She groaned inwardly. Why on earth had she said that? ‘Um, how are you doing?’

Daisy raised an eyebrow curiously. ‘Wait a minute, have you two already met? Do you know each other?’

Callum gave a small, wry laugh. ‘Yes, you could say that. At the winter market last weekend. Though we met a very long time ago before that. Back then you were known as Liz or Lizzie.’

Beth was rendered speechless again, overwhelmed at the way she responded to being up so close and personal to him. Her mouth was dry and her palms felt clammy. She clearly hadn’t imagined his magnetic appeal from when she saw him last.

Then she had to shake herself. He was a father now. And his daughter was standing between them, wondering what on earth was going on. She needed to pull herself together before she made an utter fool of herself. Especially if his wife was about to appear. ‘Yes, things have changed a bit since then.’ Seriously was that all she could say?

Daisy cleared her throat loudly. ‘Hello? Is anyone going to tell me what’s going on? Are you two going to tell me how you know each other?’