Secrets at the Loch (Loch Lannick #5) - Hannah Ellis Page 0,25
everything I just said, plus there are sockets hanging off the walls and random nails sticking out of the floor. But I’m sure we’ll survive.”
“Fine.” She tipped her head towards her place. “Come on.”
“You got milk?” Arran asked as he followed her in the front door.
“Quite demanding, aren’t you?” She opened the fridge and pulled out a carton. “Anything else?”
The sarcastic tone went completely over Arran’s head. “You got chocolate?” he asked, looking up at her with big eyes.
The corners of her mouth twitched upwards and she opened another cupboard. “I’m afraid not.”
“I could run and buy us some,” Nick suggested. “A cup of tea and some chocolate sounds good to me.”
“I not like tea,” Arran said.
“You can have milk and chocolate,” Nick said.
“Okay.” Arran beamed.
“I’ll just be a minute.”
“Nick!” Lexie called as he headed for the door. He looked back at her, raising a questioning eyebrow. “What about Arran?” she asked.
“Just watch him for a minute. I’m only running across to the shop.”
“I thought you wanted a glass of water. Now you’re leaving me to babysit?”
He smiled as though she’d said something funny, then walked out of the door, leaving Lexie alone with Arran. Frowning, she passed him the cup of milk. He drank it down and handed the cup back, a film of milk sitting on his top lip.
“This your house?” he asked, wandering out of the kitchen.
“Yes.” Lexie followed him.
“You got a dog?” he asked as he went into the living room.
“No.”
“Logan got a dog. Jasper’s my friend. Logan my friend too. And Nick. You got a friend?”
“Your mum is my friend, and your Auntie Leana.”
“Not Logan?”
She shrugged. “Kind of. You ask a lot of questions.”
“You got a TV,” he said, distracted by the remote. “I like watch TV.”
“Me too.” Moving to the couch, she reached for the remote on the coffee table. “We can see what’s on I suppose.”
Arran climbed onto the couch beside Lexie. After flicking through the channels, she found something animated that looked as though it was probably suitable.
“This got dragons!” he told her with wide eyes. “Scary dragons.”
“Should I turn it off?”
“No.” He crawled towards her. “I sit your knee, then I not scared.”
“Maybe I should find something else.”
He wriggled in her lap. “No! Me like dragons.”
“Tell me if it’s too scary and we’ll turn it off. I don’t want to get in trouble with your mum.”
“You’re funny,” he said, then leaned back, settling his head against her chest.
Lexie shifted to get comfy, then ran a hand over his hair as he became transfixed by the TV. It wasn’t exactly how she’d been planning on relaxing after working all day.
On the TV, one of the dragons sneezed, sending a fireball shooting from his nostrils that set a tree alight. Arran’s melodic laugh bounced around the room. Lexie’s chest tightened at the sound and she stroked his hair again. Instinctively, she pulled him closer to her with her other arm.
Her thoughts ran away from her and she rested her cheek against the side of Arran’s head. She didn’t hear Nick come back in and only realised how much she’d zoned out when his hand gently squeezed her knee.
His soft voice saying her name brought her from her trance. When she blinked him into focus, he was crouched before her.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing.” Her throat was so tight it was painful. Warm tears trickled down her cheeks and landed on her lips. “Can you take him?” Gently, she nudged Arran towards Nick.
“What happened?” Nick’s voice was full of concern, and it made her cry even more.
“Just take him, please.”
Arran barely seemed to register Nick lifting him from Lexie’s lap and setting him on the couch beside her.
“I’ve got things to do.” Lexie’s words were garbled as she stood. “I need to …” She trailed off, moving purposefully across the room. She just needed to be on her own.
Nick’s hand on her arm stopped her. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
“Nothing,” she said again, her chest heaving as she sucked in a breath.
“Something’s obviously wrong. You can tell me.”
She shook her head. “I can’t.” Pulling away from him, she hurried to the stairs. “You better take Arran home. Elspeth might be waiting for you.”
He called after her, but she kept moving to her bedroom, safe in the knowledge that he wouldn’t follow her when he had Arran to take care of. Later, she’d think of an excuse and brush it all off.
As she lay on her bed, hugging the pillow, she could hear the hum of the