Glasgow Grace Read Online Free PDF Page B

tomorrow I’m sure we won’t get a chance either.”
    “All right. A cup of coffee would go down well.” Callum reached behind his seat and rummaged on the floor, coming up empty-handed. He muttered beneath his breath.
    Skye was certain she heard his brother’s name.
    “Have you lost something?”
    “Uh…I thought I had a brolly in the back. I was wrong. Guess we’ll be getting a little wet.”
    “Won’t be the first time.” She smiled.
    “Or the last…”
    Hanging onto each other and taking care not to fall, they crossed the slippery tarmac, laughing as rain fell onto their clothes and skin.
    If only I’d taken a hat. Please God, don’t let this make my throat worse.
    Once inside her suite, jacket and shoes removed and stored in the empty front closet, Skye grabbed two towels from the bathroom. She flung one at Callum and used the other to dry her hair. She should’ve packed an umbrella when she left Sydney, but she hadn’t given a thought to Glasgow’s wet weather.
    With the kettle heating, Skye opened two coffee sachets and dumped them into white porcelain mugs. She turned to Callum. He stood at the window, staring across the city below. Poor baby. Probably never seen the view from so high before. “Milk and sugar?”
    He let the curtain fall back in place. “Milk, no sugar.”
    “Sweet enough already?”
    “I doubt it.” A light shrug shadowed his response.
    “There’s shortbread here. You want one?”
    “Absolutely.” Callum settled down on the plush carpeted floor, propping himself up against the end of the bed and stretching his long legs out in front of him.
    “Why don’t you sit on the chair?”
    “I’m damp. Besides, it’s comfortable here.”
    Skye finished making their coffee, decaf just to be safe. She couldn’t stay up all night, much as she wanted to. After unwrapping two shortbreads, she handed one to Callum with a mug, and then grabbed her own and settled on the floor beside him, legs outstretched, eager to hear what he’d been up to all these years.
    “Hmm, hot.” Callum clasped his hands around the mug and stared at the contents before taking a sip.
    Skye followed his lead.
    After a few sips, Callum turned to her. “So, tell me all about your life, post-Callum McGuire.”
    ~*~
    Eager to hear about Skye’s life, and get her talking first so they wouldn’t discuss what he’d been up to all these years, Callum prodded. “C’mon, don’t be shy. Tell me what happened after you left Scotland, besides elocution lessons. Have you enjoyed living in Australia?”
    Curling her legs to the side, Skye turned to Callum and smiled. “I have. Australia’s a wonderful country. Very different from Scotland. Loads of sunshine, an ocean blue as a summer sky to swim in, and soft beaches to stretch out on. I hated it there initially—cried my way through the first year. Losing Da. Losing you. I thought I would die. I spent hours writing you letters. Finally, I gave up.” Her eyes narrowed, and her fingers whitened around the mug. “I am really angry at my mother for what she did.”
    Callum reached over and tucked Skye’s hair behind her ear. “We don’t know for sure that she did anything.”
    “Oh, she did.” Her head bobbed up and down. “I’m absolutely certain. I can’t believe I didn’t realize that until now.”
    Bile rose in his throat at the thought of Skye’s mother and what she’d probably done. Even though he’d come to her defense, he knew she was capable and most likely had kept Skye from making contact. “Enough of Rita Robinson. She’s been mentioned too many times tonight.”
    Skye smiled. “You’re right.”
    “Back to you, please.”
    “OK. When I surfaced from my time of mourning, I enrolled at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music at the University of Sydney, and spent the next five years doing my Undergraduate Degrees—BA and BMus. That’s Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Music Studies.”
    “Oh.” He couldn’t tell her he knew exactly what