Bridge Over the Atlantic (6 page)

Sam grasped Mallory in a strong embrace and covered her face with kisses. She laughed uncontrollably, almost hysterically, at the realisation of what they had just decided. It was immense.

“Have I told you how much I love you, Miss Mallory Yorksher?” He whispered breathlessly into her hair.

“Yes but tell me again.” She stared into his loving gaze, eager to hear his words.

“I love you, no, I adore you, no—I worship you.” He continued to pepper her with kisses “My beautiful, beautiful Mallory. I can’t wait for you to be my wife and I can’t wait to spend our nights holed up in that little cottage, making love in front of a roaring fire and the wind blowing outside. I don’t care how cliché that sounds. I want the cliché. I want to spend my life with you in our little piece of paradise.” He uttered the very words she had been thinking earlier. It was as if they were one person with a single mind-set. She loved that. She loved him.

“I’ll call the agent first thing Monday morning and make arrangements for us to go visit.” He breathed into her long matted birds nest of morning hair.

“Hmmm, well, if we have to wait until Monday, what are we going to do to occupy ourselves until then?” She fluttered her long lashes provocatively at her fiancé. He didn’t need any more hints. Whisking her up into his arms he carried her over to the squishy old couch that had seen better days and laid her down, hunger gleaming in his eyes.

~~~~~

It took forever for Monday to come around. Thankfully it was Josie’s day in the shop and so Mallory didn’t have to make the journey into
Leeds
. She would probably have been as much use as an inflatable dartboard. Sam had taken a day’s leave too, which rarely happened. Despite the opportunity for a blissful lie in with her hunky man, she could fight the excitement no longer and tugged at Sam’s ear lobe in a bid to wake him from dream land. If that hadn’t worked, plan B was to send Ruby in to jump on him in her giddy canine fashion. How could he be asleep when there were things to be done? She stressed. Sam begrudgingly opened his eyes.

“What time is it my little
Yorkshire
puddin’?” He yawned.

“Half seven. I couldn’t sleep, Sam, I’m so excited.”

“Ya don’t say.” He mumbled rubbing his weary eyes.

“Shall I go and make coffee?” She urged, leaning in for a kiss.

“That’d be grrrrand,” Sam replied, rolling his ‘r’ in his best attempts at a
Yorkshire
accent.

Bashing him playfully with a cushion she told him, “that accent still needs work, Mister.”

Mallory clambered out of bed, scrambled into a pair of yoga pants and a T-shirt and headed down to the kitchen.

When Sam had finally crawled out of bed and spoken to the agent later that morning, it was suggested that it would be best for them to go up and view the interior of the property as soon as possible and that there had been a lot of interest from other parties. This was unwelcome news and it filled Mallory with dread. But Sam didn’t falter. He simply proceeded to book a Bed and Breakfast a short drive from the cottage for them to take a few days break in the area the following week. They would have to wait, hoping and praying that no one would pip them to the post.

~~~~~

After a ridiculously early start, they arrived at noon at the B and B they had found located at Easdale, just along the road from the cottage. The owner greeted them with home-made Scottish shortbread and fresh coffee. Their appointment wasn’t until one o’clock and so they had an hour to relax in their room. The problem was that Mallory’s nerves were on end and she found it hard to sit still, never mind relax. Her palms were sweating and her heart rate could rival that of someone running a trolley dash. She kept glancing at her watch.

Sam smiled and shook his head, “Mally, you are driving me crazy. Would you please just calm down. We’re here. It’s not long now.” He pulled her into an embrace on the squashy bed and kissed her. The kiss was enough to temporarily fog her brain into a calm trance-like state as his delicious lips moved over hers. She sighed against his mouth and felt him smile. Suddenly Mallory’s phone began to beep.

“Ooh, it’s time!” She leapt from his arms. “Come on slow coach!” She tried her best to pull him from the bed. He allowed her to pull him upright shaking his head again, a grin firmly fixed on his face.

“Yup, crazy.” He muttered to himself.

The drive along the road to the cottage took all of ten minutes. There were jagged rocks rising skyward to Mallory’s left side with a few houses dotted just in front. Mallory looked out of the window next to Sam as he drove, killing two birds with one stone. On the one hand she was able to look at Sam’s handsome unshaven face and on the other she could look over the water. The winter sun glistened like scattered diamonds on the sea and the rocks way out in the distance looked like a stationary ship that had dropped anchor just off the stunning coastline. She couldn’t help but allow the small smile that had been curling up the corners of her mouth to spread into a full on grin
. Why on earth it took me so long to agree to this I’ll never know
.

They past a pub on their left hand side. That’s handy, Mallory thought as she appraised the old white building with its wooden outdoor benches. Across from the pub was a small parking area and what looked like a little tourist information hut. The bridge stretched out over to their right. A large beautiful stone structure where she and Sam had stood before and admired the spectacular vista.

The road curved around to the right and traversed over the bridge, but they pulled off to the left onto a little track that ran parallel with the water as it swept along under the bridge and out to sea.

The double fronted, whitewashed cottage stood looking out over the water. The little path that led up to the front door was dusted with frost where the sun hadn’t yet reached. They were greeted by the estate agent. He was quite young and not what Mallory had expected.

“Ah, Mr and Mrs Buchanan I presume?” The suited man held out his hand, “Jim Warriner of McTavish and Co.”

“I wish,” Sam smiled shaking the man’s hand. “She has agreed to marry me but we haven’t done the deed just yet.”

“Mallory Westerman. Pleased to meet you.”

“Well, the door is open, feel free to have a good roam around. I’ll wait in my car so you have some privacy. Oh and there are still a few bits in there belonging to the owner. He hasn’t quite cleared the place out yet. It should all be done by the end of this week.”

“Great, thanks. We’ll see you soon.”

The estate agent returned to his vehicle and the couple made their way into the house.

They stepped into the tiny entrance and were greeted by two doors, one to the right and one to the left. Straight ahead was a set of stairs. Mallory reached for the door on the right. She gasped as the door opened onto the lounge. Some of the owner’s effects were still dotted around the place but Mallory could see through it and virtually place all of their furniture. A brick inglenook fireplace sat under a large, gnarled and pitted oak beam mantle on the wall opposite the door. The log burning stove stood in the middle of the slate hearth with a thin layer of dust atop it.

“Oh Sam, it’s a Christmas house.” She exclaimed as her eyes travelled around the white walls that were in need of a freshen up.

“Sorry, a what now?” Sam’s brow furrowed. And she knew it wasn’t the first time he didn’t know what she was talking about.

She turned to Sam with an excited grin, her hands splayed out in the air. “Okay, imagine this…” She walked over to the fireplace. “The log burner is crackling away with a fresh pine log…there is an evergreen and berry garland stretched across the mantle...” She gestured wildly to where the adornment would sit, and then moved to the corner of the room. “Over in this corner is a real Christmas tree, not one of those plastic artificial things…” Her nose scrunched at the thought. “No, a real tree trimmed with baubles and beads, filling the air with its fresh scent.” Glancing over to where Sam stood in the centre of the room she crouched, “under the tree are little brightly coloured packages, tied up with ribbons, waiting to be opened…” She rose again and moved back over to the fire place and waved her hands at the empty floor space, “there’s a rug in front of the fire and Ruby is curled up fast asleep…” crouching again she reached out her hand, “eventually there will be a mini Sam or Mallory sitting, wide eyed waiting for Santa to come…although, explaining how he’ll get through a stove may be tricky.” She laughed as she imagined that scenario. Standing again, she moved over toward the door that led through to the kitchen and closed her eyes. “There’s a delicious aroma floating through the house of spiced fruit cake…” her fingers flickered around in the air, “and in the background Bing Crosby is singing about snow…” She brought her arms around her body and sighed. Breaking herself from her vision she turned to Sam. “Hey, are you okay honey?”

His eyes had misted over. Sam strode across the room and wrapped her in his arms. Taking a deep breath he kissed her forehead. “Babe, I can honestly say that I can see every little thing you just described and it’s perfect. I can’t wait for it all. I can’t wait to share it all with you. What you described…it kinda took me back to my Christmases at home. My family will love this place. My Dad would have loved it.”

She tiptoed to brush his lips with her own and smiled lovingly. “You big softy. It will be perfect because we get to have this adventure together. And I can’t wait for your family to see it. We have to get this house, Sam.”

He laughed, “we haven’t even seen the rest of it yet.”

“Don’t have to. I just know when something’s right. I just know.” She pulled away and took his hand. They walked through the lounge toward the back of the house to find the kitchen. The walls were fitted with rustic pine units and granite worktops, very similar to those at Railway cottages. It needed freshening like the lounge but it wouldn’t take much. There was enough room for a small table where you could sit and look out over the pretty garden—once it had been tidied up; it was rather overgrown in its current state.

They exchanged smiles and walked from the kitchen almost in a circle back around to another room at the front of the house. This was the dining room they had longed for. There was an open fire in this room too and plenty of space for a large table, right in the middle, which would look wonderful surrounded by friends and family at Christmas time. It would certainly beat dinner on a tray which is what their friends were subjected to when they visited their current home.

Back to the hallway and up the stairs. There were two bedrooms to the front which felt spacious despite the lower than average ceiling heights. The master bedroom had a small en-suite shower room in one corner and a window that overlooked the little front garden. The view out to the water was so beautiful.

“Wow, Sam. Imagine waking up to that every morning.” Mallory slid her arms around her fiancé’s waist as he soaked in the view.

“It really is a beautiful place, Mally. We’ve always loved it here. Since we visited on our first holiday as a couple we always said we wanted to live here eventually. And now we’ve seen this place I can’t think of anywhere I would rather be.”

“Come on, let’s go look at the bathroom.” She grabbed his hand eagerly once again and pulled him to the door which led onto the landing and led to another bedroom to the front, two smaller bedrooms to the rear and finally the bathroom.

They both stood open mouthed at the large roll top bath with its antique brass taps and telephone style shower head. The stone walls had been left exposed giving the room an old world, rustic feel. It was Sam’s turn to slide his arms around Mallory.

“Mmmmm, I think that tub is big enough for two, babe.” He nuzzled her neck sending shivers tingling down her spine. She turned in his arms and kissed him languorously.

“I think we need to make that the first thing we try out.” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, making him laugh.

The two bedrooms at the back were plenty large enough for double beds and so guests would be very comfortable. The walls in one room were striped in blue and white and the other was a pale yellow. The other front bedroom was the same size as the master and it too looked out over the water. There was so much potential and the details really didn’t do it justice at all. It felt so much more spacious inside, rather like
Doctor Who’s Tardis.

The back garden was totally overgrown, but at the end of a long path was another building. Mallory almost ran toward it and Sam dashed after her. She shoved the stiff door open and looked inside. A wave of disappointment washed over her.

“What is it?” Sam asked, with a hint of concern in his voice.

“Hmm. It’s going to take a lot of work to get this place in a fit state.” She grumbled

Placing an arm around her shoulder he leaned close to her ear. “Ah, but with your vision, like you had back in the lounge, surely you can see it for what it could be?”

He was right, she surmised. She had vision and determination. With the pair of them going at it together they could do it. They could make it the perfect place to run
Le Petit Cadeau
from. Positivity reigned supreme.

The couple reluctantly tore themselves away and handed the keys over to Mr. Warriner, the agent. Once they were alone again they went for a stroll. They stood on the mid-point of the stone bridge and looked out over the Atlantic Ocean.

Sam slipped his arms around Mallory’s waist and pulled her into him. He looked deep into her eyes. They sparkled today like he had never seen them before. He was mesmerised. He kissed the tip of her nose,

“So whaddya say Miss Yorksherr? Are we going for it? We would have our favourite bridge right on the doorstep. We could walk up here every day and look over that massive expanse of sea and it would be just like it was our own.”

Stroking a finger down his cheek and no further thought needed she gave her reply, “I say let’s do it.”

After viewing the cottage they took a long drive to Glenfinnan to sit by the Loch and take in the view. The air was chilled, but they huddled together and sat on the old tree trunk that had been there for years. As the sun began to descend they made their way back to the B and B where they were booked in for dinner seeing as the owner had given them the option on check in. It meant they could share a bottle of wine and relax whilst they discussed the house.