Water Lily in July by Clare Revell

her.
    The sun was just starting to slide behind the horizon as she went back to the tower and tied her bags to the pulley.
    She grinned at the waiting man by the door as she climbed the ladder towards him. “OK, pull them up, Angus. We need to stop meeting like this.”
    Angus hugged her as she came inside. “Aye, tha’ we do, lassie. Thanks for coming back. Sorry to have cut yer leave short like tha’.”
    Kaylie returned the hug. “It’s fine.”
    “We saved yer dinner.” He grabbed one of her bags, heading up the stairs with them. “By the way, he has nae asked after yer once.”
    “Who hasn’t?”
    He laid a finger aside his nose and winked. “Your secret admirer. Apparently we are no worth speaking tae.”
    Kaylie shook her head and followed him up the stairs. She tossed her bag onto her bed in the bunkroom before going up one level to find the others.
    Lucas smiled as she came into the kitchen. “Well, look what the cat dragged in.” He moved over to hug her. “How are you? What did you get up to? London’s a fair way to go.”
    She hugged him back. “I’m good. And I was only gone a week. We…I had barely two days anywhere near London.”
    “We? You and who’s army went to London?” Lucas grinned at Angus. “Come on, we want all the gossip, and don’t go leaving out any of the juicy bits. Angus filled me in about the radio romance between you and the fisherman. Was it him?”
    She shook her head in despair. “The house is on the market, and if it’s God’s will, then it’ll sell. The estate agent will call, assuming I can get a signal out here, that is. I didn’t have chance to tell him I wasn’t going to be at home.”
    “That’s all well and good,” Lucas said, “but it doesn’t answer my question as to who you went to London with. Don’t make me ask a third time.”
    “Ask what a third time?” she asked. “You only asked once by my count.”
    “Picky, picky. Who’s we? And that is three.”
    Kaylie sighed. “Rob.”
    Both men wolf whistled.
    “Oh, give it a rest.” she groaned. “Where’s my dinner?” She took the plate from Lucas and sat down. “How’s Mickey? What happened to make a medevac necessary?”
    “The wee laddie complained of a headache. Laura put him to bed, but he woke in the middle o’the night with a fever and a rash,” Angus filled her in as she began to eat. “She called the doctor who diagnosed meningitis. He called for the air ambulance and flew them to Exeter. They sent the chopper for Crispin about five this morning. He said he’d call but we have no heard from him yet.”
    “He’ll have other things on his mind,” she said in between mouthfuls. “On the bright side, you don’t have to come and track me down to say goodbye when you leave, assuming I’m still here. And I get to train your replacement.”
    Lucas shook his head. “I’m planning on doing that.”
    “Neither of ye are,” Angus told them. “When Harry arrives at the end o’the week Ah’m doing it. He’ll spend the week shadowing me. Now, lassie, what were yer doing in London with the fisherman? Assuming it was that Rob ye went with and no some random bloke ye picked up that has the same name.”
    Kaylie sighed. “I went with Rob the fisherman, yes. We went to stay with his sister and her family. It’s all aboveboard. We slept in separate rooms. Unlike here where I share a room with two blokes.”
    “She has a point,” Angus drawled.
    “We were in Kew Gardens when you called. And yesterday we did the whole tourist bit around the center of London. I took loads of photos, but left my camera behind.”
    “That was silly.” Lucas sounded concerned.
    “It’s at Rob’s sister’s place so it’ll be fine for a few days until we can pick it up again.”
    “What’s he like?”
    “He’s like his voice, actually. Really nice.” She finished her meal. “I like him…like him a lot. And that was scrummy, thank you. What shift am I on?”
    “Nights.”
    Kaylie