Once outside they’d had a moment of clarity that they needed some equipment so had all marched back inside to grab useful items, shovels mainly but Effie was carrying a bucket and Robbie had a hammer, which were interesting choices. Despite the awful weather it was quite exciting striding along with Effie, Fraser and Robbie. Dolly had had a last-minute realisation that her scooter wasn’t great in the deep snow and that it was probably best that she cover the phone, although Liv had never heard the thing ring once.
The drive climbed up to the road and that was when it became even more apparent how bad the weather was. The wind was hard to walk against and the snow was like someone was jet-propelling it into her face. Fraser looked like he was out for an afternoon stroll, the weather and hill not seeming to interrupt his stride.
‘Does this happen often?’ she asked, her voice almost swallowed by the wind.
‘Only when there are tourists involved.’ He gave a look.
‘I’m not a…’ As she’d now revealed that her memory had returned, if she wasn’t a tourist then what was she? ‘Not alone in wanting to see this beautiful country,’ she corrected with a sweep of her arm. They both glanced about the landscape, obscured by the blizzard. Fraser was giving her an odd look so she put her head down and ploughed on.
‘It’s this way!’ yelled Robbie, who was striding past a snow-covered mound. Liv wasn’t entirely sure what triggered the thought; it was probably a combination of things. Fraser and Effie started to jog and that was when it hit Liv. The snow-covered car they were running past was her sister’s.
‘I remember that that’s my car. I hit a pothole and got a puncture.’
‘English drivers,’ he mumbled.
‘What?’ Liv didn’t quite catch what he said but she had a good idea and it irked her.
‘Nothing. Carry on.’
‘When I realised the tyre had blown I pulled over and left it there to get help.’ They both surveyed the snowy mass. ‘Can you help me dig it out?’
Fraser called to Robbie. ‘Shout if you need me. Else I’ll clear the snow around this one first.’
‘Sure thing, be careful,’ replied Robbie as he and Effie went off down the lane.
Fraser started to shovel away the snow and Liv joined in. The passenger side was a little more protected from the elements thanks to it being parked near the bushes, so when enough snow had been moved Liv got out the car keys, unlocked the car and squeezed around to try to open the door. She tugged hard but it wasn’t opening.
‘It’ll be frozen,’ said Fraser. ‘Let me.’ As he leaned close to the iced-up window his eyes widened. That was the moment when Liv remembered Stan. ‘There’s someone inside,’ said Fraser. ‘Have they been stuck here this whole time?’ He looked suitably shocked at the prospect.
Liv swallowed hard. ‘Not exactly. It’s not a live person…’ she began. Fraser’s alarmed expression made her speed up. ‘It’s also not someone I’ve killed, or that anyone has killed. There are no dead bodies in the car.’
Fraser didn’t look in any way calmed by her explanation.
She’d hoped there would be a way for her to avoid Fraser and Stan meeting, but that was no longer the case. When Fraser pulled on the door, there was a crack as it released. Fraser stuck his head inside and Liv wanted to spontaneously combust with embarrassment. ‘What the hell?’ he said through a burst of laughter. ‘Is this your boyfriend?’
‘He was a present for my birthday,’ she said trying to reach inside and pull Stan out. She couldn’t leave him there for fear of a passer-by assuming there was someone trapped in the car and setting off a full-scale rescue mission.
‘You like the silent type do you?’ asked Fraser moving out of the way.
‘Very funny.’ Liv had to lean inside to undo Stan’s seatbelt, which must have made for an odd picture with her face in Stan’s lap. Fraser snorted a laugh behind her and she tried hard to ignore him. The seatbelt finally released and she reversed out with Stan in her arms. In her haste to hide him she dragged him along the bushes and he started to make an elongated fart sound as the air escaped. ‘Shit,’ she said.
Fraser turned away and failed badly to stifle how funny he was finding her predicament.
She tried to get to the boot but there was too much snow. ‘Do you think you could help me? My stuff is in the boot.’
He came to join her and a floppy Stan at the rear of the car and they started to dig again. With the two of them, and Liv driven by embarrassment, they cleared the snow quite quickly and, thankfully, with a shove from both of them the boot opened. Liv got out her bag. She was just about to put Stan inside when someone called.
‘Hello!’
‘Bloody hell,’ said Liv wrestling Stan into the boot and slamming it shut. She glanced at Fraser who had a grin like a boomerang.
They turned to see two women and a man approaching them through the flurry of snow. One of the women was wearing a floaty dress and matching jacket and carrying a fancy holdall. She was strikingly beautiful despite being blue with the cold. The other two were bundled up against the weather in matching puffer jackets.
‘Hiya,’ said the man. ‘I’m Aaron and this is my wife, Kacey.’ They both giggled. ‘It’s going to take a lot of getting used to.’
‘We got married at Gretna Green this morning,’ said Kacey, pulling off a glove to stick her ring hand under Fraser’s nose, making him recoil.
‘Aww congratulations,’ said Liv.
‘Thank you,’ said Kacey, batting her eyelashes at her husband. They were clearly smitten.
‘Our car ended up in a ditch and the copper told us there’s a hotel we can stay in.’
‘That’s not exactly what happened is it?’ The other woman had joined them and did not look happy. ‘You swerved because of a sparrow and stuck the bleedin’ car in a ditch.’
‘He couldn’t help it,’ said Kacey clutching Aaron’s arm. ‘He’s an animal lover. We both are and the snow was everywhere, so you couldn’t tell what was road and what wasn’t.’
‘But nobody’s hurt?’ asked Fraser.
‘We’re all good. Not sure about the car,’ said Aaron.
‘I may have whiplash,’ said the woman in the floaty dress and thin-looking jacket. ‘I’m Shanie Cortina.’ She scanned their faces as if expecting a response. ‘The reality TV sensation?’ Fraser and Liv both slowly shook their heads. ‘Beach Babes?’ The frustration was evident in her voice. ‘For heaven’s sake do you not have television up here?’
‘Oh the reality TV show,’ said Liv as realisation dawned. ‘My sister watches that sometimes. It’s on one of the obscure channels late at night,’ explained Liv while Shanie’s glare intensified. ‘What year and where did you come?’
‘Two years ago and I don’t think it’s when you leave that matters; it’s the impact you make while you’re there. Anyway, where’s this hotel? I’m frigging freezing,’ she said with a shiver. Liv stepped away from the car, making Shanie do a double take. ‘What the hell?’
Shanie’s eyes widened and Liv followed her gaze to where an arm was sticking out of the car boot. Liv quickly opened it, ignored the fart noise that came from within, shoved Stan’s arm inside and shut it again as fast as she could. ‘The hotel is this way,’ said Liv guiding them all away from the car and up the track.
‘Hang on,’ said Fraser. ‘The hotel’s not open. It’s not guest-ready. It’s… nobody is listening are they?’
‘Have you come far?’ asked Liv, keen to distract the woman who was now looking over her shoulder at the boot of the BMW.
‘Essex,’ said Shanie, still distracted by what she’d seen.
‘Goodness did you drive all the way up here from Essex?’
‘We’re not together,’ said Aaron. ‘Me and Kacey picked the hire car up in Dumfries and Shanie was trying to hire something because her driver was a no-show but there were no cars left. So we offered to give her a lift.’
‘That’s kind,’ said Liv.
Shanie didn’t look like she agreed as she huffily swapped her bag to the other hand. ‘I had a chauffeur booked and paid for. My manager will be complaining. You can’t just abandon someone in a frozen wasteland.’
Fraser chuckled behind them and Shanie spun around to glare at him. ‘Who are you exactly?’
‘It’s his hotel,’ said Liv, thinking that however pissed off Shanie was she really didn’t want to fall out with Fraser or she’d be sharing a stable with Ginger.
‘Here you go,’ said Shanie handing him her bag. Fraser seemed surprised to now be holding two shovels and a designer bag. ‘Careful that’s got my eye massager in.’
‘Ooh I’ve heard about those. They’re meant to give you a great night’s sleep,’ said Liv.
‘I don’t share personal items. Sorry,’ said Shanie with a look of fake commiseration.
‘I wasn’t asking you to.’ Liv was starting to think that maybe Shanie was a bigger cow than Ginger. They walked on in silence apart from the rhythmic crunch of shoes on fresh snow. The snow was still coming down thick and fast.
‘This is so exciting,’ said Kacey finishing her sentence with a small squeak.
Shanie huffed. ‘How much further?’ she whined as they reached the sign for the hotel. But in her defence it was partially covered in snow, as was she and her thin jacket.
‘Not far now,’ said Liv. ‘This is the driveway.’
‘It had better be worth it,’ muttered Shanie.
Liv very much doubted that it would be.