“Yes.”
“And what will you do for a job?” She let her legs sink down until her feet hit the seabed.
“Work in the pub.”
“The Mermaid Inn?”
“Yeah. I worked there before. Seren and I started working there as soon as we left school.” He held her waist to draw her to him and she automatically draped her arms around his neck. “There’s a secondary school on the island but no sixth form or college, so most kids go over to the mainland to finish school. Seren and I begged her uncle to give us jobs in the pub instead. It didn’t go down well with our parents.”
“So that was always what you wanted to do – work in a pub?”
He smiled lightly. “I’m fairly sure I just did what Seren told me to, but I really like it.”
“So, you have no plans for a career change?”
“No. Why?”
She shrugged. “No reason.”
“Seren wants us to buy the Mermaid Inn whenever Charlie decides to retire.”
“And you?”
“I’d be quite happy to run it with Seren. Working in a pub is pretty nice.”
“If it’s all you’ve ever done, you don’t have much to compare it to,” Keira pointed out, not sure if it was his career ambitions that bothered her or the fact that his plans involved Seren. Considering Seren had been nothing but kind to her, she was annoyed at herself for being jealous of their closeness, but she couldn’t seem to help it.
A smile pulled at his lips. “I’ve done plenty of jobs.”
“Really?”
“I guess there aren’t many islanders who stick to one job. People take whatever they can get. In the quiet winter months, I don’t get so many shifts in the pub. I’ve worked on the fishing boats, in the supermarket, I’ve done gardening.” He tilted his head to one side. “Sometimes I drive the train for Kit.”
“I can’t imagine you as a train driver.”
“It’s actually good fun.”
“Will Kit be at your Mum’s house for dinner?”
“Yeah. I guess it’ll be my brothers and Seren.”
“Your mum will be happy to have you all together again. Or almost all of you. She said it doesn’t happen very often.”
“Lowen won’t be there.” Gently, he ran his hands up and down her back.
“Why not?”
“He won’t come to the house.”
“What do you mean?”
“He and Mum had a big argument after Dad died. They never really sorted it out. Lowen hasn’t been anywhere near the house since before Dad died.”
“That’s sad,” she said flatly.
“Yeah. Kit’s angry at Lowen over the whole situation, so they barely speak. I’m pretty annoyed with him too. Trystan spends his time trying to keep the peace between everyone. I feel sorry for him because he and Lowen were always really close, but Lowen cut himself off from everyone after Dad died.”
“That must be really hard for all of you.” She stroked the back of his neck with her thumbs.