Mia cleared her throat after a prolonged silence. She wasn't sure what to say next. And she wasn't inclined to ask his help either. There were pieces of garment she'd blush in embarrassment if a man, particularly a stranger she'd just met, would see. It may sully whatever relationship they'll have in the future.

"Uhm... thank you for bringing in my stuff," she said timidly.

Richard glanced up, meeting her gaze and looked away towards the door. "No worries. I...ah...I should go and help grannie in the kitchen." He informed and slowly walked back out. But then he halted, holding the door open for a second. He glanced back at me, meeting my gaze again. "Ye should join us, ye know."

Mia noticed a hint of pinkish glow on his cheeks. "I did say I will."

He nodded and turned around. "Good." With that, he closed the door behind him with a slight slam.

She flinched at the sound and waited a moment longer, hearing his footsteps disappear, and grunted in frustration.

The task of unpacking kept her mind busy, for a time. Then she thought about dinner with her aunt, Adelia, and Richard. Once her mind had gone to Adelia's grandson, she found herself conscious of the idea of him. However, it couldn't bear any fruit when another thought passed her consciousness as well.

Erik Alexander Kingsley.

A shiver runs down her spine merely thinking of him.

When was the last time she willingly conjured his name in her mind? If she said it out loud, the image of his handsome face wasn't far. But as she closed her eyes, she could see him.

She was then transported to a buried memory. There were nights her body run in a cold sweat at the vivid dream. Yet it wasn't a dream. It happened. And she was in the middle of it.

Like every other performance that evening, she was engulfed with emotions. She remained unaware of her surroundings. Her breath calm, each intake was calculated and controlled. The spotlight glared bright like the sun on a hot summer's day. The crowd was silent and focused. Their gaze was filled with awe and admiration.

Her hands glided in the invisible air, like a gush of wind creating perfect ripples on a serene pond. Muscle and joints in her body melted along with each movement. As the musical caress continued in the background, she moved in tune with it.

She was lost in the moment.

But then, there he was, sitting front and center. They locked eyes. A warmth deep within the pit of her stomach started to simmer. She got sucked in his tantalizing gaze until a sound loud as thunder broke her from his spell. Her body suddenly felt disconnected. She gasped and nearly choked while clawing for air. All of it happened in a span of a second before echoes of scream erupted.

Nobody completely saw what happen that night. Yet she vividly recalled those pair of sapphire blue eyes staring triumphantly every time she conjured the memory. However, no one saw him attending her last performance.

Maybe the memory was part of a dream. She had been an induced coma for days after the incident. Her mind may have played a trick on her. Yet she skin crawl every time she closed her eyes and see it play out again.

Maybe it was real...

Bam!

Mia jolted awake, returning to her reality. Her heart hammered, echoing on her ear. It took her a minute to recover. The muffled voice sounded clear across her door.

"Mia!" Leanna called. "Dinner's ready, sweetie. Come on!"

She got up and glanced around the room, studying her handiwork. Half of her luggage was already unpacked and placed inside the empty cabinets, which were all pulled out. The top part was half-filled with her undergarments and sleeping wear, yet most of her casual clothes were still the luggage. Those might take time to compartmentalize if she wanted to access her sweatshirts and knitted tops easily.

With a groan, she shoved the remaining suitcases and rejoined her aunt.

As she stepped out, with her room perfectly situated in front of the kitchen and dining table, Mia smelled and saw the plate of pie and salad set on the table with the tableware. For a moment, she felt rude for letting her aunt's guest do everything—though Adelia offered to cook.

Leanna noticed her niece standing idly, and motioned her over. "The food's ready, Mia. Sit, sweetie." She patted the chair on her right.

The dining table was circular in shape. It had enough chairs to accommodate them. But one thing made her uncomfortable. Mia had no choice on the arrangement because wherever she sat, she'd be across Richard.

It wasn't a bad thing, though. He seemed nervous about Mia sitting across from him as well. For both their sake, she didn't stare at him, keeping her eyes glued to her food, and occasionally glanced at her aunt and Adelia. She nodded along to what they talked about, as did Richard, which she noticed from the corner of her eyes.

Having a small portion on her plate, Mia finished eating before Adelia and Leanna ended reminiscing Leanna's last visit. Across from her, Richard was close, at least a spoon or two left of his Shepard's pie. When Mia snuck a peek in his direction, Richard thought it was time to peer at her as well.

Catching each other's gaze, they abruptly turned away in unison and stood up. It halted Adelia and Leanna from their conversation, glancing between them.

"Where are ye going, Richie?" Adelia asked as Leanna did with Mia. "Are you done eating, Mia?"

Mia looked at Richard, at the same time he did, and the two shyly glanced away again. Adelia and Leanna noticed their awkward reaction. Leanna bit her lips to keep herself from smiling, while Adelia cleared her throat to hide her chuckle of amusement.

It was then Richard spoke up, sensing the increasing tension, and the teasing glint on his grandmother's eyes. "I'll start doing the dishes, grannie."

"I'll go back to my room and finish unpacking, auntie. I've yet done half of it." Mia grabbed her empty place.

Adelia nodded and gestured for Richard to go.

Yet Leanna held her niece with a stare, arching her eyebrow. "You're still unpacking."

"Yes. Why?"

"You were in there for nearly an hour, my dear. It doesn't take that long to do it," she commented.

"Well, I'm slow. You can't reprimand me for it."

Leanna arched an eyebrow again but decided not to comment further. Instead, she nodded towards her room in approval.

Mia left the dining table, bringing her empty plate. She joined Richard by the kitchen sink. He already had the faucet running on top of the cooking pans. His back to her, it took him a second to react on her arrival. Richard stepped aside, giving Mia some space as she placed her plate by the sink.

"Thank you," Mia muttered and glanced at Richard.

"No worries," he replied in the same tone, staring briefly at her in an awkward manner.

Mia sighed and turned all her attention to Richard. "I'm sorry for being so..." she trailed off.

"Don't worry. I'm also someone who's socially awkward around strangers, especially someone who very pretty—uhm sorry." He coughed.

She smirked. "Don't you get many outsiders visiting the town?"

"We do. It may be a small town, but we have a great tourist spot around the island. For one, we still have a fully functional medieval castle, which is rare these days." He replied, still a bit timid, but his body relaxed. He picked up a pan and started rinsing off the grime.

"That'll be the Kingsley Castle, right? Your grandmother pointed it out on the way here." She distinctly remembered the dark gray stone walls, aged in time and the sea breeze.

"It is. I forgot ye could see it on yer way here from the harbor." He nodded. "Aye, the castle is a historical figure for the locals. And it's what kept the town alive. Well, we do have the farmlands and the fishing, but the tourist does help out a lot."

"Have you met the owner of the castle by any chance?"

Richard was startled at her query.

Mia noted his reaction and quickly found an excuse. "I mean, you said that it's functional, so that means someone owns it, right? Is that person staying in the castle?"

He snorted, recovering from his initial shock. "Och, no. Whoever owns that place is rich enough to afford to live elsewhere. And the locals haven't met the family who owns it. They have staff keeping the place running."

"Oh, okay." She nodded in feign understanding. "And have you been to the castle?"

He was silent again, but this time he kept his expression passive. Mia was about to change the question when Richard replied. "Aye, I have. But I've not been there since I've been back."

"Back?" She looked at him in confusion. "Were you living somewhere before you moved here?"

It took him a second to realize he'd been scrubbing the same pan for nearly a minute. He rinses it and handed the clean pan to Mia. "If ye'r going to stay, would ye put this on the rack to dry?" He gestured towards the white empty frame-shaped mostly of thin wires and a tray below, catching the droplet of water.

Mia got the pan from him and place it on the dish rack. "Where did you use to live?" she pressed, getting back to her previous question.

"Just in the mainland. I returned here every four months or so to check on my grandma and grandda. I'm actually an engineer."

"Are you really? Then why are you...?" She stopped upon seeing his expression twisted in concentration.

"My grandda had taken ill two years ago and passed. So, I returned permanently to help grannie."

Mia bit her lips to stop from prying more. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I have no regrets and was there with him and grannie on his last moments."

"And your parents?"

He handed her another pan, which she soldierly placed on the dish rack again. "They passed when I was five."

She sighed heavily, feeling awful for prying into his life and digging up his past. "I'm so sorry, Richard. I didn't mean to..."

Richard handed her another pan, met her gaze, and forced a smile. "It's okay. These things are common knowledge. If ye ask yer aunt or grannie, I'm sure they'll tell ye."

"But I'm grateful you told me on your own accord, Mr. McKenzie. Truly."

He looked away. His cheeks had a pinkish glow. "Ye did ask, Miss Harnett. It's my pleasure."

Like that, the awkward tension between them returned, shrouding the progress they made to purge it. Mia turned gradually, examining the voices by the dining table. Leanna and Adelia were still chatting animatedly. As she glanced back at Richard, she sensed he was no longer in the mood for talking. With a brief goodbye, she left him by the sink and retreated towards her room.

Mia returned to her task of unpacking, and this time with more focus on finishing before bedtime. She was in deep concentration again, ignoring the sound outside her room. It took at least four loud knocks, and two times her aunt shouted her name to avert her attention.

"Mia, come out and say goodbye to Adelia and Richard. They're going now!"

"Yes! I'll be right over!"

She studied her handiwork, smiling at its near completion before heading out. She saw the kitchen was already empty, and the pans and plates hanging on the dish rack to dry. There were voices in the direction of the door. She made her way and found her aunt's back while facing Adelia and Richard by the opened door.

On her arrival, Adelia called out to her. "Mia, dear. I'm glad ye've joined our little community here. I hope ye'd have a lovely time during yer stay."

Mia walked up behind her aunt and reached around her, giving a handshake, "Thank you as well, Ms. Adelia. I hope so too."

To her surprise, Adelia walked up and enveloped her in a brief embrace. Her body had gone rigid at the unfamiliar warmth. Gradually she relaxed a bit, chanting the old woman's name repeatedly until her defenses dropped. It was then Adelia moved away, giving her space to breathe again. She kept her expression passive.

"Please call me Adelia, or if ye'r uncomfortable, Mrs. Grant is fine, dearie."

"Mrs. Grant is it." Mia abashedly looked at Richard. "And it was nice to meet you as well, Mr. McKenzie."

He nodded in acknowledgment. "Ye as well, Ms. Harnett."

She met his gaze briefly and saw his eyes widen, and eyebrow in a knot. And then, he turned on his heel, walking down the porch towards one of the cars.

"We'll live the truck with ye, so ye'll have means of transportation. Richard can drive me around if I need to go somewhere. It's no problem." Adelia added and handed Leanna the keys.

"Thank you, Adelia, as always. Let me know if you need a hand as well. Mia and I will gladly help out." Leanna offered kindly.

Adelia smiled and nodded. "We'll leave ye two to rest. And my dear," she paused and glanced back at Mia, "if ye need someone to give ye a tour around the island, Richard would gladly be yer guide. He told me to ask ye if ye'r okay with it."

Mia was able to hide her surprise with a smile. "Of course. Tell him I'm grateful for his offer."

Adelia beamed. "I will, my dear. Just call us if ye'r ready to go anywhere. Leanna has the number for our house."

She nodded. "Thank you, again, Mrs. Grant."

"Good night, ladies. And have a lovely evening." Adelia joined her grandson by the car beside the truck.

The front light brightened, pointing in their direction. She squinted her eyes while watching Adelia get in. A minute later, the car backed away and drove off the front lawn towards the rocky road.

Leanna remarked when they were finally alone. "That was unexpected."

Mia was unsure what she meant. As she was about to ask, her aunt turned back and asked her to lock up the door and ready for bed.

Whatever it meant the thought was in-line with her own. It was unexpected indeed.

****

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