Page 11 of Sailing Free at Loch Tunnagan (Loch Tunnagan #1)
T hat evening Jess couldn’t sleep. Her thoughts ricocheted between the conversation she’d had with Ryan that morning, the secretive letter that was now stored safely in her bedside cabinet and the knowledge that Cal was sleeping in the room next door.
Abandoning her attempts at sleep she grabbed the photo of June from her purse and slipped out the room. As she had hoped, Angus the night porter was sitting at the front desk. When he saw her approach, he folded the newspaper he had been reading and greeted her with a warm smile.
“Well, if it isn’t the lovely Jess. How are you dear?”
“I’m good, thanks Angus. Just having trouble sleeping.”
“Can I tempt you to sit with me and share a pot of chamomile tea? I could do with the company and the tea will help you with the insomnia.”
“I’d love that,” smiled Jess.
She wrapped her hands around the warm mug that Angus handed her and inhaled the floral aroma of the tea.
“How long have you lived in the village?” she enquired.
“All my life dear. I was actually born in the room above Olivia’s Cafe.”
“Wow, that's amazing. You must have seen so much change over the years.”
“In some ways, yes,” he agreed, “but village life generally stays the same. It’s the same stories you see just played out through different generations.
Marriages, affairs, divorces, deaths. The world around us may change, technology becomes more advanced, the economy shifts, jobs are lost and created but the fundamental makeup of the villagers never really alters. ”
“That’s an insightful way to look at it,” replied Jess.
“It’s oddly comforting in a way; to know that the behaviour of people is steadfast.” Pausing, she took the photo from her dressing gown pocket.
“I was wondering if you remember ever seeing this woman in the village? She was here in the seventies.”
Angus held the photo up and adjusted his glasses. He looked at it closely for a while.
“Sorry Jess, I don’t remember seeing her. Is she a relative of yours?”
Jess shook her head; she placed her hand over her mouth stifling a yawn. “Oh Angus, your tea has done the trick, I think I'm going to have to head up to bed before I fall asleep on your desk.”
“Night night dear, sleep tight.” Angus waved her off and returned to his newspaper.
“How do you wash your clothes?” asked Jess quizzically while she sat down for breakfast with Cal the next morning.
A smile played at the corner of Cal’s mouth and he gave himself a sniff, “Do you not think I'm doing it right?”
“No, it's not that,'' Jess grinned as she took a bite of toast. “I noticed your boat doesn’t have a washing machine. I need to wash the clothes that I borrowed before I hand them back to Olivia and I was wondering if you use a laundrette.”
“There’s a laundry room in the basement of the hotel. Use that.”
“Are you sure that’s ok?”
“Yeah, of course. I’ll let the staff know you’ll be down.”
“Thank you.”
Cal had work to do in the office again so he walked her down to the foyer and directed her to where the laundry room was. Jess spent the morning washing, drying and neatly folding clothes.
She placed Olivia’s clothes in a bag and took a walk down to the village.
It was a glorious day and the feel of the sun warming her face soothed her.
As she approached the cafe she heard her name being called; it was Edith.
Her hand automatically moved to her handbag where the photo of June was safely tucked into her purse.
Guilt invaded her thoughts as she looked at Edith who radiated warmth and kindness. Keeping the secret from her felt wrong but at the same time, she didn't want to cause her any unnecessary hurt. She smiled and waved back then turned to enter the cafe.
Jess thanked Olivia for lending her the clothes as she passed them over the counter. The cafe was quieter at this time of day and Olivia joined Jess at her table. She placed a pot of tea and two scones down.
“No Amelie today?” queried Jess as she looked around the cafe.
“No, she’s at school,” replied Olivia.
“I’ve completely lost track of what day it is,” said Jess, shaking her head. “Each day is normally scheduled to the minute when I'm working. It feels weird to have no timetable.”
“Have you decided how long you’re staying here for?” asked Olivia.
“I spoke to Ryan. I told him I needed a month to think things through, after that I’ll need to go back to Glasgow and face reality.”
Edith entered the cafe at that point and joined their conversation; immediately pulling a chair across to join them at their table. “That’s perfect, you’ll be here for the next book club meeting. Have you finished the book yet?”
Olivia smiled at Jess and rolled her eyes “You can’t stand still too long in this village or Edith will have you recruited in the book club.”
“You should be happy,” retorted Edith, “it’s good for business.”
Olivia laughed, “With the amount of people you drag through my door! It certainly is.”
Jess smiled, “I’ll be there Edith. I’m really enjoying the book. I love how Logan and Isla’s love develops from such an early age. It’s a good read.”
Edith looked wistfully out the window, “It reminds me of me and my Derek. We were childhood sweethearts you know.”
Olivia put a comforting hand over Edith’s. “You should have seen them together Jess. Total couple goals. We all miss him, Edith.”
“Thanks love, that means a lot.”
Jess thought of the secret she was keeping from Edith and averted her gaze guiltily.
Olivia looked out the window, “What a beautiful day, it would be great for a run.”
“Why don't you two young ones go out and I’ll watch the cafe for you?”
“Are you sure?” asked Olivia. “That would be amazing.”
“Of course,” replied Edith. “You know I love helping out here. I hear all the best gossip when I’m behind the counter.”
“You're awful,” laughed Olivia.,“but I’m still going to take you up on the offer despite any misgivings I may have about you eavesdropping on the customers. Give me two minutes to get changed Jess."
Jess turned to Edith, “Do you work here a lot?”
“I do the odd shift to help Olivia when she needs the cover. It keeps me busy.”
Jess and Olivia made their way back up to the hotel so that Jess could change into the running gear that she’d bought on her shopping trip a few days ago.
Olivia raised her eyebrows as Jess unlocked the door to the Glen Monarch Suite.
“You’re staying in the same room as Cal?”
Jess could feel herself blush, “It was the only room available.”
“You’ll be the envy of many of the women in the village,” grinned Olivia.
“He’s just helping me out. There’s nothing going on between us,” exclaimed Jess.
“I know, I’m just teasing.” Her mood grew more sombre then and she smiled sadly.
“Cal doesn’t date.”
“Why not?” asked Jess.
“He hasn’t dated since Lainey died.”
“How long ago was that?”
“It’s been two years,” Olivia’s voice was barely a whisper and she was blinking back tears.
“I’m sorry Olivia, I didn’t mean to upset you. Were you close to Lainey?”
Olivia sighed, “It’s complicated.”
She gave her head a small shake as if trying to dispel memories, “Shall we get out for this run?”
It was clear she wanted to change the subject so Jess didn’t ask any more questions, but as she was getting changed, she wondered what Olivia had meant by, ‘It’s complicated’.
Cal was in the room looking over some papers when Jess returned from the run. Why oh why did she always time it so he was witness to the breathless sweat monster that she turned into after exercise. To make matters worse he looked immaculate in another crisp suit.
“Hi,” Cal lifted his head to greet, “Have you been out running?”
“Yeah…. out with Olivia….up big hill,” Jess gasped out a reply.
She bent over, with her hands on her thighs and tried to get her breathing to return to normal.
“How’s your day been?” she asked when she had finally regained composure.
“Fine, I guess,” he sighed. “Just had another meeting with the accountant.”
Jess wondered if she should ask how it went. He didn’t look particularly happy. Luckily, she didn’t need to.
He continued, “The hotel is doing ok but the accountant highlighted that there are certain periods that the occupancy rate drops and he wants me to try and come up with a way of drawing more people in. He suggested putting on an event."
Jess watched as he rubbed his hand along the line of his jaw, “I’m a bit pushed for time and to be honest event planning isn't really my strong point. Lainey was always good at that stuff.”
“What month is it lowest?” asked Jess.
“September.” He shuffled the papers into a neat pile. “I’ve always been happy as long as we’re in the black and making a bit of profit but the accountant wants us to future proof in case there’s a drop in the economy.”
“Yeah, I get that,” said Jess. “It’s something we focus on a lot with the holiday lets. We’re constantly looking for ways to expand and make the business better.” Silently, she wondered if that dedication to the business is what led to the mess her and Ryan were in just now.
Cal loosened off his tie and undid the top couple of buttons on his shirt, revealing a smattering of dark hairs that ran over his chest. “I always feel like I’m suffocating in these things.” He tossed the tie down on the table.
“Let me think about ways of drawing more people to the hotel in September,” Jess suggested. "I wanted to find a way to pay you back for everything you’ve done to help me out and I think this could be perfect.”
“Are you serious?” asked Cal looking surprised.
“Definitely. I’m here for a month. It’ll do me the world of good to have a project to focus on.”
“That would be amazing, if you honestly don’t mind,” replied Cal. “Speaking of projects, how’s your detective work coming along? Have you found anyone who recognises June?”
“I’ve only asked Angus and he didn’t recognise her.” She chewed at her bottom lip, “I bumped into Edith today. I feel so guilty that we’re keeping this secret from her.”