Page 12 of Sailing Free at Loch Tunnagan (Loch Tunnagan #1)

Cal nodded, “I know what you mean, but Derek would have had a good reason for keeping something from Edith. I feel like we need to respect that.”

Jess wasn’t convinced but nodded anyway.

Jess woke up with a start the next morning. Something was pressing down on her chest. She let out a yelp and opened her eyes to see a hairy face staring back at her.

“MacTavish!” Cal yelled. He knocked on her bedroom door.

“In here,” called Jess.

Cal came bursting into her bedroom, “Get down MacTavish.”

The dog jumped off of Jess’s chest but not off the bed. He moved around in a few circles before snuggling down next to her. Jess patted him, “You gave me a fright,” she laughed.

“I’m so sorry,” Cal apologised.

Jess looked up. Her gaze travelled from Cal’s handsome face, down his bare chest to the toned muscles in his stomach. A white towel was wrapped low around his waist.

Towering above her he awkwardly tried to grasp MacTavish’s collar with one hand while holding on to the towel with the other.

“I was about to jump in the shower when I heard you yell. The dog should be called Houdini. I don’t know how he managed to make his way out of his crate then through your door.”

Jess placed her hand on MacTavish’s warm fur and nuzzled her face up to his little nose. “It’s no worries. You should stay. I’d love to have someone in bed to snuggle up with.”

Looking sheepishly up at Cal, she said, “Just to clarify, I was talking to MacTavish there!”

Cal laughed, “Yeah, I got that. The baby voice you use when you speak to him gave it away.”

Once they were both fully dressed and had eaten breakfast, they made their way down to the village to meet the repairman who would be carrying out an assessment for the work on the boats.

It was another gorgeous day; making it hard to believe such a fierce storm had passed through just a few days ago. The only evidence that a tree had fallen down on the jetty was the stump left behind and a scattering of wood shavings.

Jess bent down and scooped up some of the sawdust; letting it run through her fingers.

“It’s sad; that tree must have stood in this spot for hundreds of years.

Imagine all the people who have lived in the village over that time and walked past the tree every day.

And now it's gone, with such little ceremony.”

“That’s why I love working with wood,” replied Cal. “There’s a history to it. I’ll be able to transform that fallen tree into different pieces of furniture for the hotel. The tree will still play a part in village life; it’ll still live on but just in a different form.”

“That’s a beautiful way of looking at it,” agreed Jess.

A van pulled up next to them at that point and the workman jumped out. He introduced himself and they showed him to the boats.

“I’ll need to take some measurements and make a list of the materials in order to give you a quote for the whole job. It’ll take about half an hour. Don’t feel like you need to hang about, I can give you a call when I’m done.”

Cal looked at Jess, “Fancy a walk along the loch? MacTavish needs to burn off some energy.”

“Yeah, that would be nice.”

Once they had made their way past the ducks, or as Cal called it the ‘the danger zone’, he let MacTavish off the lead so the little dog could explore his surroundings. The pace was slow because MacTavish took time sniffing at every rock they passed.

Just as they approached a bend on the path his head shot up, he barked once then shot off round the corner.

“Oh, hello MacTavish,” they heard a woman say. Her voice sounded soft and cracked slightly with age.

“Hi Nancy,” Cal waved as Nancy bent down stiffly to fuss over MacTavish.

They walked over to the woman and Jess introduced herself.

“It’s lovely to meet you, Jess. Edith’s been telling me you’ll be joining us at next month’s book club.”

“That’s right, I'm looking forward to it,” replied Jess.

Seeing that Nancy was leaning heavily on her walking stick Cal suggested they sit at a nearby bench.

As they chatted, Nancy mentioned that she’d lived in the village for most of her life, “I wonder if you could help me?” asked Jess, taking the photo out of her purse. “Do you recognise the woman in this photo?”

Nancy looked carefully then shook her head, “I’m afraid not. However, I can tell you that the photo must have been taken in September during the Tunnagan Boat Race. See the bunting stretched across that section of the loch? That was the finish line.”

“That sounds like fun!” smiled Jess.

“Oh, it was,” Nancy agreed. “The competitors would decorate the boats and row in fancy dress. I took part in a few of the races over the years. There were four on a team, we’d each take turns with the oars.”

“Does the race still take place?” asked Jess.

“No, it stopped years ago. It’s a shame really.

There was always such a wonderful atmosphere in the village when it was on.

People would come from far and wide to watch and once the race was over, there was a big procession leading up to the hotel.

It was called the Procession of Light because everyone would decorate a jar with a candle in it.

The light was meant to drive any unwanted spirits from the village as the dark nights drew in. ”

“Wow, I hadn’t heard about that before,” said Cal. “What happened once they got to the hotel?”

“There was a huge feast and a ceilidh. At the end of the night the winning team would be presented with the trophy. I never got my hands on the trophy but one year we got a prize for ‘best dressed boat’.

Cal glanced at his watch, “We’d better be getting back to the boats. It was lovely to catch up with you Nancy.”

As they made their way back along the edge of the loch Jess turned to Cal, eyes wide with excitement, “You know what I’m going to say, don’t you?”

Cal looked at her in confusion, “No?”

“We need to bring back the Tunnagan Boat Race! It couldn’t be more perfect. The accountant asked you to try and increase occupancy rates in September.…..The boat race was held in September and the ‘Procession of Light’ literally brought people to the hotel!” she squealed.

Cal looked thoughtful, “It’s definitely worth considering. It would take a lot of man hours to pull off an event like that.”

His less than enthusiastic attitude didn't dampen her spirits.

“Cal, you’re forgetting that I have a month of doing nothing ahead of me. I could do the majority of the grunt work during that time. The race would be in six months. There’s plenty of time to chip away at the other tasks between now and then.

Cal tilted his head from side to side as if deliberating over the pros and cons, “Let’s do a bit more research and then sit down together and look at the logistics to see if it’s feasible. I’m busy in the office for the next couple of days, how does the 22nd sound?”

“Sounds great,” agreed Jess. The 22nd was also the day that June was scheduled to meet Derek. She hoped she would be able to track down some details about the mysterious woman by then.

After the workman had given them a breakdown of costs, Jess returned to the hotel room to call Ryan and update him. The trepidation was still there, but in a much milder dosage compared to the last time she had called him.

He answered immediately, “Hi, how are you?”

“Good, I’m just calling with an update on the boat insurance.”

He sounded despondent, “Oh right, of course.”

She relayed the information the workman had given to her.

“I’ll email over the documents he sends but I just wanted to give you a heads up.”

“Thanks,” replied Ryan.

Jess was tempted to ask about work but forced herself to stop. She was about to hang up when Ryan asked, “Are you needing anything from the flat?”

“No,'' was the answer that sprung automatically from her mouth. She didn’t want to go near the flat. Visions of him and Steph in there were still too vivid.

“I could bring stuff out to you. I know you don’t want to see me but I could drop them at the boat and just leave.”

Jess thought to herself. She could really do with her laptop if she was about to embark on plans for The Tunnagan Boat Race and possibly some more of her own clothes.

“I could be doing with a few things, but Ryan, don’t get the wrong impression.

I honestly don’t think I can even look at you.

It will literally just be to drop the stuff off and leave. ”

“I understand,” replied Ryan, but Jess detected a hint of hope in his voice.

As soon as she ended the call with Ryan, a new call came through. It was Paul.

“Jess,” he whispered.

“Why are you whispering?” she asked.

“I’m in the room next door to Ryan’s office. I was eavesdropping on your conversation. If I could hear him then he can probably hear me; hence the whispering.”

Jess smiled to herself; she could picture Paul tiptoeing around the office; giving it the full theatrics.

“I’m just phoning to say don’t you dare be coerced into anything you don’t feel ready for. He is like a dog with his tail between his legs who is desperate to be forgiven and have his belly rubbed…. and you shouldn’t rub his belly…..or anything else for that matter! Alan agrees.”

“Who’s Alan?”

“Your new temp assistant, remember! I sent you a message about him. Also, he is my new boyfriend!”

Jess froze for a moment, how could she have become so distant, in such a short space of time that she forgot the name of their new employee. Shaking the thought aside she stage whispered back, “That’s great Paul, I’m happy for you. I’ll keep all your advice in mind. Thanks.”