Page 13 of Sailing Free at Loch Tunnagan (Loch Tunnagan #1)
Despite their lack of knowledge about June, the villagers had not disappointed when it came to memories of the Boat Race.
Once word got out that Jess was interested in details of the event she had been inundated by people stopping her to share their own recollections of the race.
Jess had taken to sitting in Olivia’s Cafe each morning where she would collate all the information she had collected about the race.
Edith and Nancy took great joy in reading over her notes and adding tit bits of information that were stirred from the depths of their memories.
That afternoon she was sitting with the two ladies when Nancy suddenly stood up.
“Oh, I’ve just remembered something; stay right here.”
Jess looked at Edith questioningly but the she shrugged her shoulders looking just as confused as Jess felt.
Nancy eventually reappeared holding a photo album.
She handed it over to Jess who opened it and gasped in delight.
She turned the pages over revealing more and more photos of the boat race and the candle lit procession.
The photos were a mixture of black and white and coloured; each carefully held in place by a clear plastic film.
“I’d forgotten I’d put this in the car this morning,” smiled Nancy. “I reckon there are some of you and Derek in here, Edith.”
The three of them poured over the album, commenting on the cleverly decorated boats and the changes in fashion over the years.
“I wish I still had my flares,” sighed Nancy. “Old lady clothes are so dull.”
“I miss the seventies too,” exclaimed Edith. “I tell you what, if Jess manages to organise the boat race, we should have our own little revival. Everyone else will be in fancy dress so what's to stop us reliving the flower power days.”
“You’re on!” said Nancy excitedly.
As they neared the end of the album, images of the ceilidh filled the pages.
“Oh, look Edith, that’s you and Derek dancing in the background.”
Jess leaned in close and could see a young Edith in the arms of a man as he spun her around the dance floor. Their eyes were locked on each other as if they were the only two people in the room.
“Such young love. You could tell even back then that you two would be together forever,” smiled Nancy.
Jess thought of June, who would be waiting for Derek tonight.
Had Edith and Derek’s marriage fallen apart towards the end causing Derek to want to stray?
Looking at the photo again and seeing the love in Derek’s eyes she found it difficult to believe that he would have betrayed Edith.
However, she had believed the same about Ryan and been proven wrong.
“How old were you all in these pictures?'' she asked.
“Edith, you must have been about eighteen here, is that right? asked Nancy. “I would have been about twenty-three.”
“That’s right,” Edith agreed. “Derek and I had just finished our last year of school. Do you know Jess? I might have some photos from the boat races too. I’ll have a look when I get home later.”
“That would be amazing,” replied Jess. “Nancy, I was wondering if I could keep a hold of these for my meeting with Cal tonight? I could get them back to you by tomorrow.”
“Yes, of course,” agreed Nancy, “Keep them as long as you need.”
Jess’ afternoon was spent on a walk along the path that led to the head of the loch where the water sport centre was located.
As she walked, she realised that she could’ve taken the car but it hadn’t even occurred to her when she set off.
Since arriving at Loch Tunnagan, she had barely used it, which was a stark contrast to her usual pace of life.
She seemed to be in a constant state of rushing and would ultimately jump in the car to save time; even if her destination was within walking distance.
Jess clocked an array of different shapes and styles of boats neatly lined up at the centre. Twelve large wooden rowing boats on the beach caught her eye and she made her way over to snap some shots of them.
“Hi, can I help you?” called a young man who appeared from the centre’s office. He shifted his sunglasses on top of his sun kissed hair.
“Sorry,” exclaimed Jess. “ I hope you don’t mind me taking photos.”
“Nah, it’s cool,” he extended a tanned hand for Jess to shake. “I’m Sam, what can I do for you? Are you wanting to hire something?”
“Well, yes but not until September.”
“September?” Sam looked puzzled.
Jess explained about the boat race. “Oh yeah, I remember my Grandad telling me about that. We’re normally closed after the summer but I reckon we could arrange something. Come up to the office and I’ll give you some leaflets with prices and safety information.”
“How would you feel about contestants rowing in fancy dress and decorating the boats?” asked Jess.
Sam shrugged, “They can wear what they like as long as they can fit a life jacket over the top of it. I’ll need to ask my dad about decorating the boats. He owns the place. Give me a call tomorrow, and I’ll have an answer for you. The phone number is on the leaflets.”
By the time Jess returned to the hotel her legs were aching from all the walking.
Nipping into the room, she had a quick shower to freshen up before heading down to the office to meet Cal.
She hadn’t seen much of him during the week as he’d been covering for one of the house keepers who’d needed to take some time off.
Jess arrived at Cal’s office to find him sitting behind a large, vintage style desk. He slumped back in his chair and ran his hands over his face and then up through his hair, causing it to stick up at different angles.
“You look awful!” exclaimed Jess.
A smile tugged at the corner of Cal’s lips, “Thanks.”
“Not awful,” Jess corrected. “You look exhausted.”
Yawning, he scratched at the stubble around his jaw. The days’ worth of growth had left him with a ruggedly alluring appearance.
“Are you ok?” she asked.
He nodded, “Yeah, I’ve just had a lot on. The work in here never ends and I’ve been covering housekeeping so it’s been busy.”
“Why don’t you get another member of staff to cover the housekeeping shifts?”
“Most of the staff have families. It’s not fair to ask them to do extra; and besides I like to work in each department from time to time. I get an idea of what it’s like for the staff and we can discuss any changes that are needed.”
“That makes sense,” agreed Jess.
Looking at the signs of tiredness around Cal’s eyes she asked, “Do you want to do this another night?”
“No,” he shook his head. “I’ve been dying to see what's in that notepad of yours,” he inclined his head towards the now rather bulging folder in Jess’ arms.
“Do you mind if we grab some food while we work?” he asked. “I’m starving.”
A short while later they were both munching on the chef’s take on loaded fries. Chips covered in haggis, topped with melted cheese and finished off with a small pouring jar of whisky sauce.
The spring air had given Jess a hearty appetite. They sat, chatting amicably as they both wolfed down their food before handing their plates back to the kitchen.
Jess placed her notepad down on the desk and Cal’s eyes widened when he saw the scrolls of notes.
“I’ve been jotting down anything the villagers can remember about the event, “explained Jess as she showed him the pages.
“They’ve had a lot to say!” exclaimed Cal.
“Yeah, people have been getting really excited about the prospect of the boat race returning.”
She turned the pages to reveal a neat table that she had made up; categorising the villagers’ comments under different headings.
“The event was always held on the first weekend of September. I’ve asked the Water sports centre and they said we could hire twelve rowing boats from there. I reckon the participants would be happy to pay a small fee which would help to cover the costs of insurance too.”
Cal nodded, “The hotel has event insurance so we can ask for the boat race to be added on to that. Do you reckon the Water sports Centre has someone who’d be willing to go out in the speedboat and supervise the competitors during the race in case anyone gets into difficulty?”
“I have to phone Sam tomorrow so I can ask him then.” Jess continued to speak as she added the task in the ‘To Do’ column.
“Olivia mentioned she could supply bacon rolls with tea and coffee for the competitors on the morning of the race. She also suggested that we hold a few lantern decorating sessions for the ‘Procession of Light’ which I thought was a good idea.”
A knock sounded at the door and Dawn stepped in. “Sorry to disturb your meeting.” She looked at Jess as if she was unsure whether to carry on speaking in front of her. “Callum, can I have a word?”
“Sorry Jess, do you mind?” asked Cal.
Jess shook her head, “Not at all.”
Cal and Dawn stepped into a side room leading off from the office.
Jess tried to focus on her notes, aware that it was none of her business what Cal and Dawn were discussing.
However, when she glanced up briefly, the shock on Cal’s face from whatever news Dawn had delivered, piqued her interest. He looked over at her and beckoned her to come in.
“Sorry Jess, I didn’t mean to exclude you," said Dawn. “It’s just there’s a lady called June who checked into the hotel earlier.
She's come down to the front desk and is saying she has a booking for a table with Derek McLaughlan at 7pm. Derek McLaughlan was Edith’s husband who died.
I didn’t know what to do. Callum has just been telling me about the letter you found in ‘The Sauncy Lass.’"
Jess felt a wave of nervous energy run through her.
“I guess, it's time to go and meet the mysterious June,” said Cal.
Dawn escorted them through to the foyer where she had left June sipping tea on one of the sofas.
Cal approached the lady with his hand outstretched, “Hi June, I’m Cal the owner of the hotel and this is Jess.”
“Do you mind if we have a word with you in my office?”