Page 20 of Sailing Free at Loch Tunnagan (Loch Tunnagan #1)

B y mid morning the next day, Jess had finished the application forms and sent them off to the council.

Filling in details about the boat race all morning had left her with a desire to get out on the loch.

She checked her watch. If she drove she could get to the Water Sports Centre and still make it back in time to meet Olivia and Amelie for their visit to see Maurice.

A gentle breeze tugged at the loose strands of her hair as she got out of the car. She stood for a moment and filled her lungs with fresh lochside air, marvelling at the tranquility of the place.

The stillness and peace was soon interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing. Paul’s name flashed up on the screen.

“Hi Paul, is everything alright?”

“I don’t know,'' replied Paul in a hushed tone. “Steph came into the office this morning and asked us all to sit down so she could make a big announcement but Ryan turned up a minute later and stopped her. He said that she wasn’t to say anything until you knew.”

A sense of unease lodged itself in Jess’ stomach. What the hell was Steph playing at now?

“I’ll call Ryan and speak to him,” Jess assured Paul.

“Ok, will you phone me back and let me know what’s going on?” Paul asked.

“Of course,” Jess agreed, “speak to you soon.”

Jess blew out a deep breath. She stared at her phone and then pressed to call Ryan. She listened for a while as the phone rang out and went to voicemail.

“Ryan, can you call me back? Paul has just phoned to let me know that Steph wanted to make some kind of announcement at work today.”

Within seconds a text reply came through.

I want to speak to you about it in person. I promise I’ll tell you everything in two weeks, Ryan.

Jess sent a text back, I’d rather know now if it’s something important.

Ryan replied, I t’s nothing that’s going to change in two weeks. I promise I’ll tell you when I see you so we can talk properly.

Jess huffed out an exasperated sigh and sent a quick text to Paul to let him know what Ryan had said before throwing her phone in her bag.

As she stared out at the loch her mind ricocheted between different possible scenarios. The same thoughts circulated over and over until she couldn’t think straight anymore.

“You look miles away.”

Startled, Jess turned to see Sam standing next to her, “Sorry, I was lost in thought.”

Sam smiled, “Can I help with anything?”

“Have you got any kayaks for hire at the moment?”

“Yeah sure, come on over and I’ll get you set up.”

The feeling of unease still rested at the pit of her stomach but she made a pact with herself to push her concerns to the side so she could enjoy her final two weeks at Loch Tunnagan.

The regular lapping of waves against the kayak was soothing for the soul.

It helped soften the feeling of trepidation that rested deep inside her.

She kayaked for half an hour, before turning around in order to get back in time for Amelie and Olivia.

Her shoulders and back ached as she paddled back towards the shore.

Her session out on the water had given her a small insight into the task that lay ahead for the competitors in the boat race.

The distance of the race was much further than she had realised.

Sam greeted her as she paddled the nose of the kayak up onto the pebbly beach. He held the kayak in place and she climbed out stiffly and handed him the paddle.

“How’d you get on?” he asked.

“It was good to be out on the water again. I haven’t been in a kayak for ages,” she rolled her shoulders in an attempt to ease the stiffness as she spoke. “I didn’t realise how far the course for the boat race is. Do you think it’s suitable for all levels of fitness?”

“I reckon most folk will be fine with it,” replied Sam. “There’s four to a boat but only two people row at a time. Why don’t you and Cal come out and test the course for yourselves. Bring a couple of friends to make up the four.”

Jess nodded,“That’s a good idea. I could get some video footage and put it up on the hotel’s website so people have a rough idea what to expect.”

“Cool, just let me know when you want to go out and I’ll have a boat waiting for you,” replied Sam.

“Thanks Sam.” Jess waved as she headed over to her car.

It was almost time to visit Maurice. She returned to the hotel to collect the cat food and her camera before heading down to the foyer to wait on Olivia picking her up. Cal and Dawn were chatting at the front desk.

“Hi,” grinned Cal. He nodded down at the bundle she was carrying. “Off to see Maurice?”

“Yeah,” Jess replied, “Amelie and Olivia wanted to meet him so I’m heading up with them today.”

Dawn looked at the cat food, “Is that for your hedgehog?”

“Yeah, they can eat cat food or dog food,” replied Jess.

“Is Maurice allowed to share that with his buddies or is it all for him?” asked Cal, eyes widening at the quantity of tins in the bag.

“He can share. I’ll get more if they need it. Oh, I hope you don’t mind, I ordered some cosy blankets and a little hedgehog bathtub to be delivered here,” she looked pleadingly at Dawn and Cal.“I didn’t have any other address to send it to.”

Cal stifled a laugh, “Maurice is going to have a more luxurious stay up there than our guests have here.”

Jess smirked, “He deserves a little pampering after what he went through.”

“Quite right,” said Dawn. She nodded down to the camera, “Will you take some pictures of him so I can see too?”

“Yeah of course. I want to get some good ones to remember him by when he’s released back into the wild.”

Jess made her way to the car park and found Olivia leaning over the backseat of the car, attempting to adjust the position of Amelie’s booster seat. She re-emerged from the back seat looking a little dishevelled and red in the face. “Hi.”

“Can I help you with anything?” asked Jess.

“No, that’s us ready to go,” smiled Olivia.

Jess hopped into the passenger seat and turned to greet Amelie, “Hi, how was school today?”

“It was ok,” replied Amelie despondently.

“Only ok?” questioned Jess.

“I wanted to play Mum’s and Dad’s with Grace and Robyn but nobody would be the dad so we couldn’t play.”

Olivia glanced in the rearview mirror as she spoke to her daughter, “Did you need to have a dad? Not every family is the same. Some children just have a Daddy living at home and some children are like you and just have a Mummy living with them.”

Amelie replied in a tone that sounded like she was speaking to a child. “I know that, but we wanted to play Mum’s and Dad’s so we needed a dad.”

“Could you not play Mum’s and Mum’s?” suggested Jess. “Some children have two Mummies living with them.”

“Hmm I’ll say that to Robyn and Grace tomorrow,” Amelie said thoughtfully.

They arrived at Lorna’s and Amelie climbed out of the car and ran over excitedly shouting, “Auntie Lorna!”

Lorna scooped the little girl up in a hug, “Hi, my lovely girl. I’m glad you’re here. We have lots of work to do.”

She took Amelie’s hand in hers and led her to the shed. Every one of Lorna’s long elegant strides were the equivalent of about four of what Amelie’s little legs could do.

“How’s Maurice been?” enquired Jess heading over to his pen.

“He seems to have settled in well. He’s been eating, drinking and his poos look good so I’m pretty confident that we’ll be able to release him as soon as he’s put on a bit of weight,” replied Lorna.

Amelie giggled at Lorna’s mention of poo, “Why did you tell us about his poop?”

“Looking at a hedgehog’s poop can tell you if they’re healthy,” replied Lorna.

Amelie didn't look impressed, her face turned up in disgust, “Yuck.”

“Do you want your special gloves so you can hold one of the hedgehogs?” Lorna asked.

“Yes please,” replied Amelie.

She put the gloves on and sat on a hay bale while Lorna fetched her a hedgehog from a nearby pen.

“This one is called Blossom.” Lorna placed the hedgehog into Amelie’s outstretched hands.

Amelie’s face lit up as she held the little creature. Jess turned to Olivia, “Do you mind if I take some pictures?”

“Be my guest,” replied Olivia. “My photos of Amelie normally turn out blurry because she never stops moving. Hopefully you’ll have better luck.”

Jess crouched down and positioned herself in a space that would capture the best light. She focused the lens and snapped some shots of Amelie holding the hedgehog.

She then moved to Maurice’s pen and hovered over the wall in order to take some pictures of him.

“You can go in,” suggested Lorna.

“Thank you,” smiled Jess. She entered the pen and placed the camera near the ground so it was level with Maurice. He looked comfortable snuggled up in the straw.

“Would you like to hold him?” asked Lorna.

“I’d love to!” said Jess excitedly.

She sat next to Amelie and put some gloves on. Lorna placed Maurice in her hands, he snuffled around and poked his nose over at Blossom.

“I think I’m a little bit in love with you,” she whispered to Maurice.

“I love you too Blossom,” mimicked Amelie.

Jess looked up at Lorna, “Can we help you with anything?”

“I need to clean two of the pens out and then weigh the hedgehogs.”

The four of them made quick work of the jobs.

Each of them had a role to play. Lorna weighed the hedgehogs and called the numbers over to Amelie who wrote them onto the whiteboards that were pinned to each pen.

Jess smiled at Amelie’s giant sprawling numbers that were written next to Lorna’s neatly organised notes on each hedgehog.

Olivia and Jess shovelled out the old hay and put down fresh stuff in its place. They then filled the food dishes from the cans of food that Jess had brought with her.

“I’m puffed out,” exclaimed Jess, wiping her brow on her sleeve and leaning heavily against the wall.