Page 27 of Sailing Free at Loch Tunnagan (Loch Tunnagan #1)

C al and Jess’ phones both pinged at the same time.

Boats are ready. Tom

Cal raised an eyebrow, “He’s a man of few words!”

It’s strange, she thought, that the contractor had no idea the impact those three small words would have on her. Disappointment pulled at her and she tried to ignore the pit that had opened at the bottom of her stomach.

“That’s good news, we can move back down to the loch now.” She swallowed hard in an attempt to quell the dryness in her throat.

“Yeah,” Cal was quiet for a moment then stood and walked to the door, “I’ve got to get down to the office.”

He paused as if he was about to say something but instead, he just gave a slight shake of his head to dispel whatever was on his mind.

The door closed and Jess was alone. It had been a few days since Cal’s back had healed and he’d been busy trying to catch up with the work he had missed.

For a second she wished he was still stuck in the suite and then felt an instant stab of guilt.

She was obviously glad he was better but she wished she could spend their last day in the suite hanging out together.

Her phone pinged again. Cal’s name flashed on the screen,

Fancy doing something this afternoon to celebrate getting the boats back?

She couldn’t hold back her smile.

Yes, what do you want to do?

It’s a surprise.

A second text came through almost immediately.

Meet me in the foyer at 12:30. Bring your camera.

“Where’re we going?” Enquired Jess as she clicked her seatbelt in place.

“I told you it's a surprise,” Cal flashed her a grin.

He shifted into gear and slowly drove out of the hotel car park, “Did you remember your camera?”

“Yep,” Jess patted the bulge where the camera lay in her bag, “I’m excited! Is it a long drive?” she asked, shifting restlessly in her seat.

Cal tilted his head to the side, calculating, “Maybe 2 more minutes.”

“Huh?”

Jess laughed as Cal pulled into the small car park where their boats were moored, “I was gearing myself up for more of a journey.”

“The journey isn't over. We’re changing our mode of transport,” replied Cal. “Hop on to my boat. Can you take MacTavish? I need to run over to Olivia’s quickly.”

Cal returned five minutes later with a large wicker picnic basket in his arms, “Ready to go?” he asked.

“Yeah,” smiled Jess.

She stood out on the small deck at the back of Cal’s boat and listened as the engine rumbled to life.

Cal manoeuvred the boat from the docking area with the natural ease of someone that had grown up by the loch.

Jess let her eyes roam over the vast stretch of water and wondered where they were going.

She stuck her head into the cabin, “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Cal shook his head and grinned back, “Go relax on the deck, we’ll be there soon.”

Jess smiled to herself, Cal, who was usually effortlessly cool seemed unable to contain his excitement at being behind the wheel of his boat again. It was like looking at a child on Christmas morning.

Following his instructions to ‘relax’ she settled herself into one of the deck chairs, closed her eyes and let the warm rays of the sun wash over her.

She was aware of the boat rumbling to life and pushing its way through the gentle waves but her mind was at peace and she gradually drifted off to sleep.

She startled at the sound of Cal’s deep tones as they drew her from her nap. "Hey.”

He hovered above her. “You look cute when you sleep,” a cheeky grin pulled at his lips, “well the times you're not drooling anyway,” he teased.

Jess scoffed indignantly, “You know it’s very common for people to drool a little when they sleep.”

Cal chuckled, “Come on lazy bones. We’re here,” he held out his hand and she took it, letting him pull her to her feet.

“Where’s here?” she asked, looking around at her surroundings.

“We’re at the far side of the loch,” Cal replied.

He had tied the boat to a wooden peer and the picnic basket lay waiting on the walkway.

They disembarked and followed a small winding path up through a wooded area.

Tall trees at either side restricted the sunlight that tried to break through the thick foliage.

The terrain changed from a smooth dirt path to large flat boulders, and they emerged from the canopy of the woods out into a wide-open expanse.

The sunlight that had been so desperately trying to penetrate the path now bathed the area in a beautiful golden glow.

Jess heard the thundering water before she saw it. It tumbled powerfully over large rocks causing froth and foam to spray up from the waterfall.

“Wow,” was all she could manage.

Cal placed the picnic basket and blanket on the ground then sat down beside it stretching his long legs out in front of him. He patted the area next to him, indicating for her to join him.

“Get your camera out and just watch.”

She settled beside him and let herself be mesmerised by the power of water rushing past her.

Suddenly a flash of silver caught her eye. A large fish lept from one of the pools that lay halfway down the waterfall. She watched as it crashed against the rocks and tumbled back down to the pool again.

“What was that?”

“A salmon,” replied Cal. “This is a really good spot to see them leap. They swim upstream to spawn.”

“That was amazing!” said Jess in disbelief. “I’ve never been anywhere to see them leap up the waterfalls before.”

“Hardly anyone knows about this place,” replied Cal. “Most folk go to Buchanty Spout near Crieff.”

Jess immediately held her camera up, waiting in anticipation for the salmon’s next attempt.

“It’s amazing how they keep going. No matter how many times they fail, they don’t stop trying.”

“Good motto for life. Be like a salmon,” smiled Cal.

“Right, I’m starving. I’m going to raid the picnic basket and see what Olivia packed for us.”

He rummaged through the basket then paused as he looked at the handwritten label on the packaging.

The corner of his mouth twitched as he fought back a smile, “We might need to change our motto.” He held up the packet for her to read. “Salmon sandwiches. Would it be bad etiquette to eat these now?”

“Possibly,” replied Olivia, “but I’m too hungry.”

She sat back down on the blanket next to Cal and accepted the sandwich he offered her.

“God these are good. I love the food at Olivia’s. I swear I could put the exact same ingredients on some bread and it wouldn't taste like this.”

“I know what you mean, “replied Cal.” I remember when we were younger, she always wanted to play cafes but instead of using plastic food like the other kids Olivia would make real cakes. We would all raid our piggy banks for coins to buy the cakes with. Mind you she must have been working at a loss because when we ran out of money, she would empty the till and hand the coins back to us so we could buy more.”

Jess laughed and tilted her face to the sun, “I’m glad she’s got a bit more business savvy since then. She makes it look so easy but even so, running the cafe and being a single mother must take its toll at some points.”

“Yeah,” agreed Cal. “She puts on a brave face but it can’t be easy. The community rallied around her when everything happened with Jack. Edith and Nancy organised for the book group to meet in the cafe. I think, as a way of checking in on her and keeping her company some evenings.”

“Is Jack completely out of the picture then?” asked Jess tentatively.

Cal nodded, “As far as I know. Olivia and I never talk about it. It’s too hard. I know he ended up in jail and I think that's when Olivia cut all ties with him.”

His attention shifted and he nodded his head towards the waterfall, “I think your salmon is going to make it this time.”

She looked up just in time to see the fish take its final, winning leap up the torrents, “Oh my goodness, he did it!” she squealed with excitement.

She had just placed her camera back down when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She pulled it out to see who was calling.

“It’s Paul, I’d better answer this,” she shot Cal an apologetic look.

“Hey Jess, how are you? Listen, no pressure at all, it’s just I know you said you were only planning to stay on the boat for a month.

I wanted to check in to see if that is still the plan as I’m about to add the boat to our website.

I know you still have two weeks left at Loch Tunnagan so I’ll mark it off as fully booked until then. ”

The thought of leaving caused her mouth to go dry. It actually ached to get the words out, “Yeah Paul, that’s still the plan. I’ll be back in Glasgow in two weeks. Thanks for checking in.”

Jess looked up and thought she saw a brief change in Cal’s expression before he turned away and walked towards the waterfall. She moved to stand next to him.

“So what’s the plan he asked? Are you going back to Ryan; back to working in the same office?”

She shrugged, “I have no idea what I’ll do permanently, all I know is that I can’t run from my problems forever. I’m going to need to go and sort out the mess at some point.”

Cal nodded, “Yeah you’re right.”

He bumped shoulders with her, “Will you promise me one thing?”

“What’s that?” she asked.

“Please make sure you use a very stringent vetting process when choosing who to let your boat out to. I don’t want any crazies staying next door.”

“Of course,” she laughed, “we specifically write ‘no crazies allowed' on all of our advertisements.”

“Good to know,” he replied.

He returned to the picnic blanket and started to pack everything into the basket, “Right, I guess we’d better make a move now so we can get our stuff transferred back onto the boats.”

Jess was rolling up the picnic blanket when a text came through on her phone. It was Paul.

Good to know you’ll be back soon. Steph is driving me crazy with all the secrecy.

Back at the hotel, Jess leaned over and rested her head on the cool, soft sheets one last time, “Bye bye beautiful bed, I’ll miss you so much.”

Cal raised an eyebrow at her from where he stood patiently waiting in the doorway, “Has anyone ever told you that you can be a tad dramatic at times?”

“It’s easier for you,” whined Jess, “It’s your hotel, you can feel these sheets anytime you want!”

“That’s not technically true. I don’t think the guests would appreciate me turning up in their rooms at any given minute just so I can rub my face on their bedsheets.”

Jess snorted, “Ok you’ve made it weird. I’m ready to go.”

She gathered the last of her things and followed Cal down to the foyer.

“Oh, is Dawn not on shift today?” She was disappointed when she saw it was a young man she didn’t recognise behind the desk. “I was hoping to say bye to her.”

“No, it’s Dawn’s day off but she messaged to say she’ll see you when you’re out for Olivia’s birthday on Saturday.”

“Oh yeah, I'm really looking forward to that. I haven’t been on a proper girl’s night for years.”

“I can only imagine what you lot will be like when you’ve all got a drink in you,” Cal flashed her a playful smile, “Good luck, Comrie!”

Cal drove them down to the boats and they unloaded their stuff from the truck.

The light was fading and they stood silently at the dusky lochside.

The only sound was the waves gently lapping at the dock and the occasional bird nearby.

Neither of them seemed sure what to say.

Logically this shouldn't feel like a big moment. They were simply moving back onto the boats and would still be neighbours for another two weeks but in her heart, it felt like the beginning of the end. She knew that when she returned to Glasgow she’d get swept up with work and Loch Tunnagan would simply fade like a distant dream.

An ache rested at the pit of her stomach as she gave Cal a hug and thanked him again for letting her stay at the hotel. They then turned in separate directions and went to their own boats.

Once onboard ‘The Sauncy Lass’, she was transported back to the night she arrived at the Loch.

She’d been broken, her world had been fractured into a million pieces and she’d had no idea what to do.

Standing there now she realised that her time at the loch had healed her.

Perhaps not in a way that replicated the exact version of who she was before. She smiled to herself.

This version was better.