Page 37 of Sailing Free at Loch Tunnagan (Loch Tunnagan #1)
“J ess, Jess!”
Jess groggily opened her eyes and startled slightly to see two bright blue eyes staring down at her. Amelie’s little hands squeezed gently at Jess’s cheeks, “Wake up Jess, it’s the Boat Race today!”
The little girl removed her hands from Jess’ face and carefully picked up a tray from the coffee table, “I made you a special breakfast.”
Pride shone from Amelie’s face and it made Jess’ heart melt.
Amelie’s hands shook with the effort of carrying the tray over causing the cup to rattle noisily against the plate.
Jess quickly swung her legs round from Olivia’s couch, which had been her bed for the night, just in time to catch the tray.
“Oh wow, this looks amazing,” exclaimed Jess. The plate held one slice of bread that was bare, all bar the extremely generous dollop of jam which hung limply from the top corner. The juice that had spilled from the cup was now slowly soaking into the unjammed section.
“Oh, sorry. I spilled some of the juice.” Amelie looked upset.
“Don’t worry,” replied Jess. “I‘m in a hurry to get out to the boat race and the juice/bread combo will be a great time saver. I get my juice and breakfast all in one handy bite.”
“Phew,” said Amelie with relief.
Jess was just contemplating whether to take a bite out of the juice or the jam side of the bread when Olivia came into the room.
“Come on Amelie, it's time to get ready. I need to make a start on all the bacon rolls for the rowers.”
Amelie skipped out the room after her mum and Jess made a start on getting ready herself.
Once ready she flicked through her folder, checking over the itinerary for the day and triple checking that everything on her checklist had been ticked.
She sent a quick message to Sam and the rest of the volunteers, making sure all was running smoothly at their end too.
All good here, replied Sam. His laid-back confidence put her at ease.
With that she took a deep breath and headed downstairs to meet the participants of the race who were due to start filing in to register at the ‘Sign in Station’ soon.
She smiled as four giant Minions wobbled into the cafe. Her first rowers had arrived.
The morning flew by; thankfully without any hiccups. All boats were filled and the race had taken off on time. A crowd stood at the finish line cheering as the boats appeared from behind the small island on the loch.
One boat in particular held Jess’ attention.
Edith, June and Nancy sat comfortably, munching on a picnic.
The bright, bold patterns of their 70’s costumes made them easy to spot, however Jess would have had no difficulty in picking them out from the others as her eyes naturally honed in on the familiar frame of the man who sat in the middle.
Cal’s name had appeared on the list of participants a while back.
Apparently, the ladies had been desperate to relive their youth and take part in the boat race but knew they wouldn’t manage the physically challenging race.
They’d asked Cal if he would row for them and Cal being Cal had said yes.
Jess watched with excitement as he completed the last few strokes to bring the Seventies Squad in first.
The ladies squealed with delight and pulled Cal in for hugs which caused the boat to rock vigorously from side to side.
The crowd gasped and a few volunteers helped pull the boat towards the pier before disaster could strike.
They assisted Edith, June and Nancy to shore and then finally Cal hopped out.
His gaze caught Jess’. He smiled and gave a brief head nod before he was pulled to the side by the photographer from the local newspaper.
“So that’s the infamous Cal,” said a voice from behind her, “I understand your infatuation now.”
Jess turned to face Paul, “I’m not infatuated ,” she tutted lightly, “and anyway, why are you not at your station?”
“Oh, don’t worry, Alan’s got it covered.”
Jess peered past Paul to see Alan sitting under the gazebo. He was chatting animatedly with a group of children as he helped them add the finishing touches to their lanterns for the parade later.
“How are things going with you two?” asked Jess.
Paul looked over at Alan, the affection he had for his partner was evident in his eyes.
“Honestly, Jess, it's great. You’d think working and living together would be difficult in a relationship but with Alan; well, I just can’t get enough of him.”
“I’m happy for you Paul,” she leaned in to her friend and gave him a squeeze then checked her watch.
“Oh, it’s nearly time for the medals to be handed out. I’d better go.”
She hurried over to Lorna who was standing on a chair, megaphone in hand, directing all participants to head towards the jetty where they would announce the winners.
Jess congratulated each of the winning team members.
As she placed medals around their necks, she became increasingly aware that she was moving ever closer to Cal.
She stopped in front of him and he had to stoop down low to allow her to loop the medal over his head.
Her fingers brushed past the dark curls at the base of his neck, sending tingles through her body.
He slowly brought himself back to his full height but as his lips passed her ear he whispered softly, “Good to see you, Jess.”
“You too.” she whispered in return.
Twilight descended over the loch and the dim dusky night air buzzed with the magic that only a crowd of people all emitting positive happy vibes can bring.
Jess led the lantern parade from the loch, up the winding path to the hotel.
As she rounded the last bend she looked back over her shoulder and her breath caught in her throat.
A river of light flowed down the hill behind her.
Each hand decorated lantern was beautiful in its own right but to see them in mass was breathtaking.
She reached the small garden at the front of the hotel and hung her lantern from the branch of a tree.
Dawn greeted her from behind the reception desk. “Hey Jess, how'd the lantern parade go?”
“It was perfect,” smiled Jess. “Everyone is putting their lanterns in the garden so you have about two minutes until this place is swarming.”
“Well, we're ready for them,” replied Dawn. “The buffet is set up and the staff are waiting to show everyone their seats.”
Jess felt herself relax a little more each time a segment of the day could be ticked off her list.
“Just the meal and the ceilidh to go now,” she sighed in relief.
She moved closer to the dining room, her eyes automatically searching for Cal.
“He's busy in the kitchen,” said Dawn.
Jess felt heat flood her cheeks. She'd no idea that her emotions were that transparent.
“You probably won't see him until after the meal. The man doesn't know how to sit still.”
Jess nodded and headed off to speak to the waiters to ensure everything was in place.
Dawn and Cal had been busy transforming the lobby while the guests were eating.
They’d erected large easels that held black and white photos of Lainey working with the hedgehogs.
Poster stands documented what the funds raised would be used for and displayed images of future plans to expand the hedgehog sheds.
Val, who had travelled up from England with Edward for the occasion, sidled up next to her. They both stood in silence for a moment as they took it all in.
“Thank you for this Jess. You have no idea what this means to us; and also, what it would have meant to Lainey.”
Jess gave Val’s hand a squeeze, “This was all Cal, he loved your daughter immensely and everything she stood for. He would have done anything for her.”
Val nodded, “He’s a good man Jess. We feel blessed that he was part of Lainey’s life. Any woman who captures Cal’s heart should count herself lucky.” She flashed Jess a knowing smile.
Olivia and Clark sidled up to them at that moment, “I don’t know if I can face ceilidh dancing,” she said, holding her stomach. “I ate way too much!”
“Digest fast because you promised me a dance and I'm holding you to that,” remarked Clark playfully.
“I know how you feel, Olivia,” replied Val. “I’m going to sit down for a minute before the music starts.”
A gust of autumnal air blew a few fallen leaves into the room as the front door swung open.
“Oh my god,” Olivia’s words came out as barely more than a whisper.
Jess turned to see that all colour had drained from her friend’s face. Olivia’s eyes were focused on the man that stood in the doorway.
His rusty orange hair poked out from under the beanie hat that was pulled down over his head.
Olivia marched over to meet him at the door. “Jack, what’re you doing here?”
His eyes didn’t leave her. “I got an earlier release date.”
“Why didn’t you call me?” asked Olivia.
“I tried but you didn’t answer so I went to the flat. I wanted to see Amelie. Edith was there babysitting and she wouldn’t let me in to see her.” There was a terseness to his reply, “She said I had to come up here and speak to you first.”
Jack’s gaze travelled beyond Olivia and it was his turn to go pale, “Hi Cal.”
Cal came to stand between Olivia and Jess, “This is not the time Jack, you need to leave.”
Jack swallowed visibly but stayed rooted to the spot, “I understand how hard this is for you Cal. I can hardly live with myself after what happened to Lainey.”
A muscle twitched in Cal’s jaw. “It’s hard for you, is it? My best friend sleeps with my wife and then my wife is killed. I can’t be angry at Lainey Jack because she died. Which means all my anger is directed at you, so I suggest you leave now before I do something stupid.”
Confusion flashed over Jack’s features, he looked between Olivia and Cal, “You think I was sleeping with Lainey? That’s ridiculous.”
Olivia stepped in, “Wait, you're saying you didn’t sleep with her? You all but admitted it in the hospital.”
“What are you talking about?” asked Jack looking utterly perplexed.