Page 3 of Summer in the Scottish Highlands (The Scottish Highlands #5)
‘Can I buy some ribbon?’ Natty asked.
Faye threw her daughter a questioning look. ‘What do you want ribbon for?’
Natty rolled her eyes as if she’d asked a stupid question.
Jake knew. ‘You want to put some pretty ribbons in Olive’s fur, like Evie showed you at the party.’
Natty nodded her head. ‘Evie said they sell ribbon in Robyn’s shop.’
‘Did she?’ Faye said. ‘Are you sure?’
Jake sighed. He had intended to nip into Duncan’s store on his own and speak to David if he was there.
‘We’ll go there together. I was going to visit the shop anyway.
There’s a little haberdashery in Robyn’s side of the shop.
’ He paused, not sure if he should still be calling it Robyn’s shop now everyone knew her real name.
He turned to Natty. ‘That’s where you’ll find things like ribbon, I expect. ’
‘Do you think Evie will be there?’ Natty asked. ‘Do you think we can take Olive? Then I can buy my ribbon and make her look pretty.’
‘I don’t think we can take Olive out with us this morning, sweetheart.’
Natty threw her mother a grumpy expression. ‘Why not?’
‘Well, Nick will wonder where his dog is when he returns from his run.’
‘But he let Olive stay here, with us, while he went running.’
‘I know. That was very kind of him to do that, so you could play with Olive. But she’s not our dog, so we’d have to ask his permission. And Nick isn’t back to—’
Faye was about to say, ask , when she heard the front door open. They knew it was Nick before he opened the kitchen door because Olive had already scooted over to the kitchen door, waiting for him.
Nick opened the kitchen door to his excitable dog. ‘Hey, there. I hope you’ve been good.’
Natty said, ‘She’s been so good, Nick. Can we take her out with us today?’
‘Oh, er …’ He looked from Faye to Jake.
Jake said, ‘We’re going into Aviemore. Natty wants to buy some ribbon.’
Nick smiled. ‘I guess Olive is in for another makeover.’
Natty jumped up and went to give Nick a hug.
Jake imagined he was used to getting his dog back full of multicoloured ribbons tied in little bows in her fur. Gayle had mentioned that Olive was looked after by her or by Annie at the shop. She even had her favourite cushion, and enjoyed all the attention from the customers and Evie.
Nick said, ‘If that’s all right with you guys?’
Jake exchanged a glance with Faye, who nodded.
Nick said, ‘If you’ve got other plans, I’m sure Annie won’t mind you leaving Olive with her and Evie afterwards.’
Natty said, ‘Is Evie going to be at the shop today? ’
‘I think so, yes. I heard that Robyn …’ Nick hastily rephrased, ‘I meant Bonnie … isn’t returning to work just yet.’
No one was at all surprised.
‘I think it’s for the best,’ Nick added, ‘after … last night.’
Jake and Faye agreed.
‘What about David?’ Jake asked.
‘Not sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t hurry back to work either. I bet they want to spend some time together, especially after that announcement last night.’
Jake looked at Faye, wondering if she’d like more children. Not that he’d be so forward as to ask her. They weren’t even in a relationship, not romantically, and yet it was something that had crossed his mind.
‘Mind you, it’s not like they’re going to have the boathouse to themselves.’
‘Why not?’ Faye asked.
‘It’s Judith. She’s declined Gayle’s offer to stay at the guesthouse.
She’s staying on with Roby—’ Nick shook his head.
‘Bonnie. They’re going to start the search for her missing stepdaughter.
They also want to have some days out and see some of the tourist sites around here while they get to know one another better.
I spoke with Judith at the party last night, and she said she didn’t know whether they’d find her missing stepdaughter, or whether she even wanted to be found, but while she was here, rather than spend all her time on social media looking for any clues as to where she might be, she might as well get out and about, and see some of the amazing places to visit.
Who knows, perhaps on her travels out and about she’ll unearth something, or someone who knows Robyn. ’
That’s what Jake had in mind for Faye and Natty – to see some amazing places and make some wonderful memories.
He wondered where Bonnie intended to take Judith, and whether he might be lucky enough to plan a day out where he might bump into them.
Of course, that was highly unlikely. There was so much to see and do in the area, it was improbable they’d be in the same place on the same day.
He’d just fall back on his original idea of trying to arrange through Gayle to meet Bonnie at The Lake House.
Bonnie was taking time off work, but he hoped she’d make an exception for him, and meet him at The Lake House, as he was only there for that week.
‘So, you think David might return to work at some point this week?’
Nick shrugged. ‘Quite possibly. Alec, the student who helps out at the store part-time, is doing some extra work covering in the shop while Duncan is out doing deliveries at the moment, but I get the impression Bonnie wants to spend some time with Judith, just the two of them. They really hit it off, apparently. I think David is hoping that Joe will manage to track down Robyn.’
Jake nodded. ‘Well, she can’t have just disappeared into thin air.’
‘Yeah, my sentiments exactly. She didn’t return to university after the Christmas break. She must have had other plans.’
‘I take it Judith doesn’t have any idea what those plans might have been?’ asked Faye.
‘Not in the least. They didn’t get on, apparently.’
Faye sighed. ‘That’s a shame.’
The room fell silent until Nick said, ‘I’m going to shower. Nobody else up yet?’
Jake shook his head, no. There were no other guests staying at Lark Lodge; just Marty who, like Nick, lived in the guesthouse at the moment, along with Gayle and her mother, Doris.
‘So, what are your plans for today?’ Nick asked before heading towards the door. He smiled at Natty. ‘Apart from making Olive look pretty.’
Jake had been planning to visit the Gillespie store, and speak to David, but there was no point now he knew neither he, nor his fiancée, would be there that day.
‘We’re going into town, so Faye and Natty can visit some of the shops in Aviemore while I …
’ Jake felt a little embarrassed saying what he was going to do.
Nick stopped at the door, staring at him.
Faye and Natty were looking at him too.
‘I’m going to visit the tourist information office,’ he said sheepishly.
For someone who holidayed there every year, at Christmas, and had spent his early childhood there, living at his parents’ home, The Lake House, he really should have had some idea of what they could see and do in the area.
But holidays at Christmas weren’t like that.
Apart from the Christmas Day ski in the afternoon, they stayed within the confines of The Lake House, rarely venturing out.
In hindsight, that was a shame. But the wealthy Rosses – William, his wife, Grace, their children Marcus and Eleanor, along with Jake – were often recognised in the small town, so they ventured out less and less, and remained cocooned in The Lake House.
Nick said, ‘You’ll be spoilt for choice, I can tell you. There’s a ton of things to see and do around here besides skiing.’ The look on Nick’s face said he wished he hadn’t mentioned skiing in front of Jake.
‘Can we go skiing, Mummy?’
‘No! Absolutely not!’ Jake exclaimed.
Faye raised her eyebrows at Jake.
Jake pursed his lips, realising he’d just put his foot in it.
Faye wasn’t surprised by Jake’s reaction, but if Natty wanted to try skiing, Faye didn’t want what had happened to the Rosses to put her off encouraging her daughter to try something new.
The look on Jake’s face said he understood that.
But Natty wouldn’t be skiing this holiday.
‘Sweetheart, it’s the summer. We’d need to come back in the winter to go up in the mountains for the winter sports. ’
‘Actually, that’s not true. You see—’ Nick was stopped in his tracks by Jake throwing him a look across the room. Nick shut his mouth.
Natty ran over to Jake. ‘Can we come back here in the winter? Can we spend Christmas here? I’d love to see the snow.’
The Ross family’s last Christmas at The Lake House unfortunately came to Jake’s mind, along with the thought that for the first time in years, the house would remain empty at Christmas.
Or perhaps it wouldn’t. He looked at Faye and Natty.
If he followed through with his plans to sell the house after Bonnie finished redecorating, perhaps another family would be enjoying Christmas dinner and opening presents in the lounge in front of the open fire next Christmas.
Jake managed a smile.
Unfortunately, Natty took his expression as a yes and ran over, giving him a hug. ‘Oh, you’re the best.’
Jake glanced at Faye and caught her frowning, clearly annoyed either because he was making promises he might not be able to keep or because she didn’t envisage another holiday together.
Jake resolved to do his very best to make this a holiday to remember, hoping it would be the first of many together.