Page 4 of Summer in the Scottish Highlands (The Scottish Highlands #5)

Jake left Faye and Natty browsing the gift shops in Aviemore and wandered across the road to the tourist information office.

It was a strange feeling – although he had been born in Scotland, Jake realised he felt more like a tourist than a local.

It was understandable. He’d spent more years living away, only touching base there at Christmas.

Jake made his way over to the reception desk and joined a queue of people. He overheard tourists at the front of the queue enquiring about holiday accommodation in the area. It was the first week of the school summer holidays, and unsurprisingly the tourist office was busy.

Jake waited patiently in the queue until it was his turn to speak with the friendly lady manning the desk.

Jake needed some ideas of how to fill the week ahead.

In the past, Jake had always spent Christmas in Aviemore with the Rosses.

They skied and went for long bracing walks alongside the loch.

His plans had never involved children – much to his regret.

He felt his mood change with thoughts of what might have been. He didn’t want to dwell on the times Eleanor had returned from Harley Street with the same results and the ensuing disappointment – until the last time she’d returned, when he’d learned he was finally going to become a father.

‘Can I help you?’

Jake stepped forward. ‘I’ve just arrived in Aviemore and would like some ideas on where to take my family.’

My family? Jake stalled, thinking, where did that come from?

‘Do you have children with you? If so, what are their ages?’

‘Yes, a girl who is nine years old,’ Jake replied.

‘Well, you’ve come to the right place. There are loads of activities on offer for children during the school holidays.

There’s a visit to the Highland Wildlife Park, where she can see polar bears, red pandas, and my grandchildren’s favourite – the Scottish wildcats.

You could go to the nearby Insh Marshes nature reserve with trails to see birds and wildlife, or for the more adventurous there’s an outdoor adventure park with treetop trails.

I recommend a visit to the Cairngorm Reindeer Centre.

It’s not far from Aviemore. You can join a tour and feed the reindeer. ’

Jake nodded. He’d heard of the Cairngorm Reindeer Centre.

‘If she’s into watersports, there’s paddleboarding and kayaking at Loch Morlich beach, and nearby there are family-friendly forest trails to walk or cycle on. Of course, we’re spoilt for choice when it comes to castles and history.’

Jake was well aware of that. He smiled.

‘Now, something I particularly enjoy is taking the Cairngorm Mountain Railway to the summit of the mountain to enjoy the views and—’

‘No!’ Jake shook his head. He was not taking Natty or Faye anywhere near that mountain.

The friendly lady’s smile slipped, Jake noticed. He hadn’t meant to be rude. ‘Um, I’ll take the leaflets on the other things you mentioned.’

‘You can pick up free leaflets with more details of opening times and ticket prices in the racks by the door. There are leaflets covering all those things I mentioned.’

‘All right, thanks.’ Jake frowned wondering why he’d bothered to queue if it was just a matter of grabbing some leaflets. But the lady had been very informative, and had given him some really good ideas for how to spend the week.

‘Some activities get booked up very quickly, especially during the summer, so I’d advise buying tickets online if you can.’

Jake thanked her for the advice.

‘Do you need help with finding accommodation?’

‘No – thank you,’ replied Jake. ‘We are staying at Lark Lodge.’

‘That’s a great choice – it’s already getting quite a reputation.’

Jake wondered why, if it had quite a reputation, it wasn’t fully booked.

‘There are guests checking in tonight, and it’s getting so booked up for the summer.

Holidaymakers have been on the phone to us about holiday accommodation in Aviemore, and some walkers have turned up today, so we’ve made online bookings for them at Lark Lodge.

You were lucky you managed to get a booking. ’

Jake smiled. He didn’t want to get into just how he’d managed to get the week-long booking.

He’d already been staying at the guesthouse before the holidays started.

Then he’d been unexpectedly called away when Natty went missing.

Gayle had told Jake the room he’d booked would be kept available for him, hoping he would return to finish his stay. It hadn’t exactly turned out that way.

Although Natty had been found safe and well, he’d waited a week to return – Faye had needed to attend the last session of her training course; she could now apply for positions as a headteacher.

It had been worth the delay to be able to bring Faye and Natty with him.

Gayle had organised the two interconnecting rooms in the converted attic in preparation for their stay.

Jake thanked the lady and made his way over to browse the leaflets.

He recalled that he had arranged to meet up with Faye and Natty in an hour and glanced at his watch.

He had been longer than he thought. He didn’t have time to trawl through the row upon row of leaflets and find the ones on the sites and activities that the lady had suggested.

He quickly cast his eye over them. The one with the picture of a large steam locomotive grabbed his attention.

He picked it up and read the details. It was about the Strathspey Railway.

Jake smiled. He felt sure Faye and Natty would love a trip on a steam train.

Jake quickly plucked a handful of assorted leaflets and made his way through the throng of people and strode outside.

He glanced at the train leaflet, which gave directions to the train station.

If he was very quick, he would have time to walk to the train station and pick up a timetable and to see if there was any availability to book a trip.

As it was Saturday, he imagined there would be no spaces left for the weekend.

Jake arrived on Platform 3. The platform was heaving with ticket-holders waiting to board and excited children having photos taken beside the steam train waiting in the station.

Every now and then, a burst of steam escaped from the top of the smoke-stack, enveloping the platform and exciting the children even more.

Jake stared at the steam train, thinking again that Natty and Faye would love it.

He just hoped there were still some tickets available for after the weekend.

He walked up to the older man who was organising a line of people and checking their tickets.

The man turned to Jake. ‘Hello, can I help you? I’m George.

’ He pointed to the name tag on his lapel.

‘I’m a volunteer at the station, helping people when they arrive for their journey of a lifetime.

’ George chuckled. ‘Do you have a ticket?’

‘No, not yet. I was wondering whether I could buy some tickets to take the train.’

‘How many in your party?’ George asked.

‘Two adults and one child – nine years old,’ Jake replied. He imagined there was a reduced rate for child fares.

‘Now, you wait here while I go and check what’s available – and could you keep an eye out for a little old lady on her own? It’s the missus. She’s meant to be meeting me here. Just don’t tell her I called her a little old lady, or she’ll have my guts for garters. Her name is Rose, by the way.’

Jake looked about him. There were plenty of older ladies, especially grannies with grandchildren, but no lady on her own, as far as he could tell.

George had only taken a few paces when he turned around and said, ‘I’m afraid that as you can see, today’s trip is very popular. They serve afternoon tea on the train as you travel through the beautiful countryside.’

He guessed George was giving him advance warning that it was most likely sold out that day.

‘I’m sure it’s sold out today. Can you give me your names in any case? I might have an idea.’

Jake told George their names. ‘We’re here in Aviemore for a week, if there are tickets for another day.’

Jake was slightly disappointed. It would have been perfect to have afternoon tea on the train that day. He could just imagine finger sandwiches, home-baked scones, and delicious cakes.

It was almost lunchtime. They’d planned to spend the morning in Aviemore, but earlier, when they’d just finished their toast, Gayle had appeared in the kitchen.

They hadn’t rushed out after all. Instead, Jake had enjoyed catching up with Gayle.

Although they’d arrived the previous evening, the three of them had barely touched base with the guesthouse before they’d left to go to the party at the boathouse.

That morning was the first real opportunity Gayle had had to get to know Faye.

Natty had been happy not going out immediately either.

She’d enjoyed playing fetch with Olive in the garden while Jake and Faye had another cup of tea, and had ended up joining Gayle and her mother, Doris, for a second breakfast. Gayle had insisted on cooking them a fry-up.

By this time, Nick had joined them too, having showered after his run, timing his appearance in the kitchen to coincide with a cooked breakfast. Jake didn’t ask after Marty.

It was Saturday morning, and the young man was probably still in bed.

Jake noticed the queue for the train getting much longer.

He opened the leaflet and discovered the train timetables inside.

The next one was due to leave in twenty minutes.

Given that they’d had a large breakfast, late in the morning, afternoon tea on the train rather than lunch would be perfect.

It would be cutting it fine if there were tickets available.

Jake was just thinking he’d better contact Faye and tell her his whereabouts when he heard his phone ring.

Taking it from his back pocket of his jeans, he glanced at the number. It was Faye.

‘Jake, where are you? We’ve finished shopping.’

‘I’m at the train station trying to buy some tickets for a trip on the steam train, but I imagine they’re fully booked for today.’

‘A steam train? I had no idea you could get a steam train from Aviemore,’ Faye replied.

Jake could just about hear her above the chatter of passengers on the platform waiting to board the train.

‘Oh, the steam train leaves from Platform 3. That’s where the ticket office is for the trips too. It’s totally separate from the main line.’

‘Sounds a wonderful idea. I hope you can get tickets.’

‘Me too. They’re checking to see if there’s any availability as we speak, but it’s doubtful. It’s very busy.’

‘I can hear a lot of people in the background. Shall I meet you at the train station anyway?’

‘Yes, good idea.’

‘We’re on our way. We will be with you in a few minutes.’

Jake could hear Natty asking to speak to him, and Faye’s reply, ‘Natty, we’re going to be there in a minute. You can speak to him in person.’ He heard Faye sigh. ‘See you soon, Jake.’ She clicked off.

A moment later, Jake’s phone rang. He answered it. ‘Faye?’

‘No, it’s Natty on my new phone.’

Jake smiled. ‘Hi, Natty.’ He wondered if he’d imagined hearing Faye sigh again in the background.

‘Did you find some ribbons for Olive in Mr Gillespie’s store?’

‘Oh, yes. I bought some pink, and red, and purple ones. Evie was there with her mummy. Her name is Annie.’

Jake nodded. ‘I know.’ He’d met Annie and her husband, Joe, at the party the previous night.

‘We put some ribbons in Olive’s hair while Mummy talked to Annie.’

Jake suddenly had a thought. He looked about him.

There were no dogs on the station platform.

He doubted they were allowed on this train.

He’d forgotten all about Olive. Hadn’t Nick said they could leave her with Annie in the shop?

Olive was no stranger to doggy daycare at the interior design outlet in Mr Gillespie’s General Store.

She even had her own large cushion to laze about on, in between getting lots of fusses from customers, and Evie, by the sound of things.

Jake asked, ‘Is Olive with you?’

‘No.’ Understandably, Natty sounded disappointed. ‘Mummy said we had to leave her with Evie. It’s not fair. I wanted to spend the day with her.’

‘I know, but we might be getting a steam train, and dogs aren’t allowed.’

‘Can we pick her up on our way back?’

‘I guess so.’ He heard Faye in the background telling Natty to get off her phone. Jake smiled. He imagined Natty’s new phone was going to be a bit of a novelty for some time yet. ‘Natty, we will have to end the call now.’

‘Why? I like talking to you on the phone.’

Jake thought, no, you just like talking on your new phone. He thought he spotted George heading his way through the throng of people on the platform. ‘Natty, I have to go now and see if I can sort out the train tickets. See you soon.’

‘Love you, Jake,’ Natty replied.

Jake felt a lump in his throat, suddenly imagining a future without Faye and Natty in it.

‘I love you too.’ Jake ended the call and looked up.

The older guy heading his way wasn’t George after all.

He’d been mistaken. Jake remained where he was, hoping George would find him and have good news regarding the train tickets.

In the meantime, he glanced around the platform, keeping an eye out for Faye and Natty, and a lady on her own called Rose.