Page 52 of Summer in the Scottish Highlands (The Scottish Highlands #5)

Jake stepped through the gap in the hedge to find Marty standing by a wheelbarrow next to Eleanor’s memorial stone.

Bonnie followed him through. Most of the broken pieces were now in the wheelbarrow, and Marty was holding the ball, nursing his sore head where it had unfortunately hit him and saying to Olive, ‘Who threw this ball?’

‘It was me, I’m afraid,’ said Jake. ‘Sorry.’

‘Oh, Jake, I didn’t know you were here …’ he trailed off. He looked at the wheelbarrow. ‘I was just clearing things up.’

Jake looked at the broken memorial stone.

The sledgehammer he’d borrowed from Duncan, which he’d used to smash the stone, was still there on the wet ground.

He’d have to return it. He dropped his gaze, embarrassed.

Marty knew what had happened there. Jake had had some sort of breakdown.

He frowned at Marty, guessing he’d told Bonnie the whole sorry story about Eleanor and about what had happened in the garden.

Marty looked at Bonnie and dropped his gaze. ‘I’ll just go back to the house and make a cup of coffee, if that’s all right.’ He stole a glance at Jake.

Jake replied, ‘ Yeah, sure. I hope your head’s okay.’

‘I’ll be fine.’ As he walked out of the memorial garden, he did an about-turn. ‘I thought you were going on a trip with Faye, Natty, Annie, Joe and Evie up the mountain today?’

Jake heaved a sigh. ‘Yes, I am. I was just stopping by to …’ he looked at Bonnie, ‘I was just stopping by to say hi to Bonnie before we go.’

Marty stared at him for a long moment. Jake wondered what he was thinking, until he caught Marty’s gaze shift momentarily to the wheelbarrow. ‘Brave man. I’m glad you’re going. Everyone thought you’d bottle out. It’s the right thing to do, Jake.’

Jake knew who he meant by everyone – his friends back at Lark Lodge.

‘I need to go up there to move on.’

‘I know.’

He watched Marty walk up to the house, Olive following him in the expectation that he’d throw the ball in his hand.

Bonnie was still standing by Jake’s side. He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. ‘Jake?’

He turned around. ‘Marty told you about that – didn’t he?’ Jake pointed at the broken memorial stone. It wasn’t a question. How else would she have known for sure that Eleanor was still alive? Jake studied her for a long moment, searching her face.

Bonnie dropped her gaze and looked away.

Jake looked at her, wide-eyed. She’d already known!

But how was that possible? He frowned. This wasn’t the time to bring that up.

He had other more pressing things on his mind.

He raised his eyes to look up at the mountain, thinking of the day ahead, which he wasn’t looking forward to, before he dropped his gaze to what remained of the memorial stone.

He had a feeling that Bonnie wouldn’t tell him how she knew about Eleanor, even if he asked her.

Not just then, there in the memorial garden, at any rate.

Bonnie stood beside him, looking at the memorial stones too.

‘It’s a funny thing,’ Jake began.

She turned to look at him.

‘Change,’ he continued.

‘Yes,’ she said, turning back to the shattered stone.

‘Kind of rears up behind you when you’re going about your ordinary, everyday life, minding your own business, and wham, just like that …’

‘Your life’s changed forever,’ Bonnie said, ‘and it takes such a long time to …’ Bonnie trailed off and this time it was Jake’s turn to finish.

‘Accept it.’

Bonnie nodded. ‘And move on.’

They stood in silence again.

‘I wanted to be her, you know,’ Bonnie confided.

Jake knew who she was talking about. He remembered the hypnotherapy session when Bonnie had spoken about that.

She was deep into the session, reliving Christmas Day, when she’d arrived in Aviemore with her awful boyfriend, Logan, and escaped him to find sanctuary with two women.

It was Eleanor she’d spotted first, sitting in the window of Wilbur’s Bookstore.

She stole a look at Jake. ‘I really wanted to have grown up in a home with happy childhood memories – like you and Eleanor.’

Jake laughed a sad laugh. ‘Imagine that,’ he said, putting an arm around Bonnie’s shoulder. He was aware, after sitting in on that session, that she’d had a difficult childhood.

‘I wish we’d had more time,’ Bonnie contemplated aloud, ‘to get to know one another. I think Eleanor and I would have been good friends – great friends. ’

‘Best friends,’ Jake said, looking down at her, smiling.

Bonnie looked up at him. ‘I guess we’ve both done a little bit of running away from it. From change, I mean.’

They stood in silence together, each in their own thoughts, contemplating their own journeys to this point.

Bonnie said, ‘Can you forgive me?’

Jake knitted his brow. ‘What for?’

‘Driving Eleanor to the ski slopes where she had the accident. If I hadn’t agreed to take her …’ she trailed off.

Jake thought that maybe he’d got it all wrong. Bonnie wasn’t hiding anything from him but this – the guilt she’d been carrying over her part in the events that had taken place last Christmas.

He shook his head, and affectionately squeezed her shoulder, drawing her close. She was the last person to see Eleanor, speak to her, before he’d lost Eleanor forever.

‘Honestly, Bonnie, it’s not your fault – what happened.

If you hadn’t driven her there, then Robyn would have taken her.

And if she hadn’t, knowing Eleanor, she’d have found a way to get there and surprise us.

But it wasn’t some random taxi driver, or even Robyn – I’ve never met her and don’t know her – it was you, Bonnie.

And what brings me great comfort is that I can’t think of a nicer person, a better friend with whom she could have spent those last few moments before she stepped on to the ski slopes. ’

Bonnie began to cry.

‘Oh, goodness, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry.’

Bonnie got out a tissue. ‘It means a lot to me, what you said.’ She dabbed her eyes. ‘Sorry, but since I got pregnant, I just cry at the drop of a hat.’

She dried her eyes.

Jake heard his phone bleep with a text. ‘Look, I’ d better get going. They’re all waiting for me to go and pick up Faye before we head off – up there.’ Jake raised his eyes to the snow-capped peak.

‘Jake – before you go. Can I ask you a question?’

Jake wasn’t sure he really wanted to talk further about Eleanor right now.

‘After your day out, are you coming back to Lark Lodge for dinner?’

‘Oh, right.’ He hadn’t anticipated that question.

‘Gayle said you’ve got one more night at her guesthouse before you leave tomorrow.

She’s has asked me to pop round when David comes to pick me up, to have dinner this evening at the guesthouse.

I know she’s also asked Annie and Joe too, along with Evie.

It will be a bit of a squeeze around the kitchen table, what with Marty, Nick, and Doris there as well. And Duncan.’

‘Wow that is going to be a squeeze. You know, I haven’t told Gayle this yet, because we’ve sort of just decided, and I know she might be a bit …

upset.’ They were good friends, and he knew they’d all be sad to see them leave.

‘The thing is, I’ve taken on the holiday rental from today, so we’ve decided to collect our things when we return from …

up there … and leave the guesthouse to check in to our rental today. ’

‘Oh, no. That won’t do at all. You can’t leave!’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Not before dinner.’

‘But you just said with everyone Gayle has invited, it’s going to be a house full, so it makes sense if we just go.’

‘No, you don’t understand. It doesn’t make sense at all.’

Jake frowned. ‘Bonnie, what’s going on?’

‘Oh, dear, she’s going to be really cross with me when she finds out I’ve ruined the surprise. ’

‘Surprise?’

Bonnie heaved a sigh. ‘You know everyone is coming, so it’s not really going to be a surprise now, is it?’

‘I still don’t understand …’

‘Gayle is throwing you and Faye – and little Natty, of course – a small dinner party with friends on your last evening at the guesthouse. She’s cooking up a special evening meal.

She mentioned that you’re all probably staying on in Scotland for the summer.

She knew it wouldn’t be in the guesthouse, and that you’ll probably book a holiday rental locally.

But even so, who knows when or if you’ll return to Scotland – that’s what she said.

So, she wanted to do something special for her new friends before you leave.

Although she did slip in that she was hoping that if I worked my magic on The Lake House, you, Faye and Natty would love it so much that you’d move in, and so her new neighbours, and good friends, would never leave. ’

Jake stared at her.

‘So, are you coming to dinner? Please say you are, because Gayle would be heartbroken if you just packed your bags and left today.’

Jake realised he’d be heartbroken too. ‘I’ve made such good friends here.’ He swallowed a lump in his throat at the thought of selling up his childhood home and leaving the place forever.

‘I know.’

So, you’ll stay for dinner?’

‘I wouldn’t have it any other way.’ Jake imagined they’d stay the night, the dinner party going on so late into the evening that Evie would end up having another sleepover with Natty – this time in the twin attic room Natty had been sharing with her mother, leaving Jake and Faye to share his room with the double bed next door.

That way, they could have one more breakfast with Gayle, Doris, Marty and Nick – and Olive of course – before they said their final farewell to Lark Lodge and its occupants and headed off.

Of course they’d be back, visiting Gayle and Lark Lodge, during the summer, but it was a lovely thought of Gayle’s to throw a dinner party before they left.

Bonnie lowered her voice, touched his arm, and whispered, ‘Gayle’s made us all promise that we won’t talk about …’ she raised her eyes. ‘The past.’

Jake raised his eyes to the mountain too.

He knew why Gayle had made them all promise; after the revelation about Bonnie’s real identity, and her connection – albeit briefly – with Robyn and Eleanor, it would be natural to bring up what had happened at Christmas when they all got together again for the evening.

‘It’s time to focus on the future. That’s what Gayle said. I agree – don’t you?’

Of course, he agreed with that sentiment. That was why he was elated when Faye had agreed to spend the rest of the summer there. He envisaged they would spend the summer making plans for their future – whether those plans would involve moving there permanently, he had yet to find out.

But in the meantime, they were going to have an amazing summer, once he’d faced one of his biggest fears – going back up the mountain.

Bonnie said, ‘Well, I’d better crack on if I want your house ready by the end of the summer.’

‘You can take as long as you like, Bonnie. There’s no rush.’

She smiled. ‘I’m giving myself a deadline for when your holiday rental ends at the end of the summer.’

‘Why? ’

‘So that The Lake House is ready for you to move into in the autumn.’

‘That’s a rather lovely thought, Bonnie, but I’m afraid we can’t just jack in our jobs and never return to London.’

Bonnie sighed. ‘You know, life is short, and as we both know, it can change in a heartbeat. Sometimes we have to bite the bullet and just take a leap of faith.’

Jake looked at her. Unfortunately, the word bullet reminded him of the guy they’d found on that mountain in the spring when the snow had thawed, along with the mystery of the person who had been up there and saved them.

He wouldn’t bring it up at the dinner party.

But he had every intention of speaking to Duncan at some point during the summer, to find out what further information he may have on the two people who’d been up there with them when tragedy struck.

Jake didn’t know why, but he had a feeling it was significant somehow.

He looked up at the mountain. As much as he wanted to think about the future – especially his dream of a future there with Faye and Natty – the past kept coming back to haunt him.

Until he returned to London and faced his other fear – seeing Eleanor – he knew he’d never truly be free of his past and able to move on in the life he dreamed of.

As Bonnie turned to leave and head back to the house, he caught her hand. ‘Bonnie?’

‘Yes?’

‘I don’t think I ever thanked you for paying Marty to look after the gardens of this house when we abandoned the place after …’ he trailed off.

She waved it away with the flick of her hand.

He looked past her at the house. ‘You’re a good friend, Bonnie, you and David and Gayle. I just wished we’d all met under different circumstances.’

‘So do I,’ Bonnie said. ‘Now go on, scoot.’ She gently pushed him in the direction of the house. ‘And get that car off the lawn – Marty will have kittens!’

Jake turned, ‘Sorry about that.’ He’d been in such a hurry to see Bonnie, he’d parked haphazardly, skidding to a halt with half the car on the lawn.

‘Next time,’ Bonnie shouted after him, ‘try parking in the drive like everybody else. Do you know how hard Marty works on this place for you?’

‘I know.’ Jake said softly, his face beaming.

‘So, what are you hanging around for? Get going. Everyone is waiting for you.’

He did just that. Looking up at the house as he headed to the car, he decided he’d let Bonnie get on with the work over the summer uninterrupted.

He thought of what she’d said about getting the house finished, ready to move into in September.

He’d told her why that wouldn’t happen, but who knew what the future held?

He smiled, thinking about how he’d come away on holiday that week with no idea he’d propose to Faye in Scotland, or that they’d end up spending the summer there.

Jake glanced in his rear-view mirror and spotted Bonnie waving goodbye. He paused at the end of the drive and turned in his seat to wave, but she’d already disappeared into the house.

He suddenly felt at peace when he thought of the two people who were uppermost in his mind.

He didn’t know when he’d return to The Lake House, if he ever did, but as he turned out of the driveway, heading back to Lark Lodge, all he could think of was the glorious summer ahead in the Scottish Highlands with Faye and Natty.

He was no stranger to best-laid plans, but in that moment, he knew that wherever the future took them, as long as they were together, it was where he belonged.