Page 12 of The Boathouse by the Loch (The Scottish Highlands #4)

Jake sat on the bed, picked up his mobile and phoned Faye.

A child’s voice gave a wary hello down the phone.

Jake smiled. ‘Hello, cherub.’

‘Jake!’ Natty shouted excitedly. Then her tone changed abruptly. ‘No!’ she whined, ‘I’m speaking to Jake.’ Her voice sounded muffled this time, and Jake guessed Faye was trying to wrestle the phone out of her hand – without much luck, by the sound of it.

‘Is that Mummy?’ Jake spoke down the phone.

‘Yes, but I got here first. It’s my turn first,’ Natty shouted, evidently still asserting her right to keep hold of the phone.

Jake heard Faye acquiesce in the background. ‘Five minutes. It’s well past your bedtime.’

‘Where are you?’ Natty said down the phone.

Jake smiled. It wasn’t so much a question as a demand. She made it sound like he was absconding from babysitting duties without her permission.

‘I’m in Scotland.’ His leave from work had been sudden, and with a pang of guilt Jake realised he hadn’t even told Natty he was taking a holiday.

He hoped Faye had put her in the picture.

The last thing he wanted was for Natty to think he was walking out of her life – like it would seem to her that her father and grandfather had done.

‘You remember, your mummy told you I was going on a little holiday?’ Jake hoped this was true.

‘Yes,’ said Natty, ‘I remember. But where are you? Scotland’s a big place. I saw it on a map. So where exactly?’

‘I’m in the Cairngorms. You can google it.’

Hearing Natty’s voice made Jake realise how much he was missing the kid; he missed taking her to the park.

He missed their shopping trips to Hamleys in Regent Street to buy new toys – the trips that had got him into so much trouble with Faye.

He even missed the bottomless pit of questions that she seemed to store up just to drive him nuts when he was on babysitting duty in the evening after a long day at work.

‘Natty?’ The line had gone quiet. Jake called her name several times. On the fourth try, she answered.

‘Say it again, the place where you are?’ Natty demanded.

‘The Cairngorms.’

The line went quiet again her end.

‘What are you up to, Natty?’

‘I’ve found it, I’ve found it. But where is the town?’

‘Are you looking at a map?’

‘Yes. I’ve got Mummy’s old map. She won’t let me use her laptop.’ There was a pause during which Jake heard the rustling of paper. He imagined she was unfolding the map on the kitchen table. He heard Natty say, ‘We are here, in London, and you are … are … hmm.’

It sounded to Jake as though she hadn’t been able to locate Aviemore .

‘It’s in Scotland – right?’

‘Yes, that’s right. I’m staying in a lovely guesthouse called Lark Lodge, in Aviemore.

‘Hey, I’ve found the Cairngorms. It says it on the map.’

Jake smiled. ‘Well done!’ He pictured her hunched over the map, her mum’s mobile phone in one hand, and a little finger tracing the distance between them. Finally, she said, ‘It’s a long way away.’

Jake sighed. ‘I know.’ Since arriving in Aviemore, he’d discovered he wasn’t particularly missing London.

He’d forgotten how at home he always felt in this beautiful part of the world.

But he was missing the two people he’d discovered he couldn’t live without.

That was the reason he was keen for Robyn to get on with redecorating The Lake House.

He knew that in his heart, when he’d thought he’d lost them, that he couldn’t possibly consider returning to live in his house.

They were in London, and there was nowhere else he’d rather be than back there with them.

‘I don’t think you’re going to find Aviemore on that map, sweetheart.’ The village was too small for her to locate it on a map of the UK.

‘Oh.’ She sounded disappointed.

‘Jake?’

‘Yes?’

Jake heard Faye’s voice in the background.

‘Just one more minute!’ shouted Natty, ‘I want to ask Jake one more question.’

Jake stifled a laugh. Natty with another question! Who would have thought? He felt like asking her – only the one? But the sarcasm would have gone right over her head. Besides, she didn’t need any encouragement .

‘Only one, I promise!’ Natty yelled at her mother.

Jake shook in silent laughter. Faye knew her daughter too well.

When he had sufficiently recovered – Natty would be very cross indeed if she thought for one second he wasn’t being serious – Jake put the phone to his ear.

Her little voice said, ‘Jake.’

‘Yes, Natty?’

‘When are you coming home?’

Jake thought about this. The answer was that he didn’t know exactly.

His return flight was in six days, but he might need more time.

Then again, he might not, and might even rearrange his flight to return sooner.

So, he used the classic adult ruse. ‘Soon,’ he said, dragging the word out, knowing that it wasn’t going to wash. ‘In a few days, maybe.’

There was a silence. Jake waited for the usual battery of questions that followed a vague answer he could never hope to get away with.

‘I miss you.’

Blown away by Natty’s unexpected reply, Jake was momentarily lost for words.

‘I miss you too, honey monster.’

‘I am not a honey monster,’ her tone very serious.

Jake could picture her standing right in front of him, folding her arms theatrically, cocking her head to one side and giving him that silent ticking-off that said, You’re not to call me honey monster; I am not a baby.

But to Jake, she was. He just wished she was his baby, his child. ‘I know you’re not a honey monster,’ Jake conceded with a sigh.

‘Well, that’s good to hear,’ Faye’s voice answered.

‘Oh, I didn’t realise … ’

‘She’d be on the phone all day if I didn’t rescue you,’ Faye sounded exasperated. ‘God help us when she’s a teenager.’

Jake was surprised by the use of the word us .

It made them sound like a family. Next, they’d be grilling her first boyfriend and debating where those university fees were coming from.

Jake shook his head. Faye had simply used a figure of speech, and there he was making the leap from being a colleague, a friend, the babysitter she relied on – to what?

A ten-year relationship behind them and a kid of university age?

It was no wonder Natty was confused. It confused the hell out of him.

And the truth was, it scared the hell out of him too.

‘Jake – are you still there?’

‘Yes, look I wanted to apologise for hanging up on you the last time we spoke.’

‘It’s all right, Jake. I get it. You’ve got a lot on your mind.’

Jake didn’t think that excused his behaviour, but even so he was so relieved she’d taken his call. Now Jake was trying desperately to remember why he had rung Faye; he had completely forgotten.

‘Have you sent the photograph?’ Faye reminded him.

‘The photograph,’ Jake said hurriedly, feeling like a drowning man snatching at a life raft. ‘Of course, the photo. Right, er …’ Jake was having a problem piecing his thoughts together. ‘What did you just say?’

‘I said have … you … sent … the … photograph? You know that little favour you asked for?’

‘Ah! Yes. I mean no.’

‘Well, which is it?’ she paused. ‘Are you alright, Jake?’

No, he was not alright. He felt awkward.

He felt tongue-tied. He felt like a teenager trying to arrange a first date.

It was weird, because suddenly he was having a really tough time holding an ordinary conversation with Faye.

Normally, he could talk to her about anything and everything, and here he was clamming up.

Maybe Faye was right: he’d needed a holiday more than he thought.

Just not in Aviemore. Jake frowned. ‘I think maybe coming here has made me a little out of sorts. I’ll text you a copy of the photo.

’ Hearing Faye’s voice again and speaking to Natty made Jake realise that he couldn’t wait to wrap things up and head back to London.

He told Faye he couldn’t wait to return.

‘Then you’ll keep your promise to Marcus, and return to the Ross Corporation while he’s … away?’

Jake rolled his eyes. Marcus. It seemed that every time he spoke to Faye, Marcus cropped up somewhere in the conversation.

He noted the euphemism, away . Natty was probably listening in on her mother’s conversation.

Faye didn’t want her overhearing her talking about Marcus going to the clinic.

‘Look, I know you had the best intentions when you told Marcus about my holiday, but the thing is,’ Jake paused.

He didn’t want it to sound like he wanted her to butt out.

But, in fact, he did. ‘There are things going on between Marcus and me that—’

‘Are you talking about Eleanor?’

‘Marcus didn’t tell you?’

‘Tell me what, exactly, Jake? Do I have to tell you every word that passes between me and your brother?’ she said testily.

Jake was inclined to say yes, but kept his mouth shut.

There was a silence down the phone until Faye asked, ‘When you get back, will you tell me about Eleanor? About what really happened?’ she said softly.

Jake had promised her he would, just not over the phone, but he was changing his mind about waiting until he got back.

What if she bumped into Marcus again, or more likely spoke with him on the phone – and Marcus said something?

For that reason, Jake made up his mind to tell Faye what had really happened to Eleanor.

‘I want you to hear this from me Faye, before you hear it from …’ he paused, thinking of Marcus, ‘somebody else.’ Jake was positive Marcus had told Lydia; it was obvious from Lydia’s attitude towards Jake when they spoke on the phone. Which meant that in time, Marcus might tell Faye.

He couldn’t imagine Marcus would just phone Faye up and start talking about Eleanor’s accident on the ski slopes, but what if it just came out in conversation?

Faye was a good listener. That was the problem.

Before Marcus knew it, he might just find himself telling Faye his life story, and that would include just what he and Marcus had had a massive falling-out over – namely what really happened on that mountain in the aftermath of the accident.