Page 65 of The Boathouse by the Loch (The Scottish Highlands #4)

She’d been standing on the balcony, looking over the loch and watching the sunset.

In the back garden below, the lanterns and fairy lights had come on.

It was now dusk, and the party had spilled outside.

The band had arrived, lively folk music getting people in the mood to dance.

She saw Melissa dragging Brodie into the middle of the lawn near the band, and with some encouragement he started to dance.

She smiled when she caught sight of Evie and Natty.

Evie was showing Natty how to tie ribbons in Olive’s fur.

On the way back from the hypnotherapy session at Marnie’s, Nick had made a detour to Lark Lodge and collected Olive so that she wasn’t left home alone.

Percy was a little jealous of Olive getting all the attention from the girls.

He kept stealing the ribbons and running off with them, burying them in the garden.

She turned as David reappeared with a throw from the lounge. He put it around her shoulders.

‘Thank you. It was a lovely sunset, wasn’t it?’

‘Yes, it was.’

She turned to look at him. ‘Will you do something for me?’

‘Yes, of course. Anything. ’

‘I want to help Judith find her daughter.’

‘I know.’

She cast her gaze down at Judith, who had a glass of wine and was chatting to Gayle.

Although Gayle had vacancies, Judith would be staying at the boathouse for a while.

Judith had said that she didn’t want to speak ill of her missing stepdaughter, but in the very short time she’d known the young woman calling herself Robyn, she’d grown fond of her, of the fact that she had the qualities – kindness and compassion – that she felt her stepdaughter lacked.

Bonnie had been honest in turn and had told her that she wished she was her stepmum for real. In that instant, a friendship had been forged, and while Judith was searching for Robyn, Bonnie had insisted she stay with them in the town where Robyn had last been seen.

‘There’s something else, David.’

‘What is it?’

‘I’d like to do a trip down memory lane.’

He raised his eyebrows.

‘Return to where I grew up. My two younger siblings, the twins, who were taken into care – I’d like to find them too.’

He put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. ‘We’ll find them, I promise you.’ He paused. ‘Will you do something for me?’

‘Of course, anything.’

‘Will you tell me why you’re still lying to me?’

She looked at David, shocked. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘I just know you haven’t told me everything.’

She lowered her eyes, remembering the conversation she’d had with Gayle in the kitchen alone, while the two of them were washing up after the meal, before she headed upstairs and out onto the balcony.

Gayle had said to her, whoever you were meeting in London, you need to tell David. No more secrets.

She’d told Gayle, ‘It really isn’t of any consequence in terms of him and me.’

‘Even so, just tell him. It’s something that’s obviously been playing on your mind,’ she’d replied.

She took a deep breath. ‘All right, I will.’ She looked at David in the eye, and said, ‘There’s this guy.’

‘Oh, my god – I knew it!’

‘No, no – it’s nothing like that. It’s an older guy. It was him who employed me to redecorate The Lake House.’

‘Jake Campbell-Ross’s house?’

‘Yes.’

‘He had some extra work for you in London?’

Bonnie smiled. ‘Yes.’

‘Oh, thank god!’ he grinned at her. Then his smile dropped. ‘There’s something else – isn’t there?’

‘The job in London … I promised to be … discreet.’

‘Discreet?’

‘Well, actually, it was written into my contract not to tell anyone.’

‘Who is this guy who employed you? Is it William Ross?’

‘No, his name is Aubrey Jones. I’m not meant to tell anyone. I shouldn’t be telling you.’

‘Telling me what?’

‘About Eleanor Campbell-Ross. That’s why I couldn’t say anything in front of everybody at the police station or at my therapy session.’

‘What about her?’

‘After the accident, they didn’t tell the press what happened to her, did they?’

David shook her head. ‘They seemed to close ranks, no press conference or press release. Nothing. I don’t think anybody knows what really happened to her after that.’ He stared at her. ‘You know where she is, don’t you?’

She nodded, thinking there but for the grace of god go I.

‘You don’t have to tell me anything more.’

She smiled at him. ‘Thank you, David.’ She trailed off when she caught sight of Jake walking towards Faye with two glasses of champagne. It was obvious he was besotted with her.

David followed her gaze. ‘I was talking to my father, and he’d mentioned to Jake in conversation about the body found on the mountain when the snow thawed.’

Bonnie looked at him in surprise. ‘What body?’

‘Oh, it was in the local news. I forget the name of the guy who died up there on Christmas Day.’

‘You didn’t tell me.’

‘You’d just had your accident, and were stuck in hospital, so it wasn’t exactly something I wanted to talk to you about.

In fact, I’m sorry for bringing it up right now, at the party.

It’s just that seeing Jake reminded me that Dad said he wanted to talk to me about it, see if I knew anything more about the poor fellow. ’

‘And do you?’

‘No, not at all. But I wonder if it has something to do with that accident up there on the mountain last Christmas, and what happened to Eleanor Campbell-Ross.’

She closed her eyes. She didn’t want to think about it.

She felt David’s arms wrap around her as they stood on the balcony, listening to the music and to the sounds of their friends having a wonderful time on the lawn below.

Her thoughts turned to the Rosses and what had happened on the mountain the previous Christmas.

She turned to face David. ‘We should count our blessings.’

‘I’m certainly counting mine.’ He kissed her, then drew back. ‘Shall we go and join the party?’

‘Oh yes.’

‘But before we do, I want to toast our new life together in the boathouse.’ He turned around and picked up two glasses. He gave her one.

‘What’s in the glass?’ Bonnie asked.

‘Silly question – champagne, of course.’ He saw her expression. ‘Don’t you want to make a toast?’

‘Well, yes. But I was thinking I might prefer squash.’

‘Why?’

‘Just in case.’

‘In case of what?’

She stared at him. ‘It’s just possible …’ she glanced at her dog on the lawn below, and was so relieved to see how gentle he was with the children, even when he was being naughty. ‘I think I might be—’

She didn’t even get to finish her sentence. David looked at her wide-eyed, gulped down his drink, put the glass down, and scooped her into his arms. ‘You know what this means – don’t you?’

She shook her head, wondering what he was going to say.

‘I’ll have to get you another planner.’

She remembered when he’d stopped off in Aviemore on the way there, before their week’s holiday together. She’d bought a stamp, and he’d nipped into another shop and surprised her with another gift – a gorgeous wedding planner .

‘You’re going to have your hands full, what with planning the wedding, and baby showers, and all that.’

She grinned. ‘Yes, I am.’

‘Mind you, you’ll have no shortage of helping hands.’

‘That’s true.’ Bonnie smiled at her friends, her family down below.

She was still thinking of another family, the Rosses, and counting her blessings, as David took her hand, and together they joined the party that would mark the start of many happy family celebrations to come in her forever home – the boathouse by the loch.