Page 8 of The Boathouse by the Loch (The Scottish Highlands #4)

‘Jake.’ A gentle tapping at the door followed his name.

‘Yeah,’ Jake opened his eyes.

‘Dinner will be in ten,’ Gayle called from behind the closed door.

Jake sat up and tossed his legs over the edge of the bed.

He rubbed his eyes, wishing he hadn’t told Nick he was joining Gayle for dinner.

He felt like crawling under the covers and calling it a night.

He dragged himself to the bathroom. He splashed cold water on his face and looked in the mirror.

His short, cropped blonde hair was standing on end on the side he’d lain on while napping.

Jake patted his hair with his sopping wet bandage.

He unwound both bandages. The scabs showed they were finally healing; he’d just have to be careful not to open them up again. Jake had a fresh roll of bandages and carefully bandaged them again. Hopefully it wouldn’t be long before he could dispense with the bandages altogether.

Jake patted his hair one last time, tutting at his reflection in the mirror. He looked at the shower, then at his watch. It was too late to have a shower; he was already late for dinner.

Jake hastily closed the bedroom door behind him and rushed down the stairs, gearing up to apologise profusely to Gayle. After all, she was going out of her way to cook that night.

Approaching the bottom of the stairs, he heard voices, male and female, coming from the kitchen. Jake instinctively slowed.

‘I think you should just tell her how you feel.’ Gayle’s voice carried from the kitchen.

‘But it’s never the right time. Besides, it’s probably nothing.’

‘Probably nothing?’ Gayle said haughtily. ‘Then why are you here, asking me if she’s spoken to me, and wondering if there’s something going on she hasn’t told you about?’

Jake frowned. Was Gayle talking to Nick? Jake thought he’d left to get a takeaway in Aviemore. Surely, he couldn’t have been and come back so quickly.

Jake walked slowly down the last few stairs. He hoped a stair would creak loudly to announce his presence. Failing that, he’d have to fake a coughing fit, because by the sound of it they were talking about problems in his personal life.

‘Look, I’m sure everything is fine. She’s got a commission to do a job in London, that’s all.’

‘Yes, I know. But why did she have to take it? She’s got plenty of work around here. I thought once we moved into the boathouse together …’

‘Look, I’m sure you’re reading way too much into those trips. You’re not thinking she’s meeting up with someone else, are you? She’s in love with you.’

Jake resorted to the coughing fit, hoping he hadn’t overdone it. The conversation in the kitchen stopped abruptly.

‘Changed your mind about that takeaway?’ said Jake, walking into the kitchen, trying to act as though he hadn’t heard a word.

He stopped in the doorway and looked at Gayle, standing by the stove with a wooden spoon in her hand and a bright apron tied around her waist, and then at the unfamiliar man seated at the table.

They were both staring back at him in silence.

‘Excuse me,’ said Jake feeling very embarrassed. ‘I heard voices as I walked down the stairs, and I assumed Nick had changed his mind and decided to join us for dinner.’

Gayle waved her spoon at the table, sending a spray of brownish sauce in the air. ‘Jake, meet David,’ she said nonchalantly. She turned her attention back to the contents of a large saucepan simmering on the stove.

Jake held out his hand to a guy who was around about his own age. David clasped his hand briefly and then lowered his head, staring forlornly at the table.

Jake sat down opposite him. David. He recognised the name. He was Gayle’s friend, and Robyn’s fiancé. By the sound of the conversation he’d just overheard, they were having relationship issues.

Jake’s thoughts turned to Faye. Now he wished he’d called her straight back after ending the call so abruptly.

Determining that the guy wasn’t in the mood for polite conversation, Jake turned in his chair. ‘Sorry I’m late for dinner, Gayle. Can you believe I must have dozed off?’

Gayle glanced over her shoulder. ‘I guess it took more out of you than you thought, coming back here.’

‘I guess it did,’ said Jake, catching Gayle glance past him with an almost imperceptible shake of the head. Jake turned back to find that David was frowning at Gayle with a look of incomprehension on his face.

‘My wife had a tragic accident here.’ Jake raised his eyebrows, surprised he’d found himself telling David that .

‘I’m sorry for your loss,’ said David sincerely.

Jake opened his mouth to explain but simply said, ‘It was some time ago now,’ in a lame attempt to wave it away. He did not want to cast a mood over dinner, although looking at David, Jake felt that the mood was already cast, and it was very black indeed.

‘Time doesn’t heal, no matter what they say,’ David said glumly, dark eyes staring fixedly at Jake.

‘No, it doesn’t.’ Jake held David’s gaze, wondering what exactly he was referring to. Seeing as everybody seemed to be in the spirit of sharing all of a sudden, Jake threw caution to the wind and ventured a guess out loud. ‘Your wife?’

In the uncomfortable silence that followed, Jake realised that the spirit of sharing had obviously taken flight at such a direct question, but that he had nevertheless hit the nail on the head. Jake opened his mouth to attempt a pathetic back-track.

Gayle intervened to stop him making a complete fool of himself. ‘David and Robyn are having some relationship issues. At least, that’s what David thinks …’

David frowned at her. ‘Thank you, Gayle, for sharing that with all and sundry.’

‘Well, it’s true, isn’t it?’ Gayle shot back.

‘I’m sorry,’ Jake said meekly, really wishing he hadn’t opened his big mouth.

Now Jake understood why the room that Gayle reserved for her friends was occupied.

It sounded as though Robyn was in London, and David had made an impromptu visit to speak to Gayle.

He was having dinner. He must be staying the night.

‘OK, yeah, I think Robyn and I are having some relationship issues, as you put it.’ David suddenly stood up from the table. ‘But that doesn’t mean it’s my fault. ’

‘I didn’t say it was,’ said Gayle. ‘However, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to—’

‘Don’t start with the self-help psycho-babble crap!’ David exclaimed. ‘I am not interested in using that room!’ He sat back down and pointed his finger towards the kitchen door.

Jake cast his eyes in the direction of the hallway. He knew exactly what David was referring to. Gayle had turned her late father’s study – this had been her childhood home – into a room for relaxation, meditation, and reading from her extensive collection of self-help books.

Gayle put her hands on her hips. ‘What’s wrong with that room?’

‘Urrgh. Next, you’ll be turning this place into some sort of wellness retreat.’

‘The thought had crossed my mind.’

‘You’re joking.’

‘No. The house is in a lovely setting, in gorgeous grounds, thanks to Marty …’

Jake looked about him, wondering where Marty was. Perhaps he was late for dinner too. Or maybe he was all too familiar with Gayle’s cooking, and had decided on a takeaway too.

‘But a wellness centre, for god’s sake. What’s wrong with it being a guesthouse?’

‘Who said I was going to stop running the guesthouse?’

‘But you just said …’

Jake looked from one to the other and decided to forego dinner. This was getting awkward. Jake got up.

‘Sit down.’ Gayle waved the wooden spoon at Jake.

He sat obediently.

‘Now look here,’ she pointed the spoon at David, ‘you need to speak to Robyn, tell her how you feel. I’m sure there’s nothing going on apart from your imagination running wild.’

Jake looked at David, wondering why – if Jake was guessing correctly – he’d got it into his head that Robyn could be cheating on him.

‘I don’t need to tell her anything,’ said David defiantly. ‘ She needs to talk to me . That’s what I keep telling you. She needs to tell me what’s going on.’ He paused. ‘Because there is something going on, Gayle. She keeps making these trips to London.’

Gale sighed. ‘We just spoke about this. You know she’s getting offered commissions all over the place. I’ve got to say, I can’t believe how her business has taken off so quickly.’

Jake looked at Gayle, thinking of her friend’s small interior design outlet in Mr Gillespie’s store. Robyn certainly had done well. It couldn’t have been open long. He didn’t recall Robyn’s Interior Design in Aviemore the previous Christmas.

‘Yes, I know,’ David said glumly. ‘I can’t understand it.’

‘I can. There’re a lot of second homes around these parts, a fair few of them owned by wealthy individuals who I imagine live in London.’

Jake felt like slinking down in his seat when David’s eyes roved over to him. He avoided David’s gaze.

Gayle continued, ‘They’ve obviously liked her interior design work and given her commissions to work on their London homes.’

David’s attention shifted back to Gayle, standing at the oven. Jake thought that whatever she was stirring in the big pot on the stove smelled really rather good.

‘I thought we’d be spending time together in the boathouse, you know, after …’

Gayle glanced over her shoulder and grinned. ‘I know. She told me all about it.’ Gayle glanced at Jake. ‘David and Robyn are engaged. David proposed on bended knee on the balcony of his boathouse that overlooks the loch. It’s so romantic.’

Jake stole a glance at David. The look on his face said he wasn’t in the mood to talk about it. Jake bet he wished she hadn’t brought it up.

David shook his head. ‘I thought that after that, we’d start planning our wedding, but she’s more out than in. Now I wish she hadn’t set up her outlet in Dad’s shop.’

Jake raised his eyebrows. So, David was Mr Gillespie’s son. He wondered if that was how David and Robyn had met, through his father’s shop.

‘Don’t begrudge her this success. Just because you’re—’ She stopped abruptly.