Finding Hope at the Loch (Loch Lannick Book 7)

by Hannah Ellis

  “Then tell him we don’t need him to pay for it.”

  “Except, realistically, we do need him to pay for it. At least some of it.”

  “We’ve got some money,” Nick said.

  “You mean you’ve got some money. My savings are pretty pathetic.”

  He ran a hand over her hair and tilted his head so his breath tickled her ear. “I meant we’ve got some money. We’ll manage. My parents offered to help too.”

  “That’s nice of them. I just don’t want us to end up struggling to pay the mortgage because we spent all our money on a wedding.”

  “We’ll figure it out.”

  She moved to lie her head on his chest. “I guess I’ll just have to put up with Dad and his annoying comments. I’ll practise nodding and smiling.”

  Nick pulled her hand to his lips and kissed her palm. “I love you.”

  “I love you too,” she whispered. That was what she needed to remember – they were getting married because they loved each other. That was the important thing.

  And Nick was right; somehow they’d figure it out and the wedding would come together perfectly.

  Chapter Fourteen

  When the post arrived on Saturday morning, Isla left it on the kitchen table beside a pile of papers and the dreaded wedding notebook. Logan noticed it as soon as he arrived home from work that afternoon.

  “What did we get?” he asked, picking up a small package.

  “Don’t know. It’s addressed to you.”

  “You could’ve opened it.” He got the scissors and carefully sliced the tape. “It’ll be the wedding invitations.” Carefully, he lifted the stack of papers from the box and set them on the table. “What do you think?” he asked, handing her one.

  “They came out well.” The gold embossing on the heavy cream paper looked very elegant. “I like them.”

  “Me too.” He flicked through the notebook until he found the guest list. “We need to write the names on them and get them in the post quickly. It’s already quite short notice. You better write them, my handwriting’s atrocious.”

  “I won’t argue about that.” Her eyes skimmed over the guest list and she realised it was going take a bit of time. “You have a lot of friends,” she mused.

  “I can’t help being a popular guy.”

  “Did you order some extra invitations?”

  “Yeah. Why?”

  “I missed a few people.” Picking up a pen, she began to add names to the guest list.

  “I thought you wanted to cull it, not add to it.” He peered over her shoulder to read the extra names. “Jenny? The girl you were friends with at school?”

  “Aye. It would be rude not to invite her. I’ve known her forever.”

  “Are you still friends with her?”

  “I see her around sometimes.”

  “To talk to?”

  “Sometimes. If I see her first I usually change direction and avoid her, but she’s quite nice really.”

  “Who’s Cora?”

  “The woman who owns the gift shop in Portree. She sells my paintings.”

  “And you’re friends with her?”

  “We always have a chat when I drop new stock off. Nice lady.” She tapped her pen against the next name on the list. “Nicky has the cafe and gift shop in Broadford. She’s lovely too.” Her eyes widened as she thought of someone else who’d been missed off the list. “What about Kyle?”

  “Leana’s friend?”

  “He’s our friend too. He stayed with us when he visited. We should invite him and Justin.” She added their names to the list. Kyle was always great fun, and she knew he’d be in his element at a Scottish wedding in a castle. He was always talking about his passion for men in kilts.

  “It’ll be nice to have Kyle and Justin there,” Logan agreed, “but can you please cross off the women you just added? They’re not really your friends.”

  “But I don’t have any friends,” Isla said, feeling pathetic. “You have loads of friends and I have none.”

  “That seems fair,” he said. “Considering you have loads of family and I have none.”

  She reached for his hand. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, sorry. That wasn’t meant to sound so serious.”

  “You have your Aunt Viv coming and the rest of them in Inverness.”

  He nodded. “I just wish my dad was here.”

  Isla leaned in and wrapped him in a hug.

  “Sorry to be so depressing,” he murmured into her hair. “I’m trying to just be excited about the wedding and not let the fact that he’s not here overshadow it.”

  “It’s normal that you miss him more when there’s so much going on in your life.”

  “I know.” He sighed. “And I’m really happy that I at least have loads of friends!”

  His voice was full of teasing and she gave him a gentle poke in the ribs. “It’s not funny.”

  “I was joking. You’ve got friends.”

  “Who?” she demanded.

  Logan’s gaze shifted back to the list of names. “Lexie,” he finally said. “And Leana and Elspeth.”

  She dropped her head onto his shoulder. It was quite an absurd conversation. It shouldn’t be a shocking realisation that she didn’t really have friends. She had Logan and her sisters. That was all she ever needed or wanted. She’d never enjoyed socialising and generally went out of her way to avoid it.

  Moving away from Logan, she picked up the pen and crossed out the women she’d added to the list.

  “Lexie and I might not be close,” she said. “But we’re definitely friends. She’s more like family really.” Her mind flashed to the bridesmaid’s dress which she was sure would look great on Lexie. “She’s probably having the same dilemma,” Isla mused.

  “How do you mean?” Logan asked.

  “Maybe she’s thinking about asking me to be her bridesmaid but isn’t sure whether she should. I bet if I ask her, she’ll ask me in return. That would be fun, to be bridesmaids for each other.”

  “Maybe,” Logan said, not sounding at all convinced.

  Isla moved away from him, then paused in the kitchen doorway to look back at him. “I won’t be long.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “To visit Lexie.”

  He mumbled something, but Isla didn’t hang around to listen. If she hesitated she’d probably start over-thinking it again. What she needed to do was go and ask Lexie to be her bridesmaid so she could stop thinking about it.

  She kept a brisk pace as she walked on the path along the loch. The more she thought about it, the more she convinced herself that asking Lexie to be a bridesmaid was a natural thing to do. And Lexie was bound to ask Isla in return. Obviously she’d have Leana and Elspeth, so it would be weird if she didn’t ask Isla too.

  Nick looked surprised when he opened the door to her. “Everything okay?” he asked.

  “Yeah. Is Lexie in? I just wanted to have a quick chat with her about something.”

  “Yes.” He stood back and opened the door wider.

  “That’s a lot of jars,” Isla remarked, registering the selection of empty jam jars on the kitchen table as she stepped inside.

  Nick’s gaze flicked from Isla to the table. There was an odd look on his face as though he’d only just noticed they were there. “I’ve been thinking of making jam.” His voice came out slightly squeaky and he cleared his throat.

  “Isn’t it the wrong time of year?”

  “Yes.” He nodded slowly. “But I thought I’d just save them for the right time.”

  They were interrupted by the sound of footsteps on the stairs before Lexie walked into the kitchen.

  “Hi!” she said, barely disguising her surprise at finding Isla there. To be fair, Isla never turned up at their place unannounced. Lexie’s gaze drifted to the table and she winced.

  “Isla wanted to talk to you,” Nick said, the atmosphere feeling strained. “And I was just telling her how I was thinking of making jam.”
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br />   Lexie gave an awkward smile. “I told you it’s the wrong time of year to make jam.”

  “That’s what I told him,” Isla said. “How much jam would you make, anyway? That’s loads of jars.”

  “I’d make a lot,” Nick replied. “We eat a lot of jam. That’s why I thought it would make sense to make our own. And I always think you can never really have too many jars anyway. There’s always some use for them.”

  “That’s true,” Isla agreed. “I like having jars for my sea glass. In fact, could I have a few?”

  Nick moved towards the table, blocking Isla as though trying to protect them. “I think I probably need them all.”

  “It’s fine,” Lexie said. “You can take some.” She rolled her eyes. “Nick’s such a hoarder.”

  It wasn’t a trait Isla had ever noticed in Nick. She’d certainly never noticed it when the two of them were together, but she’d never lived with him so there were probably things she didn’t know.

  She bit down on her lip at the reminder of her relationship with Nick. Generally, she never thought much about the fact that they used to be together, but it suddenly occurred to her that it might be a bit of an issue for Lexie. Maybe that was why she’d thought it strange for Isla to come to their engagement party.

  There was no way Lexie would ask Nick’s ex-girlfriend to be a bridesmaid at their wedding. She probably wouldn’t want to be Isla’s bridesmaid for the same reason.

  “Are you okay?” Nick asked.

  “Yes!” She smiled too brightly. “I was just thinking how great the house looks. You’ve done so much to it.”

  “You’ve seen it before,” Nick said. “You helped decorate.”

  “Yeah.” She shifted her weight from foot to foot, feeling flustered. “But I think you’ve done more to it. It looks amazing.”

  “It’s a bit of a mess, actually,” Lexie said.

  “It just looks lived-in.” Isla scanned the room. It definitely wasn’t a show home, but it was pretty neat and tidy.

  “Are you staying for a bit?” Lexie asked, tipping her head towards the living room.

  “Not long,” Isla replied, following Lexie through to the cosy room with the gorgeous fireplace and stunning view.

  “I’ll put the kettle on,” Nick called after them.

  Isla automatically went to the patio doors and looked out over the loch. A couple of kayakers were out on the water. “The view’s fantastic.”

  “Yeah.” Lexie hovered by the couch. “Did you say you wanted to talk to me about something?”

  Isla wondered how she’d ever thought it would be appropriate to ask Lexie to be her bridesmaid. It seemed ridiculous now. Her gaze followed the kayakers as she fought for something to say.

  “I wanted to ask …” She paused, wracking her brain for something that wouldn’t make her sound crazy. “I wondered if you wanted to … go kayaking?”

  There was an uncomfortable silence before Lexie spoke. “You know I teach kayaking? That’s my job … so I go fairly often …”

  “Yes.” Isla swung around to face her, hoping her cheeks weren’t as red as they felt. “I meant, do you want to go kayaking with me? I thought maybe you could teach me?”

  Lexie sank onto the couch. “You want to go kayaking? With me?”

  “I often see the kayaks out on the loch and thought it looked fun.” That was a lie – she’d actually never understood the appeal of it. Her heart raced as the atmosphere felt more and more uncomfortable. Logan had said Lexie would probably be happy to hang out with Isla if she found something that interested her, but Isla was becoming increasingly certain that Lexie really didn’t see her as a friend at all. The silence was awful so she blethered on. “I keep thinking it would be good to find a hobby where I’m more active. With my job, I spend a lot of time sitting around. Some exercise would probably be good for me.” She wished Lexie would stop staring at her as though trying to figure out if she was serious.

  “I guess we could go out sometime,” she said slowly. “Are you free on Tuesday?”

  “Tuesday?” Isla’s heart rate shot up even further. She’d expected that they’d agree to go at some vague future date and then forget all about the idea. But Lexie wanted to make a firm plan. Which meant Isla was actually going to have to go kayaking.

  “I’m working at the activity centre on Tuesday. You could come and meet me when I’ve finished and we can get out on the water for an hour or so. It’d be late afternoon, if you’re free?”

  “Yeah.” Isla wasn’t quite sure what she was getting herself into, but surely an hour paddling around the loch wouldn’t be too bad.

  “Great.” Lexie grinned at her. “I’ll look forward to it.”

  Isla forced a smile. “Me too.”

  “Do you want tea or coffee?” Nick asked from the doorway.

  “I’m fine, thanks. I’ll leave you to it.” In the kitchen, she stopped beside the table. “Have you got a bag I can take some of these jars in?”

  Nick frowned. “Yeah. Don’t take too many, though. I might need them.”

  It really did seem he had a problem with hoarding things. How could anyone need so many empty jars? She was amused by how uncomfortable he looked as she carefully placed half a dozen jars in the bag. Clearly he wasn’t keen to part with them.

  She called goodbye to them at the front door, then winced slightly when Lexie shouted that she’d see her on Tuesday.

  When she arrived back at home, Elspeth was busy closing up the cafe and Logan was kicking a ball back and forth across the garden with Arran.

  “Were you trying to get him to throw again?” Isla asked, setting the bag of jars down and picking up the rugby ball from the table near Logan.

  “Aye. He’s having none of it. Only wants to play football. I feel as though I’ve gone wrong with him somewhere.”

  “Maybe when he’s older,” she said, hopping up to sit on the picnic table.

  “What have you got?” Logan asked, peering into the bag.

  “Jam jars. Though I think I’ve upset Nick by taking them. Sometimes he and Lexie are a bit odd. They had so many jars, and neither of them seemed to know why. Nick thinks he might get into jam making or something. Anyway, I managed to swipe a few.”

  Logan looked a little confused but moved to kick the ball. It went hurtling across the garden, sending Arran on a mad dash after it. “So is Lexie going to be your bridesmaid?” he asked.

  “No. I didn’t ask her in the end.”

  “Why not?”

  Isla spun the rugby ball between her hands. “Because she’s my ex-boyfriend’s girlfriend. I never really thought of it like that, but I think it’d be awkward all round. And there’s no way she’d ever want Nick’s ex to be her bridesmaid.”

  “I guess you could look at it that way.”

  “It was a stupid idea. I wish you’d never mentioned it. At least now I can stop thinking about it.”

  “I’m not sure it was a stupid idea …” He moved away to return the ball to Arran. “But it’s good you made a final decision.”

  “Aye. Now I just have one small problem.”

  “What?”

  She paused, knowing that Logan would find it hysterical. Her lips twitched to a smile. “I have to go kayaking with Lexie.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Don’t grip the paddle so tightly,” Lexie said to Isla as they ventured further out into the loch.

  Isla sat rigidly, her knuckles white from squeezing the oar. “I’m scared I’m going to drop it.”

  “You won’t. And even if you do, they float. You won’t lose it.”

  “I don’t think my arms are strong enough for kayaking.”

  Lexie paused with her paddle resting across the cockpit while Isla caught up. “You don’t need a lot of strength in your arms,” she told her. “Use your core strength. Put the paddle in the water, then twist your body to bring it to the paddle.” She exaggerated the action to demonstrate. “And if you relax, you’ll enjoy it much more.”


  “I’m trying.” Isla attempted the movement as Lexie had shown her, but veered to the right.

  “It takes a bit of practice,” Lexie reassured her. “But beginners usually pick up the basics really fast. And women generally get the basics quicker than men. Men tend to use their strength instead of technique.”

  “I’m just so scared I’m going to tip over.”

  “You won’t. These kayaks are designed for beginners. They’re pretty stable. You’re not going to fall in.”

  Isla’s brow creased in concentration as she guided the paddle through the water. “If you were so sure of that fact, why am I wearing a wetsuit and life vest?”

  Lexie smiled widely. “Just being cautious,” she said. “If you do fall in you’ll be very glad of the wetsuit. Trust me.”

  “If I flip over and get stuck under the boat, you’ll rescue me, won’t you?”

  “You won’t get stuck,” Lexie said, amused by how nervous Isla looked. “Your kayak is designed for beginners. It has a wide cockpit so if you tip, you’ll fall straight out.” Turning, she locked eyes with Isla. “If you’re really nervous about flipping over, the best thing to do is tip yourself over on purpose.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Aye. You’d lose the fear, then you’ll be able to relax. Also, you’d see that it actually takes a bit of effort to tip over in calm water. You’re unlikely to do it by accident.” She rocked from side to side to make her point, then laughed at the panic on Isla’s features when the waves caused her to sway too. “Sorry,” she said, manoeuvring herself beside Isla and putting a hand on her kayak to steady it.

  “Maybe kayaking isn’t for me,” Isla said.

  “Let’s keep going for a while. You might change your mind when you get used to it. Shall we go towards your place and see if there’s anyone around to wave to?”

  Isla agreed and they set off in that direction, getting into a better rhythm as they passed the pub, sticking close to the shore. They paused to watch an otter hopping along the rocks, then Lexie’s attention was drawn to a heron wading in the shallows. She caught sight of a kestrel hovering nearby too.