Finding Hope at the Loch (Loch Lannick Book 7)

by Hannah Ellis

  Isla took a seat at the kitchen table. “I’m terrified.”

  “Ach, you’ll be fine.”

  “Logan invited too many people,” Isla complained. “I hate the thought of everyone looking at me. I’ll probably trip up or say my vows wrong or something.”

  “You won’t.” Keith sat opposite her and blew on his tea. “And the ceremony will be over in a blink, then you get to relax and enjoy the party.”

  “Aye, because I always love a party!” Isla had never been a fan of parties, even when they were teenagers. In fact, any event with lots of people made her slightly uncomfortable. Since it was her wedding, she’d be expected to spend the reception mingling and making small talk.

  “Is there any part of today you’re excited about?” Keith asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “The food should be good,” she said on a sigh. “And I presume that since I’m the bride I’m allowed to eat as much of the cake as I want?”

  “You might want to cross your fingers that there’ll be cake.”

  Isla couldn’t help but laugh at her dad’s comedy grimace. “There’d better be cake,” she said, then took a sip of tea.

  “You know, if I wasn’t accustomed to your grumpy nature I might be worried now. It’s your wedding day. Aren’t you at all excited?”

  Isla wanted to point out that she didn’t actually have a grumpy nature. She was perfectly happy when she wasn’t forced to be sociable. It didn’t seem like the right time to get into a discussion about it.

  “I’m sure I’ll enjoy it,” she said, forcing false cheer to her voice. “I’m just nervous, that’s all.”

  “And you do want to marry him?”

  Her smile widened. “Of course I do.”

  “That’s good. You two were always right for each other. You bring out the best in each other.”

  “All right. Don’t get all soppy on me.”

  “Sorry.” He shifted in the chair when his phone rang loudly in his pocket. Isla listened while he had a short conversation with Logan. “He wants to know what time I’m going over,” he said when he’d ended the call. “And if it’s too early for a whisky.”

  “You should go over there,” Isla said.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Aye. He’ll be missing Euan today. Go and give him a pep talk and make sure he’s not drunk for the ceremony.”

  “Leana and Elspeth will no doubt be over shortly. And I’ll be back later to escort you to the castle.” He winked at her and she stood to give him a hug.

  She didn’t wait long after he’d left before heading to her parents’ house, desperate to know what had happened to the cake. When there was no sign of anyone, she went to the cottage instead. She’d barely opened the front door when Leana barrelled down the hallway towards her.

  “What are you doing here?” she screeched, blocking the way while Isla tried to peer around her for a glimpse of the cake.

  “Nothing to see here,” Christine said, closing the kitchen door behind her as she walked into the hallway.

  “I heard there was some sort of cake disaster,” Isla said, amused by the situation.

  “There’s no disaster!” Leana insisted. “The cake’s perfect. I was just going to come over and see you.”

  “Don’t bother,” Isla said. “Stay and help Elspeth. I’ll go and do some work or something.”

  “It’s your wedding day,” Christine said. “You shouldn’t be working.”

  “Just a few sketches for jewellery designs. I need to do something to kill the time.”

  “I’ll just help Elspeth finish tidying the kitchen,” Leana said. “Then I’ll come over. I won’t be long.”

  “Aye. Okay.” Isla didn’t believe for a minute that tidying the kitchen was the only thing left to do, but they obviously wanted her out of the way.

  Halfway up the drive, she turned to look out over the loch. Low cloud hung over the still waters. It was amazing how the same view could look so different depending on the time of day or the weather. She wondered how many times she’d painted it, and was tempted to get her paints and get to work on a picture. Except she probably shouldn’t turn up to her wedding with paint splatters and she didn’t want to have to shower again.

  Her phone vibrating in her pocket snapped her attention from the loch. Continuing towards the house, she smiled as she answered the phone to Nick. “I’m not sure how I feel about my ex calling me on the morning of my wedding,” she said. “It wasn’t meant to be between us. And I should probably remind you that you’re happily married.”

  “Yeah.” It sounded as though he hadn’t listened to a word she’d said.

  “What’s going on?” she asked, walking in the front door.

  “Sorry,” he said. “You’re probably busy. I tried to call Logan but he didn’t answer.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  “I’m not sure.” He paused. “I just spoke to my mum. She didn’t want to bother you but apparently Sherry’s not well.”

  A feeling of dread swept through Isla. “What’s wrong with her?”

  “She said she had a funny turn. Dizzy spell by the sound of it. The doctor had been to see her and it seems as though she’s okay, but she’s not up to the wedding. Mum was a bit worried. She wondered if there was someone who could check on her.”

  “Her son’s away,” Isla said. “I wouldn’t know who else to get in touch with.”

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you. She’s probably fine.”

  “I’m glad you told me. I can at least give her a call and see how she is.”

  “If I can do anything let me know.”

  She thanked him before ending the call, then scrolled to Sherry’s home number. As though he knew she was calling his old owner, Jasper circled her legs as she wandered into the kitchen. It took a few minutes before Sherry answered sounding slightly breathless.

  “Are you okay?” Isla asked.

  “I’m not going to be able to make the wedding,” she said tearfully.

  “I just heard. What happened?”

  “I went for a walk this morning, then I felt dizzy. Leo happened to see me when I was coming back and he made a big fuss and insisted on calling the doctor.” Isla had met Leo when she’d visited Sherry before. The exuberant warden of the flats was always friendly and obviously enjoyed his job, carrying out maintenance on the flats and keeping an eye on the residents. “The doctor said it’s my blood pressure,” Sherry went on. “I think I forgot to take my tablets. I really want to come to the wedding but the doctor said it wasn’t a good idea, and I didn’t want to get ill and someone have to look after me.”

  “Don’t worry about the wedding,” Isla said. “I was just worried about you.”

  “You should be busy getting ready, not checking on me.”

  “I’ve got ages,” Isla said. “I’m not sure what to do with myself.”

  “Are your sisters with you, and your mum?”

  “No.” She chuckled. “There’s some sort of cake emergency so they’re all busy.”

  “Oh dear. Is Elspeth still baking the cake?”

  “Yes. I’m sure it’ll be great, but she seems to be in a bit of a panic.”

  “It’ll be wonderful. I was so looking forward to seeing you in your dress too. It’s no fun getting old. Your wedding was going to be the highlight of my year and now I’m missing it because I forgot to take a stupid blood pressure tablet.”

  “I’m sorry you’re not going to be there.” Isla felt terrible for Sherry and knew Logan would be disappointed not to have her there.

  “Don’t you worry about me,” Sherry said, clearly trying to disguise her tears, but not quite managing it. “You get on and have a wonderful day. I’ll look forward to seeing the photos.”

  The line went dead before Isla even had a chance to say goodbye. Jasper sat looking up at her and barked a few times, then nuzzled her legs.

  “Sherry’s fine,” Isla assured him. “Just lonely, and sad to be missing the wedding.” As
she stroked Jasper’s head, she had an idea. Sherry had said she was looking forward to seeing photos, but there was no need for her to wait. Isla could send her photos throughout the day. Maybe she could even get someone to get her on video call later so she could watch the ceremony.

  “This could actually be fun,” Isla said aloud, liking the idea of involving Sherry even though she couldn’t be there. Jasper looked up at her with his beautiful big brown eyes.

  “I’m going to get my dress on,” Isla said to him as though he could understand her. “I’ll send Sherry a selfie. She can be the first one to see me in my dress today.” After hurrying upstairs, she got changed quickly. As she brushed her hair, she half wished she’d decided to go with a veil. Then she really wouldn’t have to worry about her hair. Her mum and sisters were having a hairdresser come to the house but Isla had insisted she’d be doing her own hair. She’d had a trim the week before, but she always hated other people doing her hair and she preferred to go for a natural look.

  When Isla was ready she plucked her phone from the bed and took a selfie. It was only when she was about to send it to Sherry that it occurred to her that she only ever called Sherry on a landline number. She didn’t have a mobile phone so there was no way for Isla to send her photos, or to set up a video call.

  Feeling deflated, she sank onto the bed. Jasper nudged her hand with the phone in it, then barked twice.

  “Sherry’s fine,” Isla told him, rubbing his head.

  Jasper barked again, then trotted away and down the stairs. When he started barking incessantly, Isla followed him down.

  “We can’t visit Sherry now,” she said when she found him by the front door. “Logan and I are getting married today. I don’t have time to go to Fort William. It’s a two-hour drive.” She glanced at the clock. They actually did have time, but it would be a bit ridiculous to drive all the way to Fort William just so Sherry could see her in her dress.

  “I suppose a little adventure would stop me from sitting around here getting nervous.” Jasper turned excited circles by the door and Isla smiled. She’d assumed she and Jasper were on the same page with the conversation, but in reality he probably just wanted to be let out for the toilet and a run around. She opened the door and watched him take off outside. He didn’t go very far. Just to her car, where he sat down and looked back at her, letting out a final bark.

  “Fine,” she said. “But if I get into trouble, I’m blaming it all on you.” Taking her chunky-knit cardigan from the hook, she pulled it on around her wedding dress. Then she picked up her purse and paused before hurrying to the kitchen and pulling her phone charger from the socket.

  “I’m going to be in so much trouble,” she said to Jasper once they were in the car and pulling up the drive. “Once we’re on the mainland I’ll call Leana and tell her what we’re doing. If I tell her now she’ll drag me back and insist on painting my nails and goodness-knows-what.”

  Driving through Lannick in her wedding dress felt a little odd. She pulled her cardigan tighter around her, but only saw a group of hikers outside the pub. She was relieved not to have been spotted by anyone she knew.

  “It feels like a secret mission,” she told Jasper as they drove across the bridge and onto the mainland. A little further down the road she pulled over onto a grass verge and began to type a message to Leana. It sounded ridiculous however she wrote it. No doubt they’d all think she was having cold feet or something but she didn’t care. After writing and deleting the message a few times, she finally felt she had the tone right. Her thumb was poised to press send when the screen went black.

  “Uh oh,” she muttered as she jabbed at the home button. When nothing happened she tried the power button instead. Nothing. Her car was old and didn’t have a place to plug the charger in. She looked to Jasper, then up and down the road as she tried to decide which direction to go in. Visiting Sherry on her wedding day was pretty crazy, even for Isla. But when she thought about how upset she’d sounded on the phone she couldn’t bring herself to turn back home. With Jasper missing too, her family would assume she’d taken him for a walk. They probably wouldn’t worry for a while. In an hour and a half she could be at Sherry’s place. Then she’d be able to plug her phone in and let them know where she was. So she really wasn’t going to cause any worry at all.

  At least that’s what she told herself as she pulled onto the road again.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Isla silently cursed when Sherry didn’t answer the doorbell. She stood looking at the intercom system, then pressed the button for the office.

  Leo, the friendly warden, came to the door a few minutes later.

  “You’re Sherry’s friend, aren’t you?” he said with a flash of recognition.

  “I heard she wasn’t well,” Isla said. “And now she’s not answering her door.”

  “She had a dizzy spell. The doctor wasn’t worried, just told her to take it easy today. She was mostly just upset about missing the wedding she was going to …” He looked Isla up and down. “Your wedding?”

  “Yes. I thought I’d come and show Sherry the dress at least. But now I’m worried about her not answering the door.” Not to mention her other worry that there were probably search parties out on Skye looking for her.

  “Come in,” Leo said, holding the door. “I can let you in to Sherry’s flat. We’ll check she’s okay.”

  “Thank you,” she said as he led her up the stairs to the first floor flat.

  “I called both of the people on her emergency contact list this morning but neither of them answered so I just left messages.”

  “Her son’s away on holiday,” Isla said. “Until next week I think.”

  “She seemed fine after the doctor had been anyway,” Leo said. “And I was planning on checking on her later.”

  He used his master key to open the door to the flat, shouting to let Sherry know it was him. Then he stepped aside to let Isla in.

  “What on earth are you doing here?” Sherry’s warbly voice asked as Isla walked into her living room. Jasper let out a short sharp bark as he made a dash for Sherry.

  “I was worried about you,” Isla said. A photograph album lay on Sherry’s lap, and she snapped it shut as she bent to stroke Jasper who sat obediently by her legs, his tail wagging furiously.

  “It’s your wedding day,” Sherry said. “You shouldn’t be here. And I’m fine. I told you there was no need to worry.”

  “I wanted to show you my dress.” Isla peeled off her cardigan and did a quick twirl, then caught the amused look on Leo’s face as he watched from the doorway.

  “I’ll leave you ladies to it,” he said, then closed the door behind him.

  “Why didn’t you answer the door?” Isla asked.

  “I thought it would just be the postman or one of the other residents. I didn’t feel like seeing anyone. I was being grumpy and ignoring the world.”

  “Well, I hope you don’t mind seeing me?”

  “You look gorgeous.” Sherry took Isla’s hand and squeezed it hard, shaking just a little. “But why on earth are you here? You’ve not run out on poor Logan have you?”

  “No!” Isla laughed. “Of course not. The wedding’s not for a few hours. I just felt like seeing you… and if I’m honest all the waiting around was making me nervous. I liked the idea of a little adventure.”

  “I thought you’d have your mum and sisters fussing over you.”

  “They were busy with the cake,” Isla said, then looked at her phone in her hand. “Though I assume they’re fussing now. They’ll all be thinking I’ve done a runner! I need to plug this in.” She went to the socket, waiting until she saw the phone was charging. Any minute now she’d be inundated with missed calls and messages. “Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked, turning her attention to Sherry.

  “Yes. I’m just old. It’s no fun, I can tell you. Don’t ever get old.”

  “What were you looking at?” Isla kept one eye on the phone as she waited for it to beco
me animated with her frantic family trying to contact her. Strangely, there was nothing.

  “I got all my wedding photos out. I thought if I couldn’t make it to your wedding, I could reminisce on mine, but it just made me even more maudlin. Here, look!” Beside her chair was a cardboard box with a couple of shoeboxes nestled inside. Reaching over the arm of the chair, she lifted one of the shoeboxes into her lap and lifted the lid.

  “Wow!” Isla said at the sight of the white veil. She set the phone aside and moved for a closer look. “You kept it?”

  “I kept all sorts of things. Beautiful, isn’t it?” After passing the veil to Isla, Sherry put the box on the side table and flipped open the photo album. “Look at me. Wasn’t I a stunner?” She tapped the black-and-white photo of her and her new husband standing outside of the church.

  “You looked beautiful,” Isla said, perching on the arm of the chair.

  “Gordon was very handsome.” She ran a hand over his face, pausing for a moment before flicking to the next page. “There’s me and my mum.” She flicked through the pages, pointing out various people to Isla. “These days you’d have hundreds of photos, but back then we didn’t have so many.” On the last page, was a group photo of all the wedding guests. A guy at the front was making a funny face and the rest of the group were smiling away.

  “Who’s he?” Isla asked, pointing at the joker.

  “One of Gordon’s friends. I can’t remember his name. Drunk as a skunk, he was. I remember that much. Oh, he was funny. I wonder what happened to him. Probably dead,” she said on a sigh. “Most of them are now.”

  “That’s sad,” Isla said.

  “It’s just life,” Sherry said. “And I’ve still got the memories. Pass me the other box.”

  Isla plucked a second shoebox from beside the chair and passed it to Sherry.

  “You really did keep a lot,” Isla said as she looked on at the box of treasures.

  “This was my something blue,” Sherry said, holding up a baby blue ribbon. “I had it pinned inside my dress. These earrings were my something new.” She plucked the pearl earrings from the box to show Isla. “My mum lent me her pearl necklace for something borrowed.”