Finding Hope at the Loch (Loch Lannick Book 7) Read online

  “So Mary gets on fine with him?”

  “Aye. I think it’s probably a bit awkward for her, being stuck in the middle, but they’re polite to each other at least.”

  “I’m sure he’d come to Lannick if the wedding was here.”

  “Maybe. I’m not really that set on having it at the pub, though. I think it will be easier all round to pick somewhere else.” Snuggling into Nick, she gazed at the crackling logs in the fireplace. Her mind drifted, trying to imagine what kind of wedding she wanted. There were lots of options, and she was certain that having it somewhere other than the pub would lessen the amount of family drama.

  “It’s not like there’s any rush to decide,” Nick said. “I just thought it would be fun to look into it and get some ideas.”

  “I don’t want to wait long,” Lexie said. “I know there’s no rush but I can’t stop thinking about it. I don’t want a really long engagement. Next year, perhaps?”

  “That sounds good,” Nick said, startling her as he pulled away. “How about some inspiration?”

  “What?”

  “I’ll get my laptop. We can do some research. See if we see anything we fancy.”

  “Okay,” she agreed as he left the room. It might actually be fun.

  Nick was back a moment later, looking determined as he opened the computer in his lap. “Shall I just search for wedding venues near here or would you rather look for somewhere further afield?”

  “I’ve honestly no idea.”

  “Let’s start nearby.” Nick did a quick search and they stared at several pages of suggestions, some of which weren’t nearby at all. “That’s slightly overwhelming,” Nick muttered as he scrolled. His fingers stopped so the cursor hovered over one of the listings. “How about the Lochview Hotel?”

  “I heard Ghost Moon stayed there once,” Lexie said with a cheeky grin.

  Nick’s eyes lit up. “Maybe Alasdair could convince them to come back and play for our wedding!”

  “That would certainly distract from any family drama. Probably quite unlikely that they’d agree to it, though.”

  “It’s a great venue anyway,” Nick said, clicking through photographs on the wedding section of their website. “And convenient.”

  Lexie pulled out her phone. “I’ll start a list of possible places. Then we can pick the one we like the best.” She made a note on her phone, then flicked her gaze back to the laptop. “We could also get married in Fort William, if you want?”

  “That’s not a bad idea.” He started a new search and brought up another website. “The Ben Nevis Hotel caters for weddings. It would be quite fitting to have wedding photos with Ben Nevis in the background. I think you fell in love with me at the top of that mountain.”

  She stifled a grin as she shook her head. “No, I didn’t.”

  “I think you did,” he said confidently.

  “I was in love with you way before that.” Taking the laptop, she scrolled through the photos of the hotel. “I quite like the look of this place.”

  “My parents would be happy if we got married in Fort William.”

  “I’ll put it on the list,” Lexie said. “And I’m putting a star beside it because I think I prefer that place to the Lochview. Even though I definitely didn’t fall in love with you on the top of Ben Nevis, it still feels quite significant.”

  “We could hike up again,” Nick said, his head snapping up. He looked at her as though it was some stroke of genius. “We could get the wedding guests to go with us. The day after the wedding. How cool would that be?”

  Lexie kept her attention on her phone. “I’ll add that in brackets as a possibility,” she said, trying not to kill his enthusiasm.

  “That’s two good possibilities. Shall we look further afield? Betty from work got married in the Lake District. That looked lovely. We could make a holiday of it.”

  They spent the next hour hopping from one website to the next until Lexie’s head started to spin and the list on her phone was several pages long.

  “I think we should stop,” she said, flopping back into the couch. “This feels like work now.”

  “Let’s leave it for today, then cut that list down another time. Eventually we’ll be left with the perfect venue.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Elspeth was exhausted when she got home from Inverness on Saturday. It was amazing how tiring it was to sit in a car for a few hours and spend another few hours shopping.

  “How did it go?” Rory asked when she joined him and Arran in the kitchen.

  “Good.” She set her bags on the counter and planted a kiss on Arran’s head. He showed her the picture he was drawing. Apparently it was a triceratops fighting a T-Rex, but she’d never have guessed that.

  “So you found a dress?” Rory asked.

  “Yes. We all found dresses. And there was no arguing. It was incredibly easy.”

  “That’s good. I thought you might be stressed.”

  “No. It was quite nice to have a day off and do something different.”

  “I bet. You hardly took a day off all summer.”

  She wasn’t sure if there was an edge of bitterness to his voice or if she was imagining it. “That’s just the way it is when you have your own business.”

  “I know. I’m glad you had a nice day.”

  “Can I watch TV?” Arran asked.

  “Yes,” Elspeth said at the same time as Rory said, “No.”

  Arran’s eyes ping-ponged between the two of them.

  “It’s the weekend,” Elspeth said to Rory. “It’s fine.”

  “He asked me earlier,” Rory said. “I told him he can’t.”

  “Please,” Arran said, smiling sweetly at Elspeth.

  She stroked his cheek. “Just for half an hour.”

  “No,” Rory snapped, making Arran jump.

  “It’s only half an hour,” Elspeth said. “It’s not a big deal.”

  “Except I already told him no screen time today. He watches too much TV.”

  “Please can I watch?” Arran asked Elspeth.

  She could feel Rory glaring at her. “Not today. Why don’t you play in your room for a bit?”

  “I want to watch TV,” he said, his cheeks turning red as he screwed his face up.

  “Do you want to finish your drawing?” Rory asked. “Or you could play with your trains.”

  “No!” Arran’s eyes filled with tears. “I want to watch TV!”

  “We already talked about this,” Rory said. “You’re not watching today.”

  “How about playing with your dinosaurs?” Elspeth suggested, fairly sure there was no way to prevent a full-on meltdown but desperate to try.

  “No!” he screamed, then dropped to the floor and kicked at the table leg. “I want to watch TV.”

  “You can cry all you want,” Rory said, standing over him, “but it’s not going to happen. Let’s find something else to do.” When he reached for Arran’s hand it set him off screaming and thrashing even more.

  Elspeth looked to Rory. “What about one episode of something?” she suggested.

  “No. He’s got to learn that he doesn’t get his own way all the time.” He crouched to Arran. “Let’s go and play dinosaurs before bedtime, shall we?”

  “I don’t want to play with you,” Arran shouted, then crawled towards Elspeth. “Mummy play with me.”

  “Come on then.” She lifted him onto her hip and carried him upstairs. At least when Rory was strict with him it meant that Arran favoured Elspeth again. Though she was fairly sure it wouldn’t last long.

  After playing with Arran in his room for a while, she gave him a bath and put him to bed. He was asleep before she’d even finished the story. Deciding she probably wasn’t going to manage to stay awake long herself, she changed into her pyjamas before padding back downstairs and making herself a sandwich. The TV was on in the living room, but she stayed in the kitchen to eat, unpacking her shopping bags as she went. As well as dress shopping, she’d also managed to
stock up on baking supplies. Now that she knew the colour of the bridesmaids’ dresses, and therefore the flowers, she’d be able to start practising making the flowers for the cake.

  She’d just switched the kettle on when Rory joined her in the kitchen.

  “Is he asleep?” he asked.

  “Out like a light.”

  “We were outside most of the day so he’ll have been tired.”

  “Aye,” Elspeth agreed, pulling a mug from the cupboard and throwing a teabag into it.

  Rory leaned against the counter. “I think maybe it would be good if we have some rules about how much TV he can watch. That way he knows the rules and he’ll stop the screaming fits.”

  “Right,” Elspeth said through gritted teeth.

  “The only reason he screams like that is because he knows you’ll give in to him.”

  “I don’t have a problem with him watching TV. I don’t think it’s that bad for him.”

  “It’s not good for him, though,” Rory said. “And I hate the way he constantly asks for TV when you’re around.”

  “What do you mean, when I’m around?”

  “He doesn’t ask when he’s just with me. Because he knows I’ll say no. And I’ll still say no even if he screams. So he doesn’t bother screaming either.”

  “Right, so I’m just a crappy parent?”

  He raised his eyebrows. “I didn’t say that.”

  “No. Just implied it.”

  The atmosphere between them was tense while Elspeth made a cup of tea.

  Rory broke the silence. “How about we say he can have TV in the mornings at the weekend? Not at all during the week.”

  “It’s going to cause a lot of drama.”

  “Only for a week or two. Then he’ll know the rules and it’ll make things easier.”

  “TV makes things easier,” Elspeth said. “And I realise you think I should be a better parent, but sometimes I’m too tired to be anything more than a mediocre parent. Arran has survived so far.”

  Rory squeezed the bridge of his nose. “I honestly didn’t mean to imply anything about your parenting. That wasn’t the point of the conversation.”

  “Okay.” She didn’t have the patience for the conversation at that moment. “Arran can only have TV on Saturday and Sunday mornings from now on. That’s fine.”

  “Is it really fine? Because if we’re going to have rules, we both need to enforce them or it’s not going to work.”

  “I just said I agree,” she snapped, then took a breath. It was ridiculous how annoyed she was by the conversation. Especially because she was well aware of the fact that Arran spent too much time in front of the TV. It was just annoying to have someone else comment on it.

  Rory saying that Arran behaved better when she wasn’t around didn’t go down well either. Again, she knew it was true. She didn’t need Rory to tell her that she gave in to Arran too easily, but it was hard to break the habit. When it came to Arran, Elspeth tended to go with the easiest option in the moment. That didn’t make her a bad parent.

  “I’m really tired,” she said as she picked up her tea. “I’m going to go up and read in bed.”

  She was at the doorway when Rory called out to her. Turning back, she hoped he wasn’t going to persist with the conversation.

  He looked at her sadly. “I think you’re a brilliant mum.”

  Tears pricked her eyes and she swallowed the lump in her throat before continuing to the stairs.

  Chapter Twelve

  Lexie had spent most of the week working at the activity centre. Saturday was her first bar shift that week and the first time she had a chance to chat to her mum properly.

  “Nick and I started looking at wedding venues,” she told Mary at the start of her shift.

  Mary’s eyes lit up. “What are you thinking of?”

  “We’re not sure. It was fun looking, though. I think we’ll probably choose a hotel either on Skye or in Fort William.”

  “The Lochview would be lovely,” Mary said. “The photos would be stunning.”

  “It’s on the list. We found loads of potential places.” Pulling out her phone, she showed her mum the list. “Maybe we’ll just put the names in a hat and pull one out!”

  Mary smiled. “That would be one way to decide.”

  “Decide what?” Angus asked.

  “A wedding venue.” Lexie slipped her phone back into her pocket and caught the eye of a regular at the end of the bar. He tipped his head at his empty glass and she moved to get him a fresh one.

  “It’s a bit soon to be looking at wedding venues, isn’t it?” Angus asked.

  “You have to look early,” Mary told him. “They get booked up a long time in advance. When are you thinking of? Next year, or the year after?”

  “I guess next spring or summer.” Lexie angled the pint glass under the beer tap and watched the dark liquid pour into it. “Depends where we decide on and when they have availability.”

  Angus took a cloth and wiped down the bar. “What’s the rush?”

  “There isn’t a rush,” Lexie said, then smiled at Geoff as she set his pint in front of him. She turned back to her dad with a puzzled look.

  “I assumed you’d have a long engagement.”

  “Why?” Lexie asked.

  “Because you haven’t been together long. There’s no sense rushing to get married. Better to wait and be sure it’s what you really want.”

  For a moment, Lexie stared at him, speechless. “I am sure it’s what I want,” she said slowly, trying to keep her anger at bay. “We wouldn’t have got engaged if we weren’t sure we wanted to get married.”

  “You’re young,” Angus argued. “You can hardly decide what to have for lunch most days.”

  “I’m twenty-five,” Lexie said.

  Mary cleared her throat and aimed a pointed look at her husband. “Should I point out that I was younger than that when we got married? And we hadn’t been together very long. I don’t remember you suggesting we wait and be sure it was what we wanted.”

  “That was different,” Angus said.

  Lexie exchanged a look with her mum. Having Mary on her side made her dad’s resistance easier to bear. “I’ve known Nick for ages, anyway,” she said. “We might not have been together long but it’s not like we only just met.”

  “I just don’t see what the rush is.” Angus’s frown deepened. “You already live together. Waiting to get married makes no difference.”

  Lexie decided the best approach would be to not engage in the conversation. “Thanks for the advice, Dad. I’ll keep it in mind.”

  “I’m only looking out for you,” he said as she began to walk away. “I don’t want to see you divorced and heartbroken before you even reach thirty.”

  “Oh my God,” Lexie muttered under her breath. It was definitely best to ignore him. She did a quick sweep of the room, collecting empty glasses.

  “Evening, love,” Douglas said as she picked up glasses from an empty table beside his. The sweet old man lived in the village and was in the pub most evenings, usually singing away.

  “Hi, Douglas.” She flashed him a half-hearted smile but her thoughts were still swirling over the conversation with her dad.

  “Lovely news about you and Nick,” he said, smiling widely. “I’m really pleased for you.”

  “Thanks.” It was a good reminder that lots of people were happy for them. Her dad was definitely in the minority.

  With her hands full of glasses she turned back to the bar, but stopped short at the sight of Isla staring at her from the middle of the room. Behind her, Logan was standing at the bar. Lexie opened her mouth to say hello, then kept quiet as Isla’s trance-like gaze travelled up and down her body.

  “Hi!” Lexie said, when she began to feel uncomfortable under Isla’s scrutiny.

  Isla’s eyes shot up to meet Lexie’s. “Hello!”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.” She glanced around nervously. “I was just wondering … I wan
ted to ask you …”

  “What?” Lexie asked impatiently.

  “I was wondering … what kind of wedding dress you’ll go for?”

  Lexie screwed her nose up. “I haven’t thought about it yet. We haven’t even set a date.”

  “Yeah, of course. I was dress shopping today so I have dresses on the brain.”

  “Did you find one?”

  “Yeah.” She gave Lexie an odd look. “If you want some advice about where to buy a wedding dress, just let me know. We could meet up sometime and talk weddings … swap ideas.”

  Lexie raised an eyebrow. “I had the impression you were sick of talking about weddings.”

  “Aye. I am.” She smiled nervously. “But I thought it would be good to chat to someone going through the same thing. We can complain together!”

  “I’m actually quite excited about all the planning.” She moved to put the glasses on the bar, then went back to clear plates from the table beside Isla.

  “So you haven’t chosen a venue yet?” Isla asked, taking a seat at the table by the fire.

  “No. Not yet.”

  Isla glanced furtively in Logan’s direction and lowered her voice. “Eloping is still an option for you then? I’d strongly advise it. Once you book a venue there’s no going back.”

  “You can’t really hate wedding planning that much?” Lexie found Isla hard to read and had no real inkling if her complaints about the wedding were genuine or if it was just her usual air of disdain. Being slightly annoyed by minor things seemed to be a personality trait for Isla.

  As Lexie waited for Isla’s reply, she had the feeling that Isla was also trying to figure out her true feelings about the wedding. “It feels a bit much, that’s all. I don’t like to be the centre of attention.”

  “I’m sure it’ll be great on the day,” Lexie said.

  “Aye. I’m sure it will,” Isla replied without enthusiasm.

  “What are you talking about?” Logan asked, arriving at the table with their drinks.

  “Weddings, of course!” Lexie said, then left them to it and got back to work.

  “So the shopping trip was successful?” Logan asked as he sat opposite Isla.