Page 93 of The Boathouse By the Loch

‘So, we’re going straight to Gayle’s?’ David asked.

‘Yes, please,’ Robyn said enthusiastically. She just hoped Gayle did have time to do Judith’s hair while they were having a chat. She wanted her to feel and look her best so she would enjoy the party without feeling self-conscious.

They had just reached the outskirts of Aviemore when Robyn’s phone rang. She looked at her phone and commented, ‘Oh, what are the chances?’ before answering it. ‘Hi, Gayle! We were just talking about you …’ Robyn listened and smiled. ‘It was all good things, I promise.’

She was about to ask Gayle if she was free to do a haircut for her special guest, when Gayle said, ‘I’m out shopping in Aviemore. I thought I’d just phone you in case there were any last-minuteodds and ends you needed for your party. I know you’re picking your stepmum up today, so I thought I’d check, in case you couldn’t get to the shops.’

Robyn looked at Judith. There was something she needed, but Gayle wouldn’t be able to get it at Mr Gillespie’s store. ‘Are you going to be home soon?’ Robyn asked.

It turned out that Gayle was milling around in town, waiting for Doris to finish having tea and biscuits with old friends. They all went along to the community centre to sessions run by volunteers, giving people like Gayle some respite from caring for their relatives.

Robyn was disappointed that Gayle wasn’t home and wouldn’t be for at least another hour. ‘No, I don’t need anything last-minute, apart from one thing …’ Robyn asked whether she could spare an hour to do Judith’s hair. It would mean taking Judith straight to the boathouse, and then going out again to Lark Lodge. It wasn’t ideal. Robyn wanted to get the dinner on for her guests.

‘I can take Judith to Gayle’s myself while you’re getting the dinner on,’ David offered, listening in to the conversation.

Robyn nodded, although she’d rather hoped that she and Judith could spend some time together before the other guests arrived. Perhaps she’d like to keep her company in the kitchen, having a chat with a glass of wine, like she imagined mothers and daughters might do.

‘Why don’t I come along a bit earlier, and do Judith’s hair before everyone else arrives?’

Robyn hadn’t thought of that. ‘Oh, would you?’

‘Of course. And if I brought my mum along a bit earlier too, we could get her settled into a nice armchair, so she can acclimatise to her new surroundings before everyone arrives.’

‘That’s a good idea, Gayle.’ Robyn had wanted Doris there too. Gayle’s neighbour had offered to pop in and keep an eye on her so that Gayle could go out for the evening, but Robyn at least wanted Doris to join them all for the meal. They’d come to a compromise. After dinner, Gayle was going to run her home and put her to bed, leaving the neighbour with her, while she returned to the party. If there were any problems, Gayle was just a phone call away.

Robyn added, ‘Judith is really looking forward to meeting you, and all the rest of my friends.’ They weren’t just friends to Robyn; they were family – but she felt a little awkward referring to them as such in front of Judith. She hoped that once Judith got to know them all, she’d grow to love them as much as Robyn did. They were all part of the fabric of her new life now. She hoped Judith would become part of her life too from now on.

Robyn put her phone in her bag and smiled, letting Judith know the plan.

David said, ‘So, we’re heading straight home?’

Robyn looked at her phone, thinking of the call. Perhaps it was for the best that she wasn’t taking Judith to Gayle’s. Lark Lodge would always have a special place in her heart – it was where her new life, with her new friends and the man she loved, had truly begun – but it wasn’t her home. Not anymore.

‘Robyn?’ David’s eyes locked with hers in the rear-view mirror.

‘Yes, take us straight home, please.’ She couldn’t wait to show Judith the boathouse.

Chapter 33

Not far along the main road, David took the turn on to the single-track lane by a brown sign indicating a loch. Robyn could now do this journey with her eyes closed, after countless times up and down this country road. She knew exactly what was coming. Soon, they’d pass a detached cottage, then a couple of detached bungalows, and lastly a farmhouse. After that, it was a couple more miles until they reached the loch and the boathouse.

‘Wow, this is quite remote,’ said Judith.

Robyn heard her voice waver. She seemed nervous, for some reason. Robyn said, ‘When I first did this journey with David’s father, Duncan, to the boathouse …’ Robyn did not want to get into the falling-out she’d had with David when he’d left the hospital after his knee operation, and how she’d ended up travelling with David’s father to the boathouse instead.

Robyn said, ‘I remember Duncan telling me it was a bit out of the way. But it’s not really. It isn’t that far from the main road, and there are other properties along here. Once we’ve passed the last property, a farmhouse, then it’s only a couple of miles and we’re there.’

She heard Judith exhale in relief. Robyn rested her hand onJudith’s shoulder, wondering why she seemed so nervous. There was nothing to be worried about. ‘Not long now.’

Robyn frowned as her mind wandered back to the drive there with Duncan and what had happened when they’d arrived. She’d wanted to put that to the back of her mind. The problem was that every single time she turned up at the boathouse after dark, a troublesome memory resurfaced. Fortunately, they wouldn’t be arriving after dark that day. It was the height of the summer, although the weather had changed – it was now cloudy and overcast; not the sort of weather she’d wished for Judith’s arrival. But at least she was there, and it wasn’t dark.

David had a house alarm fitted. When she’d first arrived with Duncan, he’d forgotten the alarm code, and had inadvertently set it off. Robyn remembered that. How could she forget? The sound of that alarm had sent her heart into her throat, and she’d immediately turned around and raced back to the car.

Duncan hadn’t been best pleased, telling her to come over and help him fix the alarm. They’d figured out the keycode that Duncan had forgotten. It was the date that Robyn and David had first met, and incidentally the date of the accident – Christmas Day – when their cars had collided on the road while she appeared to be fleeing from Aviemore.

It turned out that wasn’t the only unfortunate event that had befallen David last Christmas. Robyn hadn’t been able to understand why David had had a house alarm fitted all the way out there, but then Duncan had told her what had also happened to David last Christmas.

David had been burgled on Christmas Day while he was out on a walk before he was due to visit his brother and sister-in-law for Christmas dinner. It was the reason he’d had the alarm fitted.Robyn had thought how awful it must have been to be robbed over Christmas. She had wondered how someone would even know a house was there, in the pine forest, by a loch, two miles from the nearest neighbours.

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