Page 38 of Surprises on the Scottish Isle

The sitting room was painted a pale duck egg blue, with windows front and back, letting light flood in from both ends. Two children, a boy and a girl, were sprawled on the floor, an upended tub of Lego between them.

‘Kids, say hi to Tara. Tara, this is Katie and Ted. Katie, remember me telling you that Tara makes doll’s houses?’

The boy uttered a brief ‘Hello’, his attention on the little plastic bricks, but Jinny’s daughter got to her feet. ‘Mum says they’re proper doll’s houses, not kids’ ones.’

‘She’s right. If you’re ever up at the craft centre, perhaps you might like to pop in and see them?’

‘Can I, Mum?’

‘I expect so. Now, put this lot away, wash your hands and come lay the table.’

Katie’s open expression turned into a pout. ‘Do I have to? It’s not fair, just because I’m the oldest.’

‘Ted is going to hang your school bags up and put your shoes away. He’s also going to put his stinky PE kit in the laundry basket. Or he could lay the table if you prefer, and you can sort out his PE kit.’

‘Gross!’ Katie brushed past her mother in her haste to avoid stinky PE kit duty, and Jinny and Tara followed her into the open-plan kitchen-dining area.

This was also dual aspect, with views over the loch from the dining table, and views of the mountain behind through the kitchen window. A saucepan was bubbling away on the hob, and a pan of red sauce simmered next to it. The smell of onions and garlic made Tara’s mouth water.

‘Would you like a glass of wine?’ Jinny asked. ‘Please say you would. It’ll give me an excuse to have one.’

Tara laughed. ‘In that case, I will, thanks.’

Jinny pointed out where the glasses were kept, and soon Tara was perched on a stool with a drink in her hand.

‘Did Cal catch up with you?’ Jinny asked. She was stirring the pan of spaghetti, but glanced at Tara as she asked the question.

Tara stiffened. She couldn’t help it, and hoped her new friend hadn’t noticed. ‘No, I haven’t seen him today,’ she replied, pleased that her voice sounded normal. ‘I must have missed him.’ She wondered what he had wanted.

‘I didn’t realise you two already knew each other. He told me you used to date when you were at uni.’ Underneath the curiosity lay a modicum of rebuke.

Tara froze, then willed herself to relax. So what if people knew? It was bound to come out sooner or later.

‘We did.’ She shrugged to show that it wasn’t a big deal. Guilt plucked at her, and she caught Jinny’s eye and pulled a face. ‘I’m surprised he remembered me. It was a long time ago.’

‘That’s strange; Cal said the same thing. You are a dark horse.’ Jinny turned her attention back to the stove. ‘Almost ready. Could you give the kids a shout for me?’

Tara was more than happy to if it meant putting an end to the conversation, and she was relieved when the subject wasn’t mentioned again. Hopefully she’d managed to persuade Jinny that her and Cal’s past relationship was no big deal. Tara could cope with people knowing they used to be an item. What she couldn’t cope with was people knowing he’d broken her heart.

Tara was cradling her second glass of wine and watching Jinny stack the dishwasher after her offer of help was refused, when Katie sauntered into the kitchen in search of a biscuit.

‘When can I see Tara’s doll’s houses, Mum?’ she asked as she rooted in a cupboard.

‘Soon,’ Jinny replied vaguely.

Tara, wanting to repay her new friend’s hospitality – and still feeling guilty for not telling her about her and Cal – said, ‘I’m probably going to run something soon. Mhairi mentioned that the craft centre puts on loads of activities for children during the summer holidays, so how about I put Katie down for it? She can be first on the list.’

Tara wasn’t sure what that activity would be yet. She’d have to look into what would be feasible. She also wanted to run an adult workshop. All the other crafters did, and visitors often stayed at the castle itself and attended more than one workshop during their stay.

If Tara thought she’d been busybeforeshe moved to Skye, she was positively run off her feet now, and was inundated with fresh ideas and new projects that she was itching to get started on.

‘Yay!’ Katie cried. ‘I’m going to paint a picture of what I want it to look like.’

Her mother said, ‘Not this evening, you’re not. Tell Ted he can stay up until eight. You don’t need to go to bed until nine.’

Katie pouted and Jinny sent her away. ‘Scoot. Go find something to do and let the grown-ups talk. Nothing messy, mind.’ She turned to Tara and explained, ‘I can’t face cleaning up paint just before bedtime.’

Tara kept an eye on the time and made sure she left before eight o’clock and Ted’s bedtime. As the evening was still quite young, she thought she might do some work when she got back. She always started a new project with a sketch or two, using coloured pencils, and she was looking forward to sitting on the sofa in front of the picture window with the late evening sun streaming through it.

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