Page 48 of Surprises on the Scottish Isle

Cal tuned out. He’d heard it several times before and was well aware of the wildlife that inhabited the waters around Skye.

He was more interested in trying to watch Tara’s expression out of the corner of his eye. She was scanning the sea, her eyes narrowed in concentration, and he hoped today would be lucky for her and she would get to see a whale or a dolphin, because they didn’t always show up. However, the loch was sheltered from the open sea and was a good hunting ground for fish, so maybe they’d get lucky.

Seals were a common sight though, and as the boat skirted around the coast and the small islands just offshore, Mack pointed out the harbour seals that were hauled out on the rocks. Bonnie was excited to see them, but not nearly as excited as Tara.

‘Haven’t you seen a seal before?’ Bonnie asked her.

‘I have, but not often. You are so lucky living here and having them on your doorstep.’

‘You live here, too,’ Bonnie pointed out. ‘Dad says you live in the boathouse.’

‘I do, but not for much longer. The boathouse belongs to Miss Gray, and I’m hoping to buy a house of my own soon.’

‘But you’ll still live on Skye?’

‘Yes, I will.’

Bonnie gave her a satisfied grin. ‘You’ll be lucky, like me. All this,’ she threw her arms wide, nearly smacking Cal in the face, ‘will be on your doorstep, too.’

‘By the end of the summer, Tara will be sick to death of seals,’ Cal joked.

‘I won’t.’ Tara shook her head. ‘How can anyone be sick to death of seals? Look at those cute faces.’

‘I like seals, don’t I, Dad?’

‘You do.’

‘And rabbits and deer. Sometimes I see foxes, and once I saw an otter.’

‘Otters are quite elusive,’ Cal said.

‘That means they hide a lot,’ Bonnie explained seriously.

Cal caught Tara’s eye, and he could see she was trying not to smile.

‘One time, Dad took me to this place in his boat, and we got out and had to walk for ages, then we hid in the grass and waited and waited. It was a long time, wasn’t it, Dad? And we had to keep really quiet and still, and that was hard. But we saw a mummy and a baby otter. They weresocute, but I sneezed because the grass tickled my nose and it scared them away.’ She looked sad, but not for long. ‘Then we had a picnic, didn’t we, Dad? Did you bring anything to eat?’

Cal laughed. ‘No, I didn’t. You’re worse than a gannet, always hungry.’

‘Gannets eat a lot,’ Bonnie told Tara before turning back to him. ‘What’s for tea?’

‘How about a chippie supper? But don’t tell your mother.’

‘Yay! And Tara can have some too, can’t she?’

He met Tara’s eyes again. ‘If she wants,’ he replied steadily.

‘Dad has got beer in his fridge,’ Bonnie announced. ‘He drinks it after I’ve gone to bed.’

Tara pressed her lips together, her eyes crinkling at the corners as he said, ‘Bonnie, you can’t go telling people that.’

‘Why not? It’s true, youhavegot beer in your fridge. Mummy has wine in hers. Do you like wine, Tara? I don’t. It’s nasty.’

Cal was appalled. ‘How do you know what wine tastes like?’

Bonnie’s expression became sly. ‘I had a sip once when Mummy went to the loo.’ She pulled a face. ‘I didn’t like it.’

‘Good! I hope you continue not to like it for years and years.’

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