Page 60 of Surprises on the Scottish Isle

Cal narrowed his eyes. ‘I’m sure Tara doesn’t want to spend time with someone so boring that he falls asleep in the chair and snores.’

Tara said, ‘Oh, I think I can put up with it. I’d love to have tea with you and your dad, Bonnie. Thank you for asking me.’

Bonnie did a little jig. ‘Yay! You can go now, Dad. Me and Tara have work to do.’

Tara watched him go for a moment, then gave herself a mental shake and joined his daughter at the workbench.

Bonnie was such a sweetie. Hopefully it wouldn’t be long before the two of them were the best of friends, and she and Cal wouldn’t have to keep their budding relationship from her.

The glass studio was run by two brothers, Fergus and Shane. Ferguswas the glassblower, and Shane’s speciality was stained glass – windowsmostly, but he also made beautifully intricate glass paintings andgorgeously colourful suncatchers. Today Tara was going to have a go.Nothing too difficult, but it would give her a taste of the craft.

She’d joined a workshop on Sunday morning to make a leaf-shaped suncatcher, and was currently in the process of choosing the colour of glass she wanted to use. It would have to be an autumn leaf, she decided, picking out a piece of glass that was a wonderful shade of deep orange, almost an amber colour. It was only a few shades lighter than Cal’s glorious eyes.

Shane had already printed off a paper pattern for his students to use as a template, and her first task was to cut the pattern into its component shapes. They were numbered, so it should be easy to put them together again.

Tara had always wanted to try stained glass making and this was a real treat. But, like anything beautiful, it required skill, and Tara only fully appreciated how talented Shane and his brother were when she studied her finished creation with critical eyes. It looked vaguely like a leaf – if she squinted a bit and the lights were dimmed. Still, it wasn’t too bad for a first attempt, although it may well be her last. Glass cutting was harder than it looked, and little slivers of glass from using the nippers to achieve the correct shape tended to get everywhere unless you were careful. Those bits were sharp!

Tara was having a lovely weekend, despite not being able to grab more than a minute or two alone with Cal. However, she was worried that she was intruding on Bonnie’s time with her father, despite Bonnie insisting on involving her.

Yesterday afternoon Tara had been forced to tell the child that she needed to concentrate on work in the studio (which was true) and therefore wouldn’t be able to let her help for a while, because she thought Bonnie needed to spend time with other people, not just with her. But Bonnie had been waiting for her when Tara had locked up, had grabbed hold of her hand and dragged her to Cal’s cottage to join them for a pizza.

They’d played board games until a huge yawn and drooping eyes had indicated that it was time for Bonnie to go to bed.

Conscious of the little girl asleep upstairs, Tara had resisted the temptation to sit on Cal’s lap, wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him senseless. Instead, they’d taken a glass of wine onto the deck and watched bats swoop and dive for insects, as they quietly chatted about the castle and the people who worked in it.

The conversation touched on the past occasionally, but they were careful not to discuss anything too deep or serious. Tara was just enjoying being with him. She felt like she was getting to know Cal all over again.

And now here she was, trotting down the lane with a poorly made suncatcher in her hand, about to eat Sunday lunch with him and his daughter. Roast chicken, she guessed, sniffing the air when Bonnie answered the door and dragged her inside.

‘I helped Dad make the batter for the Yorkshire puddings!’ Bonnie cried. ‘We’ve made a lot, so Dad said we can have pancakes with the leftovers if we’re not too full.’

‘My, your dad is a real whizz in the kitchen.’ He always had been, she remembered.

Lunch was a jolly affair, and a walk along the shore afterwards was fun and light-hearted as Cal challenged everyone to a ‘find the roundest pebble’ competition. But as the time grew nearer for Bonnie to go home, Tara sensed a change in the child as she became quieter and more introspective.

Guessing that Cal might appreciate some alone time with his daughter before he had to drop her back at her mum’s, Tara said her goodbyes and returned to the boathouse.

Maybe she would see him afterwards…

Chapter 18

The following Saturday evening, Jinny breezed into the boathouse clutching a bottle of wine in each hand and grinning from ear to ear. ‘Freedom, freedom, freedom,’ she sang to the tune of George Michael’s hit single.

Tara chuckled at her friend’s obvious delight that school had finally broken up for the summer, and her children were spending a week with their grandparents, who were taking them on holiday.

‘You realise that you’re putting me off having kids, if this is your reaction to them not being around for a few days,’ Tara told her.

‘A few days?It’s a whole week. Aweek, I tell you! No having to yell at them to brush their teeth and remember their PE kit. No having to cut a leisurely hot bath short because someone needs something they can quite easily wait for but don’t want to. No having to double-check that both kids are fast asleep before Carter and I have a bit of nookie. And if they are asleep – miracles of miracles – we have to be quieter than a nun on Sunday. Hell, with the sex-police away, Carter and I can shag on the living room rug like rabbits if we want to, and if I scream the place down, no one will bat an eyelid. Here, open this.’ She shoved a bottle of Co-op’s finest white wine at her.

‘So why are you having supper at mine and not doing the dirty deed on your rug?’ Tara asked with a giggle.

‘Shagging on the rug is OK in theory, but not too comfy in practice. And I’d better not make too much noise in case next door hears. Anyway, Carter is out tonight. Darts. So I may as well get blotto with you. And I’m looking forward to a girly chat.’

With Cal going for a drink this evening with Mack, Tara was also looking forward to it. She opened the wine and poured it into a couple of glasses, then gave one to Jinny, who had shrugged off her jacket and was now standing by the picture window.

‘Thanks. This view is fab.’

Tara stood next to her. ‘It sure is. I would happily live here permanently, for the view alone.’

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