Page 66 of Surprises on the Scottish Isle

The beach at Glenbrittle wasn’t what one usually thought of when the word ‘beach’ was mentioned, as it was a grey colour due to its volcanic sand.

Cal had brought Bonnie and Tara here because this was where the River Brittle discharged into the sea, and the burn they’d swum in was one of its tributaries. The beach also had a great cafe, and they could all do with some food.

He was starving. The water had been damned cold, although he hadn’t admitted to Tara how chilled he’d been. He must have used a thousand calories just to stop his limbs from seizing up. To say he was impressed with Tara was an understatement. He didn’t think he would persuade her to go in, but she’d surprised him.

Bonnie had been impressed by Tara, too. Yvaine would never have made it as far as the Fairy Pools, let alone go for a swim in them, and Cal knew it grated on his ex-wife’s nerves that Bonnie was an outdoorsy child, and not the pretty dresses and pink bows daughter that Yvaine wanted her to be.

By the time the car reached the beach, the mountains and waterfalls had given way to fields and a more sedate river.

Cal had expected the car park to be busy – the whole of Skye was busy at this time of year – but he managed to find a parking space, and they slipped through the kissing gate to make their way along the lane running parallel to the beach and to the cafe beyond. He’d been here once before, in the early days of trying to get a feel for the island he’d found himself living on, and he remembered the food being excellent.

Faced with a choice of soup, goat cheese, tomato and basil torte, spicy Mexican bean rolls, or a cauliflower and roasted chickpea pastie, Tara couldn’t decide. Neither could Bonnie, so Cal suggested they all have the soup (lentil, carrot and coriander), which came with a roll, and also order one of everything else, so they could each have a taste.

After they’d eaten, Bonnie wanted another hot chocolate – apparently the one the cafe served was much better than his – while he and Tara settled for coffee.

‘Can we go play on the beach, Dad?’ Bonnie asked as soon as her tummy was full.

Cal smiled indulgently. He’d brought a ball, a bucket and a net for that very purpose, although he couldn’t remember whether there were any rock pools at the end of the horseshoe beach to dabble in.

Tara proved to be rather good at kicking a ball about and was brilliant in goal, deflecting enough of Bonnie’s shots that the child didn’t think Tara was deliberately letting her score a goal.

Two hours later, with the beach and the mouth of the river thoroughly explored, Cal called it a day. Yvaine would be expecting him to drop Bonnie off soon, as his fatherly duties didn’t include having his daughter overnight this week, so it was time they made a move.

Bless her, Bonnie fell asleep on the journey back, her head lolling, allowing Cal and Tara to exchange steamy glances. He was careful not to say anything though, in case his daughter wasn’t as deeply asleep as he thought.

‘Do you mind if we drop Bonnie off on the way?’ he asked when they were a mile or so outside the village. It seemed silly to drive back to the castle to drop Tara off, then have to turn around and go back into the village again.

‘Of course not.’ She sat up straighter, and he wondered whether it was because she might see Yvaine. Not for the first time, Cal wondered how she felt about his ex-wife living in the same village. One day he would ask, but not today.

Cal pulled up a short distance beyond the house, so Yvaine wouldn’t have a clear view of the person in the passenger seat. Knowing Yvaine, she probably wouldn’t notice, so uninterested was she in anything to do with his life. Unless it involved her directly (him not being able to have Bonnie when she wanted him to, for instance) Yvaine couldn’t care less.

It used to rankle, but today he was glad of it. He didn’t need her asking awkward questions with Bonnie in earshot.

Bonnie reached forward to give Tara a hug, and then she was out of the car and running towards the house. Cal followed quickly, his daughter’s backpack dangling from his hand.

She barrelled through the door, yelling for her mother, and Yvaine appeared, looking preoccupied.

‘Mum, we’ve been to the Fairy Pools and then we went to the beach, and we had soup and pasties, and I swam through the arch, and Tara—’

‘Calm down, Bonnie. You can tell me all about your day in a minute. Take your bag upstairs and get changed.’

Cal handed the bag to Bonnie, who threw herself at him. ‘Thank you for a lovely day!’ she cried. ‘Will I see you tomorrow?’

Yvaine met his eyes. ‘If that’s OK? Can you fetch her, instead of me dropping her off? I’ve got to be in Portree by nine. I need to have a word with the builders. You won’t believe the day I’ve had.’ She rubbed the back of her hand across her brow.

‘I’ll pick her up at seven-thirty,’ he said. ‘Make sure she wears old clothes as she’s signed up for the junior pottery workshop.’

Yvaine rolled her eyes.

Cal didn’t react. Yvaine was jealous that Bonnie loved spending time at the castle. If it had been one of her Portree friends who was offering to help Bonnie make a pot, Yvaine would have been much more enthusiastic.

‘If you don’t want her to take part, I suggest you tell her,’ he said, knowing full well that she wouldn’t.

He didn’t bother saying goodbye, hearing the door close firmly behind him as he walked away. By the time he reached the car, he’d forgotten his ex-wife. His mind was wholly on Tara. They had a full evening ahead of them, and all he wanted to do was to take her to bed and make love to her until dawn.

Chapter 20

By the end of the week, Tara was getting used to rising early to share coffee and toast with Cal before he went back to his own place to have a shower and prepare to have Bonnie for the day.

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