The House on the Shore (4 page)

Luke’s face split into a wide grin.
“Yes ma’am, I can.”

Before she could say anything more, he turned and ran across the grass towards his small inflatable dinghy.
As she watched him
row
back
across
the loch, she wasn’t sure
she had made the right decision
, but
s
omething told her Luke was used to getting his own way.
She sighed.
So much for replying to the solicitor’s letter,
she
thought, as she
switch
ed
off her laptop.

She ran a brush through her hair
then
plucked the keys to the Land Rover off the hall table.
It took several attempts before the elderly, asthmatic engine coughed into life, and several more for her to get it into reverse gear.
By the time
she
drove round to the front of the croft
,
Luke was leaning against the wall waiting for her, a small canvas bag at his feet.
She threw open the passenger door, the rust
y hinges screeching in protest.

Before Luke had chance to
slide
his backside onto the worn leather seat, the two
dogs
had pushed past him and
jumped in
to the vehicle
.
Anna waited while he snapped his seat belt into place, before releasing the handbrake and driving off.
Neither she nor her dogs appeared to notice the almost total lack of suspension as the old Land Rover bounced over
the pot-holed ground.
They rounded a corner on the steep,
single-track
road, with only inches to spare.

Luke cleared his throat.
“Is the phone company about to disconnect the service?
Is that why we’re trying to break the land-speed record?”

Her head snapped round.
“Disconnect?
No, why should it?
It’s a public phone.
Anyway why that look?
I’m only doing thirty miles an hour
,
that’s not speeding.”

“Thirty, huh?” Luke replied
,
his eyes wide
as a dry stone wall almost took the rust and paint off the passenger door.
“It feels more like fifty.
Isn’t that a little too fast for this kind of surface?
What if we meet another car coming the other way?”

“We won’t
.
The only people who venture this far down the glen are walkers.
There’s a car park at the head of the loch where they must leave their cars.
The track to the croft is private
. I
t doesn’t join the public road for another couple of miles.”

“If you don’t mind me saying, it’s an odd place for someone like you to live.”

Anna’s foot lifted off the gas and hovered over the brake pedal, but she resisted the te
mptation to slam her foot down.

“Actually, I do mind.
As it happens,
Tigh na Cladach—
the croft
is very important to me.”

“A croft?
Is that another word for a cottage?”

“
A croft isn’t a building, but a smallholding or a piece of land.”

“I see, and
Tie na
…”

“
Tigh na Cladach
.
It’s Gaelic for
the house on the shore
.”

“It’s a pretty God forsaken place for a young woman to live by herself.”

Anna briefly took her eyes off the road and glared at Luke.
“I don’t recall saying I live alone.”

“Well, no, you didn’t,” he conceded.
“But if I was your husband, I wouldn’t leave you alone for one minute in that…what did you call it…croft?
Let’s see
,
you don’t have a phone, or neighbours.
I didn’t notice a satellite dish for TV, so my guess is that you don’t have one of those either.”
A smile ruffled
t
he corner of his mouth.
“I’m curious, do you have running water, or do you have to wade out into the loch for a bath?”

Anna laughed.
“Now you’re being stupid.”

“O
kay
, I shouldn’t have asked you where you bathe.”

“Thanks for so deftly dropping the subject.”

“Whoops
, p
oint taken.
W
hat if you had an accident o
r someone was prowling around?
What if I was an axe murderer?”

Anna raised an eyebrow, and for a second longer tha
n necessary, her
gaze
held his.

“Are you
?”

“Hell no!”

“Well, it doesn’t enter the equation, does it?
Now, if you’ve quite finished dissecting my lifestyle, would you mind hopping out and opening the gate?
And please close it again after I’ve driven through.”

“I’m sorry if I’m being too personal,” Luke said, as the
vehicle
rattled over another cattle grid.
“I’m just curious.
You look as if you belong in the city, rather than out here in cow-pie land.
You’re either eccentric or plain crazy.
I just can’t figure out which.
What do you do for a job?”

Anna pulled away from the gentle pressure of
hi
s arm
where
it rested
on the back
of
her
seat, and concentrated on negotiating th
e narrow
,
twisting road instead.

“My
you are inquisitive.
I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I have no intention of answer
ing any more of your questions.
H
ow I choose to live my life is no concern of yours.”

Luke held up a hand in self-defence.
“You’re right, but take a word of advice from a well-travelled and good intentioned stranger
.
A
n a
ttractive young woman
on her own in some isolated Scottish glen is asking for trouble, and if your boyfriend, husband or whoever can’t see that, he needs a whole new brain.”

Anna took a deep breath and held on to her temper.
“Look, Mr
.
Tallan…”

“It’s Luke.
”

“Luke,” she said, bringing the Land Rover to a halt in front of the hotel.
“You’ll find the phone in the lobby.
If you don’t know how to use it, I’m sure
Katrina
, the receptionist, will show you how.
While you
mak
e
your call, I’ll go and see my friend.
I’ll meet you
back here in fifteen minutes.”

“O
kay
.
I’ll be as quick as I can.”
Luke picked up his canvas bag
and climbed out.

Anna watched as he sprinted in the direction of the hotel entrance.
What the hell was the matter with her?
This wasn’t the first time she ha
d stayed at the croft and been disturbed by lost mariners, but she’d not behaved like this.
W
hat if he had a smile that would make the most committed spinster run for the preacher?
Her brain said she wasn’t interested.
Her hormones had other ideas.

A knock on the partly open driver’s window brought her back to reality.

Luke looked at her sheepishly.
“I can’t believe I’m going to say
this, but h
ere goes; the phone doesn’t take credit cards, and the smallest thing I have is a £50 bill
.
T
he hotel people won’t break it
, so…
I don’t suppose you’ve
got any
spare change?”

Anna bit her lip.
She laughed as she stepped
out
from behind the steering wheel.
God save her from tourists and this one in particular.
It was only the beginning of June.
She had another three months before the summer trade died down.
She dug into the pocket
of her jeans and
brought out a crumpled £5 note.

“Here.
I’m sure they’ll change this for some coins.
There’s ample to make a call to Fort William.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it,” he smiled.
Only this time his smile reached hi
s eyes, softening his features. D
espite her attempts not to, Anna found herself responding.
She shook her head.
She sensed that few women resisted Luke’s charming, easy smile
, and his deep seductive voice.

While Luke made his phone call
,
Anna sought out Morag.
She found her friend in the hotel
kitchen, busy preparing lunch.

“Hi, Morag.
Have you got a minute for a
chat, or is this a bad time?”

“Well, well, if it isn’t yourself,” Morag replied, her face breaking into a welcoming smile.
She hugged Anna.
“I wondered when you woul
d find time to pay me a visit.
The ghillie said he’d seen
a
L
and
R
over parked outside the croft
, so I knew you ha
d arrived safely.
Now lass, you kn
ow I’ve always got time for you. S
o long as you don’t mind me carrying on with this,” she said, adding a potato to the vegeta
bles in the pot, “we can talk.”

Anna smiled
and shook her head.
Morag never changed. S
he always knew the latest village gossip.

“I came to thank you for airing the
house
and making up the bed.”

“You’re welcome.
I didn’t light the old range, though.
I wasn’t sure you’d need it in this warm weather.”

“You mean the Aga?
That’s
okay
.
I used the immersion heater this morning, but the Aga is more economical.
The weather is set to change soon, so
I’ll light i
t
then.
Y
ou mentioned the
ghillie - I assume
you mean Sandy?
How is he?”

Morag’s smile faded.
“There have been a lot of changes on the estate since your last visit, and not just your grandma’s passing.
We were all sorry to hear of your loss, by the way.
Such a nice old lady
,
she will be sorely missed.
I
t’s good to have you back.
Are you staying long?
And your intended, is he with you?”

“It’s good to be back.
I’m here for the summer
,
and if you mean Mark, then no, he isn’t with me.
We’re
no longer together
.
It’s just me and the dogs.
”

Morag’s potato peeler paused in mid air.
“I’m sorry to hear that, lass, you looked so well together.
I daresay you know your own mind best.
Now pass me those carrots will you?
I’m all behind this morning.
There was a mix-up with the bookings.
We’ve six new guests arrived, and I
haven’t even got lunch on yet.”

“
I can see you’re busy.
I
’ll
come back another time.”

“No, no, lass.
You’re always welcome
you know that.
It’s just that we’re short-handed, and there’s only me to cook and serve lunch, not to mention prepare the vegetables for dinner as well.
Lachlan is away on the rig, so it’s just me and the television for company this evening
.
W
hy don’t you come round after tea, and we can have a real good blether?”

Anna smiled.
“I’d like that.
I’ll bring a bottle of wine.”

“But I’ve got a few minutes now.
What was it you wanted to talk about?”

“I wondered if there was any work going here at the hotel, now that the tourist season has started.”

Morag brushed a stray lock of brown curly hair back under her cook’s hat and looked solemnly at her friend.
“But what about your teaching job in Edinburgh?
I thought you were due a big promotion.”