“And very fast,” chipped in Ryan.
“Oh, I know what you mean. Mum, can we stop at the bridge please?”
“Course, wanna play Pooh sticks?” she asked. She’d been playing this childhood game with him since he was old enough to walk.
“Race you!” called Ryan, setting off at a slow jog until Joe caught up with him
“You might regret that Ryan; the bridge is a fair way yet! You two run ahead and I’ll catch you up!” called Kate, but already the boys were yards ahead.
Kate stopped a moment to catch her breath and look around her. The beauty of the glen and the landscape never failed to lift her spirits. It felt so good to share her surroundings with someone familiar. The anxiety that had seemed to be a constant companion over the last couple of years was replaced with an optimism she once believed to be impossible to feel again. The struggle, the holding-it-together, the game face she’d worn every day didn’t feel false or fake. For the first time in a long time she felt a lightness in her step. Could she finally be finding some peace? She sincerely hoped so, not just for her own sake but for Joe as well. She wanted him to grow up feeling loved and secure; that he could talk to her about anything. They had an impenetrable bond after all they had been through, but she needed more than a seven-year-old as her best friend. Joe had been right back at the café, she didn’t have any friends, apart from Jack but she couldn’t be truly honest with him either. She couldn’t confide in him about her innermost thoughts and feelings, and she didn’t dare strike up a friendship with any of the Gairloch community for fear that they would want to know about her past and that was something she wasn’t willing to share. She could see Ryan and Joe just up ahead; they’d already reached the bridge and were searching the path for sticks. It was good to see Joe enjoying himself with Ryan. If she had any worries about how they would get on they were put to rest. Joe hadn’t asked any questions and clearly didn’t remember Ryan, but it had been a long time ago.
“Here!” shouted Kate, “I’ve found a couple of good ones for you.” She hurried forward, thrusting two sturdy fallen twigs at them.
“Great stuff,” said Ryan, taking them from her. “Just need a couple of good-sized leaves now.”
“What for?” asked Joe inquisitively, looking up at Ryan.
“For sails of course! Don’t tell me your mum doesn’t make sails for your wee boats?”
“No, we just throw them in,” said Joe. “How do you make sails?”
Ryan scouted around and found a couple of large leaves and threaded them onto the twigs. “Here, like that.” He handed one to Joe and the other to Kate. Joe dashed over to the wooden railing.
“Hey, wait for me,” said Kate, going to stand next to him. “Ready? 1-2-3, GO!” she shouted and they simultaneously dropped their sailboats into the stream, dashing over to the other side to see which came through first.
“It’s mine, it’s mine!” cried Joe, pointing over the rail at the first one to make it through.
“So it is!” exclaimed Kate. “You always win!” She grabbed Joe around the waist and spun him round, laughing.
“Funny, that,” said Ryan, raising an eyebrow at Kate and joining in the conspiracy.
With the excitement of Pooh sticks being over, Ryan challenged Kate and Joe to a game of hide and seek.
“You two go run and hide, I’ll come and find you,” said Ryan, turning his back.
Kate and Joe separated and went in different directions.
“Not too far Joe!” she called out, but her son was already off.
Ryan counted to ten, then set off in search. It didn’t take long to find Kate. He stealthily moved around a big old, solid tree trunk and spied on her as she was looking the other way.
“Boo!” he called out softly, not quite loud enough to give the game away to Joe that he’d already found his mum.
Kate jumped, turned, and playfully slapped Ryan on the chest. He caught her up in his arms and held her to him. For once Kate didn’t wriggle or struggle to get free.
“Not letting you go this time,” he whispered into her ear.
She pulled her head back, still in his embrace and gently laughed, “Do you see me struggling?” she said with a huge grin on her face, and felt her heart skip a beat.
They looked at each other for a minute, until Ryan moved away.
“C’mon, best find Joe,” he said, taking hold of her hand and leading the way. Kate could feel herself blushing. She allowed herself to be tugged along, a glow of happiness building inside her.
9
Jack started to read the news story again for the fifth time but try as he might he just couldn’t settle. He threw the newspaper down and grabbed his well-worn wax jacket from the hanger in the hallway and headed out of the door of his beloved cottage.
Something about this Ryan bloke just didn’t sit well with Jack, and he was dammed if he could place his finger on exactly what it was. Knowing that they’d gone out for the afternoon, Jack made the decision to visit The Kingfisher.
“Well, hello stranger!” called out Janice from behind the bar as Jack walked through the double doors of the pub. He blushed, not wanting to draw attention to himself. He’d hoped it was someone else behind the bar, Janice was an old gossip and pretty much part of the furniture of the pub. His Annie always used to say ‘never trust a gossip unless you want to know a secret’ which was wise advice he’d always thought.
“Hello Janice, how are you?” he asked as pleasantly as he could, “not many in today” he commented, taking a look around. Apart from 2 locals in the corner, the place was empty.
“Sunday isn’t it? They’ll all be down at The Old Inn getting their Sunday lunch,” said Janice. “Told Len we’d lose trade when he stopped serving food but he wouldn’t listen to me. What can I get you Jack?” she asked.
“True, true... I’ll have a pint of Bitter please hen.” Jack pulled up a bar stool, figuring Janice was his best chance as any to get information from about Ryan.
“I hear Len’s going to be out for a while?” he asked in what he hoped was a conversational tone as he waited for Janice to pull his pint.
“Aye. Shouldna be too long in the hospital, it’s the recovering that takes time. He reckoned a couple of weeks in all, but I think it’ll be much longer. When Mary got her knee done...” She handed over the pint and kept talking whilst she took his money and sorted out the change but he’d switched off, taking a big gulp of his drink and feigning interest in her tittle-tattle.
“I see he’s got young Ryan running the place,” he commented, wiping off his beer ’tache.
“Oh, don’t get me started on that,” she said. Jack braced himself for the onslaught of whinging he knew was headed his way. “Why he thinks we need a bairn to run the place is beyond me,” she fumed.
“He’s hardly a bairn Janice, he’s 27.”
“Well, you know what I mean. Age is just a number Jack. You should have seen him in here last night, carrying on like an eejit! Nearly drank the bar dry of whisky, the lot of them. It’s no way to behave. He’ll drink the profits if I let him. No surprise that Len didn’t really want him here.”