Kate thought for a second, and that familiar ‘sod-it’ feeling came over her. The feeling that she got when she was about to do something she really shouldn’t. ‘What the hell.’ she thought.
“Yeah, why not? Where did you have in mind?”
“Um, dunno, didn’t expect you to say yes to be honest.”
Kate laughed, “Well, I like to keep you on your toes.”
“Yeah that’s true,” said Ryan laughing along. “What about Flowerdale Falls? It’s a bit of a trek but lots for Joe to explore?”
“Sounds good. I’ll just clear up here and Joe should be back in a second.”
“Cool,” said Ryan.
It was another 10 minutes before Jack and Joe returned to the café. In that time Ryan had filled Kate in on the previous night’s antics, having Kate in fits of laughter with his imitations of the people in the bar. Kate was just wiping tears of laughter from her face when the door jingled and Joe burst in.
“Mum, we saw him. Ollie came right up into the harbour and sat there for ages. He’s massive. Jack reckons he’s about 30 years old! Do seals even live that long? I’m going to look it up.” Joe dashed over to the kids’ corner where the animal encyclopedia was. If Ryan’s presence registered with him, Joe didn’t acknowledge it. Jack did though. He hesitated as he walked over to the table,
“Ah, you’ve got company I see?” inquired Jack, looking straight at Ryan.
“Yes, sorry Jack – this is Ryan, Ryan – this is Jack,” said Kate quickly making the introductions.
Ryan stood up to shake hands with Jack.
“Ah, you must be Len’s eldest lad?”
“Yes, that’s right. I’m helping out whilst he gets his knee fixed.”
“I’d heard,” said Jack, turning away and making his way into the back. “I’ll just collect a few bits Kate then I’ll get out of your way. Don’t forget Adam’s here tomorrow to start work.” Jack grabbed what he needed, which in truth was nothing but he wanted to take a good look at Ryan. He remembered him now as a youngster. Jack still had an uneasy feeling that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. ‘Probably best left alone, none of my business,’ he thought as he headed towards the door. “See you tomorrow,” he called, and the door slammed shut behind him.
“See you... Oh, he’s gone. That was quick, he didn’t even say goodbye to Joe,” said Kate wondering what had gotten into her friend. She shrugged it off, knowing that if there was a problem Jack would let her know in his own way.
“Mum, it’s true seals really do live longer than 30 years, it says so here,” shouted Joe excitedly as he dashed over with the book, pointing to the pictures and the paragraph.
“Hahaha, so they do,” laughed Kate, pulling Joe into a cuddle after he thumped the heavy book onto the table. “How do you fancy going to see a waterfall today?” she asked, knowing he’d jump at the chance to go off on an adventure.
“Yes please, can we take a picnic?” he asked, stomach first – always.
“Not really the weather sunshine, but we can take a drink and a few snacks,” replied Kate, getting up from her seat and making her way into the kitchen.
“Is it OK if I come with you Joe?” asked Ryan, tentatively.
“Who are you?” questioned Joe, as if seeing Ryan for the first time.
“Joe! Don’t be so rude,” admonished Kate. “This is Ryan and he’s a friend of mine.”
“But you don’t have any friends,” said Joe.
Ryan laughed as Kate blushed, “From the mouth of babes,” he said.
“Joe, that’s rude and I do have friends so don’t be cheeky,” said Kate, ruffling Joe’s hair as she returned with a handful of wrapped biscuits and a bottle of juice. “How about you go get your boots on before I change my mind.”
Kate turned to look at Ryan, “Sorry about that, he’s usually quite polite.”
“No worries, kids eh?” said Ryan.
Joe didn’t seem at all fazed that Ryan would be joining them, and Kate felt herself relax a little as she locked up the café and watched Ryan and Joe walk on ahead, chatting away. She caught up with them just past the post office and the three of them crossed the road to begin their walk.
Flowerdale Falls was one of the first places she and Joe had explored when they moved to Gairloch. They had been staying at The Old Inn and the entrance to Flowerdale was just opposite. She’d learned that it was private land, owned by the Mackenzie family who owned much of the land in and around Gairloch, as well as the ancestral home, Flowerdale House, that was along the route. It was a beautiful walk as long as you didn’t go without midge protection in the summer months, something she discovered too late last year. In spring it was fine, with lots of the wild plants starting to come to life. They’d seen a few small animals too, much to Joe’s delight.
“Yeah, and we saw a skunk,” he declared to Ryan. Ryan looked at Kate quizzically.
“No, it was a stoat Joe,” laughed Kate, swinging him by the arm.
“Now that makes more sense,” said Ryan, holding Joe’s other arm and together they started to swing him back and forth.
“Ooff, you’re a big lad, aren’t you?” commented Ryan when they’d swung Joe for the fifth time. “My arm needs a rest,” he said, shaking it as Joe ran ahead.
“You’ve got a smashing wee boy there Kate,” said Ryan with a nod of his head towards Joe.
“Thanks. I don’t think he came out of the whole ordeal too badly. He was a bit confused at first but over time the questions stopped, and he just got on with it. I’m glad he wasn’t any older or I think it would have been harder for him to adjust,” Kate replied, picking up a stick and poking the ground as they walked along. She hadn’t meant to open up to Ryan like that, but it had been a long time since she’d had anyone to really talk to, and it just spilled out of her.
Ryan reached over and took hold of Kate’s hand. “You’ve done a grand job Kate, all things considered,” he said giving her hand a gentle squeeze of reassurance.
“Thanks, I try my best,” she said, not taking her hand away.
They carried on walking past the horse pastures and Flowerdale House onto the dirt trail that started the path towards the breathtaking waterfall.
“Have you been here before?” she asked Ryan, very aware that they were still holding hands but not truly wanting to break the connection.
“As a kid, yeah, but it’s changed a hell of a lot since then. The path was never this good, I’m not even sure there was a path to be honest. But we’d fish in the stream and chase dragonflies down the path, not sure why. My sister always used to believe they were fairies and was desperate to catch one.” Ryan chuckled at the memory of him and Molly escaping their mother for the day and having wild adventures in the glens.
“And did she?” asked Kate.
“Ha, no. Have you ever tried to catch a dragonfly? They’re fast little buggers!”
“What’s a dragonfly?” Joe came hurtling out of the woods towards them.
“You know what a dragonfly is Joe, you’ve seen them before,” said Kate, catching Joe in a bear hug that he wriggled frantically to get out of. “They hover over water and are brightly coloured.”