Surprises on the Scottish Isle (Coorie Castle Crafts #1)

Chapter 3

‘Are we nearly there?’ Bonnie asked.

Calan Fraser met his nine-year-old daughter’s eyes in the car’s rear-view mirror. ‘Not quite. Another couple of miles yet.’

‘Aw, you’ve been saying that for ages,’ she complained.

It was true, he had. ‘Sorry. I mean it this time. Ten minutes and we’ll be at Nana and Grandpa’s.’

Duncoorie to Inverness wasn’t the shortest of journeys, and they had been on the road for over three hours. No wonder Bonnie was becoming restless, despite the pitstop halfway for a snack and to stretch their legs.

‘Can we go on the Hogwarts Express? And to the adventure park? And the Raceway?’ She bounced up and down in her seat. ‘ Please? I’m old enough now.’ At only seven years old the last time Calan had taken her to visit his parents, his daughter had been too young to visit the Raceway.

Was it really fourteen months since he’d been back to Inverness?

It must be, he calculated. His mum and dad usually visited him on Skye so he could stay close to Bonnie. Bonnie’s mother, Yvaine, could be awkward when it came to his parents, and she often came up with some excuse or another why he couldn’t take Bonnie to visit them. His ex-wife and his mother hadn’t seen eye to eye from the get-go.

He tried not to feel bitter at Yvaine’s change of heart now there was a new man in her life, one who had whisked her off on a fourteen-day holiday to Cyprus, just the two of them. The reason he tried not to be bitter was that he was getting to spend two whole weeks with Bonnie, and he was so looking forward to it. Lenn didn’t know what he was missing.

Or perhaps Lenn did. He didn’t strike Calan as the paternal type, although according to Bonnie, she seemed to get on OK with him. And that was another thing that got Calan’s back up – the thought of a strange man spending more time with Bonnie than he possibly could.

His conflicting emotions about Lenn were a daily battle. On the one hand, Cal felt he should be pleased Bonnie didn’t hate him. On the other, an immature part of him wished she did. However, his daughter’s happiness meant more to him than anything else in the world, so he’d have to suck up his jealousy for her sake.

Bonnie’s squeal of excitement made him jump.

He hadn’t expected her to recognise the turning into the road where her grandparents lived, but she did. They owned a bungalow on the outskirts of Inverness with views over Beauly Firth in one direction and the city in the other.

As he aimed the Range Rover at a spot on the drive behind his mother’s Nissan, Calan could see his parents peering out of the window. Bonnie was incandescent with excitement, and the car had barely come to a halt before she was unbuckling her seatbelt and launching herself out of the door.

The way granddaughter and grandparents greeted each other brought tears to his eyes. They must miss her dreadfully, he thought, as he followed more sedately behind. His mum’s face was glowing and she had tears in her eyes when it was his turn to receive a hug from her. His dad grinned at him over his shoulder as he was dragged inside the bungalow by a very determined little girl, and Calan guessed he’d have to wait a while for a hug from his father.

His mum’s embrace more than made up for it. She clung to him for several seconds, then she pulled back and studied his face.

‘Let me look at you,’ she said. ‘Have you lost weight?’

‘I don’t think so. How’s Dad?’

‘He’s fine.’

‘Are you sure?’

His mum stopped and turned to face him. ‘I would tell you if he wasn’t. There’s no need to ask every time you see me.’

Cal only ever asked his mum about his dad’s mental health. He was too scared of upsetting his father if he asked him directly. It had been over ten years since his dad had suffered a breakdown, but the shadow of that terrible time continued to linger in Cal’s mind. Maybe it was because Cal’s life had altered so dramatically because of it.

His mother changed the subject. ‘Are you sure you haven’t lost weight?’

‘I’m sure.’

‘Hmm. You tell Mhairi that if she’s working you too hard, she’ll have me to answer to.’

‘I will, but she isn’t working me too hard, honest.’

‘How is she?’

‘The same as always. For such a wee old lady, she hasn’t half got some stamina.’

‘How old is she now?’

‘Eighty, I believe, but I’m not a hundred per cent sure. I know when her birthday is, but she keeps her age a secret. She might be even older than that.’

‘I can’t believe she manages Coorie Castle all by herself.’

Calan’s reply was wry. ‘She doesn’t, Mum. That’s what she employs me for.’ He threaded an arm through hers as they headed for the front door. ‘Anyway, enough talk of work. Mhairi has given me strict instructions not to think about the castle for the next two weeks.’

Once inside the bungalow, his mum went into the kitchen and put the kettle on, saying, ‘Hasn’t Bonnie grown? She’s shot up since we last saw her.’

‘She’s growing like a weed,’ he laughed. ‘Always hungry. I swear she’s got hollow legs.’

‘She looks just like you did at her age.’

‘Don’t let Yvaine hear you say that.’

His mother’s face immediately clouded over. ‘How is Yvaine?’

‘Oh, you know, same as ever.’

‘That’s what I’m worried about. Is she still being unreasonable?’

‘Now and again.’

Their split hadn’t been amicable. Cal didn’t know where Yvaine’s bitterness came from, but her accusation that he didn’t love her had kind of hit home. He hadn’t loved her: he’d cared for her, but he’d never been in love with her. When they’d met, he had been hurting and adrift, reeling from lost love and his father’s illness, and she’d helped him forget his troubles for a while. It hadn’t been serious, but she’d fallen pregnant and suddenly it was as serious as it could get. At the ripe old age of twenty-three, he’d found himself married with a baby on the way. He’d been determined to make it work though, and to be the best father he could possibly be, and he’d doted on Bonnie from the second she’d been placed in his arms, pink and bawling.

His mother sighed. ‘You think she’d be happy that you take such an active interest in Bonnie’s life.’

Cal shrugged. He had the feeling Yvaine was jealous of his close relationship with their daughter. In a way, he could understand – he suspected Bonnie saw him as the ‘fun’ parent, because he tried to make sure she had his complete attention on the weekends they spent together and that they did lots of fun things. He didn’t have to nag her to get up in the morning for school, or to learn her spellings, or tidy her room. And he also didn’t have to be the day-to-day disciplinarian.

He guessed Yvaine resented him for that, even though she’d been the one to end their marriage. He also suspected she wanted to hurt him, and the only way she could do that was through his love for Bonnie.

When their marriage ended, it had been perfectly reasonable for Yvaine to want to return to Skye to be near her parents, but he felt part of her desire to move was because it would put a hundred miles and three hours between him and his daughter. Her incredulity when he’d found a job in Duncoorie was something he would never forget.

Every so often Yvaine would make it difficult for him to see Bonnie, although she did nothing he could complain about to a solicitor or the courts. It was little things, such as telling him that Bonnie was unwell on the weekend he was supposed to have her, and him finding out afterwards that his daughter had been well enough to go shopping or to a party. Things like arranging a weekend away when it was his turn to have her. Things like ‘forgetting’ to tell him about parents’ evenings. They might be little things, but they added up.

To be fair, his ex-wife hadn’t been as bad since Lenn had come into her life, so Cal was quietly hopeful that they’d turned a corner, even though he resented the chap for seeing more of Bonnie than he did.

One thing was certain, Cal wasn’t going to do anything to upset the apple cart, and if that meant keeping his resentment under wraps, that’s what he would do.

Cal tucked his daughter into bed and kissed her forehead. He

especially loved this time of day, when she was warm and sleepy, but he

only got to experience it every other weekend when she came to stay with

him at the cottage in the castle grounds.

‘Can you read me a story?’ she asked, snuggling deeper under the covers and peering at him hopefully.

‘I can, but Nana has only got baby stories here. They’ll be too young for you.’ Cal’s sister had a two-year-old son who his mum and dad looked after regularly now that she’d moved back to Inverness.

‘Make one up,’ Bonnie commanded.

‘Um…’ Making up stories had never been one of his strong points.

‘Please?’

He tried to come up with something, but his mind was blank.

‘I’m waiting,’ Bonnie said. ‘I haven’t got all night.’

‘Cheeky madam.’ He smiled as she repeated her nana’s words back to him when he’d been tardy in helping with clearing the dinner table this evening. ‘Once upon a time,’ he began, unsure where his story was going, but at least the start was good, ‘there was a handsome prince.’

Bonnie rolled her eyes. ‘There’s always a handsome prince.’

‘OK then, an average-looking prince with a wart on the end of his nose and a squinty eye.’

‘The witch is supposed to have the wart, not the prince.’

‘Can he still have the squinty eye?’ Cal screwed his left eye shut and pulled a face.

‘Now you’re being silly. Is there a princess?’

‘Of course there is.’

‘A witch?’

‘If you want one.’

She nodded. ‘Can the witch have a dragon?’

An image of his ex-mother-in-law, Bonnie’s other grandmother, popped into Cal’s head. She’d been a right old dragon. She still was, but thankfully Cal didn’t have much to do with her.

An idea began to form. He mightn’t be any good at making up stories, but he could adapt a real-life one. He would have to amend the ending, but that was OK.

He began again. ‘Once upon a time there was a prince, who would have been handsome if it wasn’t for his squinty eye, but he made up for that with oodles of charm and charisma.’

‘What’s charisma?’

‘Who’s the most popular girl in your class?’

‘Alisha.’

‘Why is she popular?’

Bonnie shrugged. ‘I don’t know. She just is.’

‘That’s what is meant by charisma. You don’t know why someone is popular, so they call it charisma.’

‘Can anyone get charisma?’

‘Not really. You can’t go to a shop and buy some, and it’s not catching like a cold or chicken pox.’

Bonnie pulled a face. ‘That’s not fair.’

‘Do you want to hear this story or not?’

His daughter subsided and Calan carried on. ‘The prince was very intelligent, so the king and queen sent him away to university to learn how to be the best ruler ever when it was his turn to be king. While he was at university—’

‘How do you be a good king?’

‘By being just and kind. You also have to be—’

‘Just what?’ she interrupted.

‘Eh?’

‘You said he has to be just, but you didn’t say what.’

‘Oh, I see. In this instance “just” means “fair”.’

Bonnie nodded to show she understood.

‘Where was I…? Oh, yes, whilst he was studying hard – because he really wanted to be the best king ever – he met a beautiful princess.’

‘What did she look like?’

Calan stiffened as a memory leapt into his mind. ‘She had long dark hair down to here,’ he touched the middle of his chest, ‘and grey eyes, like the sea on a stormy day.’

‘What was her name?’

‘Um, Tara.’

‘What was the prince’s name?’

‘Calan.’

‘That’s your name! You’re not a prince.’

‘Are you sure I’m not? I live in a castle…’

‘You do not.’ Bonnie was emphatic. ‘You live in a tiny house.’

‘It’s not that tiny,’ Calan objected.

‘It’s not as big as Coorie Castle.’

‘True, but not many places are.’

‘So you don’t live in a castle.’ Bonnie narrowed her eyes. ‘Is Mhairi a queen?’

Calan hid his smile. ‘No, Bon-Bon, she isn’t a queen. But she does own the castle.’

‘She must be very rich.’

Calan wasn’t prepared to discuss his employer’s finances with his daughter – or anyone else, for that matter.

He began to get to his feet, saying, ‘You obviously don’t want to hear my fabulous story,’ but Bonnie pulled him back down onto the bed.

‘I do! I do!’ she cried, and he tucked her in once more and continued the story.

‘As soon as the prince saw Tara, he fell in love and wanted to marry her. She loved him too, despite his squinty eye, but he didn’t know that his good looks and charm had also made someone else fall in love with him. And that someone was a witch!’ He paused for dramatic effect.

Bonnie had the covers up to her nose and was peering over the top of them. ‘What happened next, Daddy?’

‘The witch had a dragon, and the dragon threatened to burn him to a crisp unless he married her instead of the princess. So, do you know what he did? He challenged the dragon to a duel! But this wasn’t any old duel, because a mere sword couldn’t kill a fire-breathing scaly dragon. The prince suggested a virtual duel on a computer, and because he was a modern prince who had played loads of computer games, he won! The dragon was defeated, the witch was banished, and the prince married his princess and they lived happily ever after.’ He ended the final sentence on a triumphant note, feeling smug.

‘Daddy, that was…’ Bonnie had a mischievous twinkle in her eye. ‘Awful,’ she finished.

Calan pretended to be hurt. ‘Are you dissing my story-telling skills?’

She giggled and nodded, and he swept her into his arms. God, how he adored this child! He regretted many things in his life, but Bonnie wasn’t one of them.

Later, though, as he sat quietly on the back step enjoying a peaceful few minutes before his own bedtime, he couldn’t help thinking back to the story he’d told his daughter.

It hadn’t been a complete work of fiction. Tara had been very real. And he had fallen in love with her. But he hadn’t married her. He’d married someone else instead, and the happily ever after had ended in divorce and heartache.

After a hectic few days of entertaining Bonnie at the adventure park

and go-karting, Cal was more than ready to do something more sedate, so

when his tired-looking parents suggested a trip across the city to Whin

Park, he was all for it.

While his mother made a picnic (with Bonnie’s help), Cal and his dad had a root around in the garage for a ball and a frisbee. To his delight, Cal also unearthed a stunt kite that he’d had when he was around Bonnie’s age. His dad must have packed it away because the strings were remarkably tangle free – if Cal had done it, the poor thing would be a messy nest of knots.

‘Do you think this still flies?’ he asked, holding it up.

His dad peered closely at it and said, ‘There’s only one way to find out.’

Bonnie was just as excited about the kite and the thought of playing football in the park as she had been about the more high-profile things she’d done this week, and it gladdened Cal’s heart to see his daughter able to find a similar degree of enjoyment in simpler – and less expensive – activities.

But he didn’t care if he had to spend a fortune, because he was determined that she would have the best time ever to make up for her not going abroad on holiday with her mother and Lenn. Bonnie hadn’t said anything, but he suspected she might be disappointed. After all, two weeks in Inverness couldn’t compete with two weeks on a Mediterranean island, even if Inverness was experiencing sunny weather.

The sun was high in an azure sky with not a cloud in sight as they arrived at the park, and Cal insisted on smearing more sunscreen on Bonnie’s face, arms and legs before he let her loose. Then he helped his dad carry the picnic basket, the cooler box and travel blanket to the spot his mum had decided would be an ideal place to sit and have lunch.

Calan had loved coming to Whin Park when he was a kid. Despite growing up only a stone’s throw away from Beauly Firth and within easy walking distance of the Caledonian Canal, the boating lake in the park with its ducks and swans had held a special appeal.

His mum, bless her, had remembered to bring a bag of lawn cuttings for the ducks, and Cal helped her spread the blankets out on the grass while his dad and Bonnie went off to feed them.

Sitting down next to her, his gaze was on grandfather and granddaughter as Bonnie chewed his dad’s ear off.

‘That child can talk for Scotland,’ he observed.

‘She’s certainly a live wire,’ his mum said, her eyes also on the pair.

‘You’re going to need a holiday after we’ve gone.’ He was only half joking.

‘You forget how hard work they are,’ she said, adding hurriedly, ‘Not that your dad and I mind. We’re always thrilled to see her. And you too, of course.’

‘Thanks.’ He smiled wryly. ‘Glad to hear you don’t mind seeing me.’

They sat in silence for a while, Cal enjoying the sound of the ducks squabbling and the shouts and laughter of children in the play area. Then his mother surprised him with a question.

‘Are you happy, Calan?’

Taken aback, he said, ‘I’m not un happy.’

‘That’s not the same thing.’

‘Who is happy?’ he countered.

‘Your dad and I are.’

‘Yeah, that’s because you took early retirement. You wouldn’t be as happy if you had to scrape ice off the car in the dark on a winter morning before you went to work.’

She gave him an arch look. ‘That’s not something you have to do, either. And our happiness isn’t because we are retired, although I’m very grateful that we are. It’s because we don’t just love each other, we are still in love with each other.’

Cal didn’t know what to say to that, so he didn’t say anything.

‘I want you to be happy, Cal, like me and your dad.’

‘Difficult, considering I’m single and intend to stay that way.’

‘I understand, I really do. But not all women are like Yvaine. She was a real piece of work. I remember thinking it the first time I met her, but I never said anything. Well, you can’t, can you? You’ve got to accept your son or daughter’s partner and hope it works out.’

Calan was lost for words again.

His mum had enough words for both of them. ‘It’s a pity you couldn’t find someone nice to settle down with.’

‘As opposed to someone nasty?’ he quipped.

‘I’m serious. You don’t want to let one bad experience put you off love for life.’

Cal scoffed, ‘I’m not “off love”. I love you and Dad, and Bonnie.’ God, how he loved Bonnie!

‘I’m not talking about the love you have for your parents, your children or even your friends. I’m talking about the kind of love that makes your heart sing.’

He knew what she meant. He had felt it himself, years ago.

Once again, an image of a woman with long dark hair and grey eyes floated into his mind.

‘Mum, I’m fine as I am,’ he replied. ‘I’m not looking for love and romance.’

Her response was a dry laugh. ‘Be careful it doesn’t find you anyway.’

‘It won’t.’ He was certain. Even if he did meet someone who piqued his interest, he didn’t intend to do anything about it. With a demanding job and a young daughter, he didn’t have the time.

He deliberately ignored his conscience when it suggested that he could find the time if he wanted. After all, he didn’t have sole care of Bonnie – she spent far more time with her mother than she did with him – and his job, although not nine-to-five Monday to Friday, gave him more than enough free time. So, yes, he would have time to date if he wanted to.

But he didn’t. He’d had his fill of love and romance. He didn’t need that kind of hassle in his life. All he wanted was to focus on Bonnie and be the best father he could possibly be.

She was his sole priority, and her happiness was his only concern.