Chapter 15
The following morning, Lotta dressed in her thermals with jeans and her warmest sweater, and a puffer coat. She didn’t know if she’d need the coat since it was sunny, but when they stepped out of the house, the wind was colder than she’d expected. She pulled her bobble hat out of her bag.
‘It’s chilly. Have you got enough clothes?’ Mats said. ‘I can bring a couple of extra sweatshirts.’
‘I’m okay. It’s only my ears that are cold.’
The view from the back of the house was stunning. It was perched high on the side of the fjord, and in the sunshine, the water glistened below.
‘It’s so beautiful,’ said Lotta. ‘I can’t believe you grew up here.
And that’s why you can drive a boat in the dark.
’ She’d been so relieved last night that he’d relented on the plan to set off straight to the island.
Spending the evening with Ida had been lovely and gave her a better sense of where Mats came from, which she loved.
‘I’m a little out of practice to be honest, so perhaps it was for the best.’ He laughed at her wide-eyed look of shock.
‘It would have been okay,’ he shrugged, taking her hand and leading her down a winding path to the edge of the water where there was a small wooden boathouse.
It was like a different world to Lotta, having grown up in landlocked middle England.
Of course when she’d visited Norway before, she’d seen houses like this one dotted along the sides of the fjords, testament to the strong ties Norwegians had to the water which had sustained them for generations, but she’d never imagined she’d meet anyone who lived in one of them.
Mats opened the boathouse, and she waited on the small jetty while he reversed the boat out and shut it up again.
He dropped their bags into the bottom of the boat and held out his hand for her.
She stepped onto the boat, losing her balance slightly to begin with, but Mats’ grasp on her was solid and she soon found her feet.
She sat on one side while Mats took the controls at the front of the boat, and off they went.
The small canopy that protected them from the elements kept off the worst of the wind, but it was still cold.
Lotta pulled her hood up over her bobble hat and pushed her hands deep into her pockets.
With plenty of houses to look at, the journey to Bergen didn’t seem to take that long.
Mats pulled the boat up at the side of the harbour and tied off next to a ladder.
They stashed their bags in a locker under the seat and climbed up to the quayside.
‘I remember this place from when I came with my parents,’ Lotta said. ‘Is there a railway that goes up the mountain?’
‘Yes, the station is at the top of that road,’ Mats said, pointing to a wide cobbled avenue that led up from the harbour.
‘I remember the view being like the one from the mountain in Oslo,’ she said, smiling at him as they both remembered the night of their first date a couple of weeks ago.
‘It’s similar,’ he said. ‘Shall we find somewhere for coffee and pastries first to warm up?’
Although she was grateful he noticed it was freezing, she was worried that he was far hardier than her and they were heading to the island to stay in a tent because what other option was there when the place was a building site?
She knew he was excited and wanted it to be a surprise, so she’d stopped herself from asking him what to expect.
She had to trust him, and she did, but it was a relief to know he was feeling the cold too.
After a warming breakfast, they headed to the supermarket where Lotta left it to Mats to choose what they needed.
He picked exactly the kind of food you’d eat if you were camping.
A loaf of bread, sausages, some kind of square flatbreads, and amongst everything else, some pre-sliced Norwegian brown cheese.
‘I love that cheese,’ Lotta said, her mouth already watering at the thought of the sweet, slightly caramel-tasting cheese.
‘Well, you do have Norwegian blood,’ Mats pointed out. ‘Is there anything else you would like?’
‘Will we have a campfire?’
‘Yes. Please don’t worry about being cold.’
‘No, I’m not. I thought we could make smores.’
‘Good idea,’ he said, heading down the next aisle to find marshmallows while Lotta looked for chocolate biscuits. They weren’t exactly McVities, but they were close enough.
They headed back to the harbour with their bags of shopping and climbed down to the boat. Lotta felt like a local now.
‘You’ll have to come shopping like this all the time when you live on the island.’
‘It will take some getting used to. I never do a big shop in Oslo because it’s so easy to pick anything up when I need it.’
‘And you probably get take-aways.’
‘I do,’ he grinned. ‘I will miss that.’
Lotta sat back in her seat at the side of the boat, watching Mats drive and loving how capable he was. She didn’t think she’d ever been out with someone who had such an air of reliability, making her feel safe just by being there.
The journey to the island only took about fifteen minutes. Once Mats had turned off the wide fjord onto a smaller one, it wasn’t long before he turned to her and held out his hand.
‘Come here, you can see the island.’
She stood up and grabbed his hand, not sure yet that she could stay upright when the boat was in motion, although Mats had slowed it down a little now. He slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her next to him, his sure stance holding her steady.
The fjord split into two channels around a point of land that, as it came closer, revealed itself to be a tree-covered island. Lotta looked up at Mats and saw the look of anticipation on his face, and when he looked down at her, she could see in his eyes how much he wanted to share this with her.
He pulled alongside the jetty. Lotta climbed out of the boat and caught the rope that he threw to her. She wound it around the post enough to hold it and then watched as he expertly tied a knot to secure it once he’d killed the engine.
‘So, what do you think?’
She thought that even in the sunshine, it looked fairly desolate.
The clear area of land in front of them was churned up and muddy, far from the picturesque place she’d expected or seen in the photographs.
The woods that began a little further ahead were dense and uninviting, and Lotta wondered what she’d let herself in for.
Was Mats delusional? Perhaps this was why his family had tried to talk him out of it. It was all making sense now.
But one thing she did love was the clear water that lapped against the rocks.
The clarity of it was like nothing she’d ever seen before, and it made her stomach turn a little when it changed from crystal clear to deep blue so close to the shore, almost vertically dropping to depths she could hardly imagine.
‘Let me show you around before we unload,’ Mats said, taking her hand.
He led her along a muddy track into the woodland, and it wasn’t long before the source of the mud was revealed. The clearing they stood in was a building site. All the machinery and materials that were stacked here had been traipsed across from the jetty. No wonder it was muddy.
‘This is the farmhouse and it’ll be the main hotel building. We’re putting an extension on the back and lifting the roof to make more space.’
Lotta had to admit that the front of the house, which was surrounded by a veranda, was beautiful. Or had the potential to be. ‘It’s an enormous house for a small island.’
‘The farm extends onto the neighbouring land as well. This was the hub, I suppose. My grandparents lived here.’
‘Wow, I bet you loved this when you were kids.’
He shook his head. ‘My father had been estranged from them for a long time. I visited here when I was small, but I didn’t remember until we all came over to see it after my father died.
It was left to us, but none of us had any idea he owned it.
Everything was just as it had been when my grandparents left decades ago. ’
‘What an incredible story. No wonder you feel a pull to the place.’ She understood now. He was carrying on his family’s legacy, protecting it and cherishing it.
‘I’m not sure my father would approve of what I’m doing.’
‘Because he didn’t want to be here, you think he wouldn’t want you to be?’
‘Something like that.’
She sensed that this was something Mats wasn’t quite ready to share.
‘I’m sure he’d be proud of you for following your dream.’ She reached for his hand, and his eyes moved to meet hers. There was uncertainty there, but it was gone in a second.
‘Come on,’ he said, leading them through the trees. ‘Let me show you where we’re staying.’
As they moved away from the farmhouse, the island became more appealing. There was grass, occasional glimpses of the fjord through the trees, and some very cute, albeit dilapidated, little cabins.
‘Are you keeping the cabins?’
‘Yes. They’re part of phase two, so probably not until next year. It’s good that you like the cabins.’
He stopped next to a cabin with faded red paint on the outside. There was something different about it, but Lotta couldn’t put her finger on it. He was smiling and then jerked his head toward the cabin. ‘This is ours.’
She grinned. He looked so pleased with himself, and she was relieved to have solid walls and a roof for the night rather than canvas. ‘Come on then, show me around.’
He pulled the door open and stood to the side so she could go in. The inside was all bare wood floors and walls, but Mats had made it cosy with rugs and a bed that looked so inviting.
‘It’s wonderful!’
‘You like it?’
‘I love it.’ She turned to him and looped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest while she took in their little house. ‘I can’t believe you have it so nice. Did you bring all of this over here?’
‘Yes, last weekend. It cleaned up okay.’
‘It’s better than okay, Mats. Honestly, I thought we’d be sleeping in a tent. This is gorgeous.’
‘Let me light the fire, get it warm.’
Lotta sat on one of the wooden chairs next to the window and watched Mats assemble some kindling in the stove’s grate and light it. It crackled, the flames licking upwards and making the cabin feel instantly cosy. He’d made a small pile of logs in the opposite corner, and she handed him a couple.
‘Shall we fetch the bags and then we can get settled in,’ he said.
‘Will you show me the rest of the island? Tell me about your plans?’
‘Sure, I’d love that.’
After they’d got everything from the boat and arranged it all inside, they strolled through the woods to the opposite end of the island.
The sun was higher now and sent dappled sunlight through the trees.
It gave this end of the island a different feel to the side where they’d landed, and Lotta could see the beauty in the place.
Once they emerged from the trees onto the tip of the opposite side of the island, she stopped, feeling breathless as she saw what was in front of her.
The fjord joined as one again, and in front of them the mountains on either side soared high and steep, the rocky sides home to numerous narrow waterfalls, trickling or sloshing down to the fjord below.
There were more trees than you might expect to see on such rocky, vertiginous terrain, and in the distance, the highest peaks were still snow-covered.
‘This is incredible. I’ve seen fjords before, but this has come from nowhere. Look at the view.’
‘I want this side of the island to be where guests can come to paddleboard, kayak, or even swim in the summer.’
‘I can just imagine myself lying here on a lounger, if it was warmer, or even on a cold sunny day you could wrap up in blankets and read. It’s so peaceful, Mats.’
He nodded and came behind her, wrapping himself around her, warm and solid. ‘It feels like a million miles away from anywhere.’
‘It does. A retreat. That’s why people will come here. It’s an escape, but on the doorstep of Bergen.’
‘Can I use that in my marketing?’
‘No, it’s awful, a horrible cliché,’ she laughed. ‘I can come up with something better.’
‘Would you?’
‘Of course I would. Although this place will sell itself, Mats. As soon as people see this view, you’ll be sold out all the time.’
‘I hope so,’ he said, squeezing her tighter. ‘Come on, let’s go back to the cabin and warm up.’
‘Is that code for trying the bed out?’
‘It can be,’ he chuckled.