Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
CAT
“This is my new home!” I announce with a dramatic flourish, throwing open the front door like I’m unveiling some grand Highland castle instead of a modest flat above the Otter’s Holt gift shop on Bannock’s Main Street.
My three older brothers file into the narrow hallway, their broad shoulders practically brushing the walls. When they spill into the living room, their combined bulk makes the already modest space feel decidedly cramped. Each of them has the same chestnut hair and imposing height, but Ally is the rock, Lewis the gentle giant, and Jamie the wildcard who keeps us all on our toes.
“Well?” I prompt, rolling back on my heels and struggling to contain my grin. “What do you think?”
Ally, the eldest, runs a hand over a long crack in the wall with a sceptical frown. Lewis narrows his eyes at the peeling floral wallpaper like it’s personally offended him. And Jamie, who at twenty-five is just one year my senior, prods at an ominous dark stain on the worn carpet with the toe of his trainer.
Okay, so maybe—just maybe—the fact I could afford this place has something to do with it being a bit of a fixer-upper.
Lewis is the first to speak. “Is the hotel really so bad that you’d rather live here?”
He’s referring to the Bannock Hotel, just down the road, where all four of us grew up. After Maw and Da died seven years ago, Ally took over the running of it, but his heart was never in it. Two years back, Lewis, who’s always loved the place, became manager instead, and it’s flourished under his care.
“Wow, Lewis, don’t try to spare my feelings or anything.” I fold my arms.
He shrugs unapologetically. “I’m just saying.”
“I was happy spending weekends at the hotel when I came back to visit, but now that I’ve moved back for good? I need my own space.”
I’ve been away for six years. Five of those were spent in Glasgow, soaking up city life while earning my English degree and doing my postgrad in teaching. Then came my probationary teaching year in Wick, a remote town clinging to the northern edge of the mainland. It’s a bonny enough spot, but let’s just say it’s not what you’d call buzzing . Not ideal for someone like me who thrives on a bit of excitement. Still, every cloud has a silver lining: without a whole lot there to spend my money on, I was able to save enough to put down a deposit on this place.
Moving back under the same roof as one of my brothers would have been suffocating, even if I do love all three of them (well, most of the time anyway). Besides, I’m young, single, and ready to mingle. The last thing I need is hotel guests overhearing my... extracurricular activities. Like Wick, Bannock is small, but at least it’s only a drive away from Inverness, the Highlands’ one and only city. Which means I’ll be looking to make up for lost time after a year of near celibacy.
“Is it just me,” Ally says, his nose wrinkling, “or is there a weird smell?”
Wow. That’s the first thing he says? Nothing about the original fireplace or the gorgeous cornicing?
“You’re right,” Jamie chimes in, straight-faced. “It is you, Ally. You do smell. Always have. Glad we’ve finally got that out in the open.”
Ally doesn’t even dignify this with a response. He just levels Jamie with one of his trademark glowers.
“It is a bit stale in here,” Lewis says, eyeing the carpet and the shabby sofa with suspicion.
“Och, it’s nothing a bit of airing won’t sort out,” I say breezily. “Let me give you the grand tour.”
In truth, it’s less of a grand tour and more of a single-file shuffle down the hallway. I show them the bathroom (functional but dated, with a dripping tap), the bedroom (yellowing wallpaper and faded curtains), and finally the kitchen, which hasn’t seen much love since the nineties.
Jamie flicks the light switch. The fluorescent tube buzzes and flickers like it’s communicating in Morse code. “I think this light is having a seizure.”
I roll my eyes. “It just needs replaced.”
Ally crouches near one corner where cracked linoleum curls upwards. When he touches it, a piece breaks off in his hand. He straightens up with a sigh. “As does the lino.”
“But I’d suggest you deal with that first.” Lewis nods at a damp patch on the ceiling.
Jamie tugs open a kitchen drawer, only for it to come right out and dangle at an awkward angle. He smirks at me before shoving it back into place, although it remains defiantly crooked. “Very retro.”
Ally exhales sharply, his face settling into that classic “sucking a lime” expression. Uh oh, I can feel a lecture coming.
“I can’t believe you bought this place without checking with us,” he says sternly. “I would have definitely talked you out of it.”
And that’s exactly why I didn’t check with him. For someone who runs an outdoor adventure business, Ally can be surprisingly risk-averse. Also, I’m an adult! I don’t need to check anything with my brothers.
“You’re all being so negative,” I say, my voice losing some of its earlier bounce. “It’s nothing a bit of hard work and elbow grease can’t sort out.”
Jamie sniggers. “Hard work and elbow grease? Didn’t know those words were even in your vocabulary.”
“That’s rich coming from you,” I shoot back.
“I run a successful beer garden. That’s hard graft.”
“Aye, and you’ve been grafting at that for... what? Two whole months? Hardly makes up for all the years you spent doing hee-haw before that, does it?”
He cocks his head like he’s going to argue, but then he shrugs. “That’s fair.”
We fall quiet for a while, my brothers continuing to survey my tired new abode. Right. I square my shoulders and lift my chin. So what if this place needs a wee bit of TLC? There are three strapping lads right here.
Turning on the charm with a dimple-popping grin, I meet each of their eyes in turn. “I know it’s going to take some work. But maybe?—”
“Oh no!” Lewis says.
“What?”
“That look!” Jamie waves at my face.
“What look?”
“The ‘my brothers will do it for me’ look,” Jamie clarifies, his tone accusatory.
I press a hand to my chest in mock outrage. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Having said that, if you did want to pitch in...”
I look to Ally first. He scratches his jaw, the expression on his face already telling me what I don’t want to hear.
“Cat, you know I’ve always done what I can for you, but Bannock Adventures operates seven days a week over the summer, and when I’m not working, I’ve got a sixteen-month-old and a very pregnant wife to look after. It’s not that I don’t want to help—it’s that I physically can’t.”
“Oh,” I say. Surprised and more than a little crestfallen, I turn to Lewis.
“Don’t look at me!” he protests, his hands raised. “It’s tourist season, by far the busiest time at the hotel. And my second-in-command is about to go on maternity leave. I’m stretched thinner than ever.”
Lewis’s second-in-command and Ally’s very pregnant wife are one and the same person—Emily, my sister-in-law.
Desperate, I turn to Jamie, my last hope. “I can’t believe I’m asking this, Jamie, but are you free to help?”
Jamie pulls a regretful face. “I’d love to, but I’ve got video games to play.”
I glare at him.
“Joke! Actually, the new beer garden is keeping me busy, plus Maisie and I are trying to figure out how to make our businesses work with each other instead of against each other. You couldn’t have picked a worse time. In winter? Perfect. Now? No chance.”
“You’ll just have to get a handyman in to do the work,” Ally suggests.
I sigh. “Maybe when my bank account is looking a little healthier.” The deposit just about cleaned me out.
This is the first place I’ve ever owned, and it’s dawning on me what that really means. When I was renting, if a tap leaked or a light fixture went wonky, I’d just call the landlord and— poof! —problem solved. Now? Every creaky floorboard and peeling bit of wallpaper is officially my responsibility.
“Anyway,” I say brightly, trying to brush off my disappointment, “loads of people learn how to do this stuff themselves. YouTube tutorials exist for a reason.”
Jamie bursts into laughter. “Ha! Good one, sis. You and DIY.”
I grit my teeth. I wasn’t joking. What choice do I have?
“The new school term is starting soon,” I say. “If any teenagers give me grief, I can come home and hit some nails with a hammer. It’ll be therapeutic.”
“Just don’t hit your thumb,” Lewis warns. “Or turn this place into more of a disaster zone than it already is.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
Ally places a hand on my shoulder. “We’re not trying to rain on your parade, Cat. This place has potential but it needs a lot of work, and none of us has time right now.”
“I get it,” I say. And I do. They’ve all moved into new stages of their lives while I’m still trying to figure mine out.
I like to think of myself as independent, but the truth is, with three older brothers, I’ve never really had to be. They’ve always looked out for me, even Jamie. But now? Now they’ve all got partners and businesses, and suddenly rescuing me from my self-made disasters isn’t top of their priority lists the way it once was.
“Anyway, I best head off,” Jamie says. “Good luck, Bob the Builder.” Smirking, he ruffles my hair, apparently oblivious to the existential crisis bubbling away behind my forced smile. “If you somehow manage to make this place liveable, I’ll bring booze for your flat-warming party.” He fires me a wink then heads for the door.
Ally and Lewis make their excuses too. All three promise to check in soon, then the door clicks shut behind them.
“Well,” I say to my empty flat, “looks like it’s just you and me now.”
Time to figure out how the hell I’m going to do up this place on my own.