Chapter 8
Having walked out of the kitchen, Hannah went outside and around the side of the hotel to where the sandy shore was lapped by the lake. She loved the beach, as the family referred to it.
Plenty of happy memories on the beach came from her childhood. Playing on the sand with Ben. Seeing if the edges were really frozen on a cold winter’s day. Their dad chasing them in and out of the cold water on a hot summer’s afternoon after school.
Life had been a little harder this past year when he had died so unexpectedly. But slowly the family were beginning to find their way in the present without him with them every day.
Hannah paused briefly to look across the water.
The lake was large at almost fifty acres.
On that spring day, the deep cobalt of the sky was reflected in the almost still water.
The air, however, was alive with the sound of birdsong and nature enjoying the rites of spring.
Ducks skidded across the surface of the water as they came in to land.
Baby coots flitted in and out of the reeds, scurrying along after their parents.
And amongst the reeds, as the sun warmed the air as it became stronger day by day, the dragonflies rose into flight, their gossamer wings shiny under the sun’s rays.
She turned to walk on along the shore and away from the hotel.
The lake was a large oval, hugged by the green rolling hills of the English countryside all around them.
The forest sounded alive as well, a woodpecker making holes in an old oak tree, squirrels flitting from branch to branch and the soft chirping of baby birds in their nests waiting to be fed.
The other side of the lake, away from the hotel, was empty of buildings, although a few spaces had been cleared amongst the trees where she knew that Ben had planned to place the new log cabins once they had been given planning permission.
The only other building along the shoreline of the lake was the boathouse.
Walking along the path, she noted the newly covered furrows along the ground that reminded her that Ben had ensured that the new electrics and plumbing for the hotel had been extended to the boathouse as well.
It also had a new roof and apparently new windows as well, although she had been too busy to look at the recently completed renovations yet.
She glanced over her shoulder but there was nobody else around. Well, perhaps she would just take a peek inside, she thought. Just to see the progress.
The path rose up a little as she walked along, leaving the lake a little way below. In front of her, the boathouse rose into view. It was built on the shoreline but with a huge veranda that ran the length of the boathouse, jutting out over the lake, hovering above the water like a dragonfly.
It had been built by her great-grandfather and, like the hotel, the boathouse was a mixture of local sandstone bricks and thick logs felled from the forest. It was a square building, built on thick wooden pillars that disappeared into the crystal-clear water of the lake.
Next to the pillars, underneath the main building, were three wooden docks, one of which housed a small rowing boat which was bobbing about in the water. On the far side of the boathouse was a short wooden jetty, next to a smaller patch of sand which led into the water.
Hannah reached the entrance and opened up the door to step inside. She hadn’t been inside for a while and was somewhat amazed at the recent transformation.
Once it had been rotten and rickety but now the whole place felt secure and welcoming. She stepped straight into the huge main room of the boathouse, newly covered with oak floorboards which stretched all the way onto the huge veranda outside.
She gasped as she realised that instead of the small shutters that had once been in place, there was now a wall of glass dividing the room and the veranda.
It made the light flood into what had once been a dark space and showed off the magnificent view of the lake beyond.
She could just imagine the huge glass sliding doors flung open in the summer to let in the warm air.
The other main change was along the back wall where a large area had been separated by way of a long, high breakfast bar.
Hannah walked past the bar and into the space which she could now see had been set up as a kitchen.
She had overheard Jake advising Ben on which equipment would suit the small space and he appeared to have had great vision.
She marvelled at the sleek new fridges, freezers, dishwasher and double oven and ran her hand over the large stainless-steel hob.
She spun around slowly, admiring the oak cupboards and shelves, which matched the floorboards, and she could see where all the new electrical sockets had been positioned, just waiting for the additional appliances to be installed.
The double sink was also perfect and she could tell that someone had put real thought into the layout.
They had also had to put in a whole lot of money too, she thought, with a grimace.
There had been a tax rebate once her dad’s affairs had been put into order and seeing as how the hotel renovations for the main building were now complete, Ben had wanted to invest the money into the boathouse.
At the time, Hannah had been unsure whether it would be money wisely spent but now she was in total agreement. It was stunning.
As she walked back out of the open kitchen, she couldn’t help but admire Ben’s vision to turn the ramshackle building into such a welcoming space.
Someone, she wondered if perhaps it was Lily, had come up with the idea for a café.
The hotel had a restaurant which was used whenever there were any guests for dinner at the weekend, as well as for breakfast every day of the week.
For the rest of the day, however, there were no other catering options, apart from the drinks and cakes that they provided in the lounge on the honesty trolley.
Of course, there was the snug, the newly renovated bar which Frankie ran in the evening, but that only had a few light snacks.
But as she stared around, Hannah had to admit that the boathouse with its space and light would be an amazing setting for additional catering needs.
She saw a door near the entrance and opened it up, peeking around to see a staircase leading up into the roof area.
‘Ben’s original thought was that it could be used for storage up there.’
Hannah drew her head back to find Lily standing by the front door. ‘But because of the sheer size up there, he changed the use to an apartment instead.’
Hannah closed the door. ‘Great idea,’ she murmured.
‘It’s got its own bathroom and enough space for a large bed and a sofa as well. He thought that Penny could move in there when she started to work here but it obviously wasn’t meant to be.’ Lily came into the room, giving her a sheepish look. ‘Are you mad with me?’
‘Of course not,’ Hannah told her with a sigh. ‘I just need you to work on Ben to let go of this ridiculous idea that I could run this place.’
‘If that’s what you really want,’ replied Lily, sounding unsure.
Hannah raised her eyebrows at her friend. ‘Of course it is.’
Lily shrugged her shoulders. ‘I just thought that rather than working in that awful pub, you could be your own boss for a change. Wouldn’t that be nice?’
‘Nice? It just sounds like a lot of responsibility,’ muttered Hannah in reply.
Lily walked over to take her friend by the shoulders. ‘I know it’s scary,’ she told her. ‘I understand and we would never force you to do anything that you wouldn’t want to do.’
‘Why do I feel as if there’s a “but” coming somewhere soon?’ said Hannah, raising her eyebrows.
Lily smiled. ‘OK, just for you,’ she replied. ‘But tell me you don’t look around this space and see the potential. That you haven’t dreamed of having your own place where you can serve your own delicious bakes instead of that microwaved rubbish at the pub.’
Hannah looked around at the room once more.
Lily was right, of course. She stared around the empty space and at once she could just imagine a vintage-inspired tea room, with that magnificent view of the sparkling lake beyond.
She could envision trays of sandwiches and cakes, mismatched china and even colourful cocktails.
Because where the reality was a large empty room, she could see chairs and tables.
Fresh flowers on the bar. The chink of china and silverware.
The buzz of conversation. Of people enjoying themselves.
Of her baking in the kitchen and smiling at the customers.
Of seeing that view out of the windows each and every day. Of being her own boss.
But it was a crazy idea, wasn’t it? It was too much for her to expect to enjoy making a living from her favourite thing in the world.
So she shook her head at her best friend and told her that she had lots to do that morning. Lily looked at her with raised eyebrows but thankfully said nothing, merely giving her a reassuring squeeze of the arm.
Before they left the room, Hannah glanced around once more before dismissing her daydream. Dreams never came true anyway, did they, she reminded herself.