A Highland Family Affair (Highlands #3)

Chapter 12

12

After a brief stop-off in Kyle of Lochalsh for coffee, Brodie followed his satnav directions that took them over the Skye bridge and into the picturesque village of Glentorrin, arriving at half past twelve. ‘Somewhere Only We Know’ by Keane came on the Spotify playlist and Olivia smiled. They followed a narrow road until they came to a sign on a pretty building that read Thistle House .

‘Here we are,’ he said as he parked up.

Olivia beamed. ‘It’s even prettier than the photo that was on the booking letter.’

‘Come on, I’ll grab the cases, you go knock on the door.’

Olivia climbed from the car and walked up the short path to the door. She knocked the thistle-shaped knocker against the wood and almost immediately the door opened. A pleasant-looking woman with neat grey hair stood there with a bright smile.

‘Hello there! You must be Mrs MacLeod,’ she said, holding out her hand. ‘I’m Morag, do come on in.’

‘Oh, erm, I’m Olivia MacBain but my partner is Brodie MacLeod.’ She took the offered hand and stepped inside.

‘Ah, my mistake, I apologise. Come on in out of the cold, you too, Mr MacLeod.’

Brodie appeared with both suitcases. ‘Thanks very much. Please call me Brodie, though.’

‘And I’m Olivia.’

‘Wonderful. Come on and I’ll show you to your room. I’ve put you in the room overlooking the village. It’s not huge but it has an en suite and it’s very cosy which is a good thing at this time of year, I’m sure you’ll agree.’

She opened the door to the room and stepped aside so the couple could walk in. ‘This is lovely,’ Olivia said as she placed her handbag on the bed. ‘Thank you.’

‘No bother at all. You’ve tea and coffee-making facilities over by the window. The pub next door does delicious food, and they often have live music on too. My husband Kenneth runs the wee grocery around the corner in case you need anything and there’s a lovely bakery across the village next door to the café. You’ll want for nothing while you’re here. But if there’s anything I can do, just pop along the corridor downstairs to the kitchen. Last door along the hallway. I’ll leave you to settle in.’

‘Thanks, Morag, this is great,’ Brodie said just before she closed the door. He turned to Olivia, who was now standing looking out of the window. ‘Is this okay?’ he asked, slipping his arms around her waist and resting his head on her shoulder.

‘It’s perfect,’ she replied. The village was pretty with its white-painted houses and businesses. Festive lights were strung around an inlet of water and Olivia was excited to see them lit up in the evening. She was excited to explore, but even more than that, she was looking forward to the following day when they would be surprising Bella at her new place. Even though it had only been a matter of weeks since she had seen Bella, Olivia couldn’t wait to see her again.

Brodie turned her around to face him. ‘I thought we could start our little adventure by visiting that gallery where the paintings for the stable apartments came from. You know the ones Bella got? The artist, Reid Mackinnon, lives right here in Glentorrin. I thought it might be nice to go and choose one for our room.’

‘Oh, yes! That would be so lovely.’

Brodie took her hand and led her out of the room and back outside the guest house. ‘I think I saw a sign on the way in that pointed along this lane, come on.’ They wandered, hand in hand, in the direction Brodie had pointed. The trees were bare, and the branches overhead held a little snow. The sky was a vivid blue now, but it was deceptively cold. Brodie paused and scratched his chin. ‘That’s weird. I can’t see the sign now.’

A giddy ginger dog arrived as if out of nowhere, bouncing around, its tongue lolling out.

‘Chewie! Heel!’ came a boy’s voice from somewhere behind them. ‘Sorry, he’s not nasty, just very friendly.’

Olivia bent to fuss the dog as it wagged its tail frantically. ‘Oh, that’s okay. I like his name. It suits him with his colouring.’

The boy smiled. ‘Thanks, I chose it for that reason. I love Star Wars .’

‘Do you know where the artist’s studio is, please? Reid Mackinnon’s?’ Brodie asked the dark-haired boy.

He glanced over his shoulder. ‘Ugh, Chewie has knocked the sign over again! I do know, yes, because he’s my dad. You go down that lane there. The other sign is still standing so you should find it okay.’

‘Ah, grand. Olivia here is a big fan of his work,’ Brodie replied.

‘Oh, I am. His paintings are so beautiful,’ she gushed. ‘Are you artistic like your dad?’ she asked.

He scrunched his lips for a moment as he contemplated his answer. ‘I’m not as good as Dad but I like to have a go. I tried to paint Chewie once, but I actually ended up painting Chewie because he wouldn’t sit still. My mum and dad weren’t exactly happy with the mess.’ He laughed.

Brodie and Olivia laughed along, and Olivia could visualise the huge dog covered in paint splotches, it was the kind of thing Wilf would do.

‘Thanks for your help. Enjoy your walk with Chewie,’ Brodie said.

‘Thanks. And I hope you enjoy meeting my dad. Spoiler alert, though, he’s pretty normal. He doesn’t wear a beret or have a twiddly moustache or hold one of those fancy pallets, like the artists you see in cartoons.’

‘Good to know,’ Brodie said with a chuckle.

The boy and his dog carried on for their walk and Olivia and Brodie followed his directions. They came across a pretty double-fronted house at the end of a lane with a board outside that read STUDIO OPEN .

‘I’m so excited!’ Olivia said as Brodie took her hand and led her inside.

The studio wasn’t massive, but it was plenty big enough to act as a gallery for the artist’s work. At the opposite end to the door was an easel with a man’s mop of dark hair just visible over the top of it. When he heard them, he placed down his brush and stepped from behind the canvas. He was a handsome man wearing a T-shirt that was covered in a rainbow of splatters. His face appeared to be part of his canvas too seeing as he was covered in blobs of blue and white.

He smiled. ‘Hi there! Feel free to have a browse and if I can help at all let me know.’

‘Erm, actually, you can help. I’m Brodie MacLeod, I spoke to you a month or so ago about an important commission.’

‘Ah, yes! Good to meet you at last. I’m Reid and I guess this must be Olivia.’ He wiped his hands clean and left the canvas he was working on.

Olivia felt her cheeks warming as she shook his hand, a little awestruck. ‘It’s lovely to meet you. My friend bought some of your artwork for the newly renovated apartments at Drumblair Castle.’

He scrunched his brow. ‘That would be Bella Douglas, right?’ he asked.

Olivia nodded with a smile. ‘That’s right.’

‘Aye, and she’s officially a neighbour of sorts now. Small world.’

‘I know. She doesn’t know we’re visiting so keep it quiet if you see her, okay? We’re going to head up tomorrow.’

Reid made a zipping motion across his face. ‘My lips are sealed.’

Brodie was fidgeting and Olivia glanced at him. ‘Is everything okay?’

He nodded and swallowed hard before turning to Reid. ‘Is it ready?’

Reid smiled. ‘It sure is. It’s all wrapped and ready to go as you requested. Wait here one second.’

Olivia turned to give Brodie a questioning glance, but he appeared too nervous to notice.

Moments later, Reid returned with a canvas covered in brown paper. ‘I feel like I’m part of some secret scheme,’ he said with a chuckle.

Brodie continued to fidget, and Olivia continued to wonder what was going on.

‘Thanks so much, Reid. I can’t wait for her to see it,’ Brodie said.

‘See what? Brodie MacLeod, what have you been plotting?’

Brodie grinned. ‘Wait and see. In the meantime, why don’t you have a look at the other paintings and see if you can find one you like for home?’

She narrowed her eyes. ‘Hmm, okay.’ She turned and perused stunning canvas after stunning canvas and found it hard to choose. One in particular caught her eye. The little row of coloured houses overlooking a harbour drew her in.

‘Look at this, Brodie. Isn’t this one of the most beautiful places you’ve ever seen?’

He joined her and read the label beside it. ‘Portree Harbour. That’s really pretty. I love it.’ He turned around. ‘Could you package this one up too, please, Reid?’

‘Absolutely. Thanks, guys,’ Reid replied with a beaming smile.

After they had finished admiring Reid’s artwork, Brodie carried the two canvases back to the car. Olivia was still wondering what could be on the secret one.

‘Come on, let’s go a little further,’ Brodie said.

Before climbing into the car, Olivia walked around to where Brodie was carefully placing the paintings in the back footwell. She slipped her arms up around his neck. ‘Thank you for this. I know we’ve a lot going on with the castle and the renovations etcetera, etcetera, and I know I’m hard to pin down right now, but I hope you know how much I appreciate you.’

He kissed the tip of her nose and rested his forehead on hers. ‘I do. But I don’t want you running yourself ragged, that’s all.’

‘I won’t. I promise. I love you.’

He didn’t reply with words, instead he lowered his face and kissed her tenderly, pulling her as close as he could.

Olivia wandered dreamily around to her door once again and she was about to open it when she glanced up briefly and had to look again when she thought she had spotted a familiar-looking red-haired woman pushing a pram.

‘Brodie,’ she whispered. ‘Look! It’s Ruby Locke! I haven’t seen her since she opened the castle. And she’s with her wee baby.’ The famous actress had moved to Skye to be with her partner Mitch Adair and for a while had turned her back on the lights of Hollywood, favouring the peace and tranquillity of the little Scottish coastal village.

Brodie raised his head. ‘Oh yeah, of course she lives here, I’d forgotten that.’

‘Do you think we should go and say hello?’

Brodie chuckled and slammed the car door. ‘Definitely. Maybe you can tell her you’re starting your own label. I know she loved your designs when you were dressing her for movie premieres at Nina Picarro. Possible future customer.’

‘Except I think she has more important things on her mind these days than the red carpet judging by the pram.’

They approached Ruby and she smiled widely. ‘Lady Olivia! What a lovely surprise. How are you? What brings you to Skye?’

They hugged. ‘I’m good, thanks. We’re here for a few days’ break and to visit my friend Bella.’

‘Oh, yes, of course. She’ll be delighted to see you. She’s settling in well, though. And her granny is such a hoot.’

‘You can say that again. Anyway, how are you? And who’s this little cutie?’ The baby was fast asleep, little red curls poked out from her hat where she lay under a hand-crocheted blanket.

‘This is Allegra, my pride and joy. She has my hair colour and her daddy’s eyes.’

‘She’s just beautiful. How is Mitch?’ Olivia asked.

‘Oh, you know, busy as ever. He’s currently at home painting the kitchen and trying to stop Clyde, the dog, from running off with the paintbrush every time he places it down.’ She laughed. ‘How are things at Drumblair?’

‘A little hectic. Lots of ongoing repairs to be done, which all costs money, of course. But we’re having fun, aren’t we, Brodie?’

‘You could say that. But Olivia’s going to be designing again, aren’t you, Liv?’

Olivia felt her face warming in spite of the chill in the air. ‘Hopefully, yes.’

Ruby’s eyes widened and she gasped. ‘That’s amazing! I love your designs. Actually, I’ve been sent a script for a film and I’m on the verge of signing so you’ll be hearing from me about a dress for the premiere.’

Olivia’s stomach flipped with excitement at the thought of dressing her favourite actress again. ‘I’m so glad you’re going to be acting again. You’re so talented, it will be lovely to see you do what you love again.’

Ruby tilted her head. ‘I can definitely say the same about you designing again.’ She narrowed her eyes briefly. ‘Actually, the production team is searching for filming locations. I think Drumblair would be absolutely perfect. Would you be interested in the castle being used as a film set? I could put in a good word.’

Before Olivia could reply, Brodie said, ‘That would be so cool. What’s the film about?’

‘It’s a Georgian period drama about a young woman who inherits a castle. Quite scandalous seeing as that didn’t happen back then. Much like yourself, really, Olivia. It’s almost a Georgian version of your story.’

‘That sounds amazing. Although I’m not sure, it sounds like it could be a lot of upheaval,’ Olivia said and chewed her lip.

‘Maybe I can pass your details on, and they can contact you. It might not be as intrusive as you think. Worth considering as they will pay to use the place and the money could go towards renovations and repairs.’

Olivia pondered for a moment. ‘Give them my details. We can always see what they say.’

Brodie’s face lit up. ‘Brilliant. Thanks, Ruby.’