Secrets at the Loch (Loch Lannick #5) - Hannah Ellis Page 0,7
a message from Meghan to say Nick had dropped her at home and she was going to bed. Leana and Elspeth didn’t hang around long, and the rest of Lexie’s shift was completely uneventful.
“I’m sick of winter already,” she said to her mum as she was about to leave.
“Technically, it’s not winter for another few months,” Mary replied, chuckling.
“That’s a depressing thought. You know what I mean, though. Everything’s so quiet.”
“It’s half term in a few weeks. That should be busy enough.”
“Yeah.” Lexie headed for the door. The school holidays would see a boost in holidaymakers. That meant more work for her at the activity centre. There’d be more guests in the cabins, and the daily kids’ programme was fully booked. As someone who always preferred being busy, she was looking forward to it.
The rest of the week dragged on. With only a few quiet shifts at the pub to keep her occupied, Lexie found herself increasingly bored.
On Friday afternoon she got a message from Ruth asking if she felt like another night out in Portree. That might have been a way to relieve boredom, but it really wasn’t appealing. The reminder of the previous Friday wasn’t at all welcome. She’d put it out of her mind, but felt another wave of regret at her behaviour. After politely declining a night out, she exchanged a few messages with Ruth, then spent the evening in front of the TV.
Apparently Ruth wasn’t the only one keen to repeat the previous week’s antics. A message from Craig came through as she was about to go to bed. He said he was out in Portree and asked if she wanted to join. She groaned. No, she did not want to join. And given the time, it clearly wasn’t her scintillating conversation he was interested in. She didn’t even bother to reply.
When she walked into Tim’s office the next day he frowned at her. “Only two cabins to clean,” he told her. “Number four and number six … need me to write that down for you?”
She rolled her eyes. “I think I can remember.”
“Lexie,” he called as she was about to walk out again. “The group coming in for climbing this afternoon cancelled so there’s not much going on.”
“You don’t have anything for me to do?”
He shook his head. “You may as well go home after you’ve finished with the cabins. Sorry.”
“Okay,” she said with an exasperated sigh.
Cleaning two cabins wasn’t exactly taxing, and she was on her way home again before she knew it. She happened to glance up at Nick’s house as she was passing and caught sight of him through the patio doors. She waved but wasn’t sure whether he could see her through the overgrown bushes at the end of the garden. When he moved to open the patio door, she slowed her pace, but was left slightly puzzled when he moved away again. She’d been certain he’d seen her.
Just as she continued, he called out to her and she spotted him walking down the garden.
“The patio door wouldn’t open,” he explained.
She smiled. “Is there anything that isn’t broken?”
“The roof’s good!”
“Glad to hear it.”
“Have you been at work?”
She nodded. “There wasn’t much to do. I cleaned a couple of cabins, then Tim sent me home.”
“That’s nice. You’ve still got the whole afternoon to enjoy.”
“Yeah.” She wasn’t quite as enthusiastic at the prospect. “Are you busy working on the house?”
“I just finished stripping the wallpaper in one of the bedrooms. Now I need to go over to Portree and give the flat a good clean. I have to give the keys back on Wednesday.”
“Do you need a hand?” she said without much thought.
He shoved his hands into his pockets as he stared at her. “Cleaning the flat?”
“Yeah. My afternoon is suddenly free. And you did help me clean the cabins last weekend.”
His cheek twitched. She’d noticed it did that when he was nervous. “I can’t ask you to spend your afternoon cleaning my flat.”
“I offered. You should either say ‘yes, please’ or ‘no, thanks’.”
“I’m sure you’ve got better things to do …”
Lexie couldn’t help the grin that spread over her face. “I think I’ll take that as a no.”
She was halfway to her house when he called out to her. “Yes, please,” he said, looking a little sheepish.
“I’ll be over in ten minutes,” she said. “I just need to grab a sandwich.”
“Can I say yes to a sandwich as well?”
She was amused by how quickly his bashfulness disappeared when food was mentioned.