‘Please.’ Jake’s hands stung, but he was ever the gentleman and handed over Marcus’s suitcase – it was lighter.
They walked side by side to the wooden porch steps. Jake stole a glance over his shoulder – Marcus was following a little way behind, grudgingly.
Chapter 26
Jake stood in the hallway, admiring the mahogany panelling and polished wood floors. Despite the plethora of wood, the hall was bright, with natural sunlight streaming through the open doorways of the downstairs rooms and through the large landing window at the top of the stairs.
‘There are several rooms free, although you won’t have the complete pick of the rooms, as I already have other guests staying with us at the moment.’
Jake already knew about Mr Addison. He wondered who the other guests were. Probably tourists. Jake stared at the guesthouse owner. It was her, he was sure of it – the teenage girl he’d once met who’d given him and Marcus the fright of their lives.
‘I’m Gayle, by the way. Gayle Belafonte.’ She held out her hand.
Jake was about to take her hand. He looked at his bandaged hand. ‘Oh, um … I had a little mishap. Slipped on some broken glass.’
Gayle surprised him by gently taking his hand in hers. ‘The bandages need changing. I can look at that for you. I used to be a nurse.’
‘Really? Thank you. I’d appreciate it.’ His gaze shifted to Marcus as he stepped into the house, looking dishevelled and quite unwell.Can you look at him too, and sort him out?Jake kept his thoughts to himself.
Marcus caught Jake staring at him. ‘What?’
Jake shook his head at Marcus and turned his attention back to Gayle. He caught Gayle peering at him. She said, ‘Do I know you?’
He very much doubted that she’d recognise them as the two little boys who’d sneaked into her parents’ cellar. Rather, he imagined she’d seen their photos in the papers, or on the news. He saw her eyes flicker to Marcus too. He’d have to give their names. Then she’d ask why they were staying in her guesthouse and not at The Lake House.
Jake sighed. He did not want to go into his reasons for choosing to stay at her guesthouse rather than the Rosses’ holiday home around the corner. ‘I’m Jake Campbell-Ross, and this is Marcus Ross.’
Jake saw her eyebrows rise in surprise. Everyone knew the Ross name around the area. It crossed Jake’s mind that apart from William’s visit to see Gayle’s father, the local GP, one Christmas, they didn’t ever meet or have anything to do with the local community. They just stayed in their little wealthy family bubble. It was what Jake now loved about his new life – it didn’t consist of private jets and business board meetings; his world no longer revolved around the Rosses’ global corporation and the people working in it. He didn’t begrudge the time he’d spent in the company, or the family. If Eleanor was still there, that would still be his life. And it had been a good life. He’d just realised when he’d left it all behind that it wasn’t meant to behislife – it was Marcus’s, through and through.
Despite the state he was in, Marcus surprised Jake by holding out his hand to shake Gayle’s. ‘Very pleased to meet you, Gayle.You know, you scared the crap out of us when we were kids.’
Jake’s eyes went wide. He slowly turned to Marcus, glaring at him. Why had he brought that up?
Gayle slapped her knee and laughed. ‘Oh, my goodness. I knew it! Itisyou two! The little boys I had such fun scaring in the cellar all those years ago.’
Jake smiled. ‘Yes, that was us. Sorry about trespassing on your parents’ property. It was very wrong of us.’
Marcus chimed in. ‘Yeah – ditto. I think it was my idea, actually. I was an entitled little rich kid who thought I could do whatever I wanted.’
Gayle shook her head. ‘Hey, you don’t have to apologise. I remember the house was a bit of a magnet for local kids – some rumour I’d heard in town that it was haunted. Because of how rundown it was, I guess it did look like some scary old house from an American horror movie, didn’t it?’
Jake exchanged a smile with Marcus. It was true.
When my parents moved in, they’d taken out a large mortgage to afford this place, so it took many years for them to do the place up.’
Jake was still admiring the hallway. ‘Well, they did an amazing job. The place couldn’t be more different.’
Gayle nodded and smiled. ‘It wasn’t my parents who did all this. They had the place renovated to a degree, years ago, but it became rundown again as they got older. Even so, what they did to the place was nothing like it is now.’
‘Well, whoever did all this has quite a talent.’
Gayle smiled. ‘I know. Perhaps you’ll get to meet her during your stay. She’s quite the interior designer, and she’s my friend.’
Jake raised his eyebrows. ‘Interior design? Her name isn’t Robyn, by any chance?’
Gayle looked at him in surprise. ‘Yes. Do you know her?’
‘No, not at all. It was a lucky guess. I did see a new shop,I mean outlet, in Mr Gillespie’s general store with the name,Robyn’s Interior Design. I passed it by as I drove through Aviemore, and the rather lovely window display caught my eye.’ Jake continued, ‘My wife would love … would have loved—’ he stopped short. Gayle and Marcus were staring at him.
