Olivia was immediately thinking about scheduling more rehearsals than that. She wanted to give these kids a fighting chance ofwinning. She thought about the moment of standing on stage in darkness, then the lights going on and the music starting. Then she reminded herself that this wasn’t an international tour or a high-stakes competition. It was a chance for the kids to come together and learn, and most of all have fun.
Amy jumped up and clapped her hands together in excitement. ‘Honestly, you have no idea how pleased they will be. Especially when they realise who you’ve danced with.’
Olivia was confused.
‘I have a confession to make,’ she said sheepishly. ‘I checked out your Instagram page. I mean, impressive or what? Janet Jackson? And Pink?’
Olivia’s cheeks coloured. ‘Oh, it doesn’t matter. I don’t want to make a big deal about any of that stuff or the kids might be a bit daunted.’
‘Sure,’ said Amy quickly. ‘No big deal at all. Now, I’ll go and let them know and be in touch. But you may well have saved the day.’ She flung her arms around Olivia and hugged her.
‘I’m just glad you thought to ask,’ she said when Amy stepped back.
‘Okay, I’ll let you get on and head off for your run. Thanks again and hopefully I’ll see you and Kitty at yoga.’
‘Definitely,’ said Olivia, waving goodbye. ‘We’ll try and come along soon.’
As she jogged lightly down the hill, everything felt so much more colourful. She noticed the red sandstone cottages with their dinky doors, the clouds dancing along in the sky and shrouding the top of Goatfell. As she ran along the path by the sea, Olivia felt excited about having a project to focus on over the next few weeks, and was thrilled that she could do something meaningful with her time. She always loved teaching kids, and this would be a brilliant opportunity to help in the community she was growing to love. She started thinking about potential songs she could suggest to the kids, and before long she had covered five kilometres.
When she arrived back at the house, kicking off her trainers in the hallway, she realised her phone was still pinging on the floor. She must have failed to switch it off properly. Pressing her thumb down hard on the off button, she took it into her bedroom and threw it into a drawer.
‘Alexa,’ she said to the speaker in her room. ‘Play Janet Jackson.’ She smiled and started to sway her hips in time to ‘Control’. That had been one of her favourite routines when she had toured with Janet, and she quickly found her groove, slipping effortlessly back into the moves. Her head was now buzzing with ideas, and she couldn’t wait to get started with the kids.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Logan smiled as he watched Kitty run over to Fergus, throw her arms around him and hug him tightly.
‘It’s so good to see you, cuz,’ he said. ‘And I’m sorry that I’ve not had a chance to catch up properly with you. I feel really bad.’ He smiled reassuringly at Logan and waved his hand to welcome him over. ‘Hey there. How are you? Good to see you again. I hear you’ve been keeping Kitty busy?’ The corner of his mouth lifted in a mischievous grin.
He looked at Kitty sideways, wondering just what she had told him. Not that there was much to tell. But her face was the picture of innocence.
‘Yip, I told Fergus that you’d been cracking the whip with all these walks we’ve been doing. My feet have been totally shredded.’ She grinned at him.
‘What do you kiddos want to do today?’ he asked. ‘Are you still keen to take out the kayaks? Perfect weather for it.’
‘Less of the kiddos, Ferg. Remember that I’m older than you, so show some respect.’ She laughed and gave him a playful punch on the arm.
He rolled his eyes. ‘Sorry.’
‘Kayaks would be great if that works for you?’ Logan had already checked the weather conditions for the rest of the day, and they were in luck. It was set to be fine and calm. A bubble of anticipation began to form as he thought about the day that stretched ahead of them.
‘Okay, no problem. I know that you’re savvy enough, Logan, but I have to say that you’ve come along with the right woman. You’re in good hands with Kitty here.’ He jerked his thumb towards the shed. ‘I’ve left a couple over there for you and just remember your wetsuits and buoyancy aids. Gail will sort youout with that inside. Just bear in mind the usual safety stuff and be careful. But as I said, Kitty will look after you, mate.’
Logan’s gaze swept over Kitty, and he wondered if he had missed something. She looked at him and winked.
‘Did I tell you that I’m a qualified instructor?’ Her gaze lingered on him.
‘No, you did not tell me that.’ He grinned back.
‘I learned with Cameron when he was younger. He loved sea kayaking in the Moray Firth. I spent so much time helping out that I decided I may as well get the qualification.’
‘I’m impressed,’ said Logan, genuinely.
Kitty met his eyes. ‘No big deal. Right, shall we do this? I’ll be ready in ten minutes if you are?’
‘Deal,’ he said.
When they had their wetsuits and buoyancy aids on, they dragged their kayaks down to the shore. As they walked, he could smell the gentle floral scent of her perfume in the air. ‘Ladies first,’ he said, gesturing for her to go ahead of him.
