Page 34 of Chasing a Highland Dream

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Harris mentioned a coffee shop he frequented when on duty, so he led the way. As they walked through Inverness, people stopped him to say hello, or they waved to him from their cars, or from across the street. Children even seemed to know who he was, waving, high fiving him or calling out to him. Bella felt like she was in an episode of a TV show, or a musical where the local copper is more like a celebrity. She kept expecting the people around them to burst into song, or for a flash mob to break out in his honour. She chuckled to herself about it and kept a look out just in case.

Harris had a smile and a kind word for everyone, and it was clear he was well respected. She hated to admit it to herself, but she really did like him as a person. When they walked into the coffee shop, the elderly lady behind the counter greeted them with a friendly smile. She wore a brightly coloured floral apron with the café name Pettifer’s embroidered on it.

‘Sergeant Donaldson. Lovely to see you on your day off. I hardly recognised you in your clothes!’

Harris feigned shock. ‘Now, Mrs Pettifer, you’ll be giving me a reputation I cannae uphold!’

The lady behind the counter turned an interesting shade of pink. ‘Och, you know verra well what I meant, you cheeky young man.’

Harris chuckled. ‘Aye, it’s a good thing I did. Bella here will be wondering what I get up to!’

Mrs Pettifer’s smile broadened. ‘Oh, now, is this your lady friend? Lovely to meet you, dearie. We’ve been saying for a while we wanted to see him settled down, haven’t we, Malcolm?’

‘Eh?’ called a man’s voice from somewhere out of sight in the kitchen, but she ignored him.

‘Oh no, Bella here is a friend,’ Harris said with a flush of colour to his face.

Bella nodded. ‘Yes, we’re friends.’

The owner’s smile faded and was replaced by a kind of head-tilting pity. ‘Oh, that’s a shame. Well, you go take a seat at your usual table and I’ll bring you over a menu.’

Harris led the way to a table by the window. ‘Is this okay?’

Bella grinned. ‘Absolutely fine. Great vantage point. I can see why you’d choose it when you’re on duty.’

He chuckled. ‘Aye, I can have a wee break but make a quick getaway if needs be.’ They sat and Mrs Pettifer placed a menu in front of each of them. Harris addressed her with warm familiarity. ‘Thanks, Mrs P.’ He leaned across the table. ‘Mrs P is the best baker. You should try her Victoria sponge,’ he said. ‘You won’t regret it, I promise you.’

Bella didn’t feel much like eating but didn’t want to offend him when he had been so kind as to bring her and help with Fifi. ‘Okay then, you’ve convinced me.’

‘And to drink?’

‘A white coffee, please.’

‘The usual times two, Mrs P!’ Harris called over.

‘Coming right up.’

They sat with an awkward silence hanging over them for a moment or two until Harris spoke. ‘I heard you and your granny talking this morning while I was waiting on you. I gather she’s still trying to sort out your single status,’ he said with a grin.

She covered her eyes with her hands for a couple of seconds. ‘I’m so sorry you heard that. I know my reply was a little harsh, but she’s driving me mad at the moment. It’s like she thinks I can’t survive on my own without a man.’

He smiled. ‘Hey, I get it, don’t worry. I know what these old lassies are like when they get the bit between their teeth. They’d have us married off tomorrow if they could. My mum’s the same, always pointing out some woman or other she thinks would be good for me.’

‘I’m glad it’s not just my granny.’ She smiled and that strange silence descended again until Bella felt she had to break it. ‘So, what made you want to be in the police?’ she asked, genuinely intrigued to know the answer. She knew she could never imagine doing such a tough job.

He narrowed his eyes. ‘Be careful, you might get to know me a wee bit and like what you find out.’ His eyes glinted with humour.

Bella felt an unexplainable flush rise up from her chest. ‘It’s a risk I’m prepared to take.’ She smiled.

He shook his head. ‘Okay, well, you’ve been warned.’ His smile revealed those straight teeth and a dimple in both cheeks. ‘It all started when I was a kid when we lived in Edinburgh. Let’s say the police were familiar with my parents, well, my dad, anyway. They were always so supportive and concerned about me and Mum. I admired how they handled things and decided when I grew up I wanted to help people like they’d helped us. We moved here when I was around ten, but things didn’t really change; different location, different police, but the same situation of their regular visits. And they were still people I appreciated having around.’

‘I didn’t realise you were from Edinburgh. What brought your parents to Inverness?’ She hoped she wasn’t prying, especially seeing as she could tell there was something deeper beneath what he had told her about the police being a presence in his life from a young age. She held up her hands. ‘Feel free to say no comment.’

He smiled. ‘No, it’s fine. It is what it is. My mum’s aunt passed away and left her the house here in Inverness, so we relocated. It was supposed to be a fresh start.’ He paused and Bella could sense he was reliving something unpleasant. He quickly snapped out of it and continued, ‘She was an eccentric old woman by all accounts, my mum’s aunt. Bought and sold antiques and weird stuff. The house was beautiful from the outside. Quite big and Victorian. But inside it was crammed to the gunnels full of her collected things. Piles of newspapers and magazines, cardboard boxes full of goodness knows what, loads of tins of out-of-date food, as if she was expecting some catastrophic event. Turns out she’d been a bit of a hoarder. It took a hell of a lot of sorting out but when it was done it made us a great home. Mum lived there right until she was struggling to get up and down the stairs. I didn’t want her to go into the old folk’s home, offered to get one of those stair lifts fitted, but she insisted she didn’t want to be a burden with me having my career in the police and all that. So, she moved into Sunnyside a couple of years ago, and now the house is mine.’ He shrugged.

‘Oh, that’s lovely. So, your dad isn’t around any more?’