Page 48 of A Highland Family Affair

‘Oh, aye, of course, hen. I didnae mean⁠—’

Charlotte lifted a hand. ‘Oh, gosh, no, I know you didn’t. It’s fine, honestly. Anyway, I was on the lookout for Mr Right when I came to Drumblair for the interview and there was Kerr.’

‘What about dating apps? Did you try them?’ Skye enquired. ‘You hear all sorts of horror stories, but I’ve been with Ben since school so it’s not something I’ve ever experienced.’

‘Oh, gosh, yes, I did try them. I seemed to attract all the weirdos, though. And the ones whose profile pictures were ten years out of date or AI generated.’

Bella laughed. ‘Aye, I’ve been there! Guy says he has a six-pack, and it turns out he’s got a whole barrel.’ The group of friends laughed.

There was a pause as they all drank for a few moments until Bella asked, ‘What was it that attracted you to Kerr?’ Her eyes were narrowed, and it was clear to Olivia she was trying to find out if they had been attracted by the same ‘bad boy’ image.

Olivia almost choked on her drink. ‘Ahem, this is turning into a bit of an interrogation. Poor Charlotte. Maybe we could change the subject.’

Charlotte’s cheeks coloured, of course. ‘Oh, honestly, it’s fine. I’m happy to talk about Kerr.’ She thought for a few seconds. ‘He has kind eyes. And he’s had his struggles in life but he’s handling them with such grace. I’ve never met anyone like him, really.’

‘Oh, I’m sure you haven’t,’ Bella mumbled into her drink and Olivia kicked her under the table. ‘Ow!’

Olivia gasped. ‘Whoops! Sorry, Bella, I thought that was the table leg.’

Bella bent to rub her leg. ‘What has the bloody table leg done to deserve a kick in the shin like that?’

Olivia gritted her teeth. ‘Sorry, my bad. Anyway, how is Isla getting on at her new place?’ She had decided to force the change of subject, seeing as no one had taken the earlier, not so subtle, hint.

‘Oh, she’s only gone and fallen in bloody love, hasn’t she?’ Bella announced dramatically.

‘Granny Isla’s got a boyfriend?’ Skye asked with a wide smile and wider eyes.

Bella took a huge swig of her drink as if Dutch courage was needed in order to tell the story. ‘It took her about five minutes to bag a man. Honestly, there’s no messing around with her. Tam Guthrie is her neighbour. We met him on arrival at Pabay View Retirement Home. He was quite dapper in his dickie bow. Anyway, since she moved in, they’ve been spending lots of time together. She was initially trying to set Tam up with Maeve, Harris’s mum. You know what she’s like for matchmaking,’ Bella said with a roll of her eyes. ‘Anyway, turned out he wasn’t interested in Maeve and nor was Maeve interested in him. He only had eyes for my granny. The three of them go to the dances at the old people’s home, though, but you should see Tam and my granny gazing at each other as they waltz.’ She made a puking noise. ‘Honestly, it’s vomit-inducing how bloody cute they are.’ She laughed and the others joined in.

‘Oh, bless her. That’s so sweet. She deserves to be happy at her time of life,’ Olivia said.

‘Oh, she’s happy all right. Get this, so she said to me the other day, “If Tam proposes to me, will I need to get him to sign one of those pre-nautical agreements so my family will still inherit my estate?”’ Her imitation of her granny was spot on.

They all guffawed loudly at this. ‘Pre-nautical? Is she planning on getting married at sea?’ Skye asked with tears streaming down her face.

‘You could get Cod Stewart to play at the wedding!’ Mirren added in a high-pitched squeaky voice.

Olivia joined in, holding her stomach. ‘Or maybe Salmon and Garfunkel.’

‘And she could have a lovely wedding hake!’ Charlotte said.

The wine was definitely helping the giddy mood and they were all verging on hysterical.

Bella’s face was contorted by this point. ‘I knew there was something fishy about it when she asked me!’

Thanks to Granny Isla being Granny Isla and all the cackling going on at Balloan Farm Cottage, Olivia knew this was going to be a hen weekend to remember.

The following morning was bright and sunny, if a little chilly. Olivia rallied the troops and they set off for a walk in the woods behind the cottage. Bella’s mobile rang and she paused to answer it as the others sauntered slowly ahead.

Charlotte walked beside Olivia for a while. ‘You have such a lovely friendship group,’ she said as they walked along a track surrounded on either side by pine trees. Birds darted around before them, criss-crossing the path as if daring each other to do so.

‘Thank you,’ Olivia replied. ‘I do feel very fortunate.’

‘And you’re surrounded by such a warm family too. You and Kerr seem to really care for each other. I bet you’ve always been close.’

Olivia inhaled deeply and chewed her lip. She certainly didn’t want to speak ill of her brother, and definitely not to his new girlfriend. ‘Not really, not until recently. I think perhaps the five-year age gap growing up put a bit of a strain on things.’

‘Well, he speaks so highly of you now. It must feel so good to have people around you who care so much. It’s something I yearn for, for Will.’