Finding Hope at the Loch (Loch Lannick Book 7)

by Hannah Ellis

  It was almost midnight when Rory came home. Elspeth was still awake, but closed her eyes when he stumbled into their bedroom and light from the hallway flooded in.

  “Hi,” he whispered loudly, banging into the wardrobe as he got undressed. Elspeth ignored him and he got into bed beside her. He said her name as he snuggled up to her.

  “You’re cold,” she hissed, shrugging him off.

  “I know. I thought you could warm me up.” His voice was light and he pulled her closer as he nuzzled her neck.

  “Rory,” she snapped. “I was asleep.”

  “But you’re awake now!”

  “I should be asleep. I’ve got a load of kids to supervise tomorrow and I’d like to have slept beforehand.” She pushed him gently away. “You’re drunk, and you stink of beer. Can you just go on your own side of the bed and let me sleep?”

  “Sorry,” he muttered. Even in the darkness, Elspeth could sense the tension radiating from him. She hoped he was drunk enough that he’d fall straight to sleep, but ten minutes later his hand searched for hers, lightly grazing his fingers across her knuckles. “Sorry,” he whispered again.

  Elspeth’s chest tightened. “Just let me sleep,” she said, pulling her hand from his and curling up on her side.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Nick volunteered to drive when they went to Inverness for the shopping trip. Lexie insisted her mum take the passenger seat and the journey flew by as the three of them chatted easily. Wesley was looking out of the living room window when they arrived. The plan was to have a coffee with him and then drive into town.

  “Hi, Grandad!” Lexie said, giving him a big squeeze in the doorway. The ten-year age difference between him and Angus was noticeable. Wesley had a sight more wrinkles and looked older than his seventy years.

  He clasped Nick’s hand with both of his, then gave Mary a hug before ushering them through to the living room.

  “Sorry we can’t stay for long,” Lexie said, taking a seat on the worn leather couch with Nick. “We’ve got a big day of shopping ahead of us.”

  “No time to lose, eh?” Wesley said. Lexie had filled him in on the wedding plans on the phone. “I think it’s nice that you’re not waiting a long time to get married. These days people seem to spend years being engaged. I don’t understand it myself. I’m surprised you’re not having a big party, though.”

  “We like the idea of it just being us,” Lexie said.

  “Aye. I’m sure it’ll be a lovely do anyway.” He moved to the dresser and picked up a piece of paper. “I wrote down the addresses for the bridal shops in town. There are two very close to each other.”

  “Thanks,” Lexie said, taking the slip of paper from him. “I already looked them up. I called ahead and made appointments at both of them.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Wesley said, then turned to Nick. “And you’re very welcome to hang around here with me while the women go shopping.”

  “I need to go shopping myself,” Nick told him. “Thought I’d kit myself out with a new kilt and jacket.”

  “I can come with you, if you want?”

  “You don’t need to do that,” Nick said. “I’ll probably be finished with my shopping in half an hour, then I’ll have a wander around while I wait for Lexie and Mary.”

  “I’ll definitely come then,” Wesley said. “We can go for a pint and I’ll show you the sights.”

  “That would be great.” Nick smiled warmly. “If you’re sure you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all. It’d be my pleasure. Now, I’ll get us all a coffee before we head off.” He walked towards the kitchen and Mary followed, offering to help.

  Lexie bit her lip as she moved closer to Nick. “I’m sorry, I had no idea he’d offer to go with you.”

  “It’s fine,” Nick said. “I don’t mind. It might be nice.”

  “He’ll talk your ear off all day. I think he gets lonely, so when he has someone to talk to he can’t stop.”

  “It’s not a problem. I really like him.” He scratched his forehead and cast his eyes down.

  “What’s wrong?” Lexie asked as his neck turned red – a tell-tale sign that he was nervous or embarrassed.

  “Nothing.” He swallowed as he met her gaze. “I just wanted to ask you something … don’t make a big deal of it, though.”

  “Okay,” she said hesitantly. “What?”

  His eyebrows knitted together. “Who’s paying for your dress?”

  “Oh.” She hadn’t been expecting that. “I’m not sure. I think Mum probably will but she hasn’t specifically said so. She and Dad said they wanted to pay for the wedding originally, but that was before we decided to elope. I guess they’ll still pay for my dress.” Suddenly, she was annoyed with herself for not thinking about it earlier. She should have dropped a hint to her mum to see what she said. Now it felt awkward.

  Nick eased his wallet from his back pocket and slipped out a bank card. “I got you this,” he said, handing it to her. “But I was worried you’d be offended or something.”

  Lexie turned it over. “This is a credit card in my name … for your account?”

  “I don’t want you to pay for your own wedding dress. And I didn’t want it to be an issue if Mary didn’t offer to pay for it. You can just put it on that.”

  Lexie kept her eyes fixed on the credit card.

  “It’s not a big deal,” Nick said.

  Turning to him, she interweaved her fingers with his. “It’s a big deal that you think about stuff like this.”

  “So you’re not annoyed with me?”

  “Not at all.” She gave him a brief kiss, then slipped the card into her bag. “Thank you.”

  “It’s absolutely stunning,” the owner of the bridal shop gushed as Lexie stood in front of the full-sized mirror at the back of the shop. The mermaid-shaped dress had a tight bodice and a halter neck.

  Lexie eyed her mum in the mirror. “I’m not sure.”

  “Me neither,” Mary said with a slight shake of the head.

  It was the seventh dress that Lexie had tried on and she hadn’t been convinced by any of them. On the other hand, Frederica, the shop owner, had insisted every dress looked absolutely stunning.

  “It’s gorgeous,” Frederica cooed. “It might just need to be taken in a smidge at the waist. That would make all the difference.”

  “I think it’s fine at the waist,” Lexie said, wondering how on earth it could be any tighter without suffocating her.

  “You wouldn’t believe the difference a few minor alterations can make.” Frederica flashed a wide smile, showing off the lipstick mark on her front tooth. “My colleague Shirley is a magician with a sewing machine. Honestly, once she’s made some adjustments you’ll be amazed.”

  The colleague, Shirley, had been mentioned a few times, and Lexie had the distinct feeling they were in cahoots to squeeze as much money out of brides as possible. The dress definitely didn’t need altering. Especially because Lexie really wasn’t that keen on it. Wedding dress shopping wasn’t turning out to be as fun as she expected. Frederica was so insincere that she made Lexie uncomfortable.

  “I think we’re going to keep looking,” Mary said to Frederica. “It’s not a decision to rush into.”

  Lexie changed back into her own clothes and breathed a sigh of relief when they stepped out of the shop.

  “I thought wedding dress shopping was supposed to be fun,” she said.

  “I didn’t like her at all,” Mary said. “She seemed so fake. Like she only wanted to make a sale and didn’t care about anything else.”

  “What if I don’t find anything in the next shop?” Lexie said.

  “We’ll find the perfect dress,” Mary said. “I’m sure of it.”

  “I really hope so. Maybe I shouldn’t be so picky. The wedding’s only a couple of weeks away.”

  “You should be very picky. It’s your wedding dress. It has to be just right.”

  They continued in silence. At the end of the road,
Lexie checked the location of the shop on her phone, then they continued on around the corner.

  “Hi,” Lexie said as she pushed the door open. She stopped at the sight of the woman at the counter, who’d just taken a huge mouthful of her sandwich. “Sorry. We’ve got an appointment but we’re a bit early.”

  The woman put a hand in front of her face. Her eyes sparkled with amusement. “Lexie?” she asked.

  “Yes.” After stepping inside, Lexie held the door for Mary.

  “I’m Diane,” the woman said, trying desperately to finish her mouthful. “We spoke on the phone.” She put her sandwich down and swallowed her mouthful. “I’m sorry. I was trying to sneak in a quick lunch before you got here. But come on in and make yourselves at home. I can eat this later.” She wrapped the remains of her sandwich and pushed it aside.

  “You can finish eating if you want,” Lexie said. “We should probably have stopped for lunch, then we wouldn’t have been so early. I was getting nervous about finding a dress so I didn’t even check the time.”

  “Do you want a sandwich?” Diane rooted in a drawer and pulled out a takeaway menu. “The deli’s just across the road. I can call them and they’ll run you something over. Then we can have a chat about what you’re looking for while we eat. What do you think?”

  “That sounds lovely,” Mary said, leaning over Lexie’s shoulder to look at the menu.

  Once they’d put the order through, they sat at a small round table with Diane while she asked Lexie a load of questions about the wedding and about Nick. The atmosphere was completely different to the previous shop. It felt more like sitting in a friend’s living room having a chat. Diane seemed genuinely interested as Lexie talked. They continued chatting away when the sandwiches arrived.

  “Now that I feel I know you better,” Diane said, “why don’t you tell me any ideas you have for the dress? Are there any styles that you really like? Or dislike?” She pulled a file from beside her chair and set it on the table. “If it helps, you can flick through the pictures in here and point out anything you see that you like or don’t. That’ll give me a feel for what you’re looking for.”

  Lexie enjoyed looking through the pictures of different wedding dresses. After trying on dresses at the previous shop, she now had a pretty good idea of what she didn’t like, but still wasn’t sure what kind of dress she really did want. She said as much to Diane.

  “You’ll know it when you put it on,” Diane said, her features exuding warmth. “It’s like falling in love. You find the right one and something inside you just knows!” She scrunched her shoulders up and beamed. “And now I’ve gone all gushy. I find it so exciting though. Come on …” She stood up with a look of determination. “Now for the fun bit. Let’s see if we can find your dress!”

  Ten minutes later, Lexie was once again standing in front of a long mirror in a white dress.

  “It’s beautiful,” she said, turning from side to side.

  Diane exchanged a look with Mary and they both shook their heads.

  “Beautiful it may be,” Diane said. “But I don’t think it’s the one.”

  Lexie had only glanced in the mirror at the next dress when Diane frowned.

  “Don’t you like it?” Lexie asked, amused by Diane’s candidness.

  “Oh, I love it. The problem is you don’t. As soon as a bride looks in the mirror I can tell by her eyes whether it’s the right dress or not.”

  Lexie walked back to the changing room. Diane was right; it was a gorgeous dress, just not quite the right one for her.

  “I have a good feeling about this one,” Diane said, passing the next dress into the changing room.

  Lexie slipped it on, then waited while Diane zipped it for her. The A-line shape clung to all the right places and the cream satin fell gloriously from her waist to kiss the floor. Intricate beading on the sweetheart neckline added to the elegance.

  A lump formed in Lexie’s throat when she stepped in front of the mirror. Her gaze drifted to her mum. “What do you think?”

  “Perfect,” Mary said, catching a tear at the corner of her eye.

  Diane stood to the side, her hands clasped at her chest. “That’s the one, isn’t it?” She tilted her head, looking genuinely moved.

  “It’s the one,” Lexie agreed. She turned to the side, admiring herself from all angles.

  It was definitely the one.

  Chapter Twenty

  Having found the perfect wedding dress, Lexie was reluctant to take it off again. She felt fairly vain as she lingered in front of the mirror but she didn’t really care. Mary and Diane gushed about how stunning she looked, and Lexie couldn’t help but agree.

  Finally, she retreated to the changing room and removed the exquisite dress. Putting her normal clothes back on felt quite depressing.

  “I’m assuming you want to take the dress with you today?” Diane asked when Lexie reappeared from the changing room.

  “Yes, please.”

  “I’ll put it in a protective case.” She looked down at the dress, which she held in her arms as though it was a precious baby. She sighed and moved to a back room. “I’ll be back in a moment.”

  “It’s gorgeous,” Mary said. “You look so beautiful in it.”

  “I love it.” Lexie beamed. “Shopping turned out to be fun after all.”

  “Here we are,” Diane said. “Now for the not-so-fun bit, I’m afraid.”

  “That’s my cue,” Mary said, pulling out her purse and moving to the counter.

  “I can pay,” Lexie said quietly, feeling she should at least offer.

  “Don’t be daft,” Mary said. “We already told you we were paying.”

  “But that was before …” Lexie trailed off and was grateful when Diane discreetly took a sudden interest in the till. “I didn’t know if Dad was still okay with paying.”

  Mary shot her a look of impatience before switching her attention to Diane. “I presume credit card is fine?”

  After Mary paid, Diane wished Lexie all the best for the wedding and asked her to send photos and let her know how it went. Lexie promised she would.

  “Thanks for paying,” she said to Mary outside.

  “Of course we were going to pay. We’d hardly let you buy your own wedding dress.”

  “And Dad’s fine with it?” Lexie asked. She had her hands full with the dress, but felt Mary’s reassuring hand rest between her shoulder blades.

  “I realise it might not seem like it sometimes,” she said, “but he does want what’s best for you.”

  “I’m not sure why he thinks he knows what’s best for me. Why does he think I’m incapable of making decisions for myself?”

  “He likes to be right,” Mary replied, rolling her eyes. “And he’s as stubborn as a mule. Even when he realises he’s wrong he has a hard time admitting it. Look at him and Wesley.”

  “It’s sad really, isn’t it?”

  “Aye. And I’ve tried talking to him but it’s no use. I’m just sorry you’ve had to change your wedding plans because of him.”

  “It wasn’t just because of him,” Lexie said. “We really do like the idea of eloping.”

  “Well, no matter how difficult he’s being, there’s no way he’d refuse to pay for your wedding dress.”

  “I bet he wasn’t happy about it, though.”

  The corners of Mary’s mouth twitched upwards. “He kept pretty quiet when I raised the subject. Not that I asked him, just told him.”

  “Thanks, Mum.”

  “You’re welcome. Now let’s put this dress in the car and treat ourselves to a glass of wine. I think we’ve earned it. We should probably save Nick too. Wesley will have talked his ear off by now.”

  Lexie was sure Nick could hold his own, but called him as soon as they reached the car. He was at a museum with Wesley and arranged to meet them at a pub in town.

  “I had a great day,” Lexie said to Mary as they walked. “I just feel bad that Leana wasn’t here. Keeping the wedding a secret fr
om her doesn’t feel good.”

  “You could always tell her.”

  “I know, but then I’d feel bad for not telling Elspeth. And I’d worry about other people finding out.”

  “Leana wouldn’t tell anyone. Not if you told her to keep it to herself.”

  “I hate asking people to keep secrets. And she’d be bound to tell Alasdair, which is fine, but Alasdair might accidentally tell someone and then all of a sudden everyone will know.”

  “You might have a point. It’s hard to keep secrets in Lannick.”

  “I also quite like keeping it to ourselves. It feels exciting. I’m just worried that Leana will be upset when she finds out.”

  “I can’t imagine she will be. You’re worrying too much.”

  “I know.” Lexie caught sight of Nick and her grandad waiting for them at the end of the road.

  “Were you successful?” Wesley asked as they neared.

  “Yes,” Lexie said. “I found a dress!”

  “It’s gorgeous,” Mary said, then eyed Nick’s shopping bag. “Looks like you did well, too.”

  Wesley patted Nick’s shoulder. “He’ll look very handsome on the big day. No need to worry there.”

  As they continued to the pub around the corner, Nick and Lexie fell behind a little.

  “Did you have a good time?” he asked.

  “Yes. The first shop was a disaster, but the second one was great. I love the dress.”

  “So you managed to find one that’s not ugly?”

  “I think you’ll approve,” she said, shooting him a sidelong glance. “Mum paid for it.”

  “It’s been a cheap day out then. Wesley insisted on paying for my kilt.”

  “That’s sweet of him,” Lexie said, feeling a rush of affection for her grandad. “He really likes you.”

  “We get on well,” Nick agreed.

  Lexie slipped her hand into Nick’s and leaned close to him as they walked. “Should I give you the credit card back?”

  He hesitated and Lexie knew he was worried about saying the wrong thing. “If it makes you uncomfortable, you’re welcome to cut it up. But as far as I’m concerned my money is your money. I was thinking we should set up a joint account sometime. We also need to figure out what we do about the house.”