“I hear Len’s going to be out for a while?” he asked in what he hoped was a conversational tone as he waited for Janice to pull his pint.
“Aye. Shouldna be too long in the hospital, it’s the recovering that takes time. He reckoned a couple of weeks in all, but I think it’ll be much longer. When Mary got her knee done...” She handed over the pint and kept talking whilst she took his money and sorted out the change but he’d switched off, taking a big gulp of his drink and feigning interest in her tittle-tattle.
“I see he’s got young Ryan running the place,” he commented, wiping off his beer ’tache.
“Oh, don’t get me started on that,” she said. Jack braced himself for the onslaught of whinging he knew was headed his way. “Why he thinks we need a bairn to run the place is beyond me,” she fumed.
“He’s hardly a bairn Janice, he’s 27.”
“Well, you know what I mean. Age is just a number Jack. You should have seen him in here last night, carrying on like an eejit! Nearly drank the bar dry of whisky, the lot of them. It’s no way to behave. He’ll drink the profits if I let him. No surprise that Len didn’t really want him here.”
Jack thought he had misheard her, “What do you mean, Len didnae want him? I thought he asked him?”
“Dinna ken where you heard that but no, fair bullied his way in here, so he did. Told his poor da some sob story about how hard his life was in Leeds, that some nasty things were being said and he needed to get away for a while. Course, Len being the soft wee bugger he is, he opened his doors and handed over the cellar keys.” Janice folded her arms across her chest and made a harrumphing noise. “Huh, I’ll tell you this for nothing Jack, if there’s any more carry on like last night I’ll no be hanging around.”
At that, thankfully a group of walkers entered the bar and ordered their drinks. As Janice went over to serve them, his mind wandered back over her tirade, wondering what to make of it all. Janice finished serving and propped herself in the corner behind the bar, a bit too close for Jack’s comfort.
“Now you know me Jack,” said Janice in a partial whisper, “I’m not one for gossip.” Jack nearly spat his beer all over her. “But all I will say is that it was something to do with kiddies!” With that last statement she pulled a conspiratorial face and winked at Jack and waited for his response. It took a few seconds for him to register what she meant, and when realisation hit him it made his blood run cold.
“That can’t be true Janice, where did you even hear that?” he asked, incredulous.
“Straight from Len! I think he was in shock, and I only overheard part of the phone call,” she confirmed.
‘You mean you listened in nosey bugger,’ thought Jack but didn’t say anything, Janice was in full flow.
“Oh aye, heard it from the horse’s mouth. Course, none of its true I’m sure but what do you have to do to upset someone enough to start those kinds of rumours? No smoke without fire some might say.” Janice looked at him with eyebrows raised, expecting him to chip his own thoughts in, but he knew better than that. He took a final swig of his pint and handed her the glass.
“Aye well, none of our business really is it?” he said, trying to end the conversation. “I’d best be off, see you later and give my best to Len.” He headed straight for the door and gulped in the fresh air. He wasn’t much of a beer drinker at the best of times and he’d fair downed that pint to get away from Janice and the unbelievable gossip she was famed for sharing.
But what should he do now that he had that information? Was it true? He felt his skin prickle at the thought of Kate and Joe on their own with Ryan. He had to tell Kate, but what if it wasn’t true? And how did Kate know Ryan in the first place?
10
It wasn’t that Jack was ignoring her exactly, but he was definitely ‘off’ with her. So far that morning Kate had asked him a couple of questions regarding the electrical work that Adam had started, and his answers had been short and snappy. She knew Jack well enough to know when something was wrong but for the life of her she couldn’t figure out what she had done to upset him. Or maybe it was nothing to do with her at all. All this was going around in Kate’s head whilst she served customers, made sandwiches, and generally kept the café running. She knew Jack would tell her in his own time if it bothered him that much.
“Bread delivery is due shortly Jack, will you be around to help out?” called out Kate to Jack who was in the kitchen at the rear of the café.
“Aye, where else would I be?” came his snapped reply.
Kate was shocked. Should she say something? There was clearly something on Jack’s mind but with the café filling up and with so much to do, now wasn’t the time. She put his reply to the back of her mind and carried on with her duties. Finally, 3pm came around. Kate removed her apron and set off to collect Joe from school, leaving Jack in charge for the 30 minutes it would take.
Jack was feeling bad for the way he’d spoken to Kate, but he just couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling he had about Ryan. He knew he should say something to Kate but not being one to gossip or share hearsay he wondered if he should stay well enough alone. Just as he thought that the café doorbell rang, and Ryan came in.
“Take a seat, I’ll be with you in a minute,” said Jack as Ryan approached the counter.
“No bother, Jack, is Kate around?” asked Ryan.
“No, she’s away to pick the bairn up from school, shouldn’t be too long.”
Ryan took a seat farthest away from the counter and a few minutes later Jack came over to get his order.
“What can I get for you?” asked Jack, with obvious disdain.
“Just a black coffee please Jack.” Ryan had picked up on Jack’s tone and though he didn’t know Jack well he could sense some form of animosity.
“Everything alright? ” ventured Ryan.
“Aye. I’ll bring your coffee over.” Jack walked away.
Deciding that he’d done something to offend Jack, Ryan approached the counter as Jack prepped the coffee. “Have I done something to offend you, old man?” asked Ryan.
Jack flinched at the term ‘old man’. His hackles raised, he turned to face Ryan. “What makes you think that?” he asked as politely as he could.
“I just get the feeling something’s bothering you?”
Jack couldn’t hold back. The knowledge of the trouble in Leeds had sat heavily on his shoulders all night, and he couldn’t see another time when he’d get the chance to have the conversation without Kate around. “Why are you here?”
Ryan was completely taken aback by the change in character. “For a coffee?” he put forward.
“No, not that. Why are you really here, in Gairloch?”
“Helping the old man out, you know that Jack.”
“That’s not what I heard.”
“Oh, yeah. You visited the pub yesterday didn’t you? Been listening to the old whingebag, have you? Wouldn’t believe a word she says.”
“She made some pretty wild accusations, heard it from Len by all accounts.”
“Nosey bitch, she should keep her nose out of other people’s business. She’s just feeling pushed out cos dad asked me to take over.”
“From what she said, he didn’t want you here at all.”
“Yeah well,” said Ryan, “she’s wrong.”
“Really? Well, let me tell you this laddie, if you hurt Kate or go anywhere near Joe then God help you. I might be an old man but there’s plenty around here that have taken to Kate and wee Joe, you’d be out on your arse in a second.” The fury in Jack’s voice was unmistakable, but if Ryan was shocked he didn’t show it.
“Calm yourself down old boy, you’ll give yourself a hernia. Me and Kate go back a long way, and I think you’ll find she actually wants to spend time with me.” Ryan was cocky with his response, leaning over the counter to intimidate Jack.
Jack took a step back, shaken with the venom of Ryan’s tone. “So, my advice to you, old man, would be stay the fuck out of it.”
/> Jack was shocked, he hadn’t been spoken to in that way in a long time, and even then it was only in a heat of the moment spat. Ryan’s anger and volatile personality came across in spades.
“What’s going on here?” Kate entered the café and went straight over to the pair. She thought Jack looked pale and was visibly shaking.
“Nothing, just some friendly banter, isn’t that right Jack?” said Ryan, staring Jack down, willing him to go against him.
“Aye, aye,” stammered Jack. “Just having a wee chat. I’ll get off now you’re back Kate,” he said, taking off the apron that was tied around his waist and handing it to Kate.
“Oh, OK well I’ll see you later then,” said Kate, a bit taken aback at Jack’s abrupt departure. He would usually hang around until closing and help with Joe and the clearing up. She thought back to how he had been this morning and wondered if her old friend wasn’t well? She made a mental note to call into his cottage later and check up on him.
Ryan was furious. He should sack that bitch Janice or teach her a lesson in keeping her mouth shut. He thrust his hands deeper into the pockets of his jacket as he walked back to The Kingfisher at a furious pace. Who the fuck did she think she was anyway? Just some washed up old hag of a barmaid that had nothing better to do with her time. He’d show her, he thought. No one stood in his way. His mind raced with the possibilities. If it wasn’t for his old man, he’d have her out on her arse, maybe make her disappear. But Jack, well that was a different problem altogether. He knew the bond that Kate had with him, and with Joe for that matter. Keeping the interfering old bastard out of the way posed a bit of problem. He slowed his pace as he pondered how to deal with this dilemma. He somehow had to drive a wedge between the bond they’d developed.
He was pleased with how things had gone so far. He thought back to their walk at Flowerdale the previous day. Winning Joe round was always going to be the easy part; kids are so trusting. He hadn’t expected Kate to drop her defences so easily though, she must be starved of affection he thought, smiling to himself. He knew she’d expected him to kiss her, which was exactly why he’d pulled away and changed the subject. Slowly does it, he thought, too much, too soon would have her running for the hills. But there was a timeline he had to work to, and interference from Jack was something that he just didn’t need – or could be arsed with. Maybe it would be easier to make Jack disappear.
Reaching the pub, Ryan decided to have a quiet pint and give it some thought. He knew there must be a way, and he looked forward to the challenge.
11
Ryan accepted the charges and greeted his old mate. “Now then, how’s it going?” he said cheerfully into the mouthpiece. He’d stepped outside as soon as he’d seen the blocked caller ID. Only two people had this number and one of them was currently toying with bacon rolls and tea-making in the café.
“How do you fucking think? Only got 10 minutes, what’s happening?” asked Daz.
“Not much to be fair. Weather’s shit as usual,” replied Ryan, knowing damn well that wasn’t what Daz meant.
“Stop being a twat and tell me what’s going on,” demanded Daz, his voice rising.
Ryan moved out of the wind and stood in the sheltered doorway of the pub. “Like I said, not much.” He thought back to the walk at Flowerdale and wondered if he should tell his mate that he was making inroads again on Daz’s former missus. Probably not a good idea if he wanted his payout, though he was quite sure Daz wouldn’t care.
“Taking time, aren’t I? Got to build up trust and that,” he settled on; the less information shared over the phone the better.
“What about Joe?” asked Daz, his voice softening on his son’s name.
“Yeah, sound little lad, always up to mischief, takes after his old man.” Ryan laughed at his own joke.
Daz was quickly losing his patience and not for the first time wondered if Ryan was the right person for the job. “And what about the plan?” asked Daz, careful not to say too much knowing that all phone calls were monitored. It had been hard enough getting a new number added to his allowable phone call list.
“It’s all under control pal, don’t worry,” Ryan reassured him.
“For sure?” asked Daz.
“Fuck’s sake man, yes I’m sure, I’m not some fucking amateur,” spat Ryan.
Daz backed down, not something he did very often. “Right, well keep me up to speed. I’ll get my release date next week,” he said and hung up.
“Prick,” they both said as the call ended, without the other hearing.
12
Gairloch, Late Spring 2000
“Come here buddy, let’s fasten that shoelace before you trip up,” called Ryan as Joe went tearing along the harbour. Joe stopped and looked at his feet. He knelt down, determined to tie his own shoelace. He made the bunny loops with his little fingers and tried to cross them over each other, failing miserably, getting too many fingers involved. Ryan caught up with him and tied it for him instead. As soon as he was done, Joe was off again.
“Does that boy ever stay still?” wondered Ryan, shaking his head. He offered to take Joe off Kate’s hands for a while, mostly to stop him from getting under her feet. It was a Friday afternoon and there had been a sudden rush in the café. With school holidays just around the corner, Joe had finished at lunchtime and worked his way through copious amounts of food and most of the books in the book corner. Ryan had called in at the café on the off chance that he’d catch Kate alone but no such luck. When she complained about Joe getting bored, he saw the perfect opportunity to build his friendship with Joe and offered to take him off for a walk. Kate had been extremely grateful, as long as it didn’t inconvenience Ryan too much. Ryan had almost laughed in her face, then remembered himself and assured her it was no big deal.
“Why do you like the harbour so much Joe?” asked Ryan, taking hold of the little one’s hand.
“Cos it’s always different,” replied Joe. “And when I come with Jack, we look at the birds through bidoculars,” he said matter of fact, clearly peeved that Ryan didn’t have any with him.
“You mean binoculars,” said Ryan, laughing at the slip-up. Joe looked up at Ryan, unaware that he’d said it wrong, and tried to wriggle free from Ryan’s hand.
“Hey, what’s the matter? Don’t you want to hold my hand?” asked Ryan, feeling the little fingers pulling away. Having not spent much time with seven-year-olds he’d assumed you were supposed to hold their hands but maybe not.
“No, I’m a big boy. I only hold hands when I’m crossing the road,” pronounced Joe.
“Is that right? Well, I don’t want you to run away,” said Ryan, letting go. He didn’t want the boy to feel uneasy in his company. ‘Slowly, slowly catch a monkey’, thought Ryan as he watched the lad run to the head of the harbour. Ryan caught up with him.
“Have you ever been on a boat Joe?” asked Ryan, pointing at the pleasure boats in the harbour.
“Yes, mum once took me on the glass-bottomed one. We saw all sorts, lots of jellyfish too,” replied Joe, recounting the story. Ryan let the child ramble on, not really paying attention. His thoughts were miles away when he heard a scream coming from Joe’s direction. He scanned around and couldn’t see Joe anywhere. Other people along the harbour had heard the scream too. Ryan set off running towards where the sound had come from. He pushed through the crowd that had gathered and saw Joe laying on the seaweed-ridden slope that led down to the jetty.
“Out of my way,” he demanded, forcing people to let him past. A couple of men had started to make their way down, and Ryan raced passed them all. “It’s alright fella, I’ve got you,” he said as he reached Joe and pulled him into his lap. “Are you hurt?” he asked, concerned. Joe sat up and rubbed the back of his head.
“No, don’t think so,” he said, with tears starting to form. “I slipped.” He looked up at Ryan. “I’m sorry,” he said, blinking away the threatening tears.
“Hey buddy it’s OK, it was an accident I’m sure.
You shouldn’t be so clumsy though should you?” said Ryan, gently setting the boy back on his feet. “You can all clear off now,” he shouted to the onlookers, sending them away looking suitably shamefaced that they’d stood by to watch a little boy cry. “Come on you,” he said, “let’s get you back to mum.”
“Don’t tell mummy, will you?” pleaded Joe. “I’m not supposed to go on the jetty, but I thought I saw a crab.”
“OK, I won’t say anything. It can be our secret,” answered Ryan, only too happy to collude with Joe and keep something from Kate. “We all know mummy loves a secret after all,” he muttered quietly under his breath.
By the time they had made their way back to the café it was somewhat quieter, and Kate and Jack were in the kitchen catching up with the washing up. Joe went straight to the chilled cabinet and pulled out a carton of orange juice whilst Ryan stepped behind the counter and started to prep the coffee machine. Jack popped his head round the door to see what was going on, and who was helping themselves to coffee.
“We don’t let customers help themselves,” commented Jack. “I’ll do that,” he said, trying to grab the grinder from Ryan’s hand.
“Ryan’s hardly a customer Jack,” laughed Kate. “Besides, they’ve got one of these at the pub, so he knows how to use it.” Kate rolled her eyes at Ryan, dismissing Jack’s comments out of hand. Jack shrugged his shoulders and headed back to the washing up.
“Did you two have a good time then?” asked Kate, ruffling Joe’s hair and pushing the straw into his drink carton.
“We did, didn’t we Joe?” said Ryan.
Joe took his drink off Kate and stuck the straw in his mouth, sipping furiously to avoid having to answer the question outright. Instead he just nodded his head quickly and headed to the book corner.
“Aww it’s lovely to see the two of you getting on. And thank you Ryan, I’m sure you’ve got better things to do than hang out with a seven-year-old.” Kate reached onto her tiptoes and kissed Ryan on the cheek.
The Lie She Told: All Kate wanted was a peaceful life, all Ryan wanted to do was destroy it. (Thornes series Book 1) Page 5
