She wasn’t sure whether to believe him. One thing she knew about Jamie was how protective he was of her. She just prayed he didn’t fight the man.
‘It’ll be over soon, Angel. Don’t you worry.’
Easy for him to say. She was worried and annoyed. It was all a bit too much and ridiculous in her opinion.
‘With a bit of luck, he won’t come back.’ She hoped.
‘If he does, it’ll be within the next few days, for sure. It won’t take him long to notice Buffy out there.’
Alice raised her brow. ‘It won’t take anyone long to notice that thing out there.’
‘We could use it for Halloween as well.’
‘If it lasts that long. I kind of get the feeling that Buffy’s nemesis will come armed with a pair of scissors.’ And she’d just had the most awful thought! She shot her now terrified gaze Jamie’s way. ‘What if he brings a knife?’
‘Let’s not overthink things. So far the only aggression he’s shown is towards the front garden.’
Alice’s stress levels were sky high again.
Chapter 18
Jamie
Lottie had invited Jamie up to her house to work on the Hub’s website after lunch, Will having mentioned that Jamie wanted to get into web design.
Jamie had jumped at the chance, not only because of his interest, but because he really wanted to be good friends with Lottie again.
Nothing much had happened with Buffy the snowman in the last three days, which was a relief for Alice, but frustrating for Jamie. He was determined to catch the delinquent, thinking him probably young and, like Jamie years ago, doing stupid dares with his gang.
Whistling a merry tune as he strolled up Berry Hill, Jamie took in the spectacular view of the harbour. Every so often, he would simply stare out to sea, amazed it was his view once more.
He knocked on the large coastal home, then presented Lottie with a poinsettia as soon as she opened the door.
Lottie grinned. ‘Did you buy that from my shop?’
‘Nope. Supermarket.’
‘Well, thank you anyway. Come in.’
Jamie perused her home. ‘I don’t remember these houses being so big inside.’
‘I inherited George’s house, and Sam bought Ginny’s so, with mine in the middle we knocked three into one.’
‘Oh, yeah, I can see that now.’ He followed her into an office on the ground level. Large patio doors revealed a neat garden and a greenhouse at the back. ‘Not much used to change around here.’
‘Not much has changed since you were last here. A couple of shops along the front, oh, and the mini supermarket up the road.’
‘I like that it’s the same.’
Lottie smiled and offered tea, which he declined. ‘Before we get into some Christmas designs for the website,’ she said, ‘I wanted to ask you if you’d be willing to be one of the guests on there.’ She tapped a microphone set up on the desk that he hadn’t noticed on entering.
‘What do you mean?’
‘I interview people and post their stories on our website. You can listen to some of the others here first to get the gist of things, but basically, they talk about social issues, life changes, reform, trauma, that sort of thing. It can help others in similar boats, and it can stop them feeling so alone. I thought your story might be of some use. What do you think?’
Jamie wasn’t sure if talking about his past would stop someone else from committing crimes. What could he tell them about prison other than it was one of the worst experiences of his life?
‘You can think about it and get back to me,’ added Lottie softly.
