Sabrina headed to the front door.
Dee followed. Thinking they were out of earshot, she gushed, ‘He’s so lovely, Rini. Are you going to tell him? I think you should for his uncle and Monique’s sake, at least.’
Sabrina glared at Dee and put a finger to her lips to shush her.
She looked through to Conor, who was still face-forward, intently watching the news, then shut the door quietly behind her.
Conor took Sabrina’s hand to steady her as they walked up the steep path towards Penrigan Head. ‘It’ll be worth the climb in a minute, I promise.’
After fifteen minutes of solid walking, they reached the end of the cliff path, which flattened out to reveal a jaw-dropping vista. The cloudy autumn sky mirrored the flat of the calm sea below, where coastal birds bobbed up and down on the white-tipped waves. On spotting a shoal of fish darting under a rocky shelf at the bottom of the cliffside, some dived at them, shrieking their approval.
There were two large rocks right at the top of the cliff. Both had flat tops and were facing the awe-inspiring view. Sabrina pulled her scarf tighter around her to protect herself from the sea breeze that was whipping around them. ‘It’s like these have been put here by Mother Nature on purpose so that we can sit quietly and appreciate what she has created around us.’
‘You’re so sweet.’ Conor smiled at her. ‘Here. Let’s sit on the grass between them if you don’t mind. It’ll be more sheltered down here.’
‘Ta da!’ Sabrina pulled a flowery flask of coffee out of her bag, along with two take-away cups. ‘I found it in the cupboard when you were in the shower.’
‘I wouldn’t have put you down as girl guide.’ Conor laughed. ‘But good work, Dickens.’
They sat in silence for a second drinking their coffee and taking in the view.
‘Conor, do you mind me asking why you came back here?’
The Irishman blew out a big breath. ‘It’s painful.’
‘Breakups always are.’ Sabrina put her hand on his.
‘Oh God,’ he cleared his throat, ‘it’s not a woman. It’s my Niall.’
With the passing thought of Conor now being in a gay relationship, Sabrina squeaked. ‘Do you want to talk about it?’
‘Niall is my son, so he is.’
Shocked at the strength of her relief, Sabrina’s voice became softer. ‘Ah, I see.’
‘Yes, he’s thirteen now and such a good kid. I’ve tried so hard to do right by him but his mother Maeve, my ex-wife, has met someone new. He’s a Kiwi and, surprise surprise, he wants to go back to New Zealand to settle and she is of course happy to follow. The only good thing about it is she’s not living with my mate any longer. She left me for him years ago, you see.’
‘Wow, that’s all so harsh.’
‘Yes, it’s been an ongoing source of grief for me. My boy and making sure he’s provided for and happy. It irks me so much, him living with these different men, but that’s life and it goes on.’
‘Is Niall happy, do you think?’
‘He’s really excited about the move and assures me we can chat every week, and I guess it gives me an excuse to visit a country I’ve never been to before.’
‘And I’m assuming he has grandparents and other family here that he may come back to visit.’ Sabrina soothed.
‘I hadn’t thought of that. I think this new bloke’s not short of a few quid, so hopefully that’s an option.’
‘So why has this led you back to Hartmouth? I don’t understand.’
‘I left here the Christmas before last. Niall was still in Ireland and Maeve said I could see a lot more of him, but only if I was in London as Cornwall was too far to realistically manage visits. And I got that, so I went back and worked with a cousin of mine who has a landscaping business. The intention was to set up on my own, but it never happened. And, if I’m honest, the reason why is because I missed it down here too much.’
‘It is so magical, isn’t it?’ Sabrina cupped her hands around her coffee.
‘Yes. I grew up in a beautiful area in Ireland, but I had to leave for fear of what I might do to the mate who nicked my wife. I never went back and until I came here I’d never found somewhere else to call home. Does that make sense?’
‘Yes. It really does.’
