‘Your reading has come to an end,’ announced Martha, taking Bea by surprise. She stood up, walked towards the door and held the beaded curtain wide open. It was very clearly Bea’s cue to leave.
Surprised the reading had come to such an abrupt end, Bea walked towards the door. Not knowing what else to say, she said, ‘Thank you very much.’
Martha nodded. ‘And good luck at The Little Blue Boathouse. You’ll pass your trial with flying colours,’ she added before turning on her heels, the beaded fringe curtain swishing behind her.
Trying to make sense of what had just happened, Bea felt a little bewildered as she headed towards the long driveway. She suddenly realised that she had never mentioned anything about her trial. Going over the reading in her mind, Bea was convinced that something had spooked Martha. But what exactly was it? Bea hoped she was merely overreacting but there was no denying the anxious feeling swirling around in the pit of her stomach.
ChapterFive
Nolan had woken at the crack of dawn to the sound of the gulls circulating above The Hemingway. It was the best sleep he’d had in a long time, which was quite surprising since it was the time of year when he was normally consumed with guilt. He couldn’t quite believe another year had passed by and things still hadn’t got any easier.
Sitting out on the deck with a mug of coffee in his hand was his favourite part of the day. The waters were calm and there wasn’t a soul in sight except for a man walking along the riverbank with the shaggiest dog Nolan had ever seen.
From the small table next to him, he picked up his grandfather’s logbook, the reason he’d sailed The Hemingway into Heartcross. Looking at the date, he saw it was the very day he’d taken Patsy to Castaway Bay all those years ago. Just after arriving in Heartcross, Nolan had followed his grandfather’s hand-drawn map and discovered the secret bay further downstream for himself. It was stunning, and the beauty of it all had taken his breath away. He spent the afternoon there, sketching the scenery, and could see why his grandfather had spoken about the place with such passion.
Knowing The Hemingway had always been his grandfather’s pride and joy, Nolan was also feeling the same and quickly becoming very attached to the boat. In a way, it had saved his life. Renovating The Hemingway had given him the perfect distraction to keep himself to himself. Just the thought of the past few years could bring him close to tears, and he wished his grandfather was still around to help him navigate the most difficult time of his life. It was a strange feeling, knowing that he had no other family to lean on in the world, a thought that made him feel extremely lonely.
His thoughts turned to Bea and the glorious day ahead that he had planned. Castaway Bay would be the perfect place to swim and paint for a few hours. He smiled, thinking about her whizzing around with her arms in the air, screaming she was free. Despite the fact that he’d only been in her company for a matter of minutes so far, there was something about her that intrigued him. She was naturally beautiful, her smile infectious, and she’d put him immediately at ease. That was something that had never happened in the last few years ... He’d surprised himself by inviting her out today. The invitation had tripped off his tongue quite naturally, even though it wasn’t something he would normally do. In fact, he usually shied away from making new friends – but he’d been drawn to her and wanted to know all about her.
Today’s plan was simple: this morning he was going to sail The Hemingway to Castaway Bay, set up the picnic and easel, then row Bea over to spend the afternoon soaking up the sunshine. He often felt his grandfather was watching over him and today he hoped there was some sort of sign at the secret bay that would make him feel closer to him.
After closing the logbook, he reached across and picked up the painting of his grandfather and Patsy. ‘And where are you, Patsy?Whoare you?’ he murmured. Bea was right; the look in their eyes radiated the love between them and suddenly Nolan felt a stab of guilt again. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and raked his hands through his hair. ‘I don’t deserve love’: Nolan had convinced himself of that over the last few years and even after all this time he knew he was still struggling to come to terms with the past.
Standing up, he carefully placed the painting down on the table. Risking a tentative look in the mirror, he saw his hair was wild, and as he attempted to tame his unruly mop with his hand, he played out a strategy suggested by his therapist. He looked straight in the mirror. ‘Youdodeserve to be happy. It wasn’t your fault.’ He locked eyes with himself but he knew he still wasn’t quite believing it.
ChapterSix
Having no clue what Nolan had in store for her this afternoon, Bea packed her rucksack with sun cream, a change of shorts, T-shirt and a towel. Then, feeling suitably embarrassed, she looked down at the two swimsuits that she’d stuffed in her luggage when she’d fled from Staffordshire. One was threadbare and one sported a print of a unicorn, which for some reason that Bea couldn’t remember she’d thought was a good idea to buy – at the time. There was only one thing for it. Eeny meeny miny moe… Bea pointed from one to the other, ended up on the unicorn and sighed. Neither of them oozed sexy, and she was beginning to wish she’d updated her summer wardrobe a little sooner. After checking her watch, she saw that if she wandered down to the river now there was still an hour to kill. Maybe the best thing was to ask Julia where she could purchase swimwear – and quickly.
Hurrying down the stairs to reception clutching the unicorn bathing suit, she waited until Julia had hung up her call. Julia beamed. ‘How are you?’
Bea grimaced, holding up the swimsuit in front of her body. ‘All good, but I need your help.’
‘Ooo, I think that may have lost its sparkle,’ teased Julia, giving a little chuckle.
‘I agree! What I need to know is where can I buy a new swimsuit within the hour?’
‘There’s a number of options – there are lots of boutiques over in Glensheil, there’s a small shop inside Starcross Manor or there’s The Little Blue Boathouse. There’s a section at the back behind the wetsuits but they are mainly bog-standard black costumes. What look are you trying to achieve?’
‘Head-turning,’ exclaimed Bea, before she could stop herself.
‘You can’t say fairer than that,’ replied Julia, giving her a look of intrigue. ‘For sunbathing or water sports?’
‘Both, I think?’ replied Bea, not knowing what Nolan had planned. ‘But anything would be better than this.’
Julia got to her feet and sized up Bea. ‘Wait there!’ she ordered, and disappeared out of the door before Bea could answer.
Bemused, Bea was wondering what she was up to but she didn’t need to wait long before Julia waltzed back through the door holding up a red bikini on a coat hanger.
‘It’s brand-new, still with tags. I bought it last summer but didn’t have a chance to wear it. It would look perfect on you.’
‘I couldn’t possibly.’ Bea admired the bikini in front of her. ‘I’d never have the confidence to wear something as sexy as this.’
‘You could. And you will look amazing.’
There had never been a time when Bea would have thought of wearing an item of clothing like this. There hadn’t been any call for it, living in town, and it wasn’t as though Carl ever suggested whisking her away to a warm holiday destination. She remembered that he always moaned the second the sun came out and he didn’t like the heat at all. All of a sudden, she was beginning to see the life she’d been willing to settle for. No longer. Now it was time to think about whatshewanted. She loved the sun and couldn’t think of anything better than lying on a sunbed, basking in the sunlight and reading a book.
‘Do you think? Would you mind if I try it on? Of course I’ll pay you for it.’
