‘There’s also something else to celebrate,’ said Bea, giving him a nudge with her elbow. ‘Hemingway and Fernsby have closed their first case.’ High-fiving him, she pressed a kiss to his lips.
‘I still think I did most of the work,’ he replied with a glint in his eye.
‘I dispute that wholeheartedly.’
Nolan popped the cork and everyone stood on deck with a glass of champagne. ‘I think we should have a toast,’ he suggested. All eyes were on him.
‘Here’s to new beginnings, family and The Little Blue Boathouse, where chance summer meetings took us by surprise in the past and present and have brought us all closer. Happy endings! And not forgetting, to Morgan and The Hemingway.’
They clinked their glasses. Even though they had started with an air of uncertainty and profound sadness, a lot of questions had been answered and everyone felt lighter and happier. Hopefully they could all now move on from the past.
‘I can’t believe I’ve got a new family,’ Nolan said happily. ‘I am genuinely chuffed.’
‘You two need an invite to Granny’s surprise dinner at The Lakehouse,’ exclaimed Isla, then brought her hand up to her mouth when she realised what she’d said.
‘I think the word “surprise” means we aren’t meant to say anything,’ said Bea, laughing.
‘I don’t need any more surprises at my time of life,’ said Martha. ‘Can we all just agree that everything is plain sailing from now on?’
‘Agreed,’ chorused everyone.
ChapterTwenty-Five
One week later
Bea didn’t mind waking up to an empty bed, especially when she was greeted by the aroma of sizzling sausages and the sound of a kettle boiling. Already she could feel the warmth of the day filtering through the open window. It was finally the day of the River Festival and in the last twenty-four hours everyone had decorated their boats ready for the water parade. For the last week she’d spent every waking moment possible with Nolan and both of them had avoided the subject of what was going to happen after today. She knew the ball was in his court. He was still healing from his own past and she knew that if she had to let him go, as much as it would break her heart, that’s what she would do. Life in Heartcross wouldn’t be the same without him but his promise that he would be back gave her a little hope. And even though she felt sad that this was their last day together, she was going to try and savour every second.
Hearing him singing along to the radio in the kitchen she smiled as she picked up her phone to check her emails. Her eyes fixed on the top email – from Andrew Glossop. She opened it and scanned the text and then had to read it again. Not believing her eyes, she bounced out of bed.
‘Nolan! Nolan!’
‘Where’s the fire?’ he asked, popping his head around the kitchen door and cocking an eyebrow. ‘And good morning!’ he said, kissing the tip of her nose. ‘What has got you so excited?’ he asked, taking the phone from Bea.
‘Andrew Glossop’s email, read it.’
Bea excitedly shuffled her feet and waited impatiently for Nolan to finish reading it. He looked up with a beam and let out a low whistle. ‘Holy moly! This is amazing news! Blooming brilliant!’
‘Isn’t it just? Andrew Glossop and Flynn Carter are going to fund the very first lifeboat as soon as the rest of the funds are raised. This is more than amazing!’ Over the last few days the fundraising page on Facebook had been full of notifications and ideas from the community on how to raise the money, and everyone was pulling together to make this happen. ‘Next week, I’ve got a meeting with the builders and the architect to design the headquarters. I’ve never project managed anything like this before. It’s going to be hard work to coordinate everything.’ For a second Bea started to doubt whether she could pull it all together, but then Nolan wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight.
‘You’ve got this! In years to come there’ll be a statue erected outside The Little Blue Boathouse.’ He grinned. ‘Bea Fernsby. Founder of Heartcross Rescue. Thousands of lives saved because of her.’
‘Can you imagine?’ replied Bea, beaming. ‘How cool would that be?’
‘Very cool.’
‘And that’s not all.’ Bea tapped the phone. ‘Aidy Redfern has given this project a three-page spread in the local newspaper and wants to interview me on the local news next week, which he says hopefully will go out nationally too.’
‘That’s great! You will smash it. That’s going to create more awareness and hopefully increase funds.’
‘Which currently stand at a little over fifty thousand pounds. I know we still have a long way to go but by my reckoning Heartcross Rescue could be in full operation in eighteen months’ time … and do you know those sausages are nearly cremated?’ said Bea, pointing to the frying pan on the stove.
‘Damn,’ replied Nolan, quickly switching off the stove and transferring the sausages to a plate. ‘Go and have a look at the riverbank, the sight is amazing.’
Walking out onto the deck, Bea was astonished. The bank of the River Heart looked like a mini festival with pop-up stalls all in a line, and huge banners hanging from the bridge. The local radio station had set up a portable booth next to the jetty and was playing music. Hordes of people were walking along the path and positioning picnic blankets in various spots, ready to make the most of the day.
‘Wow! Look at that view,’ exclaimed Bea.
‘Oh, I’m looking!’ replied Nolan with a lopsided grin.
