Mac gazed over at the house then back to her. ‘Are you sure?’
‘I might bump into things,’ she said with a grin. ‘I need you to guide me.’
He gave her a knowing look. ‘Hmm. You might be milking this a bit now. Come on then, let’s go.’
It felt weird unlocking the door and walking into her house with Mac at her side. She waited for the feeling of guilt to kick in. After all, this had been Drew’s house, too. But strangely there was none of that. What there was, however, was the realisation that this place no longer felt homely or comfortable. She had the oddest feeling that she didn’t belong here any more.
Mac bent down and scooped up a handful of letters and handed them to her as he glanced around the hallway.
‘Nice house,’ he said. ‘Nice area, too.’
‘Come through,’ she said. ‘I’ll make us a cup of tea.’
‘I thinkI’llmake us a cup of tea,’ he said firmly. ‘I don’t want any accidents with boiling kettles while you’re still wandering around with those sunglasses on.’
She laughed and removed the sunglasses, then led him through to the kitchen, where French doors looked out over the small garden.
‘Oh,’ Mac said, as he filled the kettle at the sink, ‘I see what you mean. Not much scope out there for your gardening plans, is there?’
The garden looked even tinier now she was used to the huge garden at Watersmeet. Surrounded by a six-foot wooden fence, it was quite depressing really, despite the border full of daffodils that had flowered in her absence.
‘Not really,’ she said, somewhat distracted as she noticed one particular letter that she’d been waiting for. She tore it open as Mac flicked the kettle on and said, ‘Where do you keep your cups?’
Alison’s eyes scanned the letter, her heart thumping with anxiety and dread. Then she let out a sigh of relief, clutching the piece of paper to her chest.
Mac raised an eyebrow. ‘Good news?’
‘The best. My bowel test results.’ She waved the letter at him. ‘No problems.’
His face widened in a smile. ‘You did the test?’
‘I did.’ She’d been too scared to mention it to anyone, even Rosie. Scared she might jinx it. But now she felt free and light as a feather.
‘Come upstairs,’ she said impulsively, dropping the mail on the table and holding out her hand.
He stared at her, and she laughed. ‘I mean to look at the view. It’s why we bought the house really.’
Carefully, she led him up the stairs, hoping she’d left her bedroom in a tidy state. Thankfully, she had, and she led him straight to the glass door at the far end of the room, where a Juliet balcony gave them a view of the footpath below and the dock behind the house. Beyond that lay the glorious Humber Estuary.
‘Oh, wow,’ Mac said. ‘I wasn’t expecting that!’
‘I know. Isn’t it brilliant? I always wanted to move back to Kelsea Sands but Drew’s work and my work were in West Hull, and you know what the traffic can be like. And then there was the little problem of properties hardly ever coming up for sale in the village. But this view – it meant I could look out and see the Humber and know that I wasn’t so far from home after all. The water was flowing towards Kelsea Sands, and it made me feel connected to my family. And further down in the other direction is Hessle Foreshore, and Jenna lives there with the twins. Not on the foreshore but close by. Somehow, we’re all together.’ She gave an embarrassed laugh. ‘I expect that sounds stupid.’
‘No,’ he said. ‘No, it doesn’t. Not at all.’
They gazed out at the river. ‘Just up there,’ he said wonderingly, ‘is Watersmeet. That’s so strange.’
She nodded. ‘I love the Humber,’ she told him. ‘It’s so amazing. The Ouse and the Trent and the Don all feed into it?—’
‘And the River Hull,’ he reminded her.
‘Naturally. I love the River Hull, too. It’s one of the things I do enjoy about this city. There’s water everywhere! All these channels criss-crossing the place, and you can’t get from one side of the city to the other without crossing a bridge over the river. Isn’t that fabulous?’
‘Not so much in traffic jams, or when one of the bridges is up to let a ship through, or being repaired,’ he said, his eyes twinkling. ‘But I know what you mean. You’re like me. You love being near the water. Even when I was in Oxfordshire I had to be beside the river. It’s so soothing and calming, isn’t it? Even the sea, which is quite tempestuous at times. We’re lucky at Kelsea Sands to have both.’
‘It puts everything into perspective. No matter what happens, the North Sea tide comes in and out, and the Humber keeps flowing. When you look at it, it makes you feel like – I don’t know – that somehow, everything will be all right. And at the same time, like none of it really matters anyway, because we’re just temporary little blips on the landscape, and the water will be there long after we’re gone.’
She shook her head. ‘Sorry. Did that sound depressing?’
