‘I’m glad to hear it.’ Her face twisted in something between a smile and frown. ‘You know where to find me if you ever need to talk.’
Kitty appreciated the no-nonsense kindness. ‘Thank you. I’m fine. Coming here was the fresh start I needed.’
‘Excellent, and as I’ve already said, your personal situation will of course remain strictly confidential. To everyone, including me, you’ll be Kitty Brown.’
‘Thank you, I appreciate it,’ said Kitty.
Before Suzanne could say anything more, the door was flung open and a woman with a thick grey plait hanging over hershoulder burst into the room. She stopped in her tracks when she spotted Suzanne. ‘Oh, sorry. Shall I come back?’
‘No, you’re fine, Sam. Kitty, this is Sam Penrose, your teaching assistant.’
‘Pleased to meet you, Sam,’ said Kitty, dragging her mind from her past to her present.
‘Likewise. Are you sure I’m not interrupting?’
‘Not at all,’ said Suzanne. ‘You do know you don’t need to be here today?’
Sam shrugged. ‘I wanted to catch up with everyone, and meet Kitty, of course.’
‘OK, if you’re sure. You must be busy at the shop this week.’
Sam turned to Kitty. ‘I also run the General Store with my partner Steve. He’s got his nephew visiting, so has put him to work, which has freed me up today.’
‘I appreciate you spending your day off here,’ said Kitty.
‘No problem at all. Is there anything I can do to help?’
‘I thought I might get the display boards set up today.’
‘Great, I can help with that. Why don’t I show you where to find the art cupboard and we can take it from there?’
‘I’ll leave you ladies to it,’ said Suzanne. ‘And remember, my door is always open if you need me, Kitty.’
Chapter 16
Exploring the village hadn’t taken as long as Nick had hoped. When he checked his watch, his heart sank. He’d only filled an hour, and it was obvious Emily was bored.
‘Shall we go to the general store and see if they’ve got any colouring pens?’
‘Mummy packed colouring pens in my bag.’
‘Wouldn’t you like some new ones?’
Emily shrugged and chewed her lip.
‘Come on, let’s see what they’ve got in there.’ Nick hoped a browse around the small shop would fill at least a further fifteen minutes.
A bell tingled as they entered the shop.
‘Nick, good to see you.’ A head popped up from behind a tall pile of cardboard boxes and smiled.
‘Hi, Steve. Looks like you’ve got your work cut out for you there.’
‘I had the bright idea of expanding to a range of fishing gear. Now it’s all arrived, I’ve no idea where I’m going to put it. At least Tom’s here to give me a hand.’
‘Tom?’
‘You called me, boss?’ A young man came through from the storeroom, a large box in his arms.
