Kitty’s sole aim when moving to Saffron Bay had been to keep her head down and keep herself to herself. Now, her desperate desire for normality, compounded with Alice’s friendly pleas, cracked her resolve.
‘Thank you, I’d love to.’ If she wasn’t to regret her lack of backbone, she’d need to get her story straight before meeting all these new people. But as she set about making a pot of tea, she wondered if it was fear of being found that terrified her, or the prospect that she might actually enjoy herself.
Chapter 4
‘Busy day?’ called Luke as Nick strolled towards him.
‘Aren’t they always?’
Luke sighed, and Nick grinned. He was impervious to Luke’s disapproval and enjoyed winding up his best friend.
‘So what have you been doing today?’
‘Lying in a hammock.’
‘That’s it?’
‘Yep.’ Nick took over on the foot pump as the kayak lying on the sand took shape.
‘Don’t you get bored? I’d go out of my mind doing nothing all day.’
Nick glanced around, pretending confusion. ‘That’s so weird. I had the strongest sense of déjà vu. Or was it a broken record I heard?’ He grinned at Luke, but the effort of holding his smile in place caused his cheeks to ache.
Luke rolled his eyes, and Nick laughed out some of the tension he was feeling.
‘We can’t go out on the water for long,’ said Luke. ‘I told Alice we’d be at the pub by seven.’
Disappointment swirled in Nick’s stomach. An entire evening with his best friend had seemed too good to be true, and it turned out his suspicions had been right. ‘Alice has made short work of wrapping you around her little finger.’ He laughed, despite not finding the situation remotely funny.
‘It’s not like that.’ Luke shrugged into his wetsuit. ‘A new teacher has moved to the village, and Alice wants to take her out for a drink to make her feel welcome.’
‘How old is she, this teacher? Bound to be ancient and dressed in flowered chintz, whatever chintz might be. Sounds like a waste of time to me.’
‘Actually, she’s about our age, I think.’
Nick grinned.
Luke shook his head. ‘Don’t be getting any ideas. Having a messy situation on your doorstep wouldn’t be wise. Anyway, what makes you think the new girl will fall for your charms?’
‘They all do, mate.’ Nick sighed loudly. ‘It’s a heavy cross to bear, but I’ve learned to live with the fact women find me irresistible.’
‘I give up.’ Luke raised his eyes heavenward, grabbed the front of the kayak and waited for Nick to take the back. ‘You’re never going to change, are you?’
‘No, but you still keep trying.’ As Nick said it, he wondered if there would come a time when Luke wouldn’t try anymore. His eyes burned with unexpected tears. Just the wind getting in them. He fixed a smile on his face.
They carried their kayak across the beach, working well as a team. While most of the young families had gone home for their dinner, Nick and Luke still had to dodge a few stragglers and a group of teenagers setting up a barbecue.
‘We’re entering silly season,’ said Nick, as they reached the water and climbed in.
‘I thought you hated winter and longed for summer?’ said Luke, digging his paddle into the water to get them going.
‘I do.’ Nick matched his friend’s strokes. ‘Summer’s great, except for the school holidays. There’s another five days until the kids go back to school. Then it’ll be the summer holidays and we’ll be in for six whole weeks of kids squawking and disturbing my peace.’
‘There’s no pleasing some people,’ said Luke, and Nick picked up a hint of disapproval in his tone.
They paddled towards the horizon, making swift progress, the beach shrinking to a thin strip of sand and Looe Island growing ever larger on the horizon. After a while, they stopped paddling and allowed the kayak to drift on the tide. Nick tipped his head to the sky and dangled his hands in the water. This counted as an almost perfect way to spend an evening. The only things missing were a beer and a few snacks.
‘We should tow an eight-pack behind us next time we come out.’
