I look at her, small and outwardly frail, and nod. Yeah, I can definitely see that happening around here. My skull feels exposed just thinking about it.
‘We’ve been busy haven’t we?’ Moira asks, her eyes narrowing in thought. ‘I’m not sure how I’ll cope when you’ve gone. Even keeping it open for the rest of the summer might be tricky. I wish I could still run the place, but what with my old legs and all…’
She pats her thighs and tries to look weak, putting an extra wistful tone into her voice. I know she’s actually started to regain some movement in her limbs, and Joanne tells me she’s attacking her physio programme with renewed vigour these days. Looks like she’s coming back to life along with the bookstore, and she’s definitely not as frail as she’s trying to appear. I narrow my eyes suspiciously. ‘What are you up to?’
‘Brody, what a thing to say to an old lady!’
Kate stands with her hands on her hips, head tilted to one side. ‘He’s right,’ she adds. ‘What are you up to?’
‘Och, it’s nothing,’ she replies, waving her hands in front of her face. ‘It’s just… well, this place is looking grand isn’t it? Brody, I’m sure there are still jobs left for you to do. And Kate, you’re a natural at this. You have a way with people that puts them at ease, and makes them feel comfortable. That’s when they spend the most!’
She lets out a tremendous cackle, and I picture her lobbing rocks at Vikings with no problems at all.
‘So, I was wondering if there is any way you can stay on for a wee while?’ she finally asks. ‘I know you only agreed to two weeks, but would you consider stretching that out? This might be the last summer at the Edge of the World, and I really would love to share it with you both.’
Huh. Two people asking about extending my stay in the space of a few minutes. Have Shannon and Moira been plotting behind my back?
Kate looks surprised, and leans back against the counter, thinking it through. I realise I’m waiting to hear what she says before I reach my own decision.
‘Moira,’ she says eventually, ‘that’s not what we agreed. We agreed that Brody and I would spend two weeks getting this place back on its feet, and then you’d find a way to make it work for the rest of the summer. We have our little opening ceremony coming up, and after that… well. We didn’t plan for anything after that, did we?’
‘Aye. That was the deal. And it still could be… but what if it wasn’t? What if you stayed?’
Kate shakes her head and smiles. ‘I’d love to – but I have work!’
‘I thought you were with a temping agency? Can’t you just… I don’t know, come off it for a while?’
‘I could, yes, it’s not like anybody would miss me. I’m like the opposite of Liam Neeson inTaken. I don’t have a very particular set of skills. But I do need to earn money, pay my bills… this has been wonderful, but the real world can’t be ignored.’
She looks sad as she speaks. I know she struggles, working a relatively low-paid job in one of the most expensive cities in the world, and I can’t argue with reality. I’d like to argue with it, and then stomp the shit out of it, but I can’t. It’s okay for me, thehouse is paid off and I’m in good shape financially, but Kate’s situation is different.
‘What if I paid you?’ Moira asks gently. ‘And you could carry on living at the cottage. I’m perfectly capable of affording it, dear, before you protest – selling this place was as much to do with a lack of will than anything. Like I told you, I lost my love of it. But I feel like that love is coming back, and you two are such a big part of it, I can’t bear the thought of you leaving just yet.’
Kate thinks about it, and her eyes search me out. I guess she’s wondering what my plans are. Maybe she won’t want to be here without me either.
‘Okay,’ she replies, biting her lip. ‘I’ll do it.’
Huh. So much for that. I’m obviously not as important as I thought I was.
‘I don’t come cheap though,’ she adds, grinning. ‘And I demand perks.’
‘What did you have in mind, child?’ Moira asks.
‘Joanne’s apple cake, at least once a week. As many free books as I like. And Brody… I want Brody to stay too.’
She turns to look at me, and I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut. Her eyes are shining, and I can see her nerves. I want to take her in my arms and kiss her and comfort her and tell her how relieved I am. I do none of that, because as Moira is always reminding me, I’m just a big dumb lummox.
‘Yeah,’ I say, surprised at how calm I sound. ‘Sure. I can stay a little longer.’
One more week, one more month, one more summer. It’s not forever. I can live with that commitment. Besides, what can go wrong between now and September?
Kate slips her hand into mine, gives me a knee-buckling smile. I realise that I’m not so worried about what can go wrong – more about what can go right.
TWENTY
KATE
I felt such a sense of relief when he said he’d stay. I wanted to anyway, and I told myself that Brody being here wasn’t a deal-breaker, but deep down I knew I was kidding myself. My life here is so wrapped up with him, it’s hard to imagine Bonnie Bay without the man.
