Milla’s very hard to say ‘no’ to, and why would I? She’s always been an easy child who’s shown emotional intelligence beyond her years and is endlessly patient and helpful with her three younger half-siblings. I can’t ever remember a time when she’s been naughty, and she’s slid into adolescence like a dream.
I smile at her. ‘The sea makes Shadow so jumpy that I bought him a long leash.’ So far, it’s stayed coiled in my hand, because he’s glued to my knee so he can dive for cover if he meets anything scary. I unwind the lead, keep hold of the loop and hand the rest over to Milla. ‘There, you can both lead him. Hang on tight though, he might tug suddenly if the waves come up the beach.’
Sophie is laughing. ‘I never thought you’d be a helicopter parent, Flossie!’
I pull a face because she’s right. ‘I’ve only had Shadow a few months, I’m a very anxious mum. The move has unsettled him – he never barked in London!’
Nell throws another stick for Diesel. ‘Don’t worry, he’ll soon find his sea-paws.’ She gives a sniff. ‘He’s not the only reluctant new resident – Kit passed on the singles’ pie night yesterday too.’
I can’t knock him for that. Me not wanting to go is why we’re all here now.
Plum laughs. ‘Being realistic, he’ll hardly want to leave his swanky hotel hut to hang out at the Yellow Canary, even if their pies are award-winning.’
Sophie looks dreamy. ‘Their sweets are amazing. And the sticky toffee pudding is to die for. Just saying.’
Clemmie gives a low moan. ‘The ginger cheesecake too…’
By the time they’ve worked their way down the entire dessert menu and gushed over the stupendous cherry Bakewell tart and the out-of-this-world lemon meringue drizzle, the hotel is coming into view again.
Hand on heart, I’m concentrating more on the icing sugar dusting on puff pastry cream slices they’ve just described than on Shadow, who’s been happily trotting beside Tilly and Milla, without any of his usual barking because the rest of us have blocked his view of the scary sea. So when a freak wave rolls up the beach and we all scatter as it crashes over our feet, the tug on the lead in my hand takes me by surprise. A moment later there’s one loud bark, and Shadow is gone, haring off into the dunes, his lead trailing behind him.
I curse under my breath, and when I see his bounding shape weaving between the skinny cypress trees that edge the hotel lawns I groan. ‘The last thing I want is him running loose in the High Tide grounds!’
I start to run and a few yards later my chest starts to burn, reminding me of how unfit I am. Plum, Sophie, Milla, Tilly and Maisie have joined the chase too, all dashing along the sand beside me. As we come to the wide walkway that marks the hotel’s path to the beach, I catch sight of a familiar figure up by the buildings, and before I can stop myself I’m yelling, ‘Kit! Shadow’s escaped! If you see him, please can you grab him?’
He pauses to scan the space, then as he hurries across the slope above the beach Shadow comes into view again, galloping across the grass. Kit makes a beeline for him and launches himself at the dog. For a moment Shadow’s held in Kit’s full-length rugby tackle, but a wriggle later he bursts free, and zig-zags through the box bushes, his lead still trailing behind him. Kit springs to his feet, and as Shadow heads for the flat gravelled parking area another figure appears. Kit yells, ‘Get the dog, Rye!’
Shadow hurls himself down the steps, sending box plants in pots flying in all directions, and simultaneously the man Kit was calling to steps out from between two parked cars, and into Shadow’s path. A second later he’s scooped Shadow up, and he’s clutching him to his body, laughing across at Kit.
‘Nice tackle there, mate, bad luck for missing him.’
As we come closer, I’m taking in a jacket with epaulettes and trousers with creases. I’m kicking myself for letting Shadow go as I wail, ‘Just my luck to rock up next to a hotel with a dedicated dog warden!’ A strong one too, from the way he’s holding forty kilos of dog as if he weighs nothing.
Plum rolls her eyes. ‘Get real, Floss, a uniform that snappy in a luxury establishment car park? It’s clearly the man who does the valet parking.’ She turns to him and flashes a hundred-watt smile. ‘I’m right, aren’t I?’
It’s not only her smile that’s lighting up. She’s wiggling too, tossing her ponytail, and sticking out her chest for all she’s worth, which is completely unlike Plum.
As Kit hurries across to join us, I let out another wail. ‘And look at you, with your shirt covered in mud! I’msosorry!’
He rests his hand on my shoulder and shakes his head. ‘No worries, I have a hundred more back at my beach huts, all clean and ironed.’ A smile spreads across his face as he lets his hand fall again. ‘Joking there, obviously.’
The guy holding Shadow laughs. ‘He’s not. They’re why he needs two huts.’
Kit shakes his head. ‘Stop giving away my secret vices! Parking valet, that’s a good one!’ He smiles at us. ‘This is Rye Radley, another London escapee, who has known me long enough to count my shirts and judge my wardrobe.’
Plum’s voice is breathy. ‘Good to meet you, Rye Radley. Nice alliteration you’ve got going on there.’
Nell, Clemmie and Diesel arrive in time to catch the tail-end of that crazy comment, and Nell chimes in. ‘Stuff alliteration, this is the best news ever for the singles club! Two new guys in town means double the excitement! Old friends, too! You can come to events together.’
I’m holding my breath. If there are partners around, or back in London, this would be the moment to mention them.
Milla puts her finger up. ‘You don’t have to be single either, in St Aidan everyone joins in, regardless of status.’
Damn.
Kit pulls a face. ‘We’ll get back to you on that.’
Rye Radley grins. ‘Come on, Kit, you promised you’d stop being a workaholic and start being an extrovert once you came to Cornwall.’ He rolls his eyes. ‘And to set the record straight, I’m not an animal trainer. I’m heading off for my induction as a part-time fireman, which is why I’m in uniform.’
