Blue Skies Over Wildflower Lock (The Wildflower Lock)

Chapter 12

Daisy yearned for a good night’s sleep. She wanted nothing more than to wake up fresh and revitalised, ready to start the next morning. And she had curled up in bed early, hoping it would happen, but the butterflies had different ideas.

Over the past year, she’d gotten used to the feeling of nervous anticipation. It was the same when she moved into the boat full-time, leaving her life and flat in London. And again when she opened up the coffee shop for the first time. But this night felt different.

It didn’t help that she desperately wanted to share every detail of her upcoming trip with Theo. When they spoke again that evening, while she somehow resisted telling him, she couldn’t help but drop a few hints.

‘Did you know Yvonne had taken the Ariadne out of the estuary too?’ she asked, randomly shoe-horning the question into their conversation. ‘All the way up the tidal Thames.’

‘Of course,’ Theo said. ‘She was quite the skipper in her day. She’s been all round the country. Not just out of the estuary, she’s done the Wash too.’

‘The Wash?’

‘It’s in the north and takes you right out at sea. Some tricky piloting that, what with the tides and everything. Lots of high sandbanks to avoid too. Takes some real skill.’

As strange as it was to be keeping her upcoming adventure a secret from Theo, Daisy couldn’t help but feel assured by his praise of Yvonne’s narrowboating skills.

‘Do you know, she once thought about doing the Channel, but that’s completely insane.’ Theo said. ‘Thankfully, she seems to be past all that now. She’s far better off in the safety of Wildflower Lock and the canals there, if you ask me.’

‘Yes, absolutely,’ Daisy agreed, with only a niggle of guilt tickling her. Why would anyone want to leave the safety of Wildflower Lock? That’s when she knew she had to end the phone call there, not sure how much more truth-stretching she could deal with. ‘I’d better go to bed now,’ she said. ‘Speak tomorrow?’

‘Of course,’ Theo replied. ‘Oh, and Daisy?’

‘Yes?’

‘I love you.’

‘I love you too.’ She grinned.

Unfortunately, the conversation had left her wide awake and full of adrenaline, and it took a binge-watch of five true-crime episodes before she finally fell asleep.

The late night falling asleep, and lack of alarm set for the morning, meant that it was gone nine when Daisy woke up. As was her normal habit, she rolled over to grab her phone and immediately spotted the missed call from Theo. Her heart sank, but it wasn’t a surprise. Morning and night were the times they spoke to each other most. However, given how hard it had been to keep quiet the night before, she wasn’t ready for another conversation so soon afterwards. And so instead, she sent him a text:

Opened the cafe early. Weather’s great. Speak tonight.

She hoped changing speak soon, which she normally wrote, to speak tonight, would prevent him from trying to ring her during the day. And then, because it was something they now did, she added another line to the message:

Love you.

She had just pressed send when there was a knock on the door. A flurry of excitement twisted in Daisy’s chest as she stared at the empty area in her closet where Yvonne was about to place her clothes. Were they insane? Daisy wondered, glancing out the window at the picture-perfect morning that was waking up on Wildflower lock. She had everything she needed right where she was. And did she really need an adventure? After all, she’d got this far in her life without having one. Would it really hurt just to spend the summer here, on the canal, the way she had originally planned?

As she sat there, a saying flickered through her mind. She couldn’t remember where it had come from – whether she had read it in a book, or heard it on some television show – but the moment the words came to mind, they resonated deep within her.

‘Better to regret the things you do, than the things you don’t do,’ she said aloud.

The excitement surged within her. She was right. If she didn’t leave now, she’d regret it forever.

Another knock on the door reminded Daisy that someone was waiting so, jumping to her feet, she strode through the September Rose.

Yvonne was standing outside, a large rucksack on the ground by her feet, and the broadest smile Daisy had ever seen on her face.

‘Come on then, Skipper,’ she said. ‘Let’s do this.’