Blue Skies Over Wildflower Lock (The Wildflower Lock)

Chapter 24

Yvonne was horrified, though mostly at the quantity of mud rather than how Daisy could have been really hurt.

‘You need to take all those clothes off before you come into this boat,’ Yvonne said as she stood out on the stern, hands on hips. Daisy was going to respond that it was actually her boat, and she was the skipper and if she wanted to walk into it covered in mud, then she could. But that seemed like a pretty churlish thing to do, considering she was the one who’d have to clean it all up afterwards.

So, out in the morning sun, she stripped down to her underwear before heading straight into the shower.

‘So, a handsome young man just pulled you out of the mud and then disappeared?’ Yvonne said after Daisy had finished telling her what had happened.

‘Pretty much. He said he had to be somewhere.’

‘And you didn’t even ask his name?’

Daisy shook her head. Asking his name was probably the most basic level of manners she should have shown, but she’d not even managed that. The minute he’d run off, she’d felt terrible, but there was no way she could have run after him. As it was, she’d had to limp her way home, stopping every so often to pick the stones out of her foot.

‘I don’t know what I would have done if he hadn’t been there. Honestly, that mud was like quicksand. I’ve never known anything like it. I won’t be heading off paths again, I can tell you that much,’ she said.

Yvonne let out a slight chuckle. ‘Oh, it’s all part of the adventure, though, isn’t it? It’s one of the stories to tell the grandchildren. If you have any, that is.’

Thoughts of grandchildren and children caused Daisy’s mind to flicker straight to Theo. There was no way she could tell him about this. He’d be furious if he knew she’d wandered off in the early morning, somewhere she had no idea what the terrain was like. Still, it was a lesson learned for Daisy.

‘I guess I’ll just stick to the internet for reference photos from now on,’ she said.

While the morning had not got off to quite the start Daisy had expected, her exceptionally early walk meant it was only just gone seven when she was all cleaned up and ready to open the coffee shop. Yvonne was in charge of checking all tide times and, according to her little yellow book, high tide was around eleven o’clock. While they weren’t planning on waiting until full high tide to leave, it meant they could stay moored where they were until at least nine. And if this place was anything like Wildflower Lock, then it meant the dog walkers would soon be out, offering Daisy the perfect opportunity to sell some of her cakes and coffees.

She was slightly surprised, therefore, when the entire pathway, as far as she could see, was clear. The disappointment stung, and after thirty minutes passed, Daisy still hadn’t served a single customer.

‘We didn’t clarify this before we left,’ Yvonne said, standing by her shoulder. ‘But do I have to pay for your coffees? I don’t mind, it’s just someone my age has to budget, you know.’

‘No,’ Daisy said, emphatically. ‘All drinks are definitely on me. Now, what would you like?’

‘A cappuccino, please, but can you make it decaf? I only allow myself one cup of coffee a day, and I suspect I’m going to need it when we get going along the river.’

Daisy moved over to the coffee machine, hoping that Yvonne was being flippant. Given how stress-free the day before had been, Daisy was hoping for the same level of smooth sailing again.

After making two cappuccinos, one decaf for Yvonne and a full-caffeine, full-fat one for herself, Daisy placed the bell on the countertop – just in case a customer appeared – and sat at the dining table next to Yvonne to enjoy the drink.

‘I don’t know what you want for breakfast,’ Daisy said. ‘As it’s quiet, I can cook something. Pancakes? And there’s bread if you want toast.’

‘No, but thank you. I’m not really a breakfast person if I’m honest. A good lunch and a light supper are all I need.’ Yvonne gazed out of the window towards the sailing boats that were moored up in the marina, the soft chime of their sails singing into the air. ‘It’s lovely and quiet here, isn’t it?’

‘Yes,’ Daisy agreed. ‘Quieter than I expected.’

‘Perhaps your knight in shining armour will run back this way?’

It was a thought Daisy had had, too. Shouting the man a coffee and cake was the least she could do, and she had been keeping a deliberate eye out, but so far there had been nothing. She wondered if perhaps he was a long-distance runner, one of those that started at dawn and didn’t stop until the sun set. It would make sense as to why he was running so early, but what kind of runner wore chinos and a polo shirt? And where had he been running to or from? Both were questions Daisy wanted answers to, but for now, the horizon was clear.

‘Well, what do you want to do?’ Yvonne said, breaking Daisy’s stream of thoughts. ‘The tide’s already coming in, a little earlier than expected,’ she tapped the little yellow book on the table in front of her. ‘We can probably head out in the next half an hour. Unless you want to keep the shop open a bit longer, serve a few more customers.’

It was all Daisy could do not to scoff at the remark. In all her days with the coffee shop, she couldn’t remember a morning as bad as this one, and that included days when it was pouring with rain. At least she knew she’d made the right decision in setting up at Wildflower Lock. Which made her even more unsure whether closing up to visit Theo was really the wisest thing to do.

‘Perhaps we give it fifteen minutes more, then get ready to head out,’ she suggested. Yvonne nodded in agreement.

‘That sounds good to me. And just to check, do I need to pay for those lemon muffins, too?’