Blue Skies Over Wildflower Lock (The Wildflower Lock)

Chapter 78

Not seeing Yvonne first thing in the morning wasn’t unusual. Daisy had grown used to her sleeping in and taking naps at all times of the day, and after the shock of the previous night, it was no wonder she wanted a little more rest than usual. Wanting to spend the time productively, Daisy opened up the coffee shop and decided to serve drinks for an hour or so until Yvonne was up and they could decide how far they were going to travel.

There was another reason, beyond earning money, that made Daisy want to open the coffee shop, too.

‘Make sure you haven’t got any valuables on display,’ she said to anyone who told her they lived on the canal. ‘I’m pretty sure it was premeditated, but you can never be too sure. You need to be careful.’

Several customers made comments about things like Daisy’s break-in being all too common, while others shook their heads and said how they’d never heard of something happening like that along this stretch before. Either way, it was a fairly constant stream of customers and Daisy was surprised when she looked down at her watch and found it was gone ten.

Johnny had spent the night in the boat with no messes. Daisy had let him out briefly as soon as she’d woken up, after which he went straight back to his spot under the table, where he stayed without complaint, until just before ten-thirty, when he started whining loudly.

‘I know. You need to go out for a proper walk,’ Daisy said, throwing him a quick glance. ‘I’m sure Yvonne will be up in a minute. She can take you out. Or you’ll just have to wait.’

Given how long Johnny had gone without toilet breaks when they were on the Thames, Daisy expected him to manage for just a bit longer, but within two minutes, he was on his feet, scratching at the door, although not the door that led outside, but the cabin door. Did he know there was a route outside through there onto the bow? Maybe, but it wasn’t as if he’d ever been in there before.

Soon his whines were so loud, they were attracting the attention of customers outside the hatch. All she needed was for one of them to call a health and safety officer and it would be the end of her.

‘Fine, let’s go,’ she said, the minute there was a break in customers.

She put up a back in two minutes sign on the hatch, then grabbed Johnny’s leash, though rather than bounding to join her, the way he’d previously done when it was time to go out, Johnny sat down on the ground, his whining increasing.

‘What do you want, then?’ Daisy said, making no attempt to hide her frustration. ‘I thought you wanted to go out. I don’t know what sort of game you’re playing, but I’m not playing it.’

She clipped the lead to his collar and turned away. Johnny’s eyes widened and his head turned back towards the cabin door, but he relented, stood up, and headed outside.

In less than two minutes, he was back in the boat. The whining recommenced.

‘Do you want to get moving?’ Daisy asked as if she expected him to give her a genuine answer. ‘That’s what it is, isn’t it? Well, you’re right. We probably need to leave soon.’

She glanced at her watch. The morning was running away from her. That was always the case when it was busy, though. Those days flew by. It was the slow ones that dragged.

With a groan, Daisy looked down at Johnny, who was still emitting his whine while pawing at the cabin door.

‘I know. She needs to get up. You’re right. You’re right.’

Last night, Yvonne had said she wanted to get in at least seven hours of driving to get through the mass of locks that awaited them. If they didn’t leave soon, they’d been mooring up near sunset. And yet there was still no sign of her.

Deciding that making headway was now her priority, Daisy closed the hatch and knocked on the door of the cabin.

‘Yvonne?’ she said. Nothing.

Daisy listened closely. She hadn’t heard any nightmares seeping through that morning, but with the coffee machine constantly whirring away, it was hard to hear anything at all. She knocked a little harder and, upon hearing nothing, cracked the door open.

Daisy looked into the space, struggling to make out Yvonne in the shadows. The curtains were still drawn, the darkness of the cabin a contrast to the bright sun of the sky outside. With her eyes straining, she took another step inward.

‘Yvonne!’ she screamed.