The Old Lighthouse in Sunny Shore Bay (Sunny Shore Bay Book 8): Escape to the British seaside with t

Chapter Nine

‘I can always cancel.’ It’s hard to make out what Mia’s saying, what with her hastily applying lipstick in the mirror by the door. ‘James wouldn’t mind.’

‘Don’t be daft! It’s Friday night, you guys should enjoy yourselves. Me, Penny and Hettie will just watch a fun film, or something.’

Mia still looks unsure, but there’s no time for her to protest, as the bing-bong of the doorbell interrupts us. I have to admit, Mia really lucked out when she met James, he”s handsome, kind and he”s turned up for their date with a bouquet of red roses. I only received flowers from Jerry when he was trying to impress someone else, like his parents or his co-workers. They were always the most elaborate, gaudy arrangements that I could barely hold in both hands, it was like he was trying to prove to everyone what a great husband he was, and how much money he made.

‘Hi, Claire.” James” smile looks genuine, and yet, I can’t help but scan it for traces of pity. Much to my chagrin, I heard Mia furtively filling him in on what”s been going on the other night, and I just about died on the spot. ‘Where’s Penny?’

‘She’s having her bedtime bath, I’ll tell her that you said hey when she’s out.’ Before Mia can utter another word of concern, I usher her and James out of the door. ‘Now have a great time, you two. Don’t worry about a thing!’

Mia glances back guiltily as James leads her down the garden path, but I give her a big grin and a thumbs up, to signal that I”m absolutely fine. Of course, that couldn”t be further from the truth, I feel like someone ripped out my heart and microwaved it before clumsily stuffing it back into my chest, but that”s no reason why my mate shouldn”t have a fun night out with her man.

I lift Penny out of her bath and after a quick supper of tomato soup with a cheese toastie for dipping, we snuggle up in the spare bed for storytime. Halfway through the book, her breathing slows down and her little head lolls against me. Gingerly, I edge out of the blankets and tuck her in before creeping out of the room on tiptoe, so as not to wake her.

Now that Penny”s fast asleep, I”m at a loss of what to do - this is just like it was back at the old house. I try to watch the telly for a bit, but it gets boring and my mood sinks even lower than ever. With a sigh, I dig in my bag for my phone, perhaps scrolling through social media will pass the time. But instead of grabbing my mobile, my fingers brush against something cool and smooth, and I fish out the mysterious item. It”s the tattered leather notebook, the one I discovered in the lighthouse.

Wrapped up in a cream throw, I leaf through the book, my brow furrowed as I try to make sense of it. Hettie leaps up onto the cushion and nuzzles into me, purring softly as she peers at the yellowed pages.

‘Any idea what all this means, Het?’ I get a perplexed meow in response. ‘Yeah, me neither.’

Carefully, I close the book and trace the embossed monogram on the cover. H.G. Who is H.G? Could it be the man I met the first time I ventured into the lighthouse?

A nervous niggle burrows down in my stomach, and I have to dowse it with a hasty swig of Penny”s leftover blackcurrant squash. Perhaps I shouldn’t have taken the notebook, it’s not mine, what if the owner is looking for it? I really ought to return it. And yet, there”s something so tantalizing about the mystery surrounding it, so intriguing that I kind of want to hold onto it ... at least for a little while.

*

The next morning, I wake with a cat’s tail in my face and a crick in my neck. Did I fall asleep on the sofa?

Groaning, I grab my phone from the coffee table and wince at the bright screen. There’s a message from Mia saying she’s staying at James’ for the night and that there’s crumpets for breakfast in the bread bin. I beam at my phone, she’s such a sweetheart. I’m so fortunate to have her in my life, I don’t know what I’d be doing if it weren’t for her.

I wake my sleepy girl and together, we munch on buttery crumpets and sip freshly squeezed orange juice.

‘What would you like to do today, sweetheart?’ I ask as I pour steaming tea into my mug.

Her eyes flick up to the ceiling as she considers her options. ‘Hm, can we go to the beach and build sandcastles?’

I chuckle at the sheer simplicity of her wish. Forget about outings to theme parks and shopping sprees for expensive toys, all a child truly needs is a bucket and spade and some quality time with their mum. My only regret is that it took the loss of everything I”ve known for the last decade to finally realise this.

‘Sure we can.’

The sun beats down on our backs as we stroll through the town and down to the soft, sandy beach. Armed with a red and blue bucket and spade, Penny skips ahead, happy as a lamb in spring. You wouldn”t think this little girl”s parents were going through a separation and that she”d been forced out of her family home. It”s a bit peculiar, how well she”s adapted to everything, but who am I to question how she copes with things? I guess she”s made of sterner stuff than I thought.

I spread my towel over the sand and lay back, my sunglasses on the end of my nose. Over in the distance stands the lighthouse, my secret sanctuary from the world. I reach into my handbag and finger the spine of the leather book. I really should put it back where I found it …

‘Claire!’

Bile shoots from my gut straight into my throat as I sit up to face Rosalind and her kids. I haven”t seen her since my life blew up last week, and I”m so not in the mood for her judgment and ”advice”. Anastasia and Oliver caper over, talking over each other excitedly as they compete for Penny’s attention, and their mother follows closely behind. There’s nowhere to escape, nowhere to hide …

‘Hi, Rosalind,’ I smile wanly as she approaches. ‘How are you?’

‘Well, I’m just fine, but the real question is how are you?’ She peers over the frame of her Gucci sunglasses. ‘We haven’t seen you at the yoga studio all week, you haven’t replied to anyone’s messages, what’s been going on?’

‘Well, that’s a bit of a delicate question, Rosalind -’

‘Is it Jerry?’ She doesn’t wait for a response. ‘He’s left you for a younger model, has he? Oh, don’t worry, hun, he’ll soon realise the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. They always come crawling back, believe me!’

‘No, that’s not it at all.’ I cough awkwardly, having inadvertently discovered more about Rosalind’s marriage than I ever wanted to. ‘I left him.’

From the horror on her face, you’d think I’d just confessed to murdering Jerry. ‘What?’

‘I left him. Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that, he’d got himself a job in a new city without telling me, and -’

‘Oh, Claire, you silly goose!’ Rosalind throws her fresh blow-dry over her shoulders with laughter. ‘You can”t stop these high fliers from flying, you”ve just got to keep up with them! You don’t break up a happy home for something as trivial as that.’

‘We don’t have a happy home,’ I insist. ‘I mean, I haven’t been happy for a long time with Jerry, but we literally don’t have a home anymore. The moment Jerry found out he”d secured the new position, he decided he was going to rent out the house.’

That shuts Rosalind up sharpish. ‘You’re … homeless?’ She clasps a hand to her chest.

‘Well, yes, I suppose we are. But we’re staying with my friend Mia at the moment, just until I find a full-time job and a permanent residence for Penny and I.’

‘That’s great, hun. Erm, Oliver? Anna?’ With a frantic gesture, she recalls her kids to her side, and then she turns to me apologetically. ‘I’m sorry, Claire, but we’ve got to dash. I’d forgotten, but I have to get the kids to a play date with Chloe and Bella.’

‘Oh, well maybe Penny could come along too.’

‘No!’ Rosalind clears her throat and a too-tight smile stretches across her lacquered lips. ‘No, it’s rude, darling, to spring a third child on Tamara without warning. Perhaps next time, hm?’

And with that, Rosalind hurries her children away, never looking back once.

Penny ambles over to my side and breathes out a big, dramatic sigh. ‘We’re never going to see them again, are we?’

‘You know, sometimes, Penelope Jenson-Knight, you’re too sharp for your own good.’ I lift her up into the air and spin her around until she giggles wildly. ‘Forget them, let’s go get some chips, shall we?”

There”s a little blue kiosk on the beach known as The Salty Sea Dog, and they serve the most fabulous fish and chips I”ve ever tasted. When we amble over, I”m unsurprised to see there”s a small queue of people waiting for their lunch, and we join the back.

”Chips, chips, chips!” Penny leaps up and down, accidentally whacking her plastic bucket into the leg of the man standing before us in the queue.

”Oh, I”m so sorry ...” My voice trails away when he spins around.

For a second, I question whether I”ve stumbled back into my dreams. The guy from the lighthouse, the one with sea-green eyes and a jaw that could cut ice, is standing before me, his dark hair haloed by the sun. I blink, then I blink again, but he doesn”t disappear into the ether, he”s solid as a rock ... and staring right at me.

”Hello again.” He flashes a wicked half-smile that causes my cheeks to flood with heat.

Now, I love having a good flirt, but inexplicably, all my usual charm deserts me in a second. ”Err... erm, hello,” I croak.

”Mummy, you sound like a frog!” Penny cackles, and I wish I could sink straight into the sand.

With a gentle chuckle, the guy pays for his chips and leaves. ”See you later.”

”See you,” I whisper to his back.

As I awkwardly place our order of cheesy chips, a little hand tugs at my yoga leggings. ”Who was that?”

”I”m not sure.” I watch him walk across the sand, wistfully wondering where he might be headed.

”Well, why did he say hello to you, then?”

Jeez, this little girl is like a dog with a bone! Still, I”ve got no answer for her, so I simply shrug and laugh, ”I”m not sure!”

As Penny and I munch our chips on the make-shift picnic blanket that is my beach towel, I can”t help but ponder her question - who is that guy? I”ve lived in Sunny Shore Bay my entire life, and I”ve never seen him around, not once. Is he new to town? Or have I been stuck inside my ”lunch with the girls and hot yoga” bubble for so long, I”ve just never noticed him before?