Chapter Twenty-Seven
The One Where Kate Realises Why They Call it the Blues
The manic weekend flew by, and Kate was grateful for a day off on the Monday to recharge. After a light lunch at the kitchen island, she chased up some loose ends in relation to the supply of electrical equipment for the fayre’s performance stand, then put her laptop aside.
It was a beautiful, if slightly cool, day but a walk beckoned. She fed Podge, who had just stirred from dozing on the sofa, then donned a light jacket, pocketed her phone and headed out across the terrace to the gate leading on to the coastal path.
Checking her watch, Kate eyed the steps down to the sands below The Lookout. It would be hours before Mollie came home, as she was having tea with her ‘girlie bestie’ after school and then heading down to youth club.
Turning on her heel, Kate followed the path back towards Polkerran, down to the bridge and then picked up the lane that would take her upriver to Polwelyn. It would make a change from walking to the lighthouse.
It’s also not taking you past Harbourwatch, or the tidal beach…
‘Quite right,’ she muttered, striding along with her hands in her pockets, pleased with her will power and oblivious to the contrariness of her thoughts, which had no respect for her intentions.
Since the date-that-wasn’t-a-date with Dev, she hadn’t been able to get him out of her mind… With a self-deprecating laugh, she left the lane behind and clambered over a stile into a field bordered by a grassy path.
Who was she trying to kid? She hadn’t exactly tried. She was attracted to him. Big time. Getting to know the man behind the reticent demeanour had been like peeling back layers, yet the more she discovered, the deeper she wanted to dig.
Foolish indulgence , she cautioned silently as the path descended downhill into the woodland.
As soon as she crossed the wooden bridge near the gate to Rivermills House, nestled on its tidal creek, and resumed the route to Polwelyn, however, her thoughts immediately reverted to Dev.
What was it that she found so… endearing about him? Everything about that man drew her towards him. She didn’t just love how Dev looked, she liked him, wanted to spend time in his company.
He’s a kind man; a generous one , her mind whispered, not for the first time. And not afraid for the world to see his affection for his child.
But still the questions remained over Dev’s intentions with regard to Leigh. Was he truly going to let her call all the shots, and, if he did, how likely was it she might change her mind again and come back for good?
Her mood immediately nose-diving, Kate blew out a frustrated breath as she emerged from the path onto a tarmacked lane, and soon she was at the bottom of the hill by the waterside.
A breeze whipped through a gap in the high bank opposite, beyond which the river flowed down to Polkerran, and Kate tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
‘Am I interrupting?’
With a start, Kate swung around.
‘I thought you were on the phone for a minute.’ Dev gestured at Kate’s hand as she lowered it. ‘Then realised it must be invisible.’
‘Oh!’ Kate stammered, unsure where to look. ‘Hi, no. I was… well…’ She stopped, meeting Dev’s understandably confused look with a rueful smile. ‘Miles away. As you can probably tell.’
‘I shouldn’t have disturbed you. Come, Bayley.’ He whistled and the lab lifted his nose out of the hole he currently inspected and trotted obediently to Dev’s side, where he received a rub of the ears for doing so.
Come on, Kate, seize the day! You did everything you could to avoid this, Fate must have other plans!
‘No! No, it’s fine. Really. I came for a walk to try to think through a few things, but to be honest, I’m done with it. The thinking.’ She gestured back up the hill. ‘I don’t suppose you’re ready to walk back?’
Kate all but held her breath. If he rebuffed her, she’d feel a right idiot, but she desperately needed some company – adult company.
‘I’m ready.’
The tide was on its way back in as they walked back along the front to regain the lane up to the coast path. Some of the small boats that had been lying almost on their sides were gradually perking up as the water lapped around their hulls and slowly roused them from their sandy beds.
Once on the path, they walked out of necessity in single file, Bayley charging ahead, but where the path broadened, they fell into step side by side.
Kate, having wracked her brain for an easy topic and desperate to avoid any awkward silences, spoke up.
‘Are you happy the school holidays are almost here?’
‘Yes. Theo has quite a few plans.’
‘So has Mollie. How will it mesh with your work?’
‘I do most of it from home, and Theo can come with me when I call on the various farms. There are always fencing repairs to oversee, tree surveys to organise, and so on. He loves being in the country, meeting the animals. The farmers know him now and let him help with feeds and the odd bit of digging.’
‘It sounds idyllic. I sometimes wonder if I made a mistake, settling for office work and being stuck inside all the time.’ She laughed. ‘I had a date recently, and he’s set up a glamping business. It sounded so much fun, a real mix of admin and the outdoors.’
She glanced at Dev as they made their way along the root-strewn path, but the air of melancholy she’d noticed on him that day he’d been in the restaurant had returned.
Before she could speculate further, however, the path became single file again, and Dev led the way down the slope beside the isolated tidal inlet. They paused on the little wooden bridge over the tumbling stream which fed into the creek.
‘That’s where Matt and Gemma live, isn’t it?’ Kate pointed to the whitewashed building on the right-hand bank. There were two kittens curled up in a wooden box lined with a blanket by the picnic table, and chickens could be heard clucking somewhere behind the building.
‘I could do with popping over to see if Matt’s home.’
‘Oh. I’ll leave you to it.’ Disappointed, Kate stepped down from the bridge and turned for the steep hill rising up to the right through the woods, but a hand landed on her arm.
‘Can you wait a minute? I won’t be long.’
Kate smiled, relieved. ‘Yes, of course.’
She was about to return to the bridge, but then footsteps came towards them and Gemma appeared at the wooden gate proclaiming the property ‘private’.
‘Hey! Come on in! I’ve just put the kettle on.’
‘Is Matt home?’
‘In the studio but he won’t mind being disturbed. I think he’s had enough of it for today.’
Gemma led Kate into the house as Dev made his way across the lawn.
‘Wow, this is lovely!’
They’d entered a large room with white-painted stone walls and a vaulted ceiling, half of which was a homely-looking sitting room with squashy leather sofas, soft throws and a vast log burner in an inglenook fireplace. Windows, one of which was circular, drew light into the room, which glowed with welcome. The other half was a state-of-the-art kitchen with every conceivable appliance.
‘Wasted on me,’ Gemma laughed as she made tea. ‘Matt’s taken control of the cooking. I just deal with cleaning up the aftermath.’
Kate followed her out into an equally light-filled conservatory with floor-to-ceiling windows and a large table surrounded by a dozen chairs.
‘It feels as though you’re right in the middle of the creek.’ Kate admired the outlook as she took a seat.
‘I know.’ Gemma beamed. ‘I love it so much.’
They chatted about life in Polkerran, the upcoming fayre and how Mrs Lovelace was managing with her scooter.
‘I saw one parked outside the bookshop yesterday,’ Kate mused. ‘I assumed it was Mrs Clegg’s as it had crochet tassles on the handles. Good to see Oliver managed to get it going again.’
Gemma chuckled. ‘Didn’t you hear? He arrived at the Spar, cavalry to the rescue, only to quickly establish there was nothing wrong with the battery. The key wouldn’t turn because she was sitting on someone else’s. She’d forgotten hers was outside the Three Fishes.’
‘Oh no! How funny. And how’s your auntie Dee coping with hers?’
‘She’ll be getting a speeding ticket if she’s not careful.’
With a laugh, Kate picked up her mug. ‘Matt says you’re looking forward to your birthday.’
Eyes sparkling, Gemma nodded enthusiastically. ‘We’re going to have a barbecue here. It’s a Sunday. You and Mollie must come. It’ll just be us, Anna and Oliver, Dev and Theo. It’s when Nicki and Hamish are away with the boys, though, so sadly they’ll miss it.’
‘What about your aunts?’
‘Auntie Dee’s not so agile these days at getting in and out of a small boat, so Auntie Jay is hosting an afternoon tea for us the day before.’
‘How lovely.’
By the time they’d finished their tea, Dev and Matt had emerged from the studio and when Gemma led Kate out onto the decking from the conservatory, they were stood by the water, which was steadily filling the creek.
She and Dev resumed their walk back to Polkerran, but conversation was impossible on the steep climb up through the woods, apart from a mumbled ‘thank you’ when Kate stumbled over a protruding root, emitting a loud yelp which immediately had Dev spinning around and helping her up.
She didn’t like to tell him she’d been too busy fastening her eyes on his back to look where she was putting her feet and was too out of breath at the top of the slope to utter a single word.
They talked about the fayre as they rejoined the lane back to the cove, though, and apart from still needing Matt to visit the manor for a site assessment, and then to come and look at her proposed layout, it seemed everything was ready to roll.
By the time they reached the bridge over the river, the village school was churning out its young charges, and Dev said a hurried goodbye to go and meet Theo, but Kate lingered, leaning on the parapet as he strode along the waterfront, then turned down the lane to the school.
She stared out across the water as it flowed beneath the bridge into the bay, her mind a jumble of delight at having been in Dev’s company once more and sadness it couldn’t continue indefinitely.
Kate started at the noise emanating from the harbour and looked over. The crab boat had come in and plastic crates clattered as they skidded across the stones into the waiting hands of those loading them onto vans to ferry them to the nearest fish market.
Heading back along the lane skirting the quieter side of the harbour, Kate studied the skies, veiled today in a thin layer of pale grey cloud, an ethereal light bathing the rippling waters outside the bay’s entrance, and her eyes drifted from the small lighthouse perched on the rocks stretching out to sea, and then to the small beach just visible beneath the rocks.
Harbourwatch brooded above them, silent and watchful, and Kate sighed as she continued on her way, head bowed now.
Why was it she wished she was heading home with Dev and Theo and not returning yet again to an empty, lonely house?