A Second Chance in Seabury (Seabury #18)

Chapter 1

Hannah Carter wiggled her fingers, doing her best to loosen her stranglehold on the steering wheel.

Judging by the dull throb gathering at her temples, she could probably do with unclenching her jaw too.

She’d clearly been busy grinding her teeth most of the way from London without even realising it.

Five solid hours with resting grump face? Yeah… that wasn’t going to do her any favours!

Letting out a long sigh, Hannah rolled her shoulders, then opened and closed her mouth a few times, doing her best goldfish impression in a bid to ease the ache.

It didn’t do much good. How could she even begin to think about relaxing when the rolling hills and golden October hedgerows were leading her steadily towards Seabury?

Urgh, she was dreading getting to the house!

It had been almost a year since she’d last set foot in the place, and even now, the grim memory of that last visit made her want to curl up and hide in a darkened room. Preferably one that was anywhere other than Seabury.

So much shouting! So many tears!

Hannah regretted many things about the end of her marriage, but the fact that it had happened in Seabury was definitely somewhere near the top of the list.

The thing was, Hannah couldn’t help but wonder if her Great Aunt Millie might have had second thoughts about leaving the beautiful house to her if she’d known what kind of scenes the old place would have to witness.

Hannah had always adored the house. It held so many precious childhood memories—seaside summers with her Aunty Millie, full of swimming on sunny days and pebble painting when it rained.

But thanks to her ex-husband, Gareth, those memories had been buried, and were now composting under the layers of anger, hurt and betrayal that had epitomised the end of their marriage.

Hannah had owned the house for five years now.

Five long years without her beloved aunt.

She could still remember the will reading as clear as day—that moment when she’d discovered Millie’s final surprise.

Right there, in the middle of her fresh grief, she’d not only received a house—but the gift of hope, too.

Perhaps Seabury could fix everything for her and Gareth…

perhaps Millie’s house would be the perfect place for them to start fresh… and maybe even start a family.

‘And then reality hit!’ she muttered, her fingers finding their stranglehold again.

Gareth had refused point-blank to leave London. He’d even complained about travelling to Seabury for the occasional holiday. When Hannah did manage to persuade him to go, he’d spent the entire time throwing away Millie’s precious belongings and badgering her about preparing to sell the place.

Thank goodness Aunty Millie was a smart cookie!

Hannah might not have realised she’d need protecting back then, but Millie had clearly known better.

Hannah had always had a feeling that her aunt didn’t like Gareth much.

She’d never said anything about it, but in the end, she hadn’t needed to—her will had been enough to make her feelings crystal clear.

Aunty Millie had left Hannah the house, but she’d put it in trust for the first five years, along with enough money to pay for the bills and the upkeep during that time.

Only once the five years were up could she take full ownership and sell the place, if that was her decision.

Gareth knew that much. What he didn’t know was that if the house ever sold, only Hannah—or her children—could benefit from the proceeds.

So, all Gareth’s scheming and his attempts to hide his affairs until he’d bagged his half of the dosh had been completely pointless.

In the end, it hadn’t mattered anyway. His complete lack of self-control—and his inability to keep his todger in his pants—had brought the marriage crashing down around their ears long before the deadline.

The fact that it had happened here in Seabury?

Hannah sighed and shook her head. She wished it hadn’t happened that way… but there was nothing she could do about it now. Unfortunately, it did mean that she had several apologies to make before she left the little town for good. Apologies that were long overdue.

‘Okay, you seriously need to chill!’ she muttered.

Blowing out a raspberry, Hannah stared through the windscreen, suddenly wishing she could turn tail and head straight back to London. Things out there were becoming all too familiar. She was nearly in Seabury.

Unfortunately, turning around wasn’t an option.

The third and final clause of Aunty Millie’s will had been clear.

Before Hannah could legally take full ownership of the house and list it for sale, she had to stay there for two full weeks.

At the time, it had seemed like a total non-issue.

The solicitor’s words drifted back to her.

‘That’s nothing really, is it? I mean, one last little holiday by the seaside while you get the place ready to sell? Sounds perfect to me!’

Perfect? Sure… any rational human being would probably assume the same thing. Two weeks was nothing really, not in the grand scheme of things. But staying at the house one last time meant that Hannah was going to have to cohabit with the memories she’d spent the last year doing her best to outrun.

Swallowing down an unexpected gulp of a sob, Hannah cleared her throat and blinked hard as Seabury laid itself out before her.

From this vantage point, she could see both West and North Beach—one sandy, the other blanketed with smooth, grey pebbles.

The beaches were divided by the King’s Nose, a rocky outcrop of land that jutted out behind the Pebble Street Hotel.

The two shores couldn’t be more different from each other…

it was all part of the magic of Seabury.

‘No, not magic,’ she muttered.

This place was no longer the fairytale town of her childhood, with ice creams from Nanna’s Ice-cream Parlour for breakfast, swimming in the shallows on sunny afternoons, and walking back up the hill beyond North Beach for boiled eggs and soldiers for supper.

No. Seabury could never be the place it once was.

A place of small magics that made life beautiful.

Even on a golden afternoon like this, with the faded grasses of summer wafting along the verges and the sea glistening on either side of the King’s Nose, Hannah couldn’t forget the hurt.

It was precisely why she’d stayed away for so long.

Hannah shook her head as she wound her way down the hill. She was going to have to pull on a pair of big girl pants, ignore everything, and focus on the task that lay ahead. She had two weeks to get the house ready for an estate agent’s visit.

On the bright side, there should be plenty to do to keep her mind off the past. After all, the house had been left to its own devices for months… and if she was being honest, it had been rather neglected for several years before that.

Far from the perfect home she’d once dreamed of, they’d only visited a couple of times a year at most. The place would need a good clean and a thorough airing, and the gardens would need a serious amount of sorting out. No doubt they’d be in full-on jungle mode by this point.

For a split second, the memory of her Aunty Millie’s bright flowerbeds and neatly trimmed hedges almost brought a smile to her face…

but then Hannah remembered all the yelling in the back garden when the final showdown between her and Gareth had spilled outside.

It had been so bad that the next-door neighbour had come to check what was going on.

Speaking of apologies, Mr Eaves was going to have to be first on the list!

Mr Eaves had been Aunty Millie’s neighbour for years.

He’d moved in as a newlywed, promptly had a kid, and the young family had quickly become friendly with Millie.

When Mrs Eaves died, leaving her heartbroken hubby to bring up a toddler on his own, Aunty Millie had often stepped in as babysitter and surrogate grandma.

As far as Hannah was concerned, it felt like Mr Eaves had always been around, and she’d never thought of him as anything other than Aunty Millie’s oddball neighbour.

She’d never really had much to do with him until that last visit.

Not only had he got caught up in that awful, final fight, but Hannah had yelled at him because of his bees, too.

‘Urgh, those bloody bees!’ she huffed.

They were a pest—a public nuisance. Why he had to keep the damn hives in his garden was anyone’s guess, considering he had a whole bunch more on the King’s Nose!

Hannah had never been able to open the windows to enjoy the sea air, because the minute she did, the buzzy little blighters seemed to seek her out like homing missiles.

She was sure it wasn’t normal bee behaviour!

Hitting the brakes, Hannah slowed the car to a crawl as she rounded the bend at the bottom of the hill and started to follow the narrow street that ran right through the middle of the town. It didn’t take long before she began to thoroughly regret her choice of route.

A gent in a flat cap did a double-take, then grinned and waved at her.

That had to be Charlie from up at the allotments?

Hannah sank lower in her seat, pretending she hadn’t seen him.

She really should have taken the top road instead of cutting through town.

This was basically the perfect way to announce her return…

and that was the last thing she needed! She wasn’t here for cheerful chats and rose-tinted reminiscing.

All she wanted was to be left in peace, fulfil Aunty Millie’s wishes, and then get rid of the house so that she could finally get on with her life.

‘Whatever that’ll look like,’ she muttered, speeding up a little as she passed the Pebble Street Hotel. A woman on the other side of the road gave Hannah a cheery wave, almost upending the basket she was carrying in the process.

Damnit! Now Doris knew she was back in town, too!

Hannah turned away, once again pretending she hadn’t seen the friendly greeting. She glanced down at North Beach. At the water’s edge, a man wandered along, meandering in and out of the frothy waves. His jeans were rolled up to his knees, and now and then, he stopped to pick something up.

Speak of the devil – that was Mr Eaves!

It might have been a whole year since she’d last set eyes on him, but Hannah hadn’t forgotten what her annoying Seabury neighbour looked like. He was a scruffy badger of a man. Quiet and a bit… odd. Ah well… at least this meant he wouldn’t be up at the house to witness her return!

Putting her foot down, Hannah dashed to the end of the seafront and then whizzed up the hill out of town as if there was a pack of wolves after her.

It didn’t take long before the house came into view. The sight was so achingly familiar that a sharp pain pierced Hannah’s heart. Was she really going to say goodbye to this place for good in just a few short weeks?

Pulling the car to a standstill at the curb, Hannah blinked rapidly. She was not going to cry. She was just tired after the journey, that was all. She was making the right choice. It was time to sell up and move on.

But first things first – she had the next two weeks to get through.

Hannah opened the car door and clambered out, wincing at the stiffness in her body. Rubbing her neck, she turned to face the front of the house for the first time… and froze.

‘What on earth?!’

She’d been expecting to come face to face with a year of rampant, unchecked growth from the old laurel hedge. Instead, the glossy green leaves were neatly shaped. The archway over the gate was as perfectly curved as if her aunt had just been busy with her pair of well-oiled shears.

Perhaps the town council had decided they couldn’t put up with the eyesore any longer and had sent someone over to tidy it up. The illusion of neatness would probably end in waist-deep grass and weeds the minute she stepped through that gate!

‘Well, there’s only one way to find out,’ Hannah muttered, hurrying to grab her suitcase. It was time to go inside.