Chapter 6
Sam was mightily amused that Josh had walked in on me while I was getting changed in the beach hut – he did say he wouldn’t have been as entertained if Josh hadn’t been a stand-up guy who had made a genuine mistake – however, he wasn’t quite so merry as he watched me trying and consistently failing to get to grips with the art of pint pulling during the early part of the evening.
‘You’re not tipping the glass back far enough,’ he patiently reminded me as I lined up yet another froth-filled glass on the bar.
‘But it’ll spill if I keep it at such a tilted angle,’ I protested.
Sam shook his head.
‘No,’ he said. ‘Watch.’ He grabbed a glass and again showed me the required technique he had honed to perfection. ‘As the glass fills, you straighten it.’
‘Right,’ I said. ‘Right. I’ll do it this time, I promise.’
My next attempt was a vast improvement and it wasn’t too much longer after that before I was deemed capable of actually serving up my effort to a paying customer. I was mindful about what I’d wasted, but hoped further practice would make perfect.
‘Not bad,’ the customer said, holding up the glass and insisting that I kept the change to the note they handed over in exchange.
‘I’ll make a decent bartender out of her yet,’ Sam laughed as I counted out the change and tipped it in the pint glass next to the till labelled for tips.
‘I think I’ll have a gin, please,’ an elderly gentleman, who had just arrived with a Jack Russell terrier on a lead, politely requested, having looked at the pint.
‘Evening.’ Sam smiled at the man as I quickly reached for the right glass. ‘Do you know George, Daisy?’
‘I know of George,’ I told them both.
‘Oh dear,’ winked the man himself, as he doffed his battered Panama hat in my direction. ‘My reputation precedes me, does it?’
‘It does,’ I laughed. ‘But good things only. I’ve heard it said by more than one person that you tell electrifying and terrifying tempest-tossed tales.’
I knew George was a Wynmouth local. Having come to visit his sister when she lost her husband a few years ago, he had then never left and his scary story-telling in the pub and beyond had developed quite a following.
‘Oh, I like that,’ he twinkled at Sam. ‘Terrifying tempest-tossed tales. We should put that on the posters.’
‘Posters?’ I frowned as I carefully measured out his gin.
‘The posters advertising the pub events,’ Sam explained, looking around. ‘This place isn’t always so quiet these days, hence my desire to get you trained up before the season gets into full swing.’
‘Oh, right,’ I said, shifting from one foot to the other. Sam had been right about the need for comfy shoes. I already felt like I’d been on my feet for days rather than hours and even in my well-worn Converse, they were starting to throb. ‘What’s in the pub diary then?’
‘Well, this weekend, we have live music on Saturday night,’ Sam said, as another customer came in.
‘Perhaps my summer job isn’t going to be quite as laid-back as I thought,’ I said to George as I set his drink on the bar.
‘If you’re going to be working in here at weekends,’ he smiled, ‘it won’t be laid-back at all. It will be fun though, and talking of fun…’
His gaze came to rest on Josh, who was now sitting reading at a table next to the huge, unlit fire.
‘Come on, Skipper,’ he said to the dog and winked at me again once he’d paid for his drink. ‘Let’s go and say hello to the lovely American, shall we?’
He was right in that Josh was lovely. He’d proved quite the distraction throughout the evening, even when he wasn’t propping up the bar. I’d already noticed how tanned and toned he was (his chest had felt very firm when I’d backed into it), and now, having settled down and immersed himself in a book, he looked Insta perfect, too.
Nick would have called him a triple threat guy and I let out a sigh as I watched him welcome George to his table, not seeming to mind the intrusion at all. Josh really did appear to be the full package.
‘I’ll have a pint of bitter, please, and a packet of cheese and onion,’ came the next request and I quickly refocused on the job in hand.
‘So,’ said Sam, as my first shift came to an end and the last of the customers, including George and Skipper, got ready to leave, ‘how did you find it?’
‘Harder on the feet than I expected,’ I admitted and Sam nodded. ‘And busier too. I thought it would be dead on a Thursday.’
‘Thankfully,’ said Sam, ‘it’s not dead in here on any night of the week now. Tess encouraged me to make lots of changes when she arrived in Wynmouth and even Monday and Tuesday nights have decent footfall now.’
‘That goes to show how long it’s been since I was a regular then,’ I said, shifting from one foot to the other.
And it put a rather different complexion on what I had thought would be a cushy option on the work front, but I had enjoyed my evening. It had kept me from brooding and getting under Mum and Dad’s feet and I’d enjoyed chatting with the customers too. And surreptitiously eyeing up Josh, of course.
And talking of Josh.
‘Board-game night was a revelation,’ he said, grinning, as he joined us at the bar.
‘That’s a Tuesday night,’ Sam clarified for my benefit. ‘I won’t need you to work that night, but you’re welcome to join us, of course. Penny and Nick often come along. They love nothing more than falling out over a game of Scrabble.’
My heart had leapt at the thought of them coming to the pub together, but then sank at the mention of them arguing. Cross words over the Scrabble tiles would not a lasting romance make.
‘Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll certainly keep it in mind,’ I told Sam. ‘What’s left for me to do tonight?’
‘Nothing,’ he said, looking around. ‘We’ve kept on top of it all and I’m happy to finish up. Tess won’t be too much longer, so you can get off if you like. You did really well tonight, Daisy. I hope you enjoyed it.’
‘Thank you.’ I blushed. It was a long time since anyone had said something kind about my efforts in the workplace. ‘I did.’
‘So, you’ll be back tomorrow then?’
‘I will.’
‘It’ll be much busier,’ he told me.
‘Turns out, I like busy,’ I was surprised to hear myself say.
‘Good,’ he laughed, ‘because Saturday you’ll be rushed off your feet.’
‘In that case, I’ll probably wear the trainers I used to exercise in then,’ I laughed back, as I wriggled my toes. ‘See you tomorrow.’
‘Night.’
‘I’ll walk you back to your car if you like,’ Josh offered, once we were outside.
‘Thanks,’ I smiled, ‘I’d appreciate that.’
The air felt chilly after the warmth of the pub and I could hear the tide was in by how close the lapping waves sounded to the end of the lane.
‘You don’t really have to walk with me,’ I said when we’d taken a couple of steps and I remembered how close my car was.
The cottage was literally right next to the pub so we were already outside the gate and the car park was just a few yards beyond that.
‘I’d like to,’ Josh said, looking down at me. ‘Unless you’d prefer to come in for a while. For a nightcap, perhaps?’
I could see he’d left a lamp on in the sitting room and the interior of the tiny cottage looked warm, cosy and inviting. The front garden was full of colourful hollyhocks, straight and tall enough to rival those at Wynbrook, and there were poppies too.
‘Thank you, but no,’ I said rather regretfully. ‘I really should get back.’
‘Of course,’ said Josh, distractedly running a hand through his hair. ‘I probably shouldn’t have asked. You hardly know me, so—’
‘Please don’t apologise again,’ I cut in.
He grinned at that and I suddenly felt aware that even though we’d only met a couple of times before, and for the briefest of moments on both occasions, it actually felt like I knew him far better than the time we’d spent in each other’s company warranted.
‘I wasn’t asking you in for any nefarious reason,’ he then said.
‘Well, that’s disappointing,’ I teased, giving him a nudge. ‘I’m even more pleased that I said no, now.’
‘I just thought it would be nice to get to know you a little better,’ he said, sounding heart-meltingly sincere.
I was delighted that he wanted to and wondered if he already felt as relaxed in my company as I felt in his. Not that being around him wasn’t a turn-on. There was a definite spark burning in tandem with the familiarity.
‘On any other day I would have accepted your invitation,’ I truthfully told him. ‘Nefarious or otherwise, but with this being the night of my first shift in the pub, I have a feeling my parents will be waiting up to find out how I’ve got on and it’s way past their bedtime.’
It was the sight of the hollyhocks in the Crow’s Nest front garden that had put thoughts of Mum and Dad back in my head.
‘You live with them?’ Josh asked.
‘I do at the moment,’ I explained. ‘I recently moved back. Just on Monday actually. The day I nearly ran you over. I’m most likely going to be here just for the summer though.’
‘Just like me.’
‘Just like you.’
‘You must get on well with your parents.’
‘Um…’ I said, not wanting to paint too rosy a picture. ‘We have our moments. Do you get on with your mum and dad?’
‘Um…’ Josh echoed, with a wry smile. ‘We have our moments.’
I grinned at that.
‘Do you have far to go?’ he asked, with a nod to my car.
We’d made it to the car park now and my tatty vehicle was right where I’d left it. I hoped the interior hadn’t got too damp with the window down.
‘Just a couple of miles,’ I told him. ‘They live on a beautiful estate in a tied cottage.’
‘That wouldn’t be Wynbrook Estate, would it?’ Josh asked.
‘That’s right – Wynbrook Manor. I grew up there. How come you’ve heard of it?’
‘Sam mentioned there’s a fruit farm there,’ he told me after a moment’s hesitation. ‘A pick-your-own, I think he called it.’
‘That’s right, there is. My friend Nick runs it.’
‘Sam said the strawberries there are the best in the county.’
‘I’m not going to dispute that,’ I laughed, remembering the delicious berries I’d earlier sampled. ‘You’ll have to visit and taste them for yourself.’
‘I would love to,’ he said, sounding disappointed, ‘but I’m without a car here. I didn’t fancy hiring one and getting to grips with driving on the wrong side of the road.’
‘Given the narrowness of the roads, you’d mostly be driving in the middle,’ I pointed out, ‘but never mind about your lack of wheels because I’ll give you a lift out there one day. That is, if you don’t mind slumming it in this old thing.’
I nodded at the car.
‘I like your car.’ Josh smiled. ‘It’s very… characterful.’
He was doubtless referring to the fact that one of the back doors was a different colour to the rest and the bumper had a dent in it. That hadn’t been my doing. The poor car had been assaulted while parked and the assailant had fled the scene without leaving a note.
‘That’s one way of describing it,’ I said, as I began to feel more mindful of the time.
‘So, what do your parents do on the estate?’ Josh asked. ‘I take it they work there if they have a tied cottage?’
‘It’s getting late, so I’d better tell you another day,’ I said. ‘It’ll be the perfect excuse to carry on our conversation.’
‘Do we need an excuse?’
‘I suppose not.’ I smiled, as I pressed the key fob and wondered why I’d bothered to lock the car when the window was wide open.
Josh took a step closer and my head, heart, tummy and knees all responded in a way I hadn’t experienced for a very long time. For one heady moment, I thought he was going to kiss me, but then he leant around me and opened the car door.
‘Until next time then,’ he said, his breath close to my ear.
‘Yes,’ I said, slipping into the seat. It did feel a little damp. ‘Until next time.’
He waited while I pulled out of the car park, having made a total hash of reversing out of the space, even though there was only one other vehicle parked up and it was miles away from mine. He waved when I reached the bottom of the lane and I flicked my hazards lights on in response. That was a mistake on my part as they then stuck on and I had to drive all the way home with them flashing.
I was surprised to find the cottage in darkness when I arrived home and felt rather aggrieved; had I known Mum and Dad weren’t going to wait up for me, I would have accepted Josh’s invitation to entertain me.
However, all was not lost because Mum had left a note on the table saying she hoped I’d had a good night and informed me there was a chicken salad sandwich in the fridge if I fancied it. It turned out I did fancy it because her sandwiches were legendary and I was famished. As I retrieved it, I noticed Daniel’s postcard had been straightened on the pinboard, which further took the upbeat edge off the end of my evening. I childishly stuck my tongue out at it and headed up to bed, taking the sandwich with me.
‘So,’ said Mum, peeping around my bedroom door at some ungodly hour the next morning, ‘how did it go?’
It had taken me ages to get to sleep. Not because I was mulling over my first few hours as a bartender, but because I couldn’t stop thinking about Josh. Both his comfortable familiarity and his potential as summer fling material was appealing: he was only going to be in the area for the season, which suited me just fine, he was very lovely to look at, which was also fine, and he clearly didn’t think I was hideous, which was a bonus, and…
‘Daisy?’
‘Sorry,’ I said, sitting up and rubbing my eyes.
I remembered too late that I hadn’t bothered to wash my mascara off.
‘How did you get on?’
‘Good,’ I said. ‘Really good. I’d even got the hang of pulling pints by the end of the shift, so Sam was well pleased. It’s not as easy as it looks, you know.’
‘I can’t say I’ve ever given the technique much thought.’ Mum frowned. ‘But that’s lovely news. I’m so pleased it went well.’
‘Me too.’
‘Are you going to get up? Your dad was hoping to see you before he goes to work.’
‘I’ll be down in a sec,’ I told her.
I was surprised to find Dad looking, well, shifty was the only way I could describe his expression when I joined him and Mum in the kitchen after washing my face and pulling on my summer PJs. I felt rather unnerved to find him sporting such an uncharacteristic countenance.
‘Mum said your shift went well,’ he said, when Mum poked him in the back.
‘It did.’ I frowned. ‘What’s going on?’
‘Nothing.’ He shrugged.
‘Your dad’s done something foolish,’ Mum blurted out at exactly the same time.
Dad closed his eyes and sucked in his bottom lip.
‘We’re sure it won’t come to anything,’ Mum carried on, ‘but we thought we should, I mean he should, tell you, anyway.’
‘What have you done, Dad?’ I asked apprehensively.
He wrung his hands on the table in front of him while Mum busied herself at the sink.
‘Well, over the course of yesterday evening,’ he began, sounding as though he was relaying details to the police, ‘we had three missed calls to the cottage phone. I picked up twice and it sounded like someone was trying to speak before they hung up and the third time, they just hung up straightaway. There was no way of tracing the number because it hadn’t been registered.’
‘Right,’ I said, drawing the word out.
Mum shook her head and gave Dad a look.
‘He assumed—’ she started to say but Dad put a hand up to stop her.
‘I got it in my head that it was Laurence,’ Dad confessed and I let out a groan. ‘I thought he was trying to get hold of you, Daisy, and was hanging up when he realised it was me who had answered, not you.’
‘It wouldn’t have been Laurence, Dad.’
‘He knows that now,’ Mum did manage to say, ‘because Daniel sent a message via WhatsApp a short while after, saying he’d been trying to ring for his usual monthly catch-up, but for some reason he couldn’t get the call to connect.’
‘So, what’s the problem?’ I frowned. ‘It was Daniel. Mystery solved.’
‘The thing is,’ Dad swallowed, ‘that in the meantime… before Daniel’s message arrived, I rang Laurence at the flat.’
‘You did what?’ I burst out.
‘I wanted to tell him that we wouldn’t mind if he called,’ Dad carried on.
‘Well, I bloody would!’ I snapped.
Mum tutted. She hated any kind of profanity. Even a mild one.
‘He didn’t answer,’ Dad then rushed to say, as if that made all the difference in the world. ‘Laurence didn’t pick up. There was no reply. And I didn’t leave a message.’
‘But he now knows that someone has called him from this number,’ I seethed, grinding out the words, ‘because it will be logged on the flat phone and he’s most likely going to assume that person was me.’
‘Yes,’ Dad said, nodding. ‘I can see how he might end up thinking that.’
‘And he’s the very last person I want to talk to,’ I almost shouted. ‘The very last.’
‘I could ring again and explain that it was me,’ Dad suggested.
‘Don’t you dare,’ I said, trying hard to keep hold of my temper. ‘Don’t you dare.’
‘I’m so sorry,’ Dad mumbled.
‘And I’m sorry too,’ said Mum. ‘But that said, if Laurence does call—’
‘If Laurence nothing,’ I cut in. ‘I’ve reached my limit with you pair now. I can’t find another way of telling you that Laurence and I are done. Our relationship is over and if you can’t accept that and let me get on with settling back here for the summer and trying to get on with my new job, then I’m… then I’ll… I’ll move out. I’ll leave.’
‘Oh no, Daisy,’ Mum sobbed. ‘Please don’t.’
‘Don’t do that, love,’ pleaded Dad. ‘I promise I won’t interfere anymore.’
‘And I promise I’ll make your dad stick to his promise,’ Mum added.
‘Well, you better,’ I said, scraping back my chair. ‘Because I’ve just about reached the end of my rope.’
Had I not been so angry, the role reversal would have been amusing, but I had reached boiling point and there was nothing funny about that, at all.