Chapter 7
I didn’t need to be back at the Smuggler’s until that evening, but I was too wound up with Dad to want to stay either in the cottage or anywhere on the estate. Not even fruit-basket hunting for Nick would have been capable of distracting me and calming the temper Dad’s misguided action had caused to flare. There was only one thing I could think of that would help, so I packed up my car and headed back to the beach hut in Wynmouth.
The sea still felt ice cold, but I welcomed the sting of it on my skin and I swam and swam, way beyond the point that was sensible. That said, by the time I arrived back on the sand and flopped down next to my towel, my lungs were heaving and I was so exhausted there wasn’t much space left for my bad mood, so the excessive exercise had obviously helped.
I pulled the towel over my head and silently vowed that all thoughts of Laurence from that moment on, were banished, irrespective of the emotion they carried with them. I would no longer be angry with Dad for telephoning the flat or feel humiliated about Laurence’s infidelity. No one other than me knew what he had done and as I hadn’t been in love with him anymore when he did it, the feeling of mortification was hardly warranted, so I was going to chuck it in the very bottom of the ‘stuff it’ bucket and move on.
‘Hey, Daisy, are you all right?’
‘Josh,’ I breathed, as I pulled back the towel and turned my face to the sun to find him blocking it out.
‘You were out there for ages and swimming like fury.’ He frowned. ‘Are you okay?’
‘Yes,’ I said, shifting position so I could pull my towel around me. ‘I’m okay. Well, I am now.’
I suddenly felt more than okay given the timeliness of his arrival.
‘You sure looked like you had something to swim off,’ he astutely observed.
‘How very perceptive of you.’ I wryly smiled.
‘I was going to join you out there, but then thought better of it.’
I had already taken in that he was wearing shorts and an open beach shirt. His feet were bare and his tanned legs were covered in golden hairs, just like his arms. He had a pair of sandals in one hand and sunglasses pushed up into his hair.
‘I appreciate that you didn’t,’ I said, my breath and heart rate slowly recovering, in spite of the pulse-raising sight of him. ‘Are you going to swim now?’
‘That depends,’ he said, still looking down at me. ‘Do you feel like company?’
‘You know what,’ I said, holding out a hand so he could pull me up. ‘I would love company if you have time to spare.’
‘I have all the time in the world.’
‘In that case, come with me.’
We walked back up the beach to the hut and Josh waited outside while I quickly got dry and changed.
‘Are you a tea drinker?’ I asked, once I’d pulled on a cotton sundress and knickers and flung my towel and costume over the balustrade to dry in the sun.
‘I never used to be,’ he grinned, ‘but I’m acquiring a taste for it.’
‘Good.’ I smiled back. ‘How do you take it? Your tea, I mean?’
‘One sugar,’ he laughed, ‘and a splash of milk.’
He set up deckchairs while I made the brew and between us, we made short work of the makeshift picnic I’d packed up.
‘So,’ he said, ripping into a sharing bag of Kettle chips, ‘do you wanna talk about whatever it was that got you so riled up that you took to the sea to work off your temper?’
‘Absolutely not,’ I said, wrinkling my nose. ‘But thank you for asking. Anyway, how could you tell that’s what I was doing?’
‘Oh, I’ve been there myself,’ he said, tipping half of the bag of crisps into a melamine bowl and handing it to me. ‘Many times actually, so I recognised the signs. My power swimming has mostly been the result of family drama.’
I put one of the crisps in my mouth and let my tongue absorb the salty hit.
‘It was a sort of family drama that kicked my swimming marathon off, too,’ I told him, even though I hadn’t intended to mention it. ‘Well, Dad drama,’ I amended.
‘Yep,’ Josh said, nodding between mouthfuls. ‘I can totally relate to that. Most aggro in my life comes from my dad.’
‘Mine isn’t usually such a pain,’ I quickly responded. Josh didn’t need to know that Dad and I had had a major fallout in the past or that he had a tendency to let me surreptitiously know what a let-down I was and how my life choices were a disappointment. In truth, I wasn’t convinced he always realised he was doing it. ‘But I’ve just ended a relationship and my dad, and my mum actually, thought the world of the guy. They’re having a hard time accepting it’s over, which led to Dad making a dubious decision and doing something infuriating as a result.’
So much for banishing all thoughts of Laurence! I’d made the vow to forget about him just minutes ago.
‘Oh, right,’ said Josh, taking a moment to consider what I’d said. ‘So, they’re more heartbroken about the break-up than you are?’
‘I’m not heartbroken at all,’ I was quick to answer. ‘It was time to end it and I’m relieved to be out of it, even if it has meant I’ve had to move back in with my parents. Something no twenty-eight-year-old generally wants to have to do.’
‘Maybe not,’ Josh nodded, looking straight at me, ‘but some good has come of it, hasn’t it?’
‘It has?’ I innocently asked, trying to hide my smile, as I twigged what he was getting at. ‘Like what?’
‘Well,’ he said, looking away again as his own lips quirked into a grin, ‘let’s see. You have access to this beautiful beach to walk on, a hut to lounge in and the sea to swim in for the whole of the summer.’
‘That’s true.’ I nodded, playing along.
‘You’ve just about learned how to pull a pint, which opens up a whole employment sector for you on a global scale should you decide to head overseas in the fall.’
‘Also, true,’ I agreed, my heart fluttering over how he said fall instead of autumn. On his lips, the word sounded so romantic. ‘Anything else?’ I blinked.
‘Hmm…’ he said, scratching his head and drawing the sound out, ‘I can’t think of anything else just at the moment…’
‘Me neither,’ I said with a heavy sigh, as I looked towards the sea and pretended I was as mystified as he was as to what other good thing my timely arrival at home could be associated with. ‘If that’s all the summer has going for it, it’s going to be the worst one ever,’ I huffed, biting hard on my lip to stop myself from laughing.
‘I feel sorry for you,’ he said very seriously and when I looked at him, I could see he was also trying to hold back a laugh. ‘I propose a toast to combatting the feeling.’ He picked up his mug, which was almost as empty as mine. ‘To the worst summer ever and doing whatever it takes to turn it into the best.’ He did then laugh as I bashed my mug against his.
‘I’m happy to drink to that,’ I said, my mind playing out all the possibilities of how we could set about transforming the forthcoming sunny few weeks. ‘Here’s to the best summer ever.’
Josh was excited to explore the Lilliputian proportions of the beach hut and offered to make the next drink. I stayed put, while he exclaimed over everything in the background and I looked out to the horizon, my eyes dazzled by the sparkling reflection of the sun on the sea.
If Mum and Dad really were now going to properly let the Laurence situation go, then the next couple of months, having uncomplicated fun with Josh, did have the potential to be perfect – and with no ulterior motive.
‘Here you go.’
‘Thank you,’ I said, taking the refilled mug.
‘It doesn’t look as good as yours,’ Josh said, peering into the depths of his own. ‘But practice makes perfect, right?’
‘So I’ve been told,’ I acquiesced. ‘Unfortunately, I seem to have developed this habit of giving up on things before I’ve been practising them for very long.’
‘What sort of things?’ Josh asked, as he carefully lowered himself back into his deckchair.
‘Well,’ I said, ‘in all the years I’ve been working since I left home, I haven’t found a job that’s the right fit yet. My record for sticking at something is far less than a year.’
‘I daresay that’s only because you still haven’t found the thing you love,’ Josh kindly said. ‘When the right thing comes along, you’ll know it and you won’t want to give it up.’
That seemed to be a popular opinion and I hoped it was the right one. I had already loved and lost one thing I thought I could go the distance working at and I wasn’t sure I’d find another, no matter how long or hard I searched.
‘What about you?’ I asked, not wanting to dwell. ‘Have you found a career you love? How have you managed to wangle a whole summer away from work?’
Josh puffed out his cheeks and took a deep breath.
‘Don’t feel obliged to answer that,’ I said quickly, when I realised I’d put him on the spot. ‘I’m just being nosy.’
Given that I was only sizing him up as a summer fling, I didn’t need to know every little thing about him, did I?
‘Well, let’s just say, I was definitely due some time off and decided to take it all in one go.’
‘And somehow, you ended up here,’ I said, looking at the beach again, rather than asking what he was taking time off from.
‘I ended up here,’ he repeated.
‘I know I’ve already mentioned the lack of things to do and see here,’ I reminded him, ‘and there really are far more thrilling places in the UK to spend your summer than Wynmouth, especially if you haven’t got a car.’
‘And like I said,’ he smoothly responded, holding my gaze, ‘this place might be quiet and quaint, but it has its attractions.’
I felt myself turning much warmer than the sun could take the credit for.
‘I have strawberries,’ I said, jumping up because I didn’t want to get swept along too soon. The summer had barely started, after all. ‘From Wynbrook.’
I went to grab them, along with the beach hut sugar canister and cream I’d pilfered from the cottage.
‘The famous Wynbrook Manor Estate,’ Josh said thoughtfully, taking the bowl that I’d doled half of the succulent, ruby-coloured berries into.
‘I’m not sure it’s famous,’ I said, as I sprinkled half a teaspoon of sugar over the top.
‘Well,’ he smiled, adding a hefty dollop of cream to my bowl and then his, ‘tell me about it anyway. I want to hear all about the idyllic childhood you must have had there. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to grow up in one place.’
‘You didn’t?’ I frowned.
‘I did not. My dad moved us around a whole lot while he was getting himself established in my mom’s family business and setting up offices in different states. We were never in the same place for long.’
‘That must have been difficult,’ I said, trying to imagine it. ‘How did you maintain friendships?’
‘I didn’t.’ He shrugged. ‘It was impossible to put down roots or feel settled anywhere. Nowhere felt like home and I’m an only child, so it was lonely at times.’
‘That sounds terrible.’
I might have had some issues with my parents, but at least I had always had the comfort of somewhere special and per- manent to call home.
‘Sometimes it was terrible,’ Josh confirmed, ‘but I got to see a lot of the US while I was growing up.’
‘Your accent,’ I said with a frown. ‘I can’t place it.’
‘Yeah,’ he laughed, ‘not even I can pin it to any one place because of the constant moving about during my formative years.’
‘That makes sense,’ I said, taking the first bite of a strawberry and closing my eyes in pleasure as the intense flavour from childhood flooded my tastebuds.
‘Oh my god,’ Josh rapturously groaned, making my eyes spring open again, as he also bit into one. ‘These are heaven sent.’
‘That they are,’ I agreed. ‘That they are.’
We spent the entire day at the hut. I told Josh all about life on the Wynbrook Estate. How Algy was a wonderful employer and friend to everyone who lived there, what my parents’ roles were, and Nick’s, and how much of a challenge it was to keep a traditional estate and fruit farm running with dwindling local staff and stiff supermarket competition. I might have been out of the loop when it came to news from home, but that much I did know.
In turn, Josh told me some more about his life in America, but not in any great detail. I didn’t mind that though. I didn’t need to know the ins and out of his entire life – even if he seemed keen to absorb mine – if he was only going to be a summer fling and a welcome distraction from living back with Mum and Dad.
The most important thing I needed to know was that he wasn’t already in a relationship. He told me he had been single for quite some time but didn’t elaborate, which suited me. I did wonder if he might have commitment issues as a result of his untethered childhood and lack of friends, but that didn’t matter to me either. Josh was easy-going company and fun to be around and that more than satisfied what I was temporarily looking for.
We swam together in the afternoon and I had a hard time keeping pace with him. I put that down to the fact that I’d exhausted myself earlier in the day and not because he was a stronger swimmer than I was.
‘Damn,’ I said, when we went back to the huts to dry off and I realised how late it was. ‘I’ll never get back to the cottage for a shower before work now.’
I was surprised by how quickly the day had flashed by. I’d never spent such a contented amount of time in the company of a stranger before and it was further confirmation that Josh and I were already getting along wonderfully well.
‘You’re welcome to shower at mine,’ he offered, shaking his head and spraying me with droplets of freezing sea water as it flew out of his hair.
‘Don’t!’ I yelped, but I was laughing. ‘No, it’ll be fine. I’ll see if Penny’s at home. I keep forgetting that she has a cottage in the village now. Come on, let’s go.’
It was long after four, so I hoped she would be.
‘Damn,’ I swore, when she didn’t answer her door. ‘She must still be at school.’
‘Look,’ said Josh, who had walked up to her cottage with me. ‘I need to head to the shops for some supplies, so why don’t you take the key to mine and then leave it under the pot on the step when you’re done?’
‘Are you sure that would be okay?’ I asked, taking the key before he’d replied.
‘Absolutely,’ he said. ‘Go on. I won’t see you at the pub tonight, but I’ll be in tomorrow.’
I was disappointed to hear that, but there was no time to wallow over his absence with the clock to my next shift ticking.
‘All right,’ I said. ‘Thanks, Josh.’
There was no time to linger in the cottage either, which was every bit as beautiful on the inside as it was picturesque on the outside. There was very little evidence of Josh’s occupancy, but I did enjoy using his hair products and shower gel. At least he was going to be with me in spirit throughout the evening.
‘I’m here, I’m here, I’m here!’ I laughed, when I tripped into the pub, just a few minutes after my starting time and with my hair still damp from the shower.
‘Hey, there,’ said the woman behind the bar, whom I recognised as Tess. ‘You must be Daisy.’
‘That’s right,’ I said, quickly stowing my bag away and trying not to notice that the clock was telling me that I was a quarter of an hour late, rather than just the few minutes I thought I had been. ‘I’m sorry I’m late.’
‘I’m sorry about that too,’ said Sam as he rushed through from the kitchen carrying plates. ‘Don’t make a habit out of it, okay?’
‘I won’t.’ I swallowed, feeling my face flush. ‘I’ll clear those tables, shall I?’
‘That’s what you’re here for,’ he huffed. ‘Tess, why don’t you head back to the kitchen now Daisy’s turned up?’
‘On my way,’ she said with a nod.
She gave me an encouraging smile as she went, but I knew I was already on thin ice and that I needed to focus on my hours working in the pub every bit as intently as I had just been absorbed with Josh if I was going to make the best of all that this summer had to offer.