Chapter 10
Despite telling Lily that she had no interest in managing the Boathouse Café, Hannah couldn’t stop herself from lingering in there for most of the morning.
She told herself it was because she was keeping out of both Ben and Lily’s way. But the truth was that she had a good feeling about the space and found it a relaxing place to be.
Her mind reeled with the long list of reasons why she couldn’t take up Ben and Lily’s offer regarding running the café.
Could she really run a business? She didn’t think so. And yet she could already envision how it would look and feel. But still, she didn’t have the confidence. Surely she would fail?
It didn’t smell of cakes or any kind of baking – yet, she reminded herself. Instead, the air was filled with the aroma of the large wooden logs that made up the sides of the building.
With the kitchen already fitted out, that just left the main room to be filled with chairs and tables, all of which would face that glorious view of the lake beyond the huge patio doors.
With the sun rays shining through and illuminating the oak floorboards, she was drawn towards the doors and, turning the key, stepped outside onto the newly renovated balcony. It was wide and large enough for many more tables and chairs.
All it needed was someone to serve up delicious teas, coffees and cakes. It was so tempting and yet totally beyond her reach. She leant on the balustrade, looking over the water which sparkled under the blue sky above, lost in her thoughts.
‘If you’re thinking of jumping in, I wouldn’t.’
She spun around to find Alex hobbling towards her, making a slow and steady progress with his crutches across the floorboards.
‘The water is at its coldest at the moment,’ he added with a smile as he came to stand next to her. ‘I can verify that after the race yesterday morning.’
He placed the crutches up against the balustrade and leant on the balcony next to her, looking out across the water.
‘Thankfully it’s much warmer up here,’ he added.
Hannah nodded. ‘Well, it is spring already.’
‘And I haven’t a single item in my calendar,’ he replied.
‘Well, you need time to recover before your next competition,’ she told him, glancing down at his broken foot encased in the protective boot.
But Alex shook his head. ‘No, I meant what I said in the kitchen. I truly am finished with competitions. Training. All of it.’
She could see the strain across his face as he spoke. He was always busy, she realised, thinking back over the years. Always on the go. Could he really tear himself away from all that success?
‘Well, you deserve some time off,’ she told him, thinking how rare it would be to see Alex relaxed and doing nothing. ‘Will you go on holiday to recuperate somewhere?’
He shrugged his shoulders. ‘Never really had a holiday, to be honest. If we went abroad, it was all about climate training or another competition. Now that that’s over…
’ His voice trailed off as a frown crossed his face briefly before he looked at her once more.
‘Well, I’ve never had much time off before now, I’m sorry to confess.
What about you? What holidays do you dream of? ’
‘I’ve never had the money to travel.’ She looked out across the lake, sparkling under the sun. ‘Besides, if I’m honest, I’m happiest here.’
‘Well, that sounds like a plan. Especially as your brother has invited me to stay for as long as I want whilst I recuperate,’ he told her.
Hannah felt glad at the thought of seeing him every day. ‘That’s a brilliant idea,’ she told him. ‘There’s worse places to spend a staycation and we’d all love to have you here for a while longer.’
He looked pleased. ‘You wouldn’t get fed up with me?’ he asked, with a twinkle in his eye.
She shook her head. ‘Of course not,’ she replied.
And it was true. Alex was so easy to get along with. He never ruffled any feathers, just remained calm and steady.
‘Well, then how can I say no?’ he said, with a grin.
She laughed along with the joke, certain that he would only stay at Maple Tree Lodge for a short while before he got itchy feet to get out of there. Most people did. ‘Well, wherever you recuperate I really do think it’s a great idea for you to relax for a change.’
‘Well, I can’t take all the credit. It was your brother’s idea,’ replied Alex.
Hannah frowned when she thought back to Ben and Lily trying to persuade her to start her own business. ‘He has the occasional decent thought,’ she said, feeling irritated all of a sudden. ‘But most of them miss their target, to be honest.’
Alex studied her for a moment. ‘You’re talking about being manager of the Boathouse Café?’ he said.
She took a sharp breath. ‘You know about their crazy idea then?’ she asked, surprised.
He nodded. ‘But perhaps it’s not so crazy,’ he began.
She turned away from him to look back across the water. ‘Not you as well,’ she muttered.
‘You serve up cakes and pastries to the guests now,’ she heard him say. ‘What’s the difference?’
She turned back to look at him. ‘Because I’ll be seeing them face to face,’ she explained to him.
He looked confused. ‘You serve customers in the pub, don’t you?’ he asked.
‘Yes. But…’ Her voice trailed off and she huffed out a sigh.
‘But what?’ he asked gently.
She wondered whether she could tell him the truth and then decided of course she could.
It was Alex and she trusted him implicitly.
‘But it’s not my food when I’m at the pub,’ she began.
‘So it doesn’t matter if it’s rubbish or not.
I’m just a waitress. But this?’ She turned around to look back into the large room.
‘I’ll be setting myself up for everyone to complain when it all goes wrong. ’
‘Hannah,’ said Alex gently. ‘I’ve tasted your cakes. Trust me, nobody’s going to complain.’
‘I just don’t think I’ll be very good at being a manager either,’ she told him, her lack of confidence bubbling to the surface. ‘Besides, with my dyslexia, can you imagine what state the paperwork will be in?’
He nodded thoughtfully to himself. ‘Well, maybe I can help you with that,’ he told her.
‘How?’ she asked.
‘If I’m staying around for a couple of weeks, I’ll need something to do. I can help out in here and teach you how to run the accounts. Trust me, nobody wants to taste anything that I bake. But accounts? That I’m good at.’
‘Yes, you are,’ she told him.
‘Brilliant,’ he said, looking delighted. ‘So you’ll take on the business?’
She shook her head quickly. ‘Oh, no,’ she told him, laughing. ‘Not a chance. But it’ll be lovely to have you around for longer than the odd weekend.’
He studied her for a moment before breaking into a smile that lit up his handsome face. ‘That’s nice of you to say so,’ he said.
Hannah laughed. ‘Well, you are family,’ she told him.
And it was true. He was a friend, not only to Ben but to everyone.
She hated to see him so hurt by everything that had happened to him. Was he really thinking about not carrying on competing in competitions?
It seemed as if they were both at a crossroads in their lives and didn’t know what the future held for them yet.