Chapter 25
25
By the time Rick had finished up and put all his gear away he was ready to go home and fall face down on his bed for a few hours. He should be grateful business was thriving, but it was too much for him to handle on his own on busy weekends. He’d have to do something about hiring some help, but not tonight. Tonight he was going to relax and have fun with the people he loved. Knowing he was going to be seeing Anya, even if it was with the rest of the family around, was enough to give him a lift and by the time he was showered and changed he’d shaken off his tiredness. It wasn’t far to Ryan and Helen’s so they decided to walk. Somehow his mum had found time over the past couple of evenings to prepare desserts so they were laden down with a cheesecake, a treacle tart and a huge trifle.
They followed the path down the side of the house to find everyone sitting around the large, rectangular patio table. ‘Here they are!’ Helen called out by way of greeting as she stood. ‘We were just wondering where you’d got to.’
His mum leaned forward to kiss Helen’s cheek. ‘Sorry, we got here as soon as we could.’ She raised the box with the cheesecake. ‘Shall we put these inside?’
‘Yes, come on through and grab a drink while you’re at it.’
Rick’s parents followed Helen while he scanned the garden with a frown. ‘Where’s Anya?’
Chloe got up with a laugh. ‘Don’t panic, lover boy, she and Shelly are giving the kids a bath and putting the twins down for a nap.’
That stopped him in his tracks. ‘What’s Shelly doing here?’
Chloe took the trifle he was holding and carried it towards the back door. ‘She’s having a hard time with Jason being away so we invited her to join us,’ she said to him over her shoulder before disappearing inside.
Rick caught up with her in the kitchen where Helen and his mum were trying in vain to make room in the fridge for the desserts they’d brought. ‘Is he still away? I thought it was just for a couple of weeks.’
Chloe raised an eyebrow at him. ‘Of course you’d know what’s going on.’
He lifted a hand to rub the back of his neck. ‘I just remember Jason coming into the Hub a while back when he was looking for work.’
‘It’s good that you know what’s going on with everyone,’ Chloe reassured him as she handed him a bottle of beer then leaned back against the kitchen counter next to him. ‘I feel a bit bad that I never thought to check in with her myself. Now I wonder what else is going on with other people that we used to hang out with. Even if we’re not good friends, we should at least try to be good neighbours.’
Not liking how downcast she looked, Rick nudged her foot with his. ‘I bet it was your idea to invite Shelly today.’
Surprised, Chloe met his gaze. ‘How did you know? ’
‘We’re not so different, you and me.’
She laughed and clapped a hand to her chest. ‘Don’t say that!’
They left their mothers to do battle with the fridge and went back outside. Rick handed a second beer to his father, who had taken up post behind the huge gas barbeque next to Ryan. Rick beat a retreat and went to join Chloe as she sat down with Matt at the table. ‘No Ed?’
Matt shook his head. ‘Nope. He had a better offer.’ His cousin air-quoted the last two words.
Rick grinned. ‘Have you worked out her name yet?’
The three of them were still laughing and speculating about who Ed’s love interest might be when Anya and Shelly emerged from the summer house with Freya and Leo. The children immediately broke off to go and sit at a little table under a tree while Anya and Shelly joined the rest of them on the patio. Shelly set a baby monitor on the table in front of them. ‘Hopefully they’ll sleep for a couple of hours.’ She looked as much in need of sleep as anyone.
Chloe reached for a bottle wine in an ice bucket. ‘Anyone want a glass?’
Shelly half-laughed, half-sighed. ‘I’d love one but I’d better not.’
‘We’ve got some sparkling water and loads of ice – how about a spritzer?’ Chloe offered.
‘That sounds good,’ Anya said, scooping her hair off her neck and tying it up with a scrunchie she’d been wearing on her wrist. ‘I swear it’s getting hotter by the minute.’
It was pretty close. They could normally rely on a breeze off the sea to freshen the air, but there hadn’t been a breath of it all day. Rick raised the bottle of beer to his cheek, enjoying the shock chill of the cold glass. ‘It’s only supposed to get warmer over the next few days.’
She smiled at him. ‘Good for business.’
‘Depends what your business involves,’ Matt said with a grunt. ‘Dad and I have a loft conversion project starting on Monday.’
They all shot him looks of sympathy. Working on the beach might be hard but Rick couldn’t imagine trying to function in the trapped heat of a roof space. ‘It’s great that you’re busy, but that doesn’t sound like anyone’s idea of a good time.’
‘You’ve got that right.’ Matt clinked the neck of his beer bottle against Rick’s. ‘Shouldn’t complain, though, because we’ve never had so much work. We’re almost at the point where we might have to start turning jobs down.’
Chloe returned with a large bottle of sparkling water, Helen and Rachel behind her carrying several tall glasses and a tray of ice cubes. While they made spritzers, Rick turned his attention to Shelly. ‘How long is Jason away for?’
She scrubbed a hand through her thick curls. ‘Don’t ask.’ Rick winced but before he could apologise, she did. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to jump down your throat.’
‘It’s fine, it can’t be easy on your own with the kids.’
Shelly glanced over her shoulder to check the children were still occupied with their crafts. ‘Jason wants us to join him.’
Anya reached out to her. ‘You never said anything.’
Shelly wrinkled her nose. ‘Because I’ve been trying not to think about it. I don’t want to move away from the Quay, it’s all I’ve ever known. I want the kids to grow up here not in a city, but it’s not fair on Jason either, never getting to see them while he has to go where the work is.’
It was a growing problem for their generation, for the village as a whole. If they didn’t find a way to keep the young families around, the place would slowly die. Rick was reminded about the conversation he’d had with Morwenna about dwindling pupil numbers. He wished he had the answers.
‘Creating our own business is all about trying to preserve our future here in the village,’ Chloe said, raising her glass towards Anya. ‘And now the workshop is ready, we should celebrate our new start.’
Anya raised her glass. ‘To us. It’s going to take us a long time to build it into anything significant though.’
‘Mighty oaks from little acorns grow,’ Rachel said, also raising her glass. ‘At least the two of you are giving it a go.’
‘Exactly!’ Chloe said, then turned to Shelly. ‘Hey, you used to be pretty good at art when we were at school. Do you still paint?’
‘The only painting I do these days is finger painting with the kids,’ Shelly said with a laugh. ‘I can’t even find the energy to repaint the kitchen walls.’ Her smile faded. ‘Not that I’ll have to worry about that if we move.’
Rick’s heart went out to her. There must be something he could do. He’d have to do some scouting around, see if he could dig anything up.
‘Well at least have a think about it,’ Chloe urged Shelly. ‘And if inspiration strikes, we might be able to sell prints of anything you paint on our website. It wouldn’t make you a lot, but it’d be a start.’
‘And it would be nice to do something for yourself,’ Anya added. ‘I know it’s hard to find time. I struggle and I only have Freya to look after, but it’s important to make time for a little bit of creative self-care if you can.’
‘You’re assuming even if I could find the time that my paintings would be any good.’
‘You won’t know until you try.’ Anya patted her leg. ‘Maybe we can pool resources like we did earlier with the children one evening and then we could work on a few ideas.’
Rick shoved aside the thought that this would give him even less time alone with Anya, not liking the selfish hunger that came with it. Anya was her own person and she could choose to spend time with whoever she wanted. He liked that she was making friends, that she was seeking to help someone else even when her own circumstances were far from secure. It would take ages for her and Chloe to get anywhere with just a website; what they needed were other outlets. When the answer hit him, he was amazed he hadn’t thought of it before. Excited, he turned to Chloe. ‘You should speak to Kerry Wilson at the Curiosity Cave!’
Chloe frowned. ‘Why would I do that?’
He leaned forward, eager to share his idea. ‘Because she sells the sort of stuff you’re talking about putting on your website. If you sold through her as well, you’d get more business.’
‘And less money. We’d have to pay her commission, plus the fee she charges for simply displaying things in her shop.’
Deflated, Rick sank back in his seat. ‘You’ve already thought of it.’
‘No, but I’ve done my research. I’m not an idiot, Rick, I’ve checked out the competition already.’ Chloe took a large swig of her drink, clearly annoyed.
‘I didn’t mean to suggest that you were, I was just trying to help.’
Chloe set her glass down on the table a little harder than necessary. ‘Have you ever tried not helping?’
Rick felt like he’d been slapped. ‘I’m sorry.’
Freya and Leo ran up to show off their colouring in, giving Rick a welcome excuse to slip away from the table. He couldn’t just duck out of the evening, but he needed a bit of space, so he wandered across the grass, trying to figure out what he’d done wrong. His meandering led him over to the pair of sheds.
‘Do you want to see the workshop?’
Startled, he turned to see Anya watching him with a sympathetic expression on her face. ‘I don’t think Chloe will want me poking around in there, somehow.’
‘Come on, Rick, don’t be like that.’ Brushing past him, Anya pushed opened the door to the shed and beckoned him inside.
The smell of freshly cut wood filled the air and he spotted a small pile of shavings that had been swept into the corner. A long bench lined one side of the shed, two short-backed stools tucked under it. Anya’s sewing machine sat in front of one stool, with several boxes of pencils, pens and tools in front of the other. The wall opposite was covered floor to ceiling with shelves. Clear plastic boxes lined several of the shelves, neatly printed labels describing their contents. ‘Wow, it looks really great. I can’t believe how much you’ve got done today.’
Anya’s soft hand slipped into his. ‘Hey, I’m sure Chloe didn’t mean to upset you.’
He looked down at her. ‘I don’t understand what I did that was so bad, it was only a suggestion.’
She sighed and squeezed his hand. ‘You didn’t wait to be asked, and you didn’t make it a sound like a suggestion. You told Chloe she should talk to Kerry.’
‘It was just a turn of phrase. I wanted to help, you must see that.’
Releasing his hand, Anya folded her arms over her chest and leaned against the shelves behind her. ‘But this is our business, mine and Chloe’s, and it’s important to us. We might make some mistakes – in fact, I’m sure we will – but that’s on us, not you. You don’t have to take everything on your shoulders, Rick. You need to let us take responsibility, to make our own decisions about it.’ Unfolding her arms, she closed the distance between them and placed her hands on his chest. When she spoke again, her voice was softer, coaxing. ‘I’m not saying I won’t need your help – I’m sure I will – but can you maybe try and wait until I ask?’
Rick closed his hands over hers. ‘I’ll try. I really didn’t mean to upset anyone.’
She went up on her tiptoes and pressed a sweet, soft kiss to his mouth. ‘I know, and I know Chloe didn’t mean to snap at you either. It’s been a long day and everyone’s tired.’
He released her hands so he could put his arms around her and draw her close against him. ‘This is nice.’
Her hands shifted to his back, tracing small circles at the base of his spine that threatened to short circuit his brain. ‘It is. I’m definitely going to ask Chloe about babysitting again.’
‘That would be good.’ The subject made his thoughts drift to Shelly. ‘Sounds like Shelly could do with a babysitter too.’
Anya leaned back enough so she could look up at him. ‘She needs to see her husband.’
Rick nodded. ‘I wish there was something I could do to h—’ He cut himself off with a rueful laugh. ‘I really do need to work on that.’
Anya kissed him. ‘Don’t ever feel bad for having a good heart, Rick, and I really wish there was something we could do. I don’t even know what Jason does for a living.’
‘He’s a builder. I know he did a bricklaying course at the local college, but I don’t know if he does other stuff…’ He trailed off as the cogs in his brain began to turn.
‘You’ve thought of something.’
Rick raised an eyebrow as he glanced down at her. ‘Aren’t you a bit fed up of my ideas? ’
Anya gave him a little shake. ‘Don’t keep me in suspense. Spill it!’
‘It might be nothing, but Matt was talking about how much work he and Ryan have on. There’s so many refurbishment projects around, with people snapping up places as holiday homes, that he was saying they’re almost turning work away. I don’t know if Jason has the right skill set, though.’
‘But it would be worth asking the question.’ Anya leaned up to kiss him again. ‘It’s a good idea.’
He tightened his arms around her and pulled her in for another kiss. ‘I thought you wanted me to mind my own business.’
She laughed. ‘I didn’t say that. I’m going to need all the support you can give me, but I also need to stand on my own two feet for a change.’
He leaned forward and pressed his forehead to hers. ‘I’ll do my best, I promise.’