Chapter Thirty-Six
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
‘OK. I think that will do for today, bar the tidying up.’
Aaron swiped the back of his hand over his forehead and admired his handiwork on the bathroom tiling in cottage number four. Sam grabbed a can of Coke from the cooler and handed it over. A week after Lily had gone, with the help of Aaron and the plumber, Starfish was ready for letting and Sea Holly was well underway. Sam had been staying on Stark since Lily had left, working all hours to get the work done.
‘Thanks for helping,’ he said as Aaron knocked back the Coke.
‘You’re welcome. Soon be done.’
Mentally, Sam crossed his fingers. He hadn’t told his friend about the deadline that Lily had set him. He didn’t want to give Aaron the slightest excuse to quiz him on that subject. He was finding it impossible to avoid thinking about it – or her – and whether he’d done the right thing in letting her go so easily.
It had been the right thing for Lily, even if it meant he suffered.
Sam threw himself into the grind of clearing the site with renewed vigour, trying to ease his aching heart with aching muscles.
After an hour, Aaron stopped working and glared at him. ‘Sam, for God’s sake. Why don’t you slow down a bit?’
‘I want to get the site fully cleared up by tonight,’ he replied. ‘Don’t want to be starting on it again in the morning. It might rain tomorrow anyway, and I want my own bed tonight and to spend a bit of time at home with Morven.’
‘You must be tracking a different forecast but whatever,’ Aaron said, tossing broken tiles into the barrow with a clatter.
Sam was ready to drop by the time they’d made numerous trips with the rubbish down to the Hydra at the quay and then unloaded it on Bryher in the early-evening sunlight. It had been a hard day and the back of his neck felt gritty. He really needed his own bed – a concept he immediately regretted when he thought of Lily in it.
‘You look done for. Tell me you’re not going back. Take a break.’
‘I’m staying at Hell Bay House tonight. Elspeth has been keeping an eye on Morven while I’ve been working and I think they’ll both go mad if I don’t come home.’ Morven had actually been a big help, adding some of her creations to the existing cottages and bringing over more artwork, pots and textiles from her arty friends. Lily had also suggested a few items from local makers, which he’d had delivered to Bryher.
‘Is Nate coming back soon?’ Aaron asked.
‘Three weeks’ time. He’s booked the flight and showed Morven the online ticket so she believes him.’
‘Do you think he’ll stay?’
‘I don’t know.’ Sam sighed. ‘They’re now talking every few days so that’s a big step forward. I can’t decide for them. It’s their futures.’
Aaron nodded. ‘You can tell me it’s none of my business, but what about your future? Are you and Lily going to see each other again?’
Sam had exchanged a few messages with her. Though short, each had taken a stupid amount of time to compose. He’d been so careful to get the tone right – light and cheerful – because he was afraid of letting her know how much he missed her and how much he longed for them to be together, however impossible that seemed.
‘Have you even heard from her?’ Aaron said.
‘Yeah. She said she’s coming back to help me officially launch the retreat in a few weeks.’
‘Aha! So that’s why you’ve been working all hours.’
Sam rolled his eyes. ‘I need the revenue. I’ve taken bookings.’
‘Sure you do.’ Aaron eyed him shrewdly. ‘Do you think she will come back? She’s a busy woman.’
‘Maybe. I don’t know. I want to see her again, I won’t deny I like her.’
Aaron snorted. ‘“Like”. Oh, mate, listen to yourself. You were so busy trying not to look at her that night in the pub, it was painful.’
‘Was it that obvious?’
‘Only to someone who knows you very well. Fathoming you out can be almost impossible.’
‘I almost don’t want her to come back because it would never work between us. We’re a million miles apart and I don’t just mean the physical distance, though that’s a problem too. You know what it’s like living here, expecting someone to fit in. Our lives are so different. I’d rather not prolong the agony. Better to get it over with before it’s begun.’
‘Strikes me it’s gone way past the beginning between you two.’ Aaron sighed and slapped Sam on the back. ‘I’m not enjoying watching you torment yourself.’
‘I’m not enjoying it, either!’ he said morosely.
‘I can’t tell you what to do. Same as you can’t solve Nate’s problems. Sorry, I’m a shit mate, aren’t I?’ Aaron grinned.
Sam had to smile. ‘I wouldn’t say that.’
‘We can talk about it if you like – over a pint tomorrow night, maybe. I’d have said tonight but we’re having a barbecue. My sister-in-law and the kids are staying. Seven of us in a two-bed bungalow. Should be fun.’
‘Enjoy yourself.’
He pulled a face. ‘I’ll try!’
Aaron jumped into his red RIB and Sam untied for him.
Aaron’s hand was on the throttle. ‘Oh, and radical idea, but you could call Lily. On the actual telephone thingy that lets you speak to people.’
‘Ha ha!’ Sam said as Aaron gave a salute and fired the engine to motor the short distance over the channel to Tresco.
Sam made sure the Hydra was secure before heading home in the Land Rover. In the distance he imagined he could glimpse Land’s End. He pictured Lily still in her London office – what would she decide to do about the supermarket offer?
She’d probably be working late or heading off to a business meeting at a smart restaurant. One thing he was sure of: she wouldn’t be looking out over the ocean and mooning about him.
He took Aaron’s advice and sneaked out after dinner with Morven and Elspeth to call Lily. There was no way he was using video; he looked too scruffy.
His call had gone straight to her voicemail. ‘Er … it’s me. Sam.’
Shit, she knew that.
‘Just wanted to say that Starfish is finished and Sea Holly is well on schedule … Morven has been helping to style Samphire with her creations and the pieces you suggested from the local makers. Um … hope you’re OK. Speak soon. Bye.’
He ended the call with a groan. Why had he even called to leave such a stupid message?
Better he hadn’t called at all.
He gazed out at Stark, slumbering in the evening sun.
By six a.m. the next morning he was back, checking on his tiling efforts from the day before. Stark was shrouded in a sea fret but a bit of murk wasn’t going to stop him from working. He’d been looking forward to a night in his own bed but he’d spent too much of it thumping the pillow and staring into the darkness.
At least the mist seemed to be clearing. The fine droplets had clung to his skin and soaked through his clothes. He’d soon dry when the fog finally burned off.
He made a coffee and took it down to the ruined cottages at Tean Porth, meaning to make some notes on what might need doing to restore them. Lily had suggested turning them into a private complex that could be rented by family groups or a corporate retreat.
All Sam could think of was the evening they’d skinny dipped in the sea, Lily trembling with cold and exhilaration, the sand on her bottom as she’d fled out of the water. He smiled to himself then heaved a sigh. It wasn’t going to be easy to get any work done if he kept thinking like this.
Walking past the pest house, he sat on a broken granite lintel, paying a silent tribute to his ancestors and thanking them for their legacy. At least the Teagues had no need to forage for limpets now and if he made a success of the retreat, they would have a future.
He’d allowed himself to think that he and Lily might too, but the doubts were creeping up on him. They seemed so far apart, physically, what if she changed her mind and didn’t come back for the launch at all?
After a morning of work, he locked up and headed back to the quay and on to Hell Bay House, to find Morven in the kitchen in the middle of the afternoon.
She was leaning over a pot that smelled a lot better than it looked. She resembled a witch stirring her cauldron and he smiled to himself at the thought, one of the few moments of light-heartedness he’d felt all day.
‘Smells good. What is it?’ he said.
‘Spicy lentil casserole. Damon’s recipe.’
‘OK …’
‘Don’t sound so enthusiastic,’ Morven grumbled.
‘I’m starving. I’d be enthusiastic about anything.’
‘Thanks! I’m making it in advance so we can have it for dinner. It’ll taste better than it sounds.’
‘I’m sure it will,’ he said, amused, then headed upstairs, trying not to think about the night Lily had slept in the room down the hall. So close and yet so far …
When he came downstairs, Morven met him in the hallway. ‘Oh, I forgot. There’s a letter for you.’
‘OK. Probably a bill.’
‘No, it’s not. It’s an actual letter with handwriting on the front. Looks like a card to me.’ Morven shrugged. ‘I need to rescue the jacket potatoes from the oven.’
Sam picked the letter up from the hall table. It wasn’t a bill. It was a card, but it couldn’t possibly be a birthday card because the sender knew exactly when his birthday was. He’d recognise Rhiannon’s writing anywhere.