Chapter 2
CHAPTER 2
SCARLETT
S carlett Finch was beginning to wonder whether joining the Chilly Dippers on their trip to Crumbleton Sands was such a good idea after all.
She stared out of the minibus window, watching darkness gather across the unfamiliar landscape. The salt marshes stretched out on either side, an eerie expanse in the fading light.
The excited chatter that had filled the vehicle a few hours ago had dwindled to nothing as most of her fellow passengers nodded off, lulled by the gentle rocking motion and the steady hum of the engine.
Lou’s head rested heavily on Scarlett’s shoulder, and a small snore escaped her friend’s lips.
‘I hope you’re not dribbling on me,’ Scarlett murmured, shifting slightly.
Lou stirred and opened one eye. ‘Hey, human pillow. Quit fidgeting.’
‘You’re the one using me as furniture,’ Scarlett whispered back. ‘And you’re snoring.’
‘I do not snore,’ Lou protested. ‘I breathe dramatically.’
Scarlett grinned. ‘Dramatically is one word for it.’
‘Where are we?’ said Lou, hauling herself upright and rubbing her face.
‘Middle of nowhere,’ Scarlett replied. ‘Lost in the marshes, I think.’
Lou peered through the window. ‘Ah, the scenic route! Brian’s showing off the local delights.’
‘Yes, pitch blackness,’ chuckled Scarlett. ‘Truly spectacular.’
‘Cheer up!’ said Lou, nudging her playfully. ‘This weekend is exactly what you need after everything.’
Scarlett sighed. This was the trouble with old friends – they had a horrible habit of being right. The past month had been nothing short of a nightmare, and she really did need a bit of fun and adventure to take her mind off things.
After five years of dedication, the friendly family firm she’d worked for in Bath had been swallowed whole in a merger with a much bigger company. Suddenly, Scarlett found herself with nothing to show for her hard work other than a puny redundancy package and the hollow assurance that it “wasn’t personal.”
But… it felt intensely personal. She knew it wasn’t exactly fashionable to admit it, but she’d loved her job, and she’d loved her colleagues. Now? It was all gone.
‘You’re brooding again,’ said Lou.
‘I’m not brooding,’ said Scarlett.
‘Course not. That’s your happy face.’
Scarlett dug her elbow into her friend’s ribs, but she couldn’t help but smile. This was exactly why she’d decided to visit Lou in the first place – she wasn’t the kind of friend who’d let her mope for too long. Plus, the woman was incorrigible. She’d upended her own life and had come out on top, and now she was living the dream.
Tagging along with Lou and the rest of the Chilly Dippers on their trip across the country hadn’t been part of Scarlett’s original plan, but after a week in Seabury, she wasn’t ready to head back to Bath just yet. A spare seat on the minibus and Lou’s ever-bouncy enthusiasm had convinced her to join them.
The problem was, Scarlett wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment-decision kind of girl. She might have agreed to her friend’s hair-brained plan, but she couldn’t help the waves of anxiety that kept accosting her.
‘It’ll be fun,’ Lou insisted. ‘I promise. And anyway, you said yourself – you want to try new things.’
Scarlett nodded, the nerves in the pit of her stomach squirming again. It was a lot easier to make declarations like that over a glass of bubbly in her friend’s cosy living room than actually following through.
‘I’m just not much of a sea swimmer,’ she said in a low voice. ‘I’m more of a heated-indoor-pool-with-lane-markers kind of girl.’
‘Well, it’s not too late to back out,’ said Lou. ‘You could just watch from the beach.’
‘You don’t think anyone would judge?’ said Scarlett.
‘Oh, we’d all judge!’ chuckled Lou. ‘Thoroughly.’
‘Can’t say I’d blame you,’ Scarlett sighed. ‘I’d judge myself, too. Anyway, there’s no way I’m backing out now. I need to stop playing it safe all the time.’
‘There’s nothing wrong with liking safe,’ said Lou, her voice turning more gentle. ‘You like order. You’re a numbers girl. That’s your superpower.’
‘I miss my spreadsheets,’ she confessed in a whisper.
Lou squeezed her hand. ‘I know you do. But maybe there’s more to life than Excel?’
‘Blasphemy!’
Lou sniggered.
‘Not long now!’ called Brian Singer from the driver’s seat, his cheerful voice cutting across their quiet conversation.
Brian had driven all the way from Crumbleton to Seabury to pick them up. Apparently, he was a taxi driver by trade, but he volunteered to help out with The Big Dip every year.
For the first couple of hours, he’d kept them all entertained with local gossip and boisterous sing-alongs. He seemed like a genuinely nice man, if somewhat exhaustingly enthusiastic about his hometown.
‘There she is, just up ahead,’ he said, his voice taking on a dreamy quality. ‘Almost home.’
Scarlett and Lou craned their necks to take a look, but there wasn’t much to see other than a darker smudge against the dark sky. Presumably, the faint scattering of twinkling lights was Crumbleton, sitting on its famous hill that rose right up out of the saltwater marshes.
Ten minutes later, Brian pulled the bus under a stone archway and turned to trundle slowly along a cobbled street that wound around the bottom of the hill.
‘Right,’ he announced, coming to a halt at long last. ‘Here we are. First stop – Dolphin and Anchor. Everyone out except for Scarlett!’
Scarlett did her best not to pout as Lou scrambled to her feet. There was a general rustling as everyone else started to stir. They yawned, stretched and groaned as they gathered their belongings.
‘Where should we go?’ muttered Doris from the back. ‘We’re in one of the bed and breakfasts in town…’
‘Just head into the bar and ask for Fergus,’ said Brian. ‘He’ll give you all directions. I’d love to drop you all off, but I think the minibus would fall apart on the cobbles!’
‘Are you sure you’ll be okay on your own?’ said Lou, her brow furrowed with concern as she glanced at Scarlett. ‘I’m sure one of the others might be up for swapping…’
Scarlett shook her head and forced a smile onto her face. This was the one drawback of being a last-minute addition to the party – there wasn’t a bed to be had in the hotel or the rest of Crumbleton… not even in a shared room.
Thankfully, she’d managed to find somewhere to stay, but it wasn’t anywhere near the others. There hadn’t really been many details available beyond the fact that it was within easy walking distance of the beach.
‘There’s no way I’d do that – I’m the party-crasher here!’ she said. ‘Anyway, I’ll be fine. Brian said the place is nice, so…’
‘I promise it’s lovely,’ Brian chimed in from the front, clearly eavesdropping. ‘Just a bit of a drive, that’s all. You’re right by the sea!’
‘See?’ Scarlett said, with more confidence than she felt.
‘Text me when you get there, okay?’ said Lou. ‘I need to know it’s not just a shed with a metal bucket to pee in.’
‘That’s exactly the comforting image I need right now,’ Scarlett laughed.
‘Well, if it turns out to be dodgy, give me a shout. I’m sure we can find someone to pick you up and bring you back.’
‘What? Swap my very own bed for a patch of floor between you and Kathleen? No ta!’ said Scarlett. ‘I don’t fancy a snorey encore, thanks.’
‘But… I feel bad,’ said Lou, looking uncharacteristically worried. ‘Promise you’ll let me know you’re okay?’
‘I promise. Now go. You’re holding everyone up.’
Lou gave her an awkward, one-armed hug before getting swept off the bus by the rest of the chattering group.
With a pang of longing, Scarlett watched through the window as the Chilly Dippers disappeared inside the cosy-looking pub. She’d love nothing more than to be part of their noisy, cheerful group rather than heading off on her own into the unknown.
‘Righty-ho! Settle in,’ said Brian, grinning at her in the rearview mirror. ‘We’ll be there in no time.’
‘Where exactly am I staying?’ said Scarlett, leaning forward in her seat as Brian turned the bus around and headed back underneath the stone arch and out towards the marshes again.
‘Ah, you’ve got a special spot over in Crumbleton Sands,’ said Brian. ‘It’s a real treat, you’ll see.’
* * *
‘Here we are.’
Scarlett bolted upright. She’d almost nodded off against the minibus window.
‘Oh great… thanks, Brian!’ she said through a barely suppressed yawn. ‘Wait… this can’t be right, can it?’
They’d pulled up on a sandy track outside a little blue and white building. Its windows were dark, and the “closed” sign was firmly in place on the door.
‘Beachcomber Gifts,’ said Brian with a little nod. ‘Your accommodation’s just round the back.’
‘Round the back?’ Scarlett repeated. She couldn’t see much in that direction except sand dunes and darkness.
‘Follow the boardwalk,’ said Brian. ‘It’s easy enough to find.’
Scarlett nodded and quickly gathered her overnight bag. Sliding open the heavy bus door, she stepped out into the cool night air. She could smell the sea—the distinctive mix of salt and seaweed sending a tingle down her spine.
‘Thanks for the lift,’ she said.
‘No problem,’ said Brian. ‘I’ll probably see you tomorrow when I bring the others over in time for the swim. Now… give that door a good slam for me!’
Scarlett did as he asked, cringing as the loud clang echoed around the dunes. Then she stepped out of the way and watched as Brian disappeared back up the sandy track, leaving her standing alone outside the darkened giftshop.
‘Great,’ she muttered to herself. ‘Just great.’
With a sigh, Scarlett hitched her bag higher on her shoulder and stared around. Brian had said to follow a boardwalk…?
‘Ah ha!’ she said, spotting a set of shallow wooden steps at the side of the gift shop. The handrail was wrapped with a string of tiny golden fairy lights.
Hurrying up the steps, Scarlett gasped. Sure enough, a wooden walkway stretched ahead of her, snaking through the sand – its path marked by tiny, twinkling beacons that swayed gently in the sea breeze.
Scarlett followed the lights, her footsteps creaking on the weathered wooden boards. The path curved and dipped between the dunes, and just as she was beginning to think it would never end, she rounded a corner and stopped dead in her tracks.
‘Oh my goodness…’
There, nestled in a hollow between the dunes, was the cutest hut she’d ever seen. It was like something out of a fairy tale. It had a curved roof, and its wooden walls were painted in a soft sage green with cream trim. Its little porch was strung with even more fairy lights, and warm light spilled from the windows.
Scarlett’s fears promptly vanished. This was no rough shed in the middle of nowhere. This was a magical hideaway… and it was all hers! She could hear the sea more clearly now, and the rhythmic shush of waves on sand told her she must be really close to the beach. If it wasn’t so dark, she’d be tempted to explore… but right now, she was more tempted by the idea of a cuppa and a hot shower!
With a squirm in her stomach that was excitement instead of nerves, Scarlett climbed onto the porch and tried the door. It opened easily.
Okay, wow!
If she’d thought the outside was lovely, the inside was something else!
Scarlett quickly closed the door behind her and dropped her bag onto the smooth floorboards as she stared around, trying to take everything in.
There was a lovely, navy blue enamelled wood burner crackling away merrily in one corner, and the hut was gorgeously warm. The walls were decorated with vintage postcards framed by a lattice of gnarled driftwood. A long, narrow shelf held a row of bottles and jars full to the brim with sea glass of every colour. Blues, greens and ambers gleamed in the flickering light from the wood burner.
‘I’m in heaven!’ murmured Scarlett.
She turned to stare longingly at the huge bed. It looked cosy and incredibly inviting after the long journey. She hadn’t realised how tired she was, and for a moment, the temptation to climb underneath the striped duvet and curl up was almost overwhelming.
‘Nope – first things first – I need a cuppa and a shower!’
Scarlett wandered into the kitchenette at the back of the hut. There, on a little fold-down table, was a vase of fresh wildflowers with a note propped up against it.
Hi Scarlett,
Welcome to the Shepherd’s Hut! We hope you’ll be comfortable. There’s tea and coffee in the cupboard above the sink and fresh milk in the mini fridge. The shower is small but mighty, and there are extra blankets in the box under the bed if you get cold.
If you have any problems, Pete is staying in the camper van around the corner. Just follow the boardwalk and knock on his door any time. He’ll be happy to help.
Enjoy your stay!
Sally and David Trant
Scarlett lowered the note with a contented sigh. ‘Maybe this weekend won’t be so bad after all!’