Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
A short while later, Verity walked down the lane. In the tearoom garden Clemmie was setting out the tables ready for the day ahead.
‘You’re going to be busy with such a glorious day forecast,’ trilled Verity, leaning on the wooden gate and getting Clemmie’s attention.
Clemmie spun around. ‘Aren’t we just. Afternoon tea is already fully booked! Thankfully, Grandmother is back and helping today. Which reminds me, I was going to catch you today?—’
‘She remembers my granny, doesn’t she?’ asked Verity, hopefully.
‘She does and she can’t wait to meet you. Come round after we close.’
‘We know who sent the postcard.’
Clemmie stopped what she was doing and walked over towards her. ‘You do?’
‘It was Joe Wilson. The W is for Wilson. We?—’
‘You keep saying “we”. Who is this “we”?’
‘Sam and I…’
‘So, you’ve forgiven him for calling you an idiot?’ teased Clemmie.
Verity rolled her eyes. ‘I found a signed book my granny gave to Joe – in Sam’s cottage.’
‘And what about the secret?’
‘That I’m not sure of yet, but maybe your grandmother can shed some light on it for us. I’ll be back later to find out. In other good news, I can pick up the van today.’
‘That’s fantastic news! Did you stay at Sam’s last night?’ Clemmie wanted all the gossip.
‘Don’t look at me like that. My travelling van is back up on her wheels today so I’ll have a roof over my head again…though I have to say, there’s nothing wrong with Sam’s roof.’
‘You’re smiling and there’s a glow about you. Is that the first flush of love I’m detecting?’ Clemmie narrowed her eyes.
‘I’m just enjoying spending time with him,’ Verity replied, but she knew it was more than that. Already Sam was constantly on her mind and every time she set eyes on him every inch of her body began tingling.
‘Mmm. I’ve known a lot of women stranded on that causeway over the years but he’s never taken any of them in.’
‘What can I say?’ She grinned. ‘But…can I ask you something in confidence?’
‘Of course.’ Clemmie took a step closer and leaned in.
‘What happened between Sam and Alice?’
‘It’s no secret that Sam was engaged to Alice. Sam could have the pick of any girl, and many tourists had tried, but when she walked on to this island, she managed to get his attention. They were in the same line of business – they both had restaurants – and it seemed she fell in love with Sam, but Puffin Island wasn’t enough for her. They had a very public proposal but their engagement fell apart when she chose her career over him.’
‘Could she not have had both?’
‘You need to ask Sam that. Anyway, since Alice there’s been no one. He’s thrown himself into work, become part of the Puffin Island committee, which is all about doing what’s best for the people that live here, and stayed away from women…until you.’
‘He’s not interested in me. He’s quite clearly stated he’s better off on his own.’
‘And you believe that? I saw the way he was looking at you in the pub.’
‘Any type of heartbreak is difficult to get over,’ replied Verity. The past six months had been difficult for her, but Puffin Island had started to put her heart back together so quickly. She was excited about the future for the first time in ages. ‘I’d best get going. I’m off counting puffins!’
‘I wouldn’t like to be in your shoes if you’re late. Pete is a stickler for timekeeping. I’ll let my grandmother know you’ll pop in later.’
‘Perfect.’ Verity couldn’t wait to hear what Betty remembered about the past and she couldn’t wait to ask her about the postcard’s secret.
* * *
It took a little over ten minutes to reach the top of the cliff. Surrounded by such stunning views, the walk was very therapeutic. Verity could hear nothing except the slapping of the waves against the rocks and the shore below, and the calls of the gulls circling above the whitewashed cliffs. She took in the magnificent view and thought about her conversation with Ava. She’d joked about staying on the island, which prompted a host of other questions. Where would she live? What would she do for a living? And what did she have to go back to Staffordshire for? Yes, she had a house, but she didn’t have to live in it for the rest of her life. Home was where your heart is, after all, and she was coming to realise that her heart was no longer in that place. Twelve months ago, if anyone had told her she would be single, giving up her job and renting out her house, she would have thought them deluded. But now here she was, and the street she’d left behind couldn’t compare in excitement with this island. Ava had convinced her to be brave and embark on this journey, and now being here seemed like the most natural thing in the world.
Hearing voices carried by the breeze, Verity looked ahead to see the group of rangers standing outside Cliff Top Cottage, each holding a clipboard. As soon as Pete spotted her he smiled. ‘Here she is, I told you she wouldn’t let us down. Everyone, this is Verity, a fully qualified veterinary assistant who will be helping us over the next few days.’
After all the introductions were made, the rangers began walking slowly towards the cliff top. ‘We’re going to be working together,’ Pete informed her as he handed her a clipboard and a pen. ‘Have you got a drink? And you may need sun cream.’
Verity held up her bag. ‘Drinks and snacks are in here and I smothered myself in sun cream just before I left.’ She pulled on Sam’s hat and they followed the other rangers. ‘Have you always been involved in the census?’ she asked.
‘Yes,’ Pete replied, looking out over the cliffs. ‘And always been obsessed with puffins. I can sit and watch them for hours and most days that’s exactly what I do.’ He pointed. ‘We’re heading that way. We have the same routine each year: we split off into the different areas and each take a section. We start at the lowest point and work our way up to the highest.’ Verity noticed that the rangers had scattered in different directions. ‘Watch your footing as we descend – sometimes the gravel can cause you to slip.’
He pointed to the route they were taking and they began to follow the narrow path.
Suddenly Verity stopped in her tracks and grabbed Pete’s arm. She swung a glance around the cliff top, petrified.
‘What is it?’ Pete’s eyes widened in concern.
‘Cows, I can’t do cows. I’m terrified of cows.’
‘Cows?’
‘There it is again! That loud mooing. Pete, I really can’t do cows. Why are they up here on a cliff?’ Verity was still clutching Pete’s arm for dear life. ‘They chased me once through a field and I honestly thought I was going to die. Like they say in the movies, my life flashed before my eyes. I ended up scrabbling through a pile of nettles to escape.’
‘What are you going on about? When was the last time you saw cows up on the cliffs?’
‘It’s not that unusual, surely? You get sheep and goats all the time.’
‘Usually in the mountains, not on the cliffs on Puffin Island, otherwise we would have had to rename this place Cow Island.’ He smiled at her. ‘And you can let go of my arm. It’s about to be bitten to death by puffins, never mind you squeezing the life out of it first.’
‘Sorry, sorry… Woah! There it is again.’
Pete was still smiling.
‘It’s not funny. Look.’ Verity held out her hand. She was visibly shaking.
‘That’s not cows. That loud mooing noise you can hear is the puffins! They sound a lot like cows but I promise you the only cows are on the farm on the other side of the island. There may also be a painting of one in the art gallery, but I promise that’s as far as it goes.’
‘Puffins? That’s the puffins?’
‘That noise is definitely the puffins,’ he confirmed. ‘Some people actually think they sound like a muffled chainsaw. Come on.’ Pete carried on walking. ‘You’re safe.’
Relieved, Verity exhaled then threw back her head and let out a peal of laughter. ‘I can’t believe I thought it was cows.’
This time Pete stopped in his tracks and turned back towards her. He stared at her closely.
Verity had her hand on her chest. ‘Sorry, I’ve been told on many occasions that my laugh is a little loud.’
‘Never apologise for laughing.’ He was still looking at her oddly.
‘To be honest, I can’t remember the last time I properly laughed. Laughter has been knocked out of me for a quite a while… Is there a reason you’re still staring at me?’ she asked, starting to worry.
Pete’s face was suddenly pallid.
‘You look like you’ve seen a ghost.’
‘Sorry, sorry, you just took me by surprise.’ He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his brow. ‘I didn’t mean to stare, you just reminded me of someone I used to know.’
He carried on walking and the path widened. Verity walked beside him.
‘Was she someone special?’
Suddenly Pete looked a little tearful.
‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be nosey.’
‘You’re not. And yes, extremely special. I think about her every day.’
‘Where is this special person of yours now?’
‘She’s out there somewhere. Hopefully one day I’ll see her walking back up that cliff top so my life can restart. I have every faith.’
There was sadness in Pete’s voice and Verity began to realise the reason Pete had never married or had children. He was waiting for the love of his life to return.
‘Was she a groupie? I’ve heard all about your famous band,’ she said, trying to lighten the sombre mood.
‘You know about the band?’
‘The Men from Puffin Island!’
Pete smiled again. ‘Such an imaginative name. Do you know it took us nearly three months to come up with it?’ He gave a little chuckle. ‘We’d been performing together for at least six months and called ourselves “the band with no name” as we couldn’t decide on a name between us. We could write songs but coming up with a name was the hardest thing ever. Our following?—’
‘Your groupies,’ Verity interrupted.
‘Groupies – were increasing every day. There were even girls trying to swim across the causeway because they knew we lived on the island. All of a sudden everywhere we went became manic. Girls would hide on the cliffs, camp out on the bay and hire boats just to try and get a glimpse of us. This one night we were due to play a gig at The Olde Ship Inn but the pub was that packed we couldn’t even get to the stage so we ended up performing on the beach, just down there. I think that’s when it hit the news and word started to spread. That night Joe introduced us as The Men from Puffin Island and the name seemed to stick. I wasn’t sure I was keen on it as first, thought it was a little daft …’
‘The Beatles called themselves The Beatles, so it’s not as daft as that.’
‘That’s very true…and it did what it said on the tin. We were the men from Puffin Island and each one of us was proud of where we came from. We were young, early twenties, and we all had the biggest egos you could ever imagine and dreams of being a global band, bigger than The Beatles. We could play as good as them, too. Joe and I wrote all the songs together.’
‘There’s nothing wrong with having big dreams.’
‘But it wasn’t meant to be.’ Pete stopped on the edge of the cliff and looked over towards the bay, lost in his own thoughts. Verity knew he was probably thinking about Joe. ‘And what are your dreams, Verity?’
‘To experience more in life. I’m nearly thirty and on my own in this world.’
‘No parents?’
‘A mother, but she’s never championed me. The only time I was flavour of the month was when I found a man who she thought was successful and could show off to her friends. The funny thing was, he didn’t like her one bit. When I found out about his infidelity, that was the time I needed someone the most. I was so alone, and even though she was living across the Channel, I reached out to her, hoping she would be there for me. Maybe she’d invite me to France, maybe build some bridges.’ Verity’s voice faltered. ‘But no. I should have known better. She was cold towards me, said it must have been my fault, claiming he would never do that and I’d never be anything without him. That was the last time we spoke. I didn’t make the decision lightly to cut her out of my life – it was a build-up of things over the years’
‘That must have been difficult. I can’t imagine a mother not putting their own child first.’
‘I’ve learned from all this – it’s okay to cut off toxic family members. She was never good for my mental health but I let her affect me for years because she was my mother. She’d rather go to her grave than take responsibility for how she treated me, but I’m happy to say I’ve largely made peace with it. I’m certainly getting over all the heartbreak of Richard’s infidelity.’
‘And your father?’
‘My mother always kept his identity hidden. For what reason, I’m really not sure.’
They carried on walking down a steep part of the cliff. ‘You must have had some good influences in your life, I hope?’ said Pete.
‘Yes, my granny and granddad. They took over my upbringing from an early age. We were so close. My granny is the reason I became a veterinary assistant, as she was obsessed with animals. But going back to your question, my dream is to be happy and live my life the best I can. I’d like children one day.’
‘From what I’ve seen of you so far, I think you’ll make a wonderful mother.’
‘Thank you, that’s a lovely thing to say.’ Verity took a sip of her water and pointed towards the bay. ‘What are they doing over there?’
‘It’ll soon be fifty years since we lost Joe and they’re setting up for his remembrance service.’ Pete took off his hat for a moment and clutched it in his hand.
‘You miss him, don’t you?’
‘Every day I wish I could talk to him one last time,’ he admitted.
‘You’re going to the remembrance service, aren’t you?’ Verity could see by the sadness in his eyes how much he was still hurting. Maybe she could talk to Sam again and encourage him to chat to Pete before the service. It was possible that if they spoke to each other and let each other know exactly how they were feeling, they could move on and help each other through the undoubtedly emotional service.
‘Even though I know I probably won’t be welcomed by certain members of Joe’s family, I’ll stand at the back and pay my respects.’
‘Everyone has the right to pay respects to someone they loved dearly.’
Pete nodded and pointed to the burrow in the ground. ‘This is your first burrow. Let’s start counting those puffins.’
Verity looked at the hole in the ground. ‘Have I got to stick my hand in there?’
‘You do, but first put this on.’ Pete handed her what looked like a sleeve of a jumper. ‘They may nip your hand or scratch your arm. This is just a little bit of added protection.’
Verity slipped it on then knelt on the ground.
‘You’ll need to lie on your stomach and slide your hand in slowly. Try not to panic.’
‘It’s the fear of the unknown that worries me,’ she replied, wriggling onto her stomach.
‘You’ll be fine. You’re just feeling for puffins and eggs.’
Slowly and nervously, Verity slipped her hand into the burrow, biting her lip in anticipation of being nipped at any moment. ‘I can feel an egg,’ she said excitedly. ‘Oooh, and another.’
Pete smiled. ‘I can remember the first time I felt an egg in a burrow. It’s like when the chickens lay for the first time, you feel like a proud parent.’
‘Two eggs, two puffins. OUCH! And one nip of the beak,’ she exclaimed, quickly retracting her hand. ‘Gosh, that really does hurt.’ She rubbed the back of the hand.
‘The top of your hand will soon be that numb from the all the nips that you won’t feel a thing by the time you finish today.’
‘And I volunteered for this job because…’
‘Of your love of puffins.’
‘I’m beginning to wonder,’ she said, sliding her hand into the next burrow. ‘Ouch!’
Pete chuckled. ‘I can remember the very first time I was bitten by a puffin. It was the same day I was bitten at work by a chihuahua. I’ve come across some big dogs in my time, and ones that looked as if they weren’t very friendly, but they were a walk in the park compared to this tiny creature. It was brought in in a designer handbag because it didn’t like walking on wet ground when it was raining.’
‘What a diva!’
‘“Twinkle”, she was called, “because she was a little star”.’ Pete rolled his eyes.
‘Aww, she sounds adorable.’
‘There was nothing adorable about her or the owner. She would make any excuse to visit the surgery with that dog. Every time I saw her name on the list for the day it filled me with dread.’
‘And the reason why the owner brought her in was…’
‘She thought Twinkle had a cold as she’d sneezed a couple of times. I was going to suggest maybe it was the perfume the owner was wearing. It was that strong it made me sneeze the second she walked into the surgery. Anyway, there was absolutely nothing wrong with the dog but as usual I went through the motions, giving her the once-over as the owner gave me the once-over. I turned towards the computer to write up the notes and something took a huge bite out of my backside. I wondered for years whether it was the dog or the owner.’
Verity laughed. ‘I know who my money would be on.’
Pete stopped at the next burrow.
‘I thought I’d miss the routine of my job but I have to say, at the minute I’m not missing it at all,’ she said.
‘That’s probably because it feels like you’re on holiday.’
‘You’re not the first person to say that and it’s probably true, but being in such a beautiful place, I have begun to question where I really want to be.’
‘You and every other tourist want to live here once they’ve visited, but unfortunately – or fortunately, if you’re a curmudgeon like me – it’s not very often a property comes up for sale.’ He looked up towards his cottage, now high above them on top of the cliff. ‘I’ve been offered ridiculous amounts of money for that place.’
‘Ever tempted?’
‘Never.’ He pointed to the next burrow.
Verity got down on her stomach again. ‘How come it’s me that’s constantly getting bitten?’
‘Because I’m chief supervisor, and if I’m honest with you, if I get down, I’m not sure I’d get back up at my age,’ said Pete with a laugh.
* * *
For the next few hours they continued to count the burrows and record their findings. Verity soon forgot the number of times she’d been bitten. Pete was right, after a while you became immune to it. In the early afternoon Pete called time on the count.
‘We’ll be burnt to a crisp and will be suffering from sunstroke if we carry on. Let’s reconvene early tomorrow morning.’ He blew a whistle and waved at the other rangers as a signal to quit.
‘I’ve really enjoyed myself today,’ said Verity. ‘Thanks for letting me tag along.’
‘It’s my pleasure.’
Back at the cliff top, they headed towards the cottage. Nathan was walking towards them, holding up the keys to Hetty.
‘She’s all yours, along with the bill,’ he said apologetically. ‘I wasn’t sure where to send it.’
Verity smiled. ‘Thank you, It’s great to have her back. I’ll sort out the payment and get it to you.’
‘Much appreciated. Oh, and Pete, I’ve just noticed Cooper up at the old surgery. He was asking if you were around.’
‘Who’s Cooper?’ asked Verity.
‘Remember I told you the vet from Sea’s End was looking to open a second surgery? That’s Cooper, he’s come to do some measuring up.’
‘The new surgery is going ahead then?’
‘It looks that way. It will be good for the island to have its own practice again.’
‘Do you think it would be something that’s happening soon?’
Pete nodded. ‘Yes, as soon as the contracts are signed. I’ll have to go now but I’ll see you same time tomorrow morning.’
‘See you tomorrow.’
Ambling back down the path towards the bay, Verity noticed that flowers were already beginning to be laid down near where the old pier used to stand. There was also a photograph of Joe, propped on an easel, with candles scattered about. It must be comforting to Sam to know that the residents of Puffin Island had never forgotten his grandfather. Sitting down on a nearby bench and reaching into her bag for her sandwich, Verity thought about Pete. She’d enjoyed every minute of the morning and their easy-flowing conversation. He was a knowledgeable and interesting man. She admired how, even though the popularity of the band had been growing back in the day, he’d continued with his studies to qualify as a vet. She gazed at the photo of Joe. He was as deviously handsome as Sam. Tucking into her sandwich, she stretched out her legs and admired the blue sky and the water glistening in the sunshine. A gang of hikers was heading towards the path along the cliff. Children clutching fishing nets were dangling them from the small rocks at the side of the bay.
‘Penny for them?’
She spun around to see Amelia standing behind her.
‘Just grabbing some food, what are you up to?’
‘On a break. The bookshop has been heaving this morning. I’ve never known so many customers, which is amazing, but they’ve all interrupted my proper job of writing.’
Verity laughed. ‘It’s a genius move to get paid for one job whilst furthering your career in another field.’
‘I’m not just a pretty face,’ said Amelia with a grin. ‘I’ll have to get back, but before I go, how was counting puffins?’
‘Puffin good! I really enjoyed it.’ Verity held out her arm to show Amelia her counting wounds.
‘Are they bites? They looked like they enjoyed you too!’
‘Pete was right: after a few nibbles you become immune to it.’
Amelia nodded to the photo of Joe. ‘How is Pete? This time of year must hit him hard.’
‘I think he had a moment up on the cliff top when he saw that Joe’s photo was down here.’
‘I know Betty is struggling at the minute too.’
‘I don’t know the ins and outs of everything, but I do think Sam and Pete could help each other at a time like this. Wouldn’t Joe want them to unite and put their differences to one side, at least for one day?’
‘Who knows? Even after all this time Sam is still convinced there was more to that night than what has been reported.’
‘But surely if nothing has come out after fifty years there’s nothing to come out.’
Amelia gave a little shrug. ‘Or people are good at keeping secrets,’ she ventured. She held up her coffee and pointed towards Lighthouse Lane. ‘I’ll catch up with you later.’
At Amelia’s mention of secrets, Verity thought of the postcard and the message written on it. She had had ample opportunity to chat about it with Pete this morning but she’d decided to wait and speak to Betty first and see what her take was on potential secrets from the past. But Amelia was right. People were good at keeping secrets. Her granny had never mentioned ‘W’ or Puffin Island except in her stories, yet she had still kept the picture of the puffins hanging on the wall in her favourite room in the house for all those years.
As she finished her lunch, she noticed a well-dressed man walking down the path from the cliff top and assumed that it must be Cooper. He headed towards a Range Rover parked at the edge of the bay and pressed the fob on a bunch of keys to unlock it. Taking a punt, Verity Googled ‘vets practice in Sea’s End’ on her phone and clicked through to the website, navigating to the list of staff members, looking for Cooper’s photo to confirm it was him – and it was. The website had all the usual general information about the surgery and its opening times, but at the top of the web page something caught Verity’s eye – a heading reading ‘Current Vacancies’.
So there would be vacancies at the new practice opening very soon on Puffin Island. Verity’s heart began to race when she noticed there was one for a veterinary assistant. She doubled-ticked every box of what they were looking for. Now all she needed to do was send a CV with a covering letter. Looking up from the screen and staring out over the water, she wondered, could she actually apply? What was stopping her? Well, there was the matter of a place to live. Her van would be fun to live in for a little while but there was no way she would survive the cold winter months without proper heat or a shower. In her head she’d already moved to Puffin Island, but in reality was it even possible? Looking for houses to rent, she found there was nothing on the island; the nearest vacant property was in a village on the other side of Sea’s End. It wasn’t a million miles away though, so it certainly gave her food for thought.
Throwing her phone into her bag she headed back towards Cosy Nook Cottage. Her plan was to have a shower and then catch up with Betty. She couldn’t wait to hear what she had to say.
* * *
Ten minutes later, she was standing in the shower at Cosy Nook Cottage, taking advantage of the gorgeous-smelling body wash and expensive shampoo, not knowing when her next shower would be, if she moved back into the van tonight. Singing at the top of her lungs, she enjoyed every second of the shower. As she switched the water off, she heard someone banging around downstairs. Sam must be home. Quickly, she dried herself, pulled on clean clothes and headed downstairs.
Sam was in the kitchen and Jimmy was wolfing down the food in his bowl.
‘I was hoping that was you upstairs and not a burglar but when I heard the singing…’
‘Firstly, I’ve never known a burglar to have a shower, and secondly, tone-deaf I may be, but if you can’t sing in the shower what’s the point of living?’ she said boldly, trying not to let her embarrassment show.
He grinned and looked at her arm. ‘Woah, you look like you’ve been eaten alive.’
‘Yes, those puffins quite liked the taste of me.’
‘You can’t blame them though, can you?’ He grinned.
‘What can I say, the puffins have good taste.’
‘They do,’ he replied, catching her eye and giving her a warm smile. ‘I’m just back to feed Jimmy and escape from the restaurant for half an hour before heading back. We’ve got a busy night ahead; all the tables are booked and there’s a fresh delivery of fish.’
‘Business is booming.’
‘And that’s something I can’t complain about. How was your morning? Did you enjoy counting puffins?’
‘I did – and it was great to spend the time with Pete. He’s such an interesting character and very knowledgeable, not to mention intelligent. He told me all about the band and his work at the surgery. He didn’t give too much away about his love life but my reckoning is that he had his heart broken when he was young and is still hoping she may walk back up that cliff top and into his arms one day.’ Verity knew she was babbling but the words just kept coming out, because Sam’s face wasn’t as smiley as it was two seconds ago. She recognised the look well; it was nearly the same look her ex used to give her whenever she said something he didn’t like. He was clearly disturbed at what she was saying, but Verity didn’t want to walk on eggshells – she’d had years of that with her ex.
‘I can tell that you don’t like me speaking well about Pete, but he’s actually been lovely to me today and I honestly don’t have a bad word to say about him. He was professional, good company, funny, informative and completely easy to be around.’ She watched Sam bristle. ‘But I’ll tell you this, when he noticed the photo of Joe down by the bay, he became very emotional. Your grandfather’s death still has a massive effect on him.’
‘Probably because of a guilty conscience eating away at him,’ said Sam, coldly.
‘But you have no concrete evidence. What if – and just hear me out because I’ve got nothing to lose by throwing this out there, but – what if nothing went on that night? What if it was truly just an accident and you’re making Pete’s life a misery for no reason? It’s a little immature, don’t you think?’ Verity really wished she hadn’t added the last sentence as Sam’s eyebrows shot up and his intense stare as he processed her words unnerved her for a second.
‘This has nothing to do with you. You’ve been on this island for a matter of hours?—’
‘Days,’ she interrupted, holding her own.
‘Hours,’ he repeated. ‘And you’re giving an opinion on something you know nothing about. I’ve shared my thoughts with you, which was difficult enough, and now you’re attacking me.’ Sam was defensive and the dark look on his face didn’t go away.
‘I’m not attacking you. I’m just trying to present a different side.’ Verity kept her voice soft, hoping to calm the situation a little.
‘Something doesn’t stack up. We all know as coastguards about the rip currents and there was no way my grandfather would willingly enter the water without backup.’
‘Maybe he slipped off the pier into the water and just couldn’t get out.’
‘If that’s the case then why has Pete never explained where he was that night or why he was late for his shift? Because he’s hiding something.’
‘Or maybe he doesn’t need to explain anything to anyone as there’s nothing to explain. He’s devastated to this day. He lost his best friend and has never got over it.’
‘So I should just get over it?’ asked Sam, coldly.
‘I know you want justice for your grandfather, but Pete was his actual friend, his best friend. They were inseparable. They’d just landed a huge music contract and were about to conquer the world together.’
‘But they didn’t, did they? Because somehow my grandfather ended up being taking by a rip current.’
Verity took a deep breath. She knew what she about to say was not going to go down well at all. ‘Forgive me when I say this, but you never met your grandfather?—’
‘What are you implying, that it hurts less?’ Sam cut in, his voice raised. ‘I was robbed of a relationship with my grandfather.’
‘That’s not what I’m saying, but Pete was there at the time. Just from today I can see he’s genuinely cut up about it. Wouldn’t your energy be better spent uniting and coming together in memory of your grandfather? I bet Pete has lots of stories about their friendship and growing up that you’ve never even heard. You might find it comforting. I really don’t think Pete wants any sort of animosity with the grandson of his best friend. You’d be like the grandson he never had. Today, despite everything, he didn’t have a bad word to say about you.’
Sam shook his head. ‘I’m really not sure why you think you can come in here and give your opinion on something that doesn’t even involve you.’
They stared at each other.
Stalemate.
Even though Verity knew she had overstepped the mark, she still thought that this argument that had been going on for years was a waste of energy, and that some good could actually come of it if Sam wasn’t so stubborn and learned to let go and move on.
‘I think you should go,’ Sam said at last.
Tension hung in the air. Even Jimmy must have sensed something was wrong as he’d climbed into his crate and was lying down staring at them, his head resting on his paws.
‘Fine. I’ll get my things.’
Sam didn’t say anything, just turned his back and switched on the kettle. Whether she was right or wrong, Verity still thought he needed to stop and think about what he was losing from this ongoing feud.
She packed her belongings and came back downstairs. The back door was open and Sam was standing in the garden, hugging a mug of tea and looking out towards the cove.
She placed the front door key on the table. ‘The thing is, Sam, if you keep pushing Pete away, you’re going to lose the chance to gain valuable information and first-hand stories about your grandfather. Stories that could be passed down to your own children one day. I’m sure they would be proud of their rockstar great-grandfather and happy to hear stories you learned from someone who was actually there.’
Sam remained silent and didn’t look at her.
Verity ruffled the top of Jimmy’s head, walked to the front door and closed it behind her. She exhaled and was hit by a wave of emotion. With one last look at the cottage, she saw that Sam was now standing in the window. Their eyes met, and he moved away. Fighting back tears and with her head bent low, she headed down Lighthouse Lane. From what she’d seen so far, Sam was very good at holding grudges, which probably meant for the rest of her time on the island they were going to have to avoid each other.