Chapter 39
‘Oh no, you don’t.’ Sam swiped the sandwich from Kitty’s desk before she could take a bite.
‘Hey, I’m starving! Give that here!’ Kitty made a grab for the foil-wrapped parcel in Sam’s hands.
‘Look outside, Kitty.’ Sam gestured to the brightly lit window. ‘The sun’s shining. It’s a gorgeous day. We’re two seconds’ walk from the sea, and you’re choosing to eat your lunch at your desk?’
‘I’ve got loads of work to do. I need to get on.’ Kitty heard her own uncertainty.
‘Yeah, and you’re not avoiding having to talk to anyone?’ Sam put her hands on her hips.
‘What makes you think that?’
‘I wonder. Maybe the way a certain Mr Andrews turned up here for a private chat was a bit of a clue.’
Kitty cursed her warming cheeks. ‘That was a professional meeting.’
‘Kitty, Kitty,’ said Sam, shaking her head. ‘Do you think I was born yesterday?’
‘If you’re looking for gossip,’ said Kitty primly, ‘you won’t find any here.’
‘Yeah, right.’ Sam laughed. She took two strides to stand behind her, tucked her hands beneath Kitty’s arms, and pulled her up off her chair. ‘We’re going to the beach.’
‘The beach? We can’t go to the beach in the middle of the working day!’
‘In case you hadn’t noticed,’ said Sam, ‘the bell has gone for lunch. Every other member of staff is sitting inside the staff room or outside on the benches, taking a break. Give me one good reason you don’t deserve a break.’
‘My to-do list,’ said Kitty.
‘Will still be there once you’ve eaten your sandwich. Anyway, remember what Suzanne always says about to-do lists?’
‘You never get to the end of them,’ they chorused together.
Kitty grinned. ‘Are you sure we’re allowed to sneak off to the beach in the middle of the day?’
‘It’s hardly sneaking off,’ said Sam. ‘I’ve told Miriam where we’re going.
It’s our lunch break, and we’re going to sit on the sand, eat our sandwiches, and come straight back.
We’ll be gone ten minutes, if you really want.
Although… you could go wild and take a full fifteen.
’ She clapped her hand to her mouth in mock horror.
‘You’re not going to give me a choice, are you?’
‘Nope.’
‘Fine.’
Kitty grabbed her bag, and they headed through the playground to the small gate leading to the beach.
Children called to them as they walked, asking where they were going.
Sam smiled and told them they’d be back soon.
The lunchtime supervisors on duty looked at them with long, wistful expressions as they left the schoolyard.
‘Ah,’ said Sam, spreading her arms wide when their feet met the sand. ‘Why don’t we do this every day?’
‘Because we have work to do,’ said Kitty.
‘Yeah, but you’ve got to make the most of it, haven’t you? With the amount of rain we get down here, sunny days are to be cherished.’ Sam pulled a picnic blanket from her oversized bag and spread it on the sand.
‘Looks like you came prepared.’
‘I always carry this blanket around just in case.’ She winked at Kitty. ‘Don’t think you’re getting any special treatment.’
They unpacked their lunches and ate quietly for a couple of minutes.
The sea breeze, the sunshine, and the sound of gulls relaxed Kitty.
Sam’s idea had been a good one, she conceded, until …
‘So, go on then,’ said Sam, flipping her grey ponytail over her shoulder, ‘are you going to tell me the real reason Nick was in your classroom this morning?’
So much for the moment of peace. Kitty continued to follow the flight of the gulls. ‘I told you he was there for a professional meeting.’
‘Yeah, and I’m the Queen of England. You’re a crap liar, Kitty. Your eyes go all shifty. The only thing shiftier than you is that seagull who’s stalking us, ready to steal our sandwiches.’
‘Fine.’ Kitty sighed. ‘I was at his house last night when his parents turned up. They weren’t… as welcoming as they might have been. And he came to check I was all right.’ Which was all Sam needed to be told.
‘They weren’t welcoming, eh?’ Sam sniffed.
‘That sounds like Mr and Mrs Andrews. You couldn’t find a more pompous pair within a hundred miles of Saffron Bay.
’ She peered sideways at Kitty. ‘I’m surprised they took against you, though.
I’d have thought they’d be delighted Nick found himself a proper young lady. ’
Kitty kept her eyes firmly forward. ‘Yeah, well… when they walked in, we were… um… we…’
‘Oh my God,’ said Sam. ‘Did they walk in and catch you at it?’ She giggled.
‘What?’ Kitty stared at Sam in horror. ‘Of course not!’
‘No one would blame you,’ said Sam. ‘He’s the fittest man to have walked into this school in years.’
‘Sam!’ hissed Kitty. ‘Stop it!’
‘Sorry,’ said Sam, with a grin that suggested she wasn’t sorry at all. ‘So if you weren’t shagging, what were you doing?’
Kitty took a huge bite of her sandwich and made a great show of chewing slowly.
Sam grabbed the sandwich from her again, jumped up, and ran a few steps along the beach. ‘You’re not getting this until you tell me everything!’
Kitty sighed, got to her feet, and joined Sam by the edge of the water. She kicked off her sandals and stepped into the waves, groaning with pleasure as the cool water hit her puffy, overheated toes. ‘Oh, this is good,’ she murmured.
‘Again,’ said Sam, waving the sandwich in front of Kitty’s nose. ‘Stop changing the subject. Tell me what’s going on.’
‘Fine, since you won’t let it go. But if this turns into Saffron Bay’s latest piece of juicy gossip, I’ll know exactly where it’s come from.’
‘My lips are sealed,’ said Sam mischievously.
‘Mr and Mrs Andrews walked into the living room to find me and Nick in an… embrace.’
‘An embrace?’ said Sam. ‘What are you, a governess from the nineteenth century?’
‘Fine – a kiss.’
‘Now we’re getting somewhere,’ said Sam. ‘So, was it a peck on the cheek or…’ Sam wiggled her eyebrows.
‘No,’ said Kitty, flushing. ‘Not a peck on the cheek. Something more… um… passionate.’
Sam’s eyes glittered with delight. ‘Yes! I’m living for this! I love my husband dearly, but you don’t get this kind of excitement when you’ve been together as long as we have.’
‘It’s not exciting,’ said Kitty, although the traitorous thought came that it had been at the time. ‘It was a terrible mistake on both our parts.’
‘Why?’ asked Sam. ‘You fancy each other. You’re both single. What’s so bad about getting together?’
Kitty turned her face up to the warm sun, wondering how to answer. In the end, she decided she didn’t need to find an excuse for herself at all. ‘It wouldn’t be fair to Emily,’ she said.
That shut Sam up. For all her love of gossip, Sam had a heart of gold, and when it came to the children, they always came first. ‘Yeah, fair enough,’ she admitted. ‘I suppose it could be confusing for the poor thing. Once things are more settled…?’
‘No,’ said Kitty. ‘It was a one-off. That’s that.’ Even as she spoke the words, she relived last night’s moment of heady anticipation, and wasn’t sure she believed them.
‘Yeah, whatever you say, Miss.’ Sam handed Kitty her sandwich. ‘Now eat up. Our fifteen minutes is almost up, and we need to be getting back to those kids.’