Chapter Thirty-Two
It was always quiet on Tuesdays in the Harbour Studio, which suited Tammy down to the ground after the recent eventful days.
In between serving the occasional customer, she spent the morning updating her social media accounts with photos of the festival and replying to messages, posts and emails about her work.
The usual trickle of engagement she received had become a flood.
Her follower count across all platforms was climbing by the hour.
Her work had been featured in two regional newspapers in its reports about OceanFest, and by lunchtime, she already had three enquiries from potential new clients from a charity, a media organisation and a London ad agency.
That was in addition to over thirty requests from individuals wanting proposals, anniversary designs and birthday greetings.
Tammy also had good news about Hattie, who’d been discharged and was recovering at home after her accident.
Tammy had rushed out to the beach without taking her phone and arrived home in the small hours the previous evening.
Luckily the suspected fracture was a nasty sprain – still not fun, but easier to recover from.
Hattie would still be able to go to her birthday party on Porthmellow beach the following evening, and Tammy intended to do a surprise birthday message in the sand for when her friend arrived.
She shared the good news in a message to Ruan, having explained her absence first. He replied with a I’m glad Hattie is OK. Just going into a meeting with Hector. Speak later. x .
Tammy was about to send a kiss emoji when she was interrupted.
‘I hate to intrude but I was hoping to find out the price of these earrings?’
At the sound of the woman’s voice, Tammy’s head snapped up and she dropped her phone on the counter. ‘Yes. Sorry. Of course – has the ticket fallen off? I’ll find out for you.’
Despite her lapse in customer service, the woman bought the earrings, which Tammy gift wrapped while chatting about the jeweller’s inspiration for her designs.
She turned her phone on to silent and tried to avoid glancing at it too often, even though one of the messages from Lola said she’d seen Tammy’s sunrise featured on BBC Spotlight . The other was another from Ruan, confirming he was coming to Hattie’s birthday party.
Davey had been out all morning and she hadn’t seen him. He’d pushed a note – an actual note – under her door while she’d been asleep, saying he had a dentist’s appointment and errands in Penzance and would catch up with her later.
With no one else to hold the fort at the studio, Tammy had no choice but to close it briefly at lunchtime while she headed to the deli to grab a sandwich. She decided to eat it on the quieter side of the harbour and headed along the quayside to a tucked-away spot known only to locals.
That few minutes of peace, of watching the fishing boats return with their catch, the seagulls crying around them, was precious after the excitement and noise of the past few days.
The gulls also reminded her of meeting Ruan and she chuckled to herself.
If that seagull hadn’t swooped, would they have got together and be where they were now?
Mulling over the way fate could, occasionally, play a happy part in her life, she strolled back to the gallery, humming a tune from the festival.
Her smile faded as she spotted Sean standing by the front door, scrolling through his mobile. Her buoyant mood sank. The last thing she needed right now was a confrontation, but she had to reopen the shop.
He’d also seen her, so she strode confidently up to him.
‘Hey, Tammy,’ he said, shoving his phone in his jeans pocket.
‘Sean. Hi. What are you doing here?’
‘I used to come round here a lot if you remember,’ he said. ‘Do you have time for a chat?’
A ‘chat’? Sean didn’t do chats. He’d never been one for small talk.
‘Not really. I need to open up the gallery.’
‘A few minutes won’t matter, surely? You’re hardly fighting off customers.’
‘That’s because the place has a closed sign on the door,’ Tammy shot back.
‘OK, but … what I have to say won’t take long. It’s important.’
‘I don’t have time for this right now.’ Her weary tone echoed the way she felt.
Sean stared at her, his face set in a frown. ‘You look tired. Maybe you’ve been overdoing it?’
Her hackles rose at his tone, which had been edged with sarcasm. ‘I’m fine. I’m also busy.’ She turned away.
‘If you’re not going to ask me in, then I’ll have to say it here though I don’t want to deliver news like this out in the street.’
Tammy was stopped in her tracks and the hairs on her neck stood on end. ‘News like what? This had better not be a wind-up.’
He sighed heavily. ‘I wish it was a wind-up but it’s true. It’s about your new boyfriend.’
‘Oh no. I’m not doing this, Sean. Not now. Not ever.’ Tammy shook her head, furious with him for hijacking her at work. ‘If this is your way of trying to break us up, then don’t even think about it. I’m sorry about what happened between us, but it was for the best.’
‘I happen to think differently,’ Sean said. ‘But it’s not about us. It’s about him. Ryan.’
‘ Ruan .’
Sean shrugged. ‘Whatever. Are you sure you know who he really is? What he’s actually doing? I know you’re close. I’ve seen him hanging round the flat; I’ve seen him at the festival with you. I know he stays the night.’
Raging inside, Tammy waved him away. ‘Just get lost. You’re obsessed!’
‘Only because I care! Look, answer me this and then I’ll go away. Have you actually asked him where this caravan is? I presume you haven’t been there yet?’
The urge to tell Sean where to go was strong, yet Tammy’s curiosity was stronger and Sean had touched a nerve.
She’d always thought Ruan had been a little evasive about his living arrangements, yet she’d dismissed her doubts as unimportant while she’d been having such a good time.
‘I haven’t been to the caravan,’ she said warily. ‘Yet.’
He snorted. ‘Didn’t think so.’
‘What’s wrong with you?’ Tammy flung back.
‘I haven’t been there yet – same as he’s only been to the flat a couple of times.
I’m sure I will go there very soon. I haven’t grilled Ruan about his living arrangements because unlike some people’ – she glared at Sean – ‘I don’t feel the need to interrogate and control other people. ’
Sean opened his mouth to speak but Tammy wasn’t going to give him the chance to butt in.
‘Why don’t you just leave us alone? I’m sorry that it didn’t work out between us, but I could never have made you happy and this kind of exchange goes to show you could never have made me happy.
You don’t care about me, not deep down. Relationships are a power game with you.
Go away.’ She jangled her keys. ‘I’m opening up. ’
‘Well, you can’t stop me coming in,’ he said with a sneer.
‘If you want to cause a scene in the gallery, then that’s your problem,’ Tammy said. ‘That’s what you want, is it? To make yourself the laughing stock with the tourists when I throw you out?’
His eyes flared with annoyance and he swore under his breath, but then exhaled sharply and sneered. ‘OK. If you want to stay ignorant and be duped by the guy who’s stolen your house then fine. I’ll go.’ He made as if to walk away down the street, but Tammy stopped him.
‘Wait,’ Tammy said, hating herself for her weakness yet trembling inside. ‘Stolen my house? What’s that supposed to mean? You can’t throw out an accusation like that and walk away from me.’
Sean took a pace towards her. ‘I thought you didn’t want to hear.’
‘Oh, grow up. Come round the back of the studio and explain yourself,’ she said. ‘If you can – which I doubt.’
He nodded. ‘This isn’t something I’m enjoying. I never want you to get hurt. I’ve always loved you and no one has ever compared to you, despite what you think.’
Tammy’s skin crawled. The last thing she wanted to do was play Sean’s manipulative games, but his comment about Ruan stealing her house was too specific to be ignored.
She had to know what he meant. ‘Come round the back and this had better be good. Although I’m certain it will be more of your bullshit. ’
He heaved a sigh. ‘I only wish it was.’
Once away from the public eye, she folded her arms and glared at him. ‘How can Ruan have “stolen” my house? Dad sold it years ago. How can Ruan possibly have got hold of it?’
‘I have no idea of the details, but he does own it. He lives there. I went round and gave him a quote for some work on it.’
‘When?’ Tammy sneered, wondering how Sean had the nerve to make such a tale up.
‘Couple of weeks ago.’
‘No. You can’t have. That’s not possible. He’d have told me.’
Sean snorted. ‘Are you sure? I can show you the paperwork for the estimate if you like. It’s a pretty eyewatering sum because the place is a complete wreck now.
I haven’t been there for years. I only visited once when I was a lad, remember?
We were at primary school and you had a party and we all went in the sea? ’
‘Yeah, I remember,’ Tammy murmured, the day flooding back to her. A bright day with a bunch of young classmates. The young Sean, blond and skinny and loud, dunking people under the waves. Her mum and dad putting out sausage rolls and crisps and pop on a table in the front garden of the cottage.
‘Why have you waited so long to tell me this?’ she demanded. ‘You even asked me if I knew where Ruan lived – you must have known by then?’
‘I guess I wanted to give him the chance to do the right thing and tell you himself,’ Sean said with a cocky grin.
‘No, you didn’t! You wanted to revel in keeping the secret until you were ready to taunt me with it.
And I still don’t really believe you. Are you sure Ruan actually owns the cottage?
’ The words flooded out before she could hold them back, even though she knew she sounded desperate. ‘He’s not just renting the site?’
‘No. He owns it. The whole place. It’s one massive property now called Seaspray.
It was always one big place, back in the day – but you must know that already.
It was a merchant’s house originally, built from money some guy made from trading out of Newlyn.
My grandad told me that,’ Sean added. ‘Then it was made into the two cottages. It must have been restored to one building again after you all moved out.’ His gloating tone had melted away and he sounded almost apologetic.
Tammy wrapped her arms around herself, feeling icy cold.
‘It must be a shock.’ Sean rested his hand on her arm. ‘I’m so sorry to have to tell you this, Tammy.’
‘No, you’re not,’ she said, meeting his faux-sympathetic gaze with icy contempt. ‘You’re not sorry at all. You must be loving this. If it’s true.’
He threw up his hands. ‘Jesus, you really have been taken in by him, haven’t you? Look, if you don’t believe me, go and see for yourself. Go back to Rosewarne and you’ll see that I’m telling the truth. I do care about you. I always did. You just don’t want to see what’s in front of your eyes.’