Chapter Eleven
‘ T hank you so much. Have a great day on the beach.’ Lynsey passed across a bag of pasties as the couple in front of her grinned back.
‘I’m sure we will. And I’m glad we have a chance to try Elsie’s famous cheese and onion pasties.’ The man took the bag before they turned to leave.
Sidling up to her, Brooke sighed. ‘So much for hoping for a quiet day today. Judging by the number of customers we’ve had, there must be a coach trip down here from somewhere or other.’
‘Yes, the couple I’ve just served said they were on a coach trip. They’re stopping off in a few different places.’ Lynsey dropped the money the couple had given her into the till. ‘They visited somewhere else this morning and then are going to finish today off in somewhere called Trestow for a cream tea, I think they said.’
‘Trestow. That’s the closest town to us. Umm, at least it should get a little quieter soon then.’ Brooke stretched her arms out in front of her before stepping towards the counter again.
‘Who wants to go on their lunch break first?’ Ian walked behind the counter, apron in hand.
‘I don’t mind. You can go first if you like, Lynsey?’ Brooke called over her shoulder.
‘Okay. thanks.’ After this morning's events with Zac, she wasn’t about to argue about going to lunch first. She could certainly do with a walk along the beach and space to think. She pulled her apron over her head before hanging it up. ‘Ian, Zac should be coming by to drop my key and a quote off any time now. Could you take them, please?’
‘Of course I will, love. He’s a nice guy, isn’t he?’ Ian smiled at her before turning back to the customer in front of him.
‘Umm.’ Nodding quickly, Lynsey walked around the counter and outside. She did feel guilty taking a lunch break after leaving Brooke and Ian in the lurch earlier when she’d run off to the cottage, but she also needed some time to clear her head. She needed this lunch break.
Once outside, she took a deep breath and rolled her shoulders back, filling her lungs with the salty, fresh air being carried on the gentle breeze from the ocean. Perfect. She smiled at the couple she’d just served as she walked past them sitting on a bench eating their pasties, and towards the concrete ramp leading down to the sandy beach.
People walked up and down the promenade, pointing to this and that, taking photos of the sea and chatting to each other. But once she reached the sand, the beach itself was relatively quiet. She supposed the cool spring air and the fact it had rained last night kept most of the people from venturing onto the still soggy sand.
Reaching the sea, Lynsey closed her eyes and let the gentle whoosh of the waves clear her mind. It must be amazing to live here by the seaside. To be able to visit the beach whenever you wanted. She squeezed her eyes tighter closed as thoughts of leaving Penworth Bay filtered into her mind. She wasn’t there yet. She didn’t need to make a decision. Not now. No, she needed to wait until she had the quote from Zac before she did. In this moment, she could pretend to herself that everything would be okay. She could pretend that she could stay down here and that she wouldn’t be forced to return to her hometown, red-faced that she couldn’t make a life for herself elsewhere.
Not that she’d be able to live happily back there. No, mud stuck. Whether she had cleared her name or not, she’d always be the woman who had been accused of stealing from her employer, who was accused of fleecing her customers. People wouldn’t care that it hadn’t been her at all, that it had been Ross.
Besides, they’d only think she was in on it too because she’d been with Ross at the time it had happened. She’d unknowingly spent the money he’d stolen. She’d unknowingly received gifts he’d bought her with that money, so maybe they had a point. She should have realised what he’d been up to, but she’d believed him when he’d told her his great aunt had left him the money in her will. Not once had she questioned him. She’d taken his lies at face value.
Opening her eyes again, she reached down and picked up a handful of pebbles, before throwing them one by one out across the water, listening as they hit the water and watching them plummet to the depths of the ocean. She’d never forgive herself for not realising and she’d never forgive him for turning on her and trying to lay the blame in her path when the insurance company they both worked for realised that he’d been adding extra money to their customers’ bills.
Perhaps she could eventually forgive her friends for turning their backs on her. She’d accepted their apologies when the truth had come out, but she hadn’t forgiven them for believing she was capable of doing such a thing. The friendships she’d had with people had been broken. They weren’t the same.
She’d certainly discovered who her true friends were, and they’d been few and far between. Her sister, Nina, of course. Her dad. And an old friend from school who had since moved abroad. That was it.
She threw another pebble, a large one this time, and watched the water splatter as it hit the surface, watching the ripples as it disappeared beneath the surface. What did that say about her? That her partner of eleven years, the person she thought had had her back, had turned on her, blamed her for something she’d never ever do and the only people who had stuck by her, who had stood with her, had been her family and one long-term friend?
She didn’t want to go back. She really didn’t.
‘Got it.’ The familiar low, gravelly voice sounded from behind her.