Chapter 21
Sally: You did what?
Beth: Poured a bottle of wine over his head
Sally: What is it with you and drenching Matthew! Omg – hilarious!
Beth: Anyway, we’ve said goodbye. I mean a proper goodbye
Sally: That’s good to hear. Must admit, I've been worried that you’d go all soft on me and take him back
Beth: Won't happen. It’s over
Sally: And the merman?
Beth: What about him?
Sally: Has he moved on from being nice?
Beth: No! Well, maybe a bit. He was actually very nice over the whole Matthew thing.
Sally: So from nice to very nice! Excellent! And are you being nice to him?
Beth: It’s hard. He always manages to say something that makes me angry. I feel a constant need to punch him
Sally: Ooh! I can feel a holiday romance creeping on Beth Carter!
Beth: What! I said he annoys me!
Sally: That’s how it starts. Goodbye Matthew, hello Jake!
Beth: Don’t be ridiculous. And besides, it’s far too soon to get involved with someone else
Sally: It’s never too soon honey. Sounds to me like old green eyes is just what you need!
Hangover free and hungry after so little food the previous day, Beth was on the terrace bright and early the following morning, determined to beat Jake to the tea and toast.
But she was too late and there was already a figure sitting at the table, back turned to Beth, gazing out across the harbour.
‘Sam! How lovely to see you here.’
Sinking into the seat next to him, Beth took a long look at the man beside her. His hands were strong and steady, his face more relaxed than she had ever seen him and his eyes positively twinkled with happiness.
‘Isn’t this the most amazing view?’ he asked, taking in a deep breath of fresh sea air. ‘Lavinia couldn’t have chosen a better place for a Bed & Breakfast. It’s truly wonderful.’
Grinning, Beth poured a cup of tea. She had a feeling that if Lavinia had shown him a tin shed, he would have declared it to be the most amazing place he’d ever seen.
‘It is beautiful,’ she agreed, looking over at the masts bobbing in the harbour and listening to the shouts of the fishermen discussing their morning catch. ‘There’s nowhere quite like Welby and in Welby, there’s nowhere quite like this balcony.’
There was a moment of contented silence as they relaxed in the already warm morning sun and sipped their tea.
‘Did you stay last night?’ asked Beth.
‘Yes. We were still chattering away at two in the morning, we had so much to say, so much to share with each other. A lifetime really.’ He sighed happily, his eyes blazing with emotion. ‘Lavinia said it was far too late for me to walk back to my hotel and the beauty of having a B&B is that she always has a spare room ready for a needy occupant.’
Beth couldn’t help the grin from returning. Sam may be in his seventies but she had never seen anybody more clearly in love. It shone from his face like a beacon and was in every word he uttered. ‘I wanted to help Lavinia in the kitchen this morning, but she said I would be in the way and I should sit on the balcony. And I can see why.’ Another deep sigh. ‘Beautiful,’ he murmured, ‘simply beautiful.’
Beth followed his gaze to the woman standing in the doorway holding a tray piled even higher than usual with bacon and sausages.
Leaping to his feet, leaving his stick behind, Sam sprang forward. ‘Let me help you,’ he insisted, taking the tray from her as they exchanged a long glance.
‘Oh heavens, don’t fuss,’ she answered, her face wreathed in smiles and not sounding in the least annoyed. ‘I’m used to carrying this thing up and down.’
But she let Sam take the tray from her unresisting fingers and set it down on the table.
‘Is there room for one more?’ asked a voice from behind Lavinia and Jake’s head appeared from over her shoulder.
‘Of course there is! Good morning, Jake, good morning,’ and Sam pumped Jake’s hand enthusiastically before sitting back down to beam at everyone around him. ‘Isn’t this wonderful?’ he asked. ‘All together, here, with this amazing view?’
Jake arched an eyebrow in Beth’s direction and she hid her grin in her teacup.
‘I suppose it is,’ Jake said agreeably, and chuckled as Sam and Lavinia immediately forgot he was there, eyes only for each other.
‘I’m afraid I won’t be able to help out at the hut today,’ he directed at Beth and she wished he hadn’t already put his sunglasses in place. His face was blank, his words neutral. ‘I have a job I need to finish on Craggy Heights,’ he continued. ‘But I think most of the hard work is finished. Just a few kitchen cabinets left to put together and a lot of painting to do.’
‘I can manage without you,’ she said quickly, then blushed. She had sounded rude. Why did he always make her feel so defensive? ‘I mean, I can manage the rest. Thank you for all your help but I’ll be fine on my own now.’
He gave her a long hard look that brought a flush of colour to her cheeks and she wondered what he had said to Portia the previous day. Had he forgiven her? Maybe he’d told her that life was too short for regrets and they didn’t want to discover they were still in love in 50 years with nothing but heartache in between. Maybe they were already reconciled, Jake and Portia, back where they should be, together. Unlike herself and Matthew.
‘I’m sure you will,’ he murmured, reaching over and layering bacon and sausage onto his plate. ‘I have a feeling you are stronger than people give you credit for.’
Was that a compliment, wondered Beth. If so, it was the first she could remember him sending her way. Or maybe he was saying she was a pain to be with and he couldn’t wait to spend a day away from her.
‘I’ll come along and help,’ offered Sam, finally pulling his eyes away from Lavinia and listening to their exchange.
‘No, you won’t,’ said Beth firmly. ‘You’ve done quite enough for me over the last few days. It’s mainly just painting, and I can do that myself. I think you deserve a day off. Spend it with Lavinia. You can continue with your catch-up,’ she suggested with a smile.
‘Oh no…’
‘Yes! Today is your day. The first day of the rest of your life. Make the most of it.’
She could feel Jake’s eyes resting on her, quizzical.
‘Like I said, I can manage by myself,’ she said defiantly, as Sam and Lavinia started making plans for their day together. ‘I don’t need any help.’
‘Clearly.’
He continued to stare, lips turned slightly upwards in amusement.
Why did she feel the need to pull off his glasses and meet his eyes to examine the expression they held? Why did he make her feel so – breathless?
‘And I need to get started,’ said Beth abruptly, standing up quickly and leaving half her breakfast still on her plate to the surprise of Sam, Lavinia and herself.
‘But darling, don’t you want…?’
‘I’ll be fine,’ insisted Beth waving away Lavinia’s concern about her lack of eating. ‘It’s going to be another hot day and I need to get on with it!’
She also needed to leave the terrace and the uncomfortable emotions being stirred by the man mocking her from across the table, and without another word, she fled the balcony, her bacon and Jake Balfour.
In the coolness of the beach hut, Beth sank onto one of the wonky chairs wondering if maybe it wasn’t Jake but herself who had the problem. Even when he tried to be nice, she took it the wrong way. It was time to accept that they would never hit it off, there was something about him that made Beth so angry. He left her feeling dazed and uncomfortable simply by sitting silently opposite her. Sally was wrong, quite wrong. There was no romance brewing between them.
Sighing she pulled out the colour charts she had collected a few days earlier. Jake had done an amazing job of making Number 4 safe and secure. The roof was back in place, there were no holes in the floor, the seagull had been evicted, much to his chagrin, and the hut was watertight and no danger to anyone.
But it looked a sight. New planks of wood sat jarringly next to faded old ones. The basics of a kitchen were in place, or at least a sink now sat on the countertop. The decking was free of holes and a wonderful place to sit and take in the view, but not exactly the impeccable mahogany of the surrounding huts. It still needed a lot of work not least several coats of paint. It wouldn't add to the safety of the hut but it would impress the council if Number 4 looked like a beach hut and not a motley collection of boards.
Following a visit to the small hardware shop on the edge of town to collect her colour charts, Beth had discovered that Ice Cream Sprinkle Pink was not only still available but there were several tins in stock, languishing on the top shelf, dusty, unused and out of reach. But was it the right colour to choose with Jemima’s high standards breathing down Beth’s neck? Would Ice Cream Sprinkle Pink save Lizzie’s hut?
Flicking through the pages, Beth examined the range of colours called ‘Hampton Delight’ which claimed the power to evoke a sense of elegance by the beach and long summer days spent by the rolling Atlantic Ocean. But Welby-on-the-Sea wasn’t by the Atlantic Ocean. And much as Beth loved it, she would never claim that either Welby or the hut were in the elegant class.
‘You really should go with your heart, you know.’
Jumping, Beth spun round to find Sarah standing in the doorway of Number 4, watching her turmoil.
‘Sorry, I should have knocked. But the door was open and you looked deep in thought.’
Beth smiled and shook her head, ‘It’s okay, come in. Is it that obvious what I’m thinking?’
She watched Sarah slide in through the half-open doorway and perch on top of the pile of boxes still littering one corner. Like Jemima, she was tall and incredibly slender. Too thin, decided Beth, seeing how her collarbones protruded from the neckline of her summer dress. Her hair was a tawny colour, immaculately cut and curling softly onto her shoulders, her eyes were blue and wide and her clothes expensive. But that’s where any resemblance with Jemima stopped. Sarah’s eyes were friendly, if slightly sad and her lips soft and smiling.
‘Are you here for the summer? I hadn’t seen you around before yesterday,’ asked Beth curiously. Jemima was there almost every day, wearing a different kaftan and floating around her decking, a bottle of champagne on ice.
‘We’ve been on holiday. The Maldives,’ explained Sarah. ‘I normally spend most of my summer at the hut. We all do.’
‘We?’
‘The abandoned wives of Craggy Heights!’ Her laugh held no amusement. ‘It’s an expensive place to live. Which means our husbands have to make lots of money. And to make lots of money you have to work hard, to the exclusion of anything else. Certainly your wife.’
She made no effort to hide her bitterness and Beth’s thoughts drifted to Jemima, sitting on the terrace next door. Alone.
‘So, the wives of Craggy Heights all do the same thing. We shop and lounge around and wait for the weekend, hoping our husbands might be able to spare a few hours to spend with us. We sit in our beach huts in our new clothes with no one but each other to admire them and wait for our moment.’
‘It sounds lonely,’ offered Beth tentatively, thinking she had no wish to be a Craggy Heights wife, regardless of how luxuriously they lived.
‘It is.’
Sarah forced a smile, somewhat brittle, and changed the subject.
‘But what about your colours? Please don’t tell me you’re going to be influenced by our Craggy Heights lack of imagination. What happened to Ice Cream Sprinkle Pink ?’
Beth’s eyes fell back to the catalogue and she turned the page back to Retro Seaside Shades.
‘Aunt Lizzie would approve,’ she said quietly. ‘She loved that colour.’
‘Then I think you’ve made your choice,’ smiled Sarah encouragingly, before looking around curiously. ‘Where are your helpers today? By yourself?’
Beth let her fingers trail over the patch of pink colour on the chart. It brought back so many memories.
‘Jake has returned to his own job today,’ she said, hoping she didn’t sound as disappointed as she felt. She had meant it when she said she could get on with the painting herself. But ever since arriving at the hut, she had felt unaccountably lonely without his presence. Could she be missing having him bark orders and smirk at her in that unbearably superior way?
‘Ah, yes. I think he’s doing some work for Monica. She was complaining that he hadn’t been around much last week. He’s something of a presence at Craggy Heights. A hard worker and easy on the eye.’
Beth supposed he was. She’d had to look away when he’d peeled off his t-shirt to reveal tanned and toned abs, her heart skipping a beat at his closeness.
‘Mmm.’
‘Have you known him long?’ pressed Sarah.
‘No. I met him last week. He’s staying at the same B&B as I am.’
‘Last week? Goodness me, you’ve only just met and he did all that work to help you?’ Sarah grinned, smoothing her skirt down over long, slim legs. ‘Love at first sight, eh?’
Beth stiffened. Why did everyone seem to be jumping to the same conclusion? First Sam and now Sarah. ‘What on earth do you mean? There’s no love between us, none at all! We don’t even like each other.’
Sarah’s eyebrows rose and she looked amused as she took in Beth’s flushed cheeks.
‘You don’t?’
‘No! Absolutely not. He thinks I… he thinks I neglected my aunt and I’m spoiled and inadequate and…’
The truth was, Beth wasn’t at all certain what Jake Balfour thought of her. ‘And I find him annoying. And irritating.’
Sarah’s grin grew.
‘Really? So you don’t like each other but he ditched his real job to spend his time helping you because….?’
Beth blinked. ‘Well, because… because…of Aunt Lizzie, I suppose. He knew her and wanted to help me save her hut.’
‘I see,’ answered Sarah sagely. ‘Of course. No attraction between the two of you then?’
‘Absolutely none. None at all. No!’
Sarah was grinning openly now. ‘If you say so, Beth. But in my opinion, builders don’t ditch paying clients to help restore ramshackle old beach huts just because they once met an old lady. It sounds to me like there’s a lot more going on than you’re admitting to. Are you quite sure there’s not a simmering holiday romance going on as well as a hut renovation?’