Epilogue
ONE MONTH LATER
‘Has Ed still not said anything to you about what tonight’s all about?
’ Kat asked Harry as they strolled hand in hand on the short walk from their flat towards Ed and Matt’s cottage.
Along with every other member of the family, they’d received the invitation to a barbeque a couple of weeks previously, but Ed hadn’t said anything other than he thought it’d be nice to get everyone together.
‘Not a word. Rick and Liam haven’t got a clue either.’ Harry shook his head. ‘Knowing Ed, he’s just looking for an excuse to throw a party.’
Kat laughed. ‘Yeah, that’s probably all it is. And knowing him he’ll be expecting you to do all the cooking.’
‘No chance,’ Harry replied. ‘When it comes to manning the barbeque there’s a distinct pecking order in the Penrose family and Dad and Uncle Rick aren’t going to let any of us near it.’
‘That’s fine with me,’ Kat said as she snuggled into his side.
‘It means I get to spend more time with you.’ They already spent every moment Harry wasn’t working in the restaurant together and it still never seemed enough to Kat.
Being with him was the sweetest addiction and she already knew she would crave him for the rest of her life.
She stopped Harry at the top of the path. ‘Are you sure you want to do this in front of everyone?’
Harry raised a hand and brushed a stray lock of hair from her cheek. ‘I am if you are. It’s been such a team effort to get to this point, I feel like we should share the moment with them regardless of what the decision is.’
Russ and Adam had come back within twenty-four hours and both had agreed to come on board.
Harry and Kat had bitten the bullet and put an offer in on the shop which the Nicholsons had accepted.
The next step had been a meeting with the manager of the Cornish Bank over in Port Petroc, where Harry and Kat had given her a shortened version of their presentation, together with a full copy of the proposal and funding pledges from both Russ and Adam which would cover a hefty deposit towards the asking price.
They’d received a letter from the bank this morning and had decided to wait until tonight to open it.
‘It’s going to be good news,’ Kat said, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt. Even if it wasn’t the answer they were hoping for, there were plenty of other lenders around they could approach. Kat wasn’t about to give up if they tripped at the first hurdle.
Harry reached for her hand. ‘Let’s get inside and find out.’
The little patio behind the cottage was already full and people had spilled out on to the grass beyond it.
As Harry had predicted, his dad and his uncle had taken up station behind the large gas barbeque and were chatting and laughing, each wielding a beer in one hand and a pair of tongs in the other.
Harry’s mum and aunt were busy in the kitchen while Ed and Matt were circulating, offering beers and wine.
‘I thought you’d got lost!’ Ed cried when he spotted them.
He hurried over clutching a bucket full of ice and bottles of beer.
‘Here, hold this a minute,’ he said, thrusting the bucket at Harry, who had no choice other than to take it.
With a wicked grin, Ed turned to Kat and slipped an arm around her waist. ‘How’s my favourite Kitty-Kat?
’ he asked as he pressed a kiss to her cheek.
‘Still determined to choose the worst twin, I take it?’
‘Behave yourself,’ Kat said, returning his kiss with a laugh.
‘Oh, all right then!’ Ed dropped his arm and retrieved the bucket from Harry then offered him one of the beers. ‘Get yourself on the right side of that, bro, we’ve got some celebrating to do.’
‘Oh, have we now?’ Harry asked him as he twisted the cap off the top of the bottle. ‘You going to let me in on what all this is about then?’
‘All in good time,’ Ed said in a teasing voice as he tapped the side of his nose. ‘Right, I’ll be back with a glass of something cold and fizzy for you in a sec, Kitty, my love.’
Ed was as good as his word, but he flitted off again moments later before either of them had a chance to quiz him on his mysterious secret, so they wandered over to where Liam and Issy were chatting to Chloe.
Matt came over with a beer in one hand and a bottle of prosecco in the other.
‘Who’s that for?’ his sister asked him, nodding at the bottle.
‘You’re bound to need a refill any minute, so I thought I’d save myself a trip back to the kitchen,’ Matt told her with a perfectly straight face.
Kat thought Chloe might be offended but she merely raised a hand and patted his cheek. ‘You really are the best brother,’ she said in a fond voice.
‘Any idea what Ed’s big news is?’ Harry asked Matt.
Matt shook his head. ‘Nope, I’m as much in the dark as everyone else.’
Chloe took Kat’s hand and led her to one side. ‘She’s back then?’
Kat nodded. ‘Last week apparently.’
Her father had broken the news of Jen’s return with a brief text earlier that morning, which Kat hadn’t responded to.
He’d at least seen enough sense to come home after his conversation with Kat, and as far as she was aware, Debbie was the only one outside her immediate circle who knew the truth of what had happened that day.
The whole village knew Jen had done a bunk, of course, that wasn’t the kind of gossip that could be avoided.
But most people thought poor Gavin had borne the news with his usual stoicism.
Kat and Chloe exchanged a knowing look and Kat raised her Prosecco towards her best friend. ‘Not my problem.’
‘Not your problem,’ Chloe echoed and they clinked glasses and both took a big drink.
A cheer of welcome went up behind them and they turned to see Rick and Anya walking down the path. Kat moved back to stand beside Harry. ‘All right?’ he asked her.
She smiled up at him. ‘Everything’s perfect.’ She had all the family she would ever need right here in this garden. They might not be her flesh and blood, but they were there for her when it mattered and that was how family was supposed to be.
Harry leaned down and pecked a kiss on her lips. ‘Now they’ve arrived, perhaps we might find out what this party’s in aid of.’
His prediction proved correct. As soon as Rick and Anya had a drink in hand, Ed clambered up on to one of the patio chairs and raised his hands above his head. ‘A little quiet, please!’
Harry took Kat’s hand and led her closer. She could feel the tension in him through his grip and she hoped whatever Ed was about to say wasn’t another one of his stupid stunts.
Ed smiled down at them. ‘First off, I want to thank everyone for coming here tonight.’
‘Just get on with it, son,’ Jago called, waving his cooking tongs towards Ed. ‘You’ve had us all on tenterhooks for a fortnight!’
‘Sorry about that. And I really do want to take a moment to thank you all. I know I’ve not made life easy for anyone over the past year or so.
Most especially not for myself. I promise I didn’t mean to screw up quite as often as I did…
’ He raised his hands in a shrug and his smile turned impish.
‘But trouble just seems to have a habit of finding me.’
‘You’re not kidding!’ Liam said and they all laughed, including Ed.
‘Anyway,’ Ed continued. ‘I’ve decided it’s probably best for everyone if you see a little bit less of me for a while and that’s why I’m pleased to announce that I’ve been accepted as a crew member on a sailing boat that conducts marine conservation trips.
I’ve signed up for six months, with an option to extend at the end of my contract if things go well. ’
A barrage of questions flew from all directions.
‘When are you going?’
‘What about your studies?’
‘Who are you going with?’ The last question was from Jago, who already had his phone out as if he was ready to look up whoever it was.
‘Slow down, slow down!’ Ed pleaded, raising his hands once more. ‘I’m going in a couple of weeks. And you don’t need to worry about my PhD, Mum, I’ve already submitted a draft of my dissertation and my tutor is happy for me to make any changes while I’m away.’
He turned to look at his father. ‘I was planning to come and see you and Mum separately tomorrow night and talk everything through, I just wanted everyone to be here so I could share the news.’
Jago tucked his phone away and approached Ed, who jumped off the chair and gave his father a massive hug. ‘I’m proud of you, son,’ Kat heard Jago say as he patted Ed on the back.
Harry’s hand was gripping hers and she looked up at him. ‘Did you know he was planning this?’
Harry shook his head. ‘No. But it explains a few things.’
Kat couldn’t tell if that was good or bad, but Harry seemed happy enough as he grinned at Ed and flung his arms around him as soon as he came over. ‘You’re a dark horse!’
Ed pulled back with a grin. ‘Sorry, I didn’t want to say anything until I knew it was all squared away.
’ His expression grew serious. ‘This is why I couldn’t work with you on the cookery school plan, bro, because I’d already applied.
I want you to know how much it meant to me, though, that you asked me to do it.
’ He turned to look at Kat and his sunny smile appeared again.
‘Besides, I think I did you a big favour when I turned you down, because you’ve got a much better partner. ’
Harry held out his hand to Kat and when she took it he pulled her in close to his side. ‘Yes, I certainly have.’ He raised his eyebrows at her. ‘You ready to find out?’
‘Find out what?’ Ed’s eyes were agog.
‘We got a letter from the bank today about the mortgage,’ Harry told him as he reached inside his jacket pocket.
‘And you haven’t opened it yet? Bloody hell! Hey, everyone!’ Ed turned and raised his hands. ‘Harry and Kat have got a letter from the bank!’
All of a sudden they were the centre of attention and Kat’s heart was hammering a mile a minute. She swallowed hard as Harry handed her the envelope then bent down to whisper in her ear. ‘I believe in us, Kitty.’
Just like that, she couldn’t wait to find out. Couldn’t wait to know if it was time to take the next step on their journey together. She ripped the envelope open, tearing the corner of the letter in the process. Her eyes roamed over the closely typed words.
Dear Mr Penrose and Ms Bailey,
Cornish Bank is delighted to extend an offer of…
The words swam in front of her as tears filled her eyes. She lowered the letter and looked up at Harry. ‘It’s a yes,’ she managed to choke out.
A huge cheer went up around them as Harry whooped and picked her up in his arms. ‘You did it, Kitty,’ he said, showering her face with kisses. ‘You only bloody did it.’
‘We did it,’ she corrected as she cupped his face and pressed her lips to his.
He pulled back and smiled down at her, eyes shining with emotion. ‘Ready to start making our dreams come true?’
‘Every day,’ she replied. ‘For the rest of our lives.’