Chapter 43
‘OK, so are we good?’
While he waited for his daughter’s response, Cobalt came racing up the beach towards him, dropping the piece of driftwood at his master’s feet.
He bent to pick it up. He couldn’t throw nearly so well with his left arm but his right hand was clamping the phone to his ear.
It was a windy day, sixteen knots gusting twenty according to the shipping forecast, and he was struggling to hear everything his daughter said.
As the silence stretched on, he threw the stick and Cobalt raced after it.
The beach was deserted apart from the two of them, but it was rare to find it otherwise.
The odd visiting yacht anchored in the bay, but not normally once summer was over.
The white sand, edged in marram grass and unbroken by rocks, stretched ahead of him, lifting like low clouds as the wind caught it.
‘Sweetheart?’ he said, wondering if the signal had gone.
‘I guess.’
It was all he was going to get. ‘Great. So can I talk to your brother?’
‘He’s out.’
Really out, or signalling for his sister to say he was out? Either way made no real difference; he could hardly call his daughter a liar.
Sand spattered over his boots as a panting Cobalt dropped the driftwood. Big brown eyes gazed up at him and drool dripped onto the sand.
‘When is he back?’
Another pause, then a heavy sigh. He suspected the girl was multi-tasking, messaging her mates on whatever platform was currently in vogue, probably about her loser of a dad.
Mind you, he was doing the same; the late-afternoon dog walk was usually the time he called his kids.
He threw the driftwood again, into the sea this time.
It was calm after a peaceful night but would move from slight to moderate later.
He listened to the shipping forecast religiously; he wasn’t entirely sure why, because he hadn’t been on a pleasure boat in years.
The sea unnerved him, if he was honest with himself, and he often wondered why he chose to live so close.
His dog, on the other hand, adored the beach and the water.
He’d raced straight in after the stick and now his big, fluffy head was bobbing in the gentle waves.
‘He doesn’t tell me anything,’ his daughter said after several seconds. ‘Later, maybe.’
‘OK, I’ll try him later. So, what else is new with you?’
Wrong question. Or rather, right question, wrong timing. He should have asked her that first. Now, she’d think he was only talking to her because her brother wasn’t around.
‘Not much.’
‘School OK?’
‘I guess.’
Jesus, it was like pulling teeth.
Give them time. His ex-wife’s words rang in his head. This is a lot for them to deal with.
‘Mum said we could come over and see you at half term.’
Just once, it would be nice if the woman checked with him first.
‘Not half term, sweetheart, I’ve got too much on. Maybe later. For a weekend?’
Another pause, while he watched Cobalt reach the driftwood and turn back towards shore. ‘Not worth it,’ she said. We can’t leave school till after matches on Saturday.’
He’d forgotten that. Bloody silly school. And stupidly expensive.
‘Christmas then. You can both come for a nice long stay at Christmas. Bring some friends. It’ll be fun.’
He felt a pang of guilt. Was he promising something he’d be unable to deliver?
‘Maybe,’ she said. ‘How’s Cobalt?’
His kids had been visiting when the puppy arrived. He sometimes thought the dog, rather than the dad, was what kept them coming back.
‘Is that your father?’ His ex-wife’s voice was shrill in his ear, even before she reached the other end of the line.
‘Mum wants to talk to you.’ His daughter sounded smug now, the way she did when she knew her brother was about to catch it. He took a deep breath. Here it comes …
She didn’t disappoint.