Chapter Fifty-Six
By Monday morning, the family routine had rushed back into its natural shape.
William stood at the counter, pouring fresh milk into a jug for the breakfast table. He was off shift, and for the first time in more than a week, the protective tension beneath his ribs had eased.
Ollie sat on the rug, steering his wooden tractor over a pile of cushions with his newly freed arm. Sophie’s coloured pens were spread across the floor beside him, while Jake read aloud from his red-car book, supplying enthusiastic engine noises between sentences.
“Dad,” Ethan said, coming in from the scullery with his phone in his hand. “Christopher texted about the youth-group beach barbecue tomorrow night. Simon and I are helping with the fire pits. Is it all right if I go?”
“Of course,” William said. “You’ve more than earned it.”
Mia looked up from her book. “Lydia said the harbour shop is getting a big delivery of strawberries tomorrow morning. Can we help her collect the baskets she ordered before the holiday crowds arrive?”
William’s gaze drifted towards the window.
“We’ll all go,” he said, smiling. “I think Lydia could use a few extra pairs of hands.”
? ? ?
On Tuesday morning, Fisherman’s Quay was bright beneath the summer sun, the last remnants of coastal mist burned away and the calm harbour water turned into a sheet of sparkling blue.
The local greengrocer’s delivery van stood beside the loading bay, and the sharp, sweet scent of strawberries filled the warm air.
Lydia stood near the timber loading area, checking her inventory clipboard as the merchant unloaded several wooden crates from the back of his van. She wore a practical linen dress, her dark hair pinned up loosely to escape the heat, her cheeks slightly flushed from the morning’s work.
“Morning, Lydia!” a familiar chorus rang out across the stone slipway.
She looked up, a brilliant, unforced smile breaking across her features as the Parker family marched down the quay.
William led the way, relaxed in a light cotton shirt and jeans, his expression clear as he locked his gaze onto hers.
Around him, the children moved with a happy energy that had been missing all week.
“We’re here for the heavy lifting,” William said, stopping beside the crates as a slow, dry smile touched his eyes. “Mia said you had a big supply coming in, and I thought we’d better secure the cargo before the holiday crowds arrive.”
“The supplier packed my order into more crates than I expected,” Lydia said with a soft laugh. “I was wondering how I’d carry everything back up Sandy Lane. These are for breakfasts at The Gables.”
“I can carry a basket, Lydia!” Ollie announced proudly, lifting his bare left arm.
Lydia leaned down, inspecting his arm with warm seriousness. “You’re qualified to carry one of the smallest punnets — with your good arm.”
Ollie beamed and took a tiny tray of berries. Jake proudly carried a single punnet in both hands. Mia and Sophie collected the lighter baskets, while William and Ethan took charge of the wooden crates, lifting them with practiced ease and carrying them towards the open boot of William’s car.
As the teenagers worked, William stepped closer to Lydia by the harbour wall, the comfortable space between them filling with a quiet, private awareness.
“The lane felt different yesterday,” Lydia murmured, her dark eyes lifting to his with calm happiness. “Lighter. As though the whole place could finally breathe again.”
William let out a low chuckle. “They made it back safely. Sally left firmly convinced the entire week was her personal masterpiece. She spent her final ten minutes telling me that introducing us was her brilliant idea from the very beginning.”
Lydia bit her lip, laughing softly as she looked out over the bobbing crabbing boats. “A total triumph, then. I suppose we’ll never hear the end of her matchmaking legacy.”
“Let her have the victory,” William said. “We know how it really happened.”
Ethan closed the car boot, and the children gathered around them, each carrying whatever they had been trusted with.
“Ready?” William asked.
Lydia looked at the waiting family and smiled. “Ready.”
Together, they started back up Sandy Lane with the strawberries.