Winter Storms (4 page)

“Yes, I need extra hours to pay for childcare.”

“Don’t do that, bring Jack down to the shop after school, he can entertain himself while I serve, he’s getting good with the pricing gun.”

“I know, I spent ages combing bits of sticker out of his hair the last time you babysat. Anyway, what are you having?”

“Tea, please and a slice of chocolate cake.”

“Excellent choice, back in a few minutes.”

Linda snapped her pad shut and Carly watched her stride to the next table. Jack was a lovely boy, but the pregnancy had stopped Linda from going to university as she’d planned. Instead, she held down three café jobs and mended last year’s jumpers. There was no doubt that she loved him, but her friend often looked weary.

Would she ever have a child herself? She shook her head. It was unlikely; she’d never felt the same way about anyone else that she had for Daniel and she couldn’t settle for less. When she heard about his engagement, she had shut the shop and retreated to bed, her muscles aching as if she had flu.

“Here you go,” Linda said, putting a tray on the table and starting to unload the tea set. “I don’t want to scare you away, but Daniel’s just walked in. Shall I wrap your cake and pour the tea into a take-away beaker?”

Carly took a deep breath. “No, that’s all right, I can’t keep avoiding him, Haven Bay isn’t that big.”

Looking around, she flinched. He stood in the doorway staring at her, unsmiling. Would he turn and leave? She couldn’t blame him if he did, she’d been horrible to him. A lump rose in her throat and she swallowed, glancing down at the table. They’d been best friends and lovers, but the air between them crackled only with anger now. Could it ever go back to the way it used to be?

He strode toward her, winter boots thudding on the floorboards and she lowered her head, skin prickling as if every part of her was responding to his presence.

“I know you saw me arrive,” he said, pulling a chair out and sitting down, stretching long legs under the small round table. “I didn’t know you still came to the sailing club.”

“I’m here quite often,” she said. Had he been hoping she wouldn’t be here?

“How is the fundraising going?”

“We’ve got £400,000, so just another half a million to go.”

“I could help.”

“We can manage.” Then she remembered her decision to be civil. Daniel was a celebrity, if he came to the gala, they could invite the press and spread the word about the appeal.

“We do need someone to open the event and make a speech about the importance of the lifeboats. Could you do that?” she said.

He hesitated and she knew he was also thinking about the publicity. Was it right to sell him as a means to make money? But Daniel put very little into Haven Bay; there were no schools named after him or teaching scholarships set up for the children. Haven Bay volunteers had trained and supported him, and it was time for him to give something back.

“I could, but it’s not widely known that I’m here,” he said. “Shane, who’s now the England coach, doesn’t know.”

“Why would that be a problem? It’s the Christmas holiday.”

“I took a racing boat from the shed to get here, without telling anyone.”

“Why did you do that?”

“I had to get away, personal reasons.” His mouth shut tight.

It was because of his fiancée leaving him, he must have loved Imogen to react so drastically; all this time she’d been comforting herself with silly thoughts about what they once had. Of course he loved Imogen, he asked her to marry him.

To hide her expression, she bent over her tea, it was time to forget Daniel and think about the gala, because if that failed, she’d humiliate herself in front of everyone in Haven Bay. Getting a sportsman like him to open it would increase publicity and visitors, but he was right about the dinghy theft being a problem. Racing dinghies were worth a fortune and shouldn’t be left tied to the jetty during the winter. If his sponsors found out, he’d be in serious trouble and she didn’t want that to happen.

“Why don’t you just return it?” she said.

“The mast was damaged on the way here; I barely got into the harbour. There’s no way it would get back to Padstow.”

“I saw you.” She remembered. “The waves were crashing against your boat, you were lucky not to capsize; the lifeboat was out rescuing a fishing trawler. So dangerous, Daniel. Are you trying to kill yourself or something?”

“I don’t think so.” He gazed at her, making her jump.

Turning her head away, she cleared her throat, hands sweating. She mustn’t react to him in that way; Daniel dated models and TV presenters, not shop girls. But he reached out and took her hand, curling his fingers tight around hers.

“I’ve missed you,” he said.

His flesh was warm and skin calloused from holding sailing ropes. Taking a deep breath, she drew her hand back and rested it on her lap under the table, still tingling from his touch. He must be on the rebound from Imogen, depressed and assuming she’d comfort him — any port in a storm. Well Daniel was going to get a nasty shock; she wasn’t stupid enough to get involved with him again, her heart couldn’t take another break up.

She sat up straight. “The children’s sailing starts at one o’clock for the Winter Gala, you’ll need to supervise the last check point and be on hand in case of any disasters. Russell has offered the use of his boat to view from.”

“I haven’t seen him for ages.”

Carly stared at her hands; it was her fault that Daniel didn’t have much contact with his childhood friends any longer. It was time for them both to sort out their issues; it wasn’t fair to make it difficult for him to see his family.

“Russell’s doing well,” she said. “Set up a sports company. He’s got a stall at the gala as well, which he says is going to sell lifejackets and wetsuits in support of the appeal, but I suspect there will be a few advertising boards and leaflets appearing as well.”

Daniel laughed. “He always was very determined. I’ve missed everyone here, I feel like the character in that myth who vanished at sea, then returned to find everything different. When I thought of home, I pictured it the same as when I went away, but even Haven Bay changes. There are new smart coffee shops and upmarket restaurants.”

She nodded, her cheeks reddening. He wasn’t trying to make her feel guilty, but it was uncomfortable to hear him talk like this.

“You’ll be able to catch up with people at the gala,” she said, “when you’re not stuck on a boat supervising the children’s race, anyway.”

“I’m looking forward to it, I like encouraging young sailors. Could you join us on the boat? Or will you be too busy?”

Carly drew her breath sharply between her teeth. She’d assumed the Haven Bay gossip mongers had told Daniel that she didn’t go out on the water any longer. Well, she wasn’t going to tell him now, there was a limit to how pathetic she wanted to look in front of him.

“It’ll be a busy day,” she said, “and if things go wrong, I’ll get the blame.”

“Did you plan all this?” He sounded surprised.

“It was the only way I could think of to raise enough cash. Haven Bay’s so popular with tourists in summer, I thought I’d try and pull a few visitors in for the winter season.”

“You used to hate tourists.”

“I run a shop and without the summer trade, I’d be bankrupt. I like tourists now.” She smiled. “Bring them all down here! I’ve done my bit toward keeping them safe.”

“So it’s only their money you want?” He grinned.

“Haven Bay would have been a ghost town many years ago without our visitors. In winter, the trawlers go out into the Atlantic to bring back mackerel and prawns, and in the summer, we sell ice-creams, fishing trips, and dodgy T-shirts with, ‘I Love Haven Bay,’ across the front, a number of which I am personally responsible for.”

“I couldn’t imagine your shop selling anything so tacky.”

“Have you seen it then?”

“When I first arrived, though I didn’t realise it was yours then; a smart place.”

“I did a retail course at college and noticed there was a gap in the market for good quality gifts and souvenirs. We’re attracting a lot of young, well-off families now, who come here to surf. Though I also sell buckets shaped like castles and large shells in summer, which certainly never came off the beach here.”

“Do you like running it?”

She hesitated. “I do. Originally it was a means to support myself, but I enjoy chatting to people, especially as I live alone.”

“Do you?”

“Who else did you expect me to live with?”

He looked uncomfortable. “I didn’t know if you had a boyfriend, Ali wasn’t sure. She said you were quite private.”

“I haven’t got one.” She toyed with her cake fork. “Not at the moment.”

“So you’ve had relationships?”

She looked up. “Yes, Daniel, I’ve slept with other men.”

He reddened and shrugged. “Of course you would, you’re beautiful, I expect you have lots of offers.”

“Not so many, I also walk with a severe limp and have a reputation for being difficult. A few brave souls tried, but there’s no one special. I don’t mind though, I’m accepted in Haven Bay now. Once my mother left, people started being much kinder, mostly due to Mick. He took responsibility for helping me, he’s like the father I never had.”

“I’m glad.” He stared at the salt and pepper shakers. “I was worried about you when I left, if I’d known you were struggling for money, I’d have helped.”

“I don’t do hand outs; a year of disability allowance was enough for me. Once I was well enough to work, that’s what I did; it gave me pride and confidence. My mother never had a job and I wasn’t ending up like her.”

She looked at his sweater, dark blue cashmere with a designer logo. What did he know of struggling? Swallowing the last mouthful of her tea, she reached for her cane. “I’m dropping in at the lifeboat station on my way home, would you like to come? See what we’re raising money for?”

“I should, if I’m going to talk about it. I doubt it’s the same crew I used to know.”

“So you’re thinking of opening the gala then?”

“I might, it depends on if I can get the dinghy sorted and returned to Padstow. I’ll ring Shane tonight and let him know the boat’s safe. At least, partly safe.” He smiled. “I’ll have to pay for the mast.”

“You could borrow a boat trailer from your uncle and drive it back.”

“Good idea; will you come with me?”

He spoke so fast, she jerked back.

“Come on, Carly,” he said, “it’s a heavy boat, I might need a hand.”

“I doubt I’ll be much use.”

But if she helped with the dinghy, he might agree to open the fête, which would attract more visitors. Duncan would love to see her booted off the fundraising committee if the day failed.

“All right, but I’m not lifting that dinghy, you’ll have to do the dirty work yourself,” she said.

“Says a girl who used to be permanently covered in oil and mud.”

Her smiled faded. Why did everything have to come back to the past? To the way she used to be. Soon he would ask if she still sailed and when she explained, he wouldn’t understand, to Daniel sailing was as natural as walking. She pushed her chair back and reached for her bags.

“Don’t you want your cake?” he said.

“I’m not hungry, you have it.”

“We can share.” Scooping up a forkful, he held it out to her and she hastily took hold of the handle. Having him feed her would be too intimate. The cake was rich and moist in her mouth and she reached for the dregs of her tea to wash it down.

“Right,” she said, lifting her bags.

“Let me carry those, if you want me to, that is.”

She smiled and held them out; it would be easier to walk without them.

• • •

Daniel looked at the lifeboat station sitting beside the beach. It had been rebuilt since he was last here, the wooden shed replaced by smart brickwork and a long ramp, which ran directly down to the sea. Shells crunched under his boots and he breathed in the familiar scent of salty sea breeze and decomposing seaweed. An orange inshore boat bobbed beside the slope, a dry suit flung over one seat, it was a measure of how important the lifeboats were viewed here that no one had stolen it.

“Looks good,” he said, over his shoulder to Carly.

She nodded, pulling her stick out of the sand as she walked along the beach. He stepped over to help, but before he reached her, a man appeared from behind the building and took her arm. Daniel drew a sharp breath, before narrowing his eyes; it was Liam. When he left Haven Bay, Liam had been a spot covered youth with a permanent scowl who, Daniel had privately believed, would get no further then jail. He must be about eighteen now, a foot taller than his sister with hair dyed fashionably yellow at the tips.

“Liam,” Daniel said, holding out his hand.

Carly’s brother ignored it and from the expression in his eyes, he could tell Liam was as eager to forgive him as she’d been. The Roberts family had a strong line of stubbornness, but for her sake, he’d make an effort.

“What are you doing now, Liam?” he said.

“Bit here and there,” he answered.

“He’s starting work on the fishing trawlers, aren’t you?” Carly said. “And volunteers in the office at the lifeboat station.”

“I joined the Padstow life crew,” Daniel said. “I don’t go out so often now though.”

“Busy training?” she said.

He nodded, not wanting to explain that every time they plucked a casualty from the seas, he imagined it was her, hair flowing wet behind her, face white and unmoving. It made him reckless, risking everything to save the victim and you couldn’t have that in a team; it put other people’s lives at risk.

The lifeboat station door opened and a man glanced out at them, a blue tattoo down one cheek and bulging arms stretching the thin t-short he wore. Daniel glanced at his own thick jumper and shook his head slightly.

“Carly, love!” Stepping out, the man hugged her tight. “What good news do you have for us today?”

Laughing, she detangled herself. “Daniel, this is Mick, coxswain of the lifeboat crew.” She turned to the tattooed man. “I’ve come to add an extra £400 to the pot, raised by our Christmas singers.”