Ottercombe Bay – Part Four Read online

  An hour later she was serving chocolate milkshakes and iced frappés, which were proving to be popular now Ottercombe Bay was experiencing the calm after the storm. The sun was out and Old Man Burgess had to keep sipping iced water to stop overheating.

  ‘Hiya,’ said Max, striding in, wrapping his arms around Daisy’s waist and placing a kiss firmly on her cheek making her insides tingle. ‘You smell gorgeous,’ he added letting her go. That was the reassurance she had needed, an open show of affection told her last night wasn’t a one off created by the drama of the situation.

  ‘Thanks, it’s just body spray but anyway …’ She was jabbering like a smitten teenager; she needed to pull herself together. ‘Here,’ she reached behind the bar and handed Max her old crash helmet. ‘I’ve given it a clean but you might want to have a go too.’

  ‘Brilliant, thanks,’ said Max, kissing her again.

  ‘Who are you dressing up as?’

  ‘Ahh, you’ll see,’ he said tapping his nose.

  ‘My aunt’s back next Thursday, and I’m thinking of doing her a welcome home tea if you wanted to come.’ She watched him hopefully.

  A smile spread across his face. ‘That would be great, but I’m hoping to see a lot more of you before then.’ He pulled her into his arms and gave her a tantalisingly brief kiss.

  That was more like it, she thought.

  Over the next week or so they did see a lot more of each other, with Max turning up after his shift at the swimming pool to help finish off at Locos and walk Daisy home.

  ‘I can’t believe Aunt Coral’s back tomorrow. Twenty-two days has gone quickly, loads has happened,’ said Daisy, squeezing Max’s hand. She wasn’t quite sure how she’d get Aunt Coral up to speed without making her hyperventilate. She’d definitely have to brush over the lifeboat drama.

  ‘I can give you a hand getting things ready if you like.’

  Daisy sniggered at the thought of them being all domesticated and making cucumber sandwiches together. ‘You don’t have to.’

  ‘No, I want to,’ said Max. ‘If it’s a chance to be with you then I’d even make fairy cakes.’

  Daisy grinned, her heart was running away with itself and she had no way of stopping it, and perhaps she didn’t want to. They were enjoying each other’s company and with only days left in the bay she wanted to make the most of it. Her imminent departure was the elephant in the room between her and Max – neither of them wanted to spoil their time together by bringing it up.

  It was Thursday afternoon and a production line of sandwiches was in full force in the kitchen when there was a flurry of car horns outside. Daisy wiped her hands on a tea towel and went to investigate with Tamsyn hot on her heels. As she gave the porch door a shove she realised she had been mistaken about the car horns. Outside the cottage was a smug-looking Max sat on her old motorbike. Only it no longer looked old and knackered it looked old and shiny.

  Max revved the engine. ‘You want to take her for a spin?’ he asked, handing her the crash helmet.

  ‘You fixed it?’

  Max went all modest. ‘With some help from Jason and the internet. Sorry it took forever, we struggled to get some of the parts.’

  ‘This is amazing. You’re amazing.’ She reached up and gave him a long lingering kiss. ‘Thanks, Max. This is brilliant.’

  ‘I thought you might be needing it soon.’ He lowered his eyes.

  ‘I had better see how she goes,’ said Daisy, avoiding the insinuation in his voice by taking the helmet and getting on the bike.

  Being back on the bike was such a joyous feeling. Daisy had always preferred bikes to cars; the freedom, the connection with the vehicle and the speed had had her hooked from an early age. She turned back into Trow Lane and stopped the bike; the sun shone on Sea Mist Cottage making even it look happier somehow. She was buzzing, but that was more to do with how pleased she was about Max doing this for her. All the times she’d fallen out with him he must have been returning to this secret project and it made her feel humble and extremely grateful.

  After more kisses of thanks she got back to work on the buffet food whilst Jason and Max puzzled over how to put up the gazebo Daisy had borrowed. Daisy had only invited a few people to start off with but now it seemed over twenty people would be descending on the tiny cottage.

  ‘Ham and chicken for the carnivores, cheese and egg mayo for the veggies,’ said Daisy, checking her list. ‘How are the veggie fillings coming along?’ she asked Tamsyn.

  ‘Cheese are all done and the eggs are in my pocket warming up.’

  Daisy’s eyebrow twitched. She should have known better than to ask by now but sometimes she couldn’t help herself. ‘You know we need to boil the eggs not just warm them up, right?’

  Tamsyn giggled. ‘Of course I do. But if you put an egg straight from the fridge into boiling water it’ll crack, if I warm them in my pocket first they don’t.’

  Daisy had to admit for once Tamsyn was talking sense. ‘Okay great. Thanks for all your help today, Tamsyn, you’re a star.’

  ‘I love working with you,’ said Tamsyn. ‘And it’s nice to see you and Max together.’

  ‘It’s early days,’ said Daisy, instinctively glancing out of the window at Max wrestling with a green canopy. ‘I’m not sure what happens after South America.’

  ‘I think you two will be fine,’ said Tamsyn, with a knowing look.

  Daisy went out to give Max a hand as a confident-looking Jason came inside. He tapped Tamsyn on the shoulder and she spun around. He wiped a smear of butter off her rose-tinted cheek and she froze at his touch as a million butterflies took flight in her stomach.

  ‘Are you happy, Tamsyn?’

  ‘Yes,’ she said, without hesitation.

  ‘Sure?’ His voice was back to his usual hesitant tone.

  Instead of answering she reached up and kissed him hard on the lips. Their teeth bumped uncomfortably and at the same time she felt something pop near her tummy and for a second she thought the millions of butterflies were escaping, but when the wetness seeped through her pants she remembered the eggs. This never happens in films, she thought.

  When the taxi pulled up outside there was a flurry of activity in the small cottage as everyone hid and there was an abundance of shushing from Jason. Daisy hung on to Bug who was squirming uncontrollably as the taxi receded and the footsteps approached. They could hear lots of girly giggling when the key went in the lock and the door swung open. Daisy waited a moment and gave the signal. Everyone leaped from their hiding places in a chorus of ‘Surprise!’ to find Aunt Coral in Pasco’s arms and them both looking red faced and shocked. Thankfully Pasco didn’t drop her in alarm.

  ‘Cock-a-doodle-doo,’ said Daisy before turning to Max and whispering, ‘Does this mean what I think it means?’

  ‘Depends on what you’re thinking and right now I have some shocking images in my head that I’m never going to be able to erase,’ said Max.

  ‘Welcome home,’ said Daisy, a little belatedly. Aunt Coral wrapped her in a hug and Bug wrapped himself round her ankles.

  ‘Hiya Dad,’ said Max, and Pasco pulled him into a manly embrace. ‘You look … tanned.’

  ‘Can’t beat the Caribbean for sunshine, son,’ said Pasco, slinking a protective arm around Aunt Coral’s shoulders.

  Daisy knew her eyebrows were unnaturally high on her forehead but it was difficult to act nonchalant when you were confronted with something like this. ‘I take it you both had a good time?’ Daisy felt awkward; it was like she was asking them directly if they’d slept together. As if sensing her discomfort Max put an arm around her.

  ‘The best,’ said Aunt Coral, giving Pasco a lovelorn look. ‘But it’s nice to be home. More than anything I’m thrilled to see you’re still here.’

  ‘For a bit longer,’ said Daisy. She felt Max’s arm squeeze her just a fraction tighter.

  Aunt Coral disappeared into the throng for a while and Daisy busied herself with making sure everyone had a drink and sn
atching kisses from Max at every opportunity.

  ‘You know I’m going to miss you so much while you’re away,’ said Max, too many beers had likely loosened his tongue.

  ‘I’ll miss you too,’ said Daisy. ‘But I can’t not go.’ The guilt weighed heavy on her that she was about to abandon him and their fledgling affair.

  Max was already nodding. ‘I know and I agree. You have to go. I’ll still be here. Assuming Emma Watson doesn’t visit in which case I can’t guarantee it.’ He gave a cheeky shrug.

  ‘I understand,’ said Daisy, and they held each other’s gaze.

  The plan had always been to put Locos up for sale, which would give her the cash to go wherever she wanted for as long as she pleased, but was that still the right thing to do?

  ‘Daisy, love, come here,’ said Aunt Coral, pulling Daisy into a bear hug breaking the intensity of the moment with Max. ‘I have missed you so much.’ Aunt Coral wiped away a tear. ‘I’m truly sorry about everything that happened before—’

  Daisy stopped her. ‘It’s all forgotten. Let’s just look forward,’ said Daisy, returning the hug. She looked over her aunt’s shoulder at Pasco and Max chatting companionably. ‘You and Pasco?’

  ‘It’s a long story,’ said Aunt Coral, flushing wildly. ‘Where’s my Bugsy?’ she said, as Bug danced around her ankles desperate for attention.

  ‘I’ll let it go for now but when everyone’s gone I want to know more,’ said Daisy, although she didn’t want too many details, what she’d seen when they walked in the door had been quite graphic enough. ‘Oh and look at this album I found,’ said Daisy, handing her aunt the old photograph album.

  ‘Oh, I say,’ said Aunt Coral, putting down her wine glass and taking the album from her.

  ‘They’re mainly of me as a baby.’ Daisy turned to the page with the picture of her in a high chair. ‘Is this my mother’s handwriting?’ She pointed to the jotted note underneath.

  ‘Yes, that’s Sandy’s writing,’ said Aunt Coral, peering closer to read the words. She chuckled. ‘I’d forgotten she used to call you two spoons.’ She tapped the photo. ‘You couldn’t feed yourself but you insisted on having a spoon in each hand.’

  Daisy’s brow furrowed. Something had popped into her head and it was all starting to fit together.

  ‘Was two spoons like a nickname?’ asked Daisy.

  ‘Yes, exactly, she used to say—’ But Daisy didn’t hear the rest, she was already pushing her way through the hall to find Tamsyn who was locked in an embrace with Jason. Daisy couldn’t wait for her to come up for air. She tapped her insistently on the shoulder until she broke free.

  ‘Tamsyn, do you remember at the Donkey Sanctuary when you tried to connect with me spiritually and find out something I didn’t know?’ The words tumbled out in a rush.

  Tamsyn ran her fingers over her swollen lips. ‘Yeah, I was rubbish.’

  ‘No, you weren’t. Could the message you got that day have been two spoons rather than teaspoons?’ asked Daisy, holding her breath. This was the connection she’d been trying to make. The message had been two spoons, her mother’s nickname for her. Tamsyn was psychic after all.

  Tamsyn pondered this for a moment. ‘No, absolutely not. It was definitely teaspoons.’ She turned away before Daisy could protest and resumed snogging Jason.

  Daisy was about to have another try when she felt Max’s arms snake around her middle and pull her away. ‘You all right?’ he asked, his face full of concern. She was about to explain but in that moment she realised it didn’t matter. Her mother would always be with her in her heart, and it turned out there was space for more than just her. Everything was slotting into place and at last she felt at peace and happy as she sank into Max’s kiss.

  Chapter Eleven

  Carnival day in Ottercombe Bay was always a big event and Devon had warmed up in celebration. Everything looked brighter. All the holidaymakers that were staying anywhere nearby came to see the spectacle and most of the people from town were either in the procession itself, organising it, or running a business that would make money because of it. As Locos wasn’t on the procession route, Daisy decided her best bet was to be part of the carnival.

  Daisy was sitting on the wall at the recreation ground watching the floats trundle in whilst Old Man Burgess directed them to be judged ahead of the procession. A vampire float was almost grounded on the speed hump and the onboard black-cloaked individuals looked momentarily pale. She heard someone call her name and turned to see a large green bottle shuffling clumsily towards her.

  ‘Tams?’ Daisy squinted at her friend. She could see quite clearly and didn’t need to squint but she couldn’t believe her eyes. Tamsyn was dressed as a bottle of gin. Her attention was drawn by the noise of shouty men announcing the arrival of the inshore lifeboat pulled by a large tractor and followed by a mass of lifeboat crew all looking rather like they may have been to the pub first.

  Daisy wasn’t good at making long-term decisions but for now she’d decided she wasn’t going to put Locos up for sale. She had invested so much in the business and it was one of the few things in her life she was proud of. She had a great team she could trust to keep it afloat while she was away and she had enough money for now.

  Tamsyn had been thrilled when Daisy had told her she wanted her to step in as Locos’ manager and she’d been quick to get sashes printed with the bar’s logo on the front and back for publicity at the carnival. Daisy didn’t argue even though she didn’t want to wear the bright green sash because it made her feel like a beauty pageant contestant.

  After a lot of hanging about the procession finally got underway. It was a long time since Daisy had been in the carnival and hearing the music and the crowd made her realise how much she enjoyed it. Excited children lined the streets waving flags and balloons as bystanders merrily threw their hard-earned pennies into the collecting buckets.

  At the end of the procession spirits were running high, especially amongst the firemen who appeared to be giving free lifts to anyone who fancied one and a few people who definitely didn’t. Daisy spotted Max sauntering over and her heart leapt at the sight of him. In her mind she could easily reduce him to a slow-motion image and apply advert- style music over the top. Yes, he was rough around the edges but that was part of his charm, along with his wayward hair and ridiculously long eyelashes. He approached and she remembered she was wearing the bright green sash and started to wrestle to get it off. As Max neared her she gave the sash one last tug pulling it sharply over her head.

  Despite the noise levels of the jolly folk surrounding her she heard the tiny snapping sound. In that split-second she watched her locket sail through the air on a direct trajectory towards the nearest drain. Daisy fumbled forward in an attempt to stop it but it was dropping towards the grille and the murky depths beneath at a rate of knots.

  Her stomach lurched at the thought of losing her beloved locket again but a large hand intercepted the falling jewellery and saved it just inches from impending doom. She looked up to see a grinning Max clutching the locket and its broken chain.

  ‘If you didn’t want it any more, you only had to say.’ He had a twinkle of mischief in his eyes or it could have been beer.

  Daisy’s hand was already on her chest covering the space where her locket always sat. ‘I couldn’t bear to lose it again. It means everything to me.’

  Max guided her away from the road and the masses of people. ‘It means a lot to both of us. In a funny way it brought us together. I mean, not a classic love story, but it’s our story.’ Max handed the locket back to Daisy and she carefully put it in her pocket.

  ‘It is,’ she said, linking hands with Max and relishing the familiar zing at the contact. He was in his lifeboat crew uniform, and despite the bright yellow waders there was something sexy about it – most likely the toned body hidden underneath.

  Daisy looked about taking in the bedlam around her; Tamsyn was lying on the grass as Jason tried manfully to pull her free from the gin b
ottle costume whilst Old Man Burgess gave instructions. Over the noise she heard a bark she recognised and started to panic. She had left Bug with food and water locked up safely at the cottage – or so she hoped. She scanned the crowd frantically at ankle level for the small black dog. Through the throng she saw her aunt and Pasco approaching with Bug at their heels.

  ‘How did it go with the solicitor?’ asked Aunt Coral looking tense.

  ‘Good. Everything has now been signed over to me. I’ve transferred the money I owe to your bank account plus a little interest. My year in Ottercombe Bay is at an end.’ This was something else Daisy was mightily proud of. It had been an eventful year and she had learned so much. Now it was time to reap the rewards.

  Aunt Coral’s face drained of colour. ‘What happens now?’

  ‘Ah, about that,’ said Daisy, with a wary glance at Max. ‘I’m leaving on Tuesday.’

  Aunt Coral’s face fell and she looked to Pasco who pulled her closer to him.

  ‘And me,’ added Max, beaming.

  ‘What do you mean?’ asked Aunt Coral, looking anxious.

  ‘We’re both leaving on Tuesday because we’re off on a tour of South America,’ said Daisy. ‘We’ll be away for six whole weeks and then we’ll both be coming home to Ottercombe Bay.’

  ‘Oh that’s marvellous.’ Aunt Coral squeezed Daisy and Max tight. She eventually let go and dabbed at her eyes. ‘You don’t know how pleased I am. Having you back here means the world to me. Oh look at me getting all sentimental.’ She wiped away more tears.

  ‘It’s okay. Ottercombe Bay feels different somehow. More settled. More like home,’ said Daisy, with a nod to Pasco. She credited him with helping her lay to rest the ghosts of the past.

  ‘And it’ll be safer too, once I get my fire-resistant shed business off the ground,’ said Pasco. Aunt Coral eyed him proudly as he and Max started to discuss the details.