Page 13 of Best Summer Ever

‘Um,’ said Nick. ‘It’s not really working out because of the lack of seasonal staff. And with Theo gone now—’

‘I’m so pleased for him and Wren,’ Penny cut in. She sounded as dreamy as Mum had earlier. ‘That’s three little ones they’ve got now and a lovely big place to raise them in, just outside the village.’

Penny had always wanted a family of her own, but so far, her Mr Right hadn’t come along. Well, he had, only she hadn’t spotted him yet. I wondered, as I was going to be back for the summer, if I should take on the role of Cupid. There might not be any love in my life, but perhaps I could encourage some in hers…

‘I wouldn’t sound so chuffed about that,’ Nick laughed. ‘They might all end up being little terrors that you have to teach before long.’

That made Penny sit up.

‘Don’t say that,’ she huffed. ‘I’m sure they’re all as lovely as their parents, and besides, I might have left and be happily baking buns by the time they turn school age.’

Nick didn’t look convinced.

‘Right,’ I cut in, not wanting them to bicker. ‘I really had better get back. I’ve got to get used to sleeping in a single bed again, so it could be a long night.’

‘Isn’t there a double in the spare room?’ Nick pointed out.

‘There is,’ I confirmed. It was the bed Laurence and I used to sleep in when we were visiting together. ‘But I’m not moving in there. I already feel as though I’m imposing, so I’m trying to take up as little space as possible.’

Not that all my stuff dotted about the cottage suggested that. Perhaps I’d put some of it back in my car once Mum and Dad had gone to work tomorrow. That would free up a bit of space and I wasn’t going to need to unpack everything.

‘I’m sure you’re not imposing,’ said Penny, who had a penchant for looking on the bright side. ‘I bet your mum and dad are thrilled to have you staying with them, even if the circumstances are a bit—’

‘Mum doesn’t seem to mind,’ I interrupted, ‘but Dad’s not quite so thrilled.’

He might have apologised for what he’d said, but I knew that initial gut reactions were generally the ones that revealed what someone genuinely felt about something.

‘He’s got so much to contend with at the moment,’ Nicksaid, a little defensively. ‘I wouldn’t pay much attention to his current mood, if it’s a grumpy one.’

‘Mum’s got a lot on as well,’ I pointed out, just like I had to her. ‘Do either of you know what happened to Algy?’ I asked. ‘He was keen to play it down when I saw him earlier, but I know Mum’s worried about him.’

‘He buggered over when he was out in the garden, searching for this cat he’s been trying to look after,’ Nick told me. ‘Had your dad not been in the garden doing his evening gate check, Algy would have been stuck outside on the ground all night.’

‘Dad to the rescue.’ I smiled.

‘It shook him up, I think,’ Nick further said. ‘Your dad, I mean. He’s a good bloke and he thinks the world of Algy. I know your dad comes across as a bit crotchety sometimes, Daisy, but his heart’s always in the right place.’

‘Oh, I know that really,’ I generously said, though the argument between us in the past had given me reason to doubt it. ‘I’m his daughter, after all. And I daresay I wouldn’t be overly enamoured if my grown-up girl landed herself on me unannounced with everything else that’s going on.’

I could see now that my timing really couldn’t have been worse.

‘It’ll all shake down in a day or two,’ said Penny, drawing a line under the conversation. ‘Come on, I’ll run you back if you like. You can check out my new motor!’

I made all the right noises about Penny’s new car, but my mind was elsewhere. I had thought about doing a little preliminary digging into her reaction to the sight of Nick’s midriff on the drive back, but the journey was over almost before it had started and I was still thinking about Dad being the personwho had found Algy prostrate in one of the flower beds. Nick was no doubt right in saying that it had given him a fright.

Both Dad and Mum were struggling with things I hadn’t known about and I felt doubly determined that while I was staying with them, I would be helpful rather than a thorn in their sides. If I could get to grips with working in the pub, help out around the cottage and keep an eye on Algy, then perhaps there was the potential for this to be the best summer ever, rather than a difficult one.

Chapter 4

My determination to be of use while I was back at Wynbrook didn’t get off to the best of starts because I slept so late the following morning. Mum and Dad were long gone by the time I surfaced and went downstairs in search of coffee and something to eat.

I wasn’t impressed with myself because the last thing I wanted was my parents, Dad especially, thinking that I’d turned back into the uncommunicative teenager who took never-ending naps, which was pretty much the person I had been during the last few months I had lived at home.

Having groggily made myself a strong coffee and slathered toast in honey from the Wynbrook hives, I sat at the kitchen table and tried to focus on how I could make amends for my late start. I would begin by having a good clear-out and shift the boxes about again to make more space and then I’d take Dad something to have with his late morning brew.

I was happily imagining myself morphing into the dream daughter when my eyes fell upon the pinboard next to the fridge and the fantasy was swiftly forgotten. The evidence that I wasn’t actually going to be able to live up to the role wasproudly on display, right there, for all the world to see. The unbearable and nauseating nephew, cousin Daniel, clearly still filled the top relative spot and by the looks of it, he’d left no space on the podium for me.

‘G’day from down under,’ I sarcastically read aloud from the postcard I plucked from its pride of place. ‘It’s a gloriously sunny day here in Oz and I thought you’d appreciate this card from the botanical gardens, Uncle Robin.’

---