Page 63 of Christmas at the Little Bookshop by the Sea

He clasped his hand to his forehead. ‘Florrie, I’m so sorry. Howstupidof me, I should’ve thought. Is that why you’ve been crying? I was so wrapped up in what I needed to do, I didn’t think how it might look. But I promise you, it’s not what you’re thinking.’ His expression was so earnest, his eyes so pleading, she felt sure he must be telling the truth. At least, she hoped he was.

Before she’d had a chance to formulate an answer, he was standing in front of her, his hands on her shoulders, his eyes seeking hers.

‘Come into the kitchen, let me explain. I’ll make us a pot of tea. I’ve got something interesting to tell you. Well, a couple of things actually.’

When she didn’t reply straight away, he said, ‘Please, Florrie, you’ll understand when you hear it. And I’m so sorry I’ve made you cry.’

Sitting opposite him at the kitchen table, Florrie listened quietly, her mug of tea growing cold before her, as Ed launched into his explanation. She noted he spoke slowly and carefully, being sure to choose the right words, anticipation reverberating through her.

He told her how her gentle suggestion that it might be better if he found out the reason behind his father’s angry call had taken root in his mind, growing and gathering momentum until he could no longer ignore it. Overwhelmed by the urge to get it over and done with, he used the excuse of taking the car back to Samphire Cottage, where he could call his father and speak to him in private, without the risk of anyone overhearing.

What he hadn’t expected was for his dad to tell him he’d just checked into a hotel in London, with the intention of calling his son to arrange a meeting. Ed’s father was eager to speak to him face to face but didn’t want to travel up to North Yorkshire, declaring there was someone he’d rather not run into.

‘He must’ve been pretty desperate to speak to you for him to travel all this way,’ Florrie said, panic setting in. She braced herself for what she was about to hear.

‘Which is why I was in such a rush to leave as he was only there until the following day – yesterday – and I didn’t want to risk the trains being cancelled.’

‘And was he okay with you?’ Florrie hoped Ed hadn’t been met with his father’s usual rage and hot-headed style of communication.

‘He got pretty het up at times, but he managed to punctuate it with some moments of calm, which meant he could explain what had been bothering him.’

She nodded, relieved to hear father and son appeared to have made progress.

But what Ed had gone on to tell her had stunned her and given her a different perspective on a situation. One she’d held Peter Harte in contempt for, for so many years.

It transpired that the reason for Peter’s original fallout with his parents all those years ago hadn’t purely been about money – though there was no getting away from the fact it had gone some way towards it. It was Ed’s mother who had been reluctant to get involved in the bookshop, not that Peter had taken much persuading, with Dawn being the driving force behind their nomadic lifestyle. Peter had become angry with his parents when he overheard them talking about their involvement with Jean and her unborn baby. It horrified him that they’d orchestrated an illegal adoption. He’d accused them of being deceitful, of taking the law into their own hands. Who did they think they were? he’d asked, accusing them of being no better than criminals. He’d been so blinded by his outrage, he couldn’t see the situation from their perspective: how they’d helped two lots of people and saved a whole load of heartache. If she’d kept her baby, Jean, as an unmarried mother at a time when it was frowned upon, would have been cast out by her family, while the family her baby went to would have more than likely ended up childless. In Bernard and Dinah Harte’s eyes, that the infant hadgrown up in a loving family meant they’d done good, not harm. But Peter hadn’t seen it that way and had washed his hands of his parents.

‘From what I can gather, there was no way either of them would back down, and by the time the rot had set in, there was no going back. My father wanted nothing more to do with my grandparents and the animosity just deepened and festered over the years.’

‘Goodness, I don’t really know what to say.’ It didn’t come as a surprise to her that Mr and Mrs H hadn’t mentioned the reason for the fallout with their son, since she hadn’t known about the secret adoption until Mr H had passed away. And in fairness to them, they’d never bad-mouthed their son and daughter-in-law. All they’d done was express their sadness at not being in contact with them, and as a consequence Ed.

‘I appreciate it’s a lot to take in.’

Florrie nodded. ‘But to go for so long and not make any attempt at moving forward seems a bit of a drastic reaction.’

‘I agree, but I think it’s got a fair bit to do with my mother not wanting to be tied to the bookshop – my dad said she always thought my grandparents were being controlling by hoping they’d take over the business. She’s always been the one who’s been keen to explore the world, has a spirit of adventure. But in fairness, my dad hardly dug his heels in and protested. I know he’s no saint.’

You’re telling me he’s not.

The look Ed shot her made Florrie wonder if he could read her mind. ‘And there’s no getting away from the fact they were both crappy parents. He can’t ever excuse that. Seeing how Jasmine is with Zak and Chloe, and how your parents are with you, just highlights how shocking they were.’

Not knowing how to answer that without sounding like she was being rude about his parents, Florrie gave him a small smile.

‘I told him about what’s been happening with the bookshop and Dodgy Dick, and he said the creep isn’t acting under their instruction.’

‘What?’ She wasn’t so sure she could believe that.

‘Apparently Dodgy Dick contacted them, saying he had a client who was interested in the bookshop and he wanted to buy it on their behalf, wouldn’t listen when they told him they were no longer pursuing it.’

‘Oh, yeah.’ Florrie couldn’t hide the cynicism from her voice.

‘I know, that’s what I thought.’ Ed went on to say how Dodgy Dick had started to get more intimidating with every phone call, until he finally got the message they weren’t interested. That seemed to tie in with when things started to happen at the shop: Dodgy Dick and Wendy’s visit, the Christmas tree, the snow globe, and the power cut. ‘My dad says he knew the slimeball would do all he could to get the property for peanuts and use his bullying tactics to do so.’

Florrie inhaled slowly. This, together with what Ed had told her about the reason behind the fallout between his father and grandfather, was a lot to take on board. ‘I wonder if the “client” Dodgy Dick mentioned to your dad was Wendy. She seemed pretty keen for it to become a beauty parlour.’

Ed nodded. ‘I suspect she was.’

Their eyes met. The sorrow she saw lingering in Ed’s caused an ache in her heart. This couldn’t have been easy for him, facing his dad, hearing about the life-long fallout that could so easily have been resolved instead of simmering and growing increasingly toxic as the years went by.

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