Page 24 of Wishes & Waves at the Cornish Bakery
‘Wouldn’t that be a good thing?’ Isaac opened the gate, letting her through before following and closing it behind them.
Tilly shoved her hands in her pockets and began walking, her head down, her eyes fixed on the ground in front of her. ‘Maybe. I mean, yes. But that’s not why I came here, and to suddenly have the real possibility of meeting family members... They’d be strangers to me. I’d be a stranger to them.’
‘Do you think they knew about you, about your mum’s pregnancy?’
‘No.’ Tilly shook her head. ‘My mum didn’t know herself until after the accident.’
‘It’ll be a lovely surprise for them then.’
‘Would it?’ Tilly shook her head. She wasn’t sure. If they did track down his parents, his siblings, maybe, and she just turned up out of the blue on their doorstep, wouldn’t it just open old wounds for them? Wouldn’t it be cruel?
‘We can find out all the information we can, and then you can make a decision.’ Isaac fell in step beside her.
‘Yes, good idea.’ Tilly let out a deep sigh and turned to face him. ‘Thank you for coming with me. I don’t think I could have done it alone.’
‘No problem.’ Isaac smiled as he cupped her cheek in his hand. ‘What’s the next step of the plan?’
Tilly laughed. ‘I don’t have one. I was rather hoping you’d tell me.’
‘Ah.’ Isaac chuckled. ‘I’m not sure, but I do know a man who might be able to point us in the right direction.’
‘Oh, yes? Who?’
‘My dad. He was adopted at birth and managed to trace his birth parents.’
‘Yikes. I don’t think he’ll be pleased to see me.’ Tilly grimaced as a flush of embarrassment spread across her skin at the memory of her trespassing.
Looking down, he chuckled. ‘He will be. I explained it all to him, why you wanted to take a look at the cottage, about the photo.’
‘You did?’ Tilly widened her eyes. ‘What did he say?’
Isaac shrugged. ‘He understood.’
Tilting her head, Tilly raised an eyebrow. ‘Really?’
‘Haha, yes, he did. I had to do a bit of explaining, but once he was convinced I was telling the truth and that you weren’t secretly trying to measure up for renovations on the cottage or something, he was fine.’ Isaac shrugged. ‘Besides, he wants to meet you.’
‘Why?’
‘Because I told him what I thought of you.’ His lips twitched at the corners as he suppressed a smile. He held his hands out towards her.
Lacing her fingers with his, she grinned. ‘And what might that be?’
‘That I liked you.’ Isaac met her gaze. ‘That I really like you and that I’m excited to see where this could lead.’
Tilly took a sharp breath in. Now that was an answer she was happy to hear. They might not have known each other long, but neither of them could deny there was something between them. ‘And he’s not mad at me for running over your foot?’
Pulling a hand away, Isaac chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck. ‘I may have left that little titbit out.’
‘That’s probably a good thing.’ She grinned. ‘Okay, let’s go and see your dad.’
Chapter Seventeen
‘One moment, I’ll just get something that might be of some use.’ Isaac’s dad, Terry, pushed himself off the sofa opposite them and hobbled out of the small living room.
Tilly picked up her coffee and took a sip as she looked around the room. Photographs of a young Isaac looked back at her. Him posing proudly in school uniform, unwrapping presents beneath a brightly lit Christmas tree, and ones too, of his teenage years, him riding a bike, driving a tractor. With its whitewashed walls, dark furniture and red rug, the room was cosy. She could see why Terry didn’t want to move out. Isaac had explained how his dad had suddenly had to retire early last year after a freak accident on the farm, so she understood how difficult it must be for him to go from working and living peacefully in the cottage to living with the fear of being evicted. Not that Mo or Liz has suggested that would happen. Mo had even said he’d given up on the idea of renovations.
‘See, he’s a nice guy when he’s not chasing people off the land.’ Isaac chuckled beside her.
