Page 38 of A Fresh Start on Crumcarey
‘Hey,’ said Maggie, turning to Mr Harris, ‘now that it’s a bit quieter, I wanted to say thank you. Properly, I mean.’
Mr Harris instantly started to shake his head, but Maggie reached out and laid her hand on top of his weathered, gnarly one.
‘Seriously,’ she said. ‘Thank you. For everything you’ve done – driving me around, being my friend… and for everything at the cottage.’
‘That was mostly Luke,’ said Mr Harris gruffly, taking a sip of espresso with his free hand.
‘Yes, Luke’s been brilliant too,’ said Maggie, deciding to let him off the hook as he clearly didn’t know what to do with her gratitude.
‘Aye, he’s a good lad,’ said Mr Harris. ‘He just gets bored quickly. It’s always been his problem. He finds it hard to settle to anything or anywhere for very long.’
‘I guess that’s why he’s good at so many things,’ said Maggie.
‘Yes, he is that,’ said Mr Harris. ‘He’s worked all over the place, but I don’t mind telling you that I’d love to see him settle down here on Crumcarey. He’s only really here to help with the ferry and the dive school boat… and I know as soon as that work’s done, he’ll disappear off somewhere else.’
Maggie felt an unexpected lump of dread lodge somewhere at the base of her throat.
‘He just likes to keep busy,’ said Mr Harris with a shrug. ‘It’s always been the same. The boy can’t sit still for two minutes together!’
Grabbing a damp cloth, Maggie began to sweep loose crumbs from the bar in an attempt to hide the wave of emotion. Hearing those words had hit harder than she’d anticipated. Of course, she knew that Luke wasn’t a permanent resident on Crumcarey… but he’d done such a lovely job of his barn, she’d dared to hope that perhaps this visit might be a longer one than usual.
‘Don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll make sure you’re comfy at the cottage before he disappears,’ said Mr Harris.
Maggie nodded and forced a small smile, but that had been the last thing on her mind.
‘And if there’s more to do, I’m sure we might be able to persuade him to come back next summer!’ added Mr Harris brightly.
The words hit her like a lead weight in the centre of the chest. In fact, it was a miracle she was still standing.
Next summer?
That felt like an awfully long way away. She might have only met Luke a few days ago… but somehow, she couldn’t imagine life on the island with him around.
Suddenly, the winter loomed ahead of her – long, cold and lonely. The prospect wasn’t even remotely tempting.
‘Ah, now lass,’ said Mr Harris, his voice turning softer, laced with a gentle kindness as he watched her closely. ‘You mustn’t worry. Luke’s here for now – so… let’s make the most of him, shall we?’
Maggie smiled at her friend and was horrified to find that her lips were trembling with emotion. Mr Harris reached out, and this time he was the one to takeherhand and give it a squeeze.
‘Can I buy you a coffee?’ she said, her voice thick. ‘And maybe a pastry?’
‘Why not, that would be grand,’ said Mr Harris, smiling at her. ‘Might as well be caffeinated enough to fly the truck home!’
‘Now then, now then,’ said Olive, reappearing from the back. ‘Here’s a diary for you Maggie, and a pack of dragons, a pack of unicorns, and I even found one pack of yellow duck stickers too!’
‘Thank you!’ said Maggie, placing Mr Harris’s third breakfast in front of him and then grabbing a pen, ready to start filling the little book with as many of the names and dates as she could remember. ‘Any chance you two will give me a hand – I think I’ve forgotten half of it already!’
‘Swimming group!’ said Olive, pointing at the next meeting date as Maggie flipped through the pages to the current month. ‘Use one of the ducks!’
‘Ducks?!’ spluttered Mr Harris. ‘You need sharks, girl!’
Maggie laughed and promptly did as she was told - drawing a tiny shark next to the note. Mr Harris nodded his approval as he tucked into his pastry.
CHAPTER 18
LUKE
Luke dangled his legs over the low wall, swinging them as he waited for his uncle to reappear with Maggie. The old man had insisted on picking her up from work so that Luke could finish fixing up the bit of guttering Sue Harcus had sent for the back of Pear Tree Cottage.
