Page 47 of A Fresh Start on Crumcarey
‘Until Joyce either sorts that place out or sells up, it’s not really fit for purpose,’ sighed Luke. ‘Plus, it’s full all the time anyway, with those poor archaeology students!’
Luke shook his head and waved a hand impatiently at himself, clearly irritated that he’d wandered off topic.
‘Anyway, the point is, loads more visitors are discovering the island. The more people we can get to spend time on Crumcarey, the better. The right ones fall in love with the place – they always do – and then they want to come back. I want to give them places to come backto!’
‘Mr Harris is going tohatethis,’ chuckled Maggie, imagining the impending grumbling about traffic and campervans.
‘On the contrary,’ said Luke, shaking his head. ‘He’s all in! He’s really enjoyed having something to focus on over the last few days while we’ve been working on your place… and I think he likes having family around.’
Maggie swallowed. Part of her barely dared to believe what she was hearing.
‘I’m sorry,’ said Luke. ‘I know all of this is a bit sudden, but it’s kind of how my brain works.’
‘It’s… that’s… don’t apologise!’ said Maggie, her mind churning with a mixture of possibility and excitement, and fear and doubt. ‘I mean… do you have the capital to buy all these places? Are they even for sale?’
‘They’ve been empty for decades,’ said Luke with a shrug. ‘There’s a byelaw here that means they revert to being owned by the community if they sit empty for long enough.’
‘What does that mean?’ she said. ‘Practically, I mean?’
‘It means we need to get Olive on side,’ said Luke. ‘But I don’t think there’s any worry there. She’s head of tourism - and basically everything else too. I’m sure she’ll be on board. Having more places for people to stay would be good for the economy. I don’t want to sound too hard-headed - I just think we have an opportunity to do something really special here… to bring these corners of Crumcarey back to life.’
Maggie had been nodding slowly while Luke had been talking, and she could feel the beginnings of pure excitement in the pit of her stomach. The chance to bring these lovely old places back to life? She’d loved to be involved!
But… she dreaded to think what Russell would say. Probably that she didn’t have the imaginationorthe skill.
Maggie shook her head irritably. It wasn’t up to him, was it? Not anymore. This washerlife now. Maybe even hersandLuke’s…ifhe was going to stay. But it was like Olive said, she needed to give it time…
‘I need to think about it,’ she said. ‘Is that okay?’
‘Of course,’ said Luke, shooting her a warm smile, even though Maggie suspected she saw a tiny hint of disappointment that she wasn’t jumping for joy and diving in head first.
‘Can… can you drive me home?’ she said in a small voice.
‘Sure,’ said Luke with a little nod.
‘Hey Luke?’ she said, reaching out and threading her fingers gently through his.
‘Yeah?’ he said, crooking one eyebrow at her.
‘Thanks for the magical mystery tour,’ she said, pulling him in and planting a light kiss on his lips as the sun gleamed golden across the sea.
Luke had dropped Maggie off at the front of the cottage, and as hard as it had been not to beg him to accompany her inside, Maggie hadn’t been joking when she’d said she needed to think.
Her head was full and her imagination was ablaze… especially after Luke had told her about Stella and Frank’s reactions to her drawings on the way home. She needed an evening on her own to let her mind wander through all the new possibilities that had appeared at her feet.
Popping the kettle on, Maggie padded around the cottage, admiring her new windows. It was already growing dark outside, and she couldn’t wait to experience their full effect in the morning. Right now, though, she had something she wanted to do.
Dashing through to the bedroom, Maggie hunted until she found the plastic box where she’d stashed her good drawing paper and her fine liners. Making her way back out into the living room, she popped her supplies down onto her lovely new kitchen table.
‘Strong coffee first,’ she said, spooning grounds into a cafetiere and then pouring herself a huge mug of the stuff to keep her going. Then she flicked on the various lamps she’d been gifted to get as much light as possible, before settling down at the table. She needed to unload her overflowing imagination before she burst with ideas, and this was the best way she knew how.
Fidgeting in her chair for a second, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the crumpled piece of kitchen roll Luke had given her back at Peedie Croft, along with two or three more she’d pilfered to make notes about the other places.
The sketches were scrappy beyond belief, but they were exactly what she needed to jog her memory. Picking up her favourite pen for the first time in forever, Maggie un-clicked the cap and then paused for a long moment with the nib hovering over the clean sheet of paper.
With a deep breath, she started to draw.
Peedie Croft came first, and then Maggie worked her way through the other houses they’d visited in turn. She’d always been good with remembering details, and it wasn’t long before she had immaculate sketches of the buildings as they stood now, surrounded by design ideas she’d love to bring to life.
