Page 6 of A Fresh Start on Crumcarey
Tearing the card cleanly in half, Maggie shoved it into the pocket of her apron and turned her attention back to the coffees she was making. She promptly decided she’d better start again. They’d been sitting there for far too long and were probably going cold.
‘You sure you’re okay?’ said Olive lightly.
‘I’m grand, thanks,’ she said, forcing a smile. Because it was true… it had all been going so well… or at least, it had been until the blasted palm trees turned up. ‘Hey, Olive? Do you reckon you can put any future postcards from him straight in the bin for me?’
‘You’ve got it!’ said Olive, patting her on the shoulder.
CHAPTER 4
LUKE
‘I’m telling you, I’d be raking it in with all these visitors!’
Luke grinned and nodded along. He knew it was best just to agree with his uncle when he was on one of his rants.
‘I’ve never seen this road so busy,’ continued Mr Harris with a tut. ‘It was never like this back in my day. These visitors are a menace!’
Luke raised an eyebrow as he hit the brakes of his uncle’s old truck. He didn’t say anything, but right now, he had to agree… at least when it came to the visitors just ahead of them. They’d been filling in the paperwork for the Cow Taxi just as he and his uncle had left The Tallyaff. Thirty seconds into their trip home, the ancient hire car had appeared behind them – practically climbing into the back of the truck before overtaking them on the dodgiest of blind bends.
Now they were busy weaving across the road ahead of them, slamming the brakes on every so often so that the passenger could hang out of the window to take photos. Then they’d zoom off again – completely oblivious to the fact that there was another vehicle on the road behind them.
‘You do know the roads would be even worse if youhadopened a petting zoo, don’t you?’ said Luke lightly.
‘Aye,’ said Mr Harris, cocking his head. ‘That’d be Ray and Anna’s problem though, wouldn’t it? I was planning to have it up at Crum House, so they’d have to deal with all the extra traffic!’
Luke huffed out a laugh. ‘Lucky for them they’re too busy then, eh? Sounds like Ray’s getting on well with the dive school!’
‘Aye,’ said his uncle again. ‘Though he’s half the problem – encouraging all these visitors.’
‘I know you don’t really mean that,’ Luke grinned.
‘Do too,’ muttered Mr Harris, ruffling the ears of the sleeping dog in his lap. ‘You know, McGregor hates the tourists too. He’s exhausted. Lots more barking to be done with all these extra people around. I’ve never known the poor lad to sleep so much!’
Luke grunted at that. He didn’t want to be the one to point out that the feisty little terrier was simply getting on a bit.
‘More visitors means more money on the island,’ said Luke. ‘And it means the places you love – places like The Tallyaff - will not just survive but thrive.’
‘True,’ said Mr Harris. ‘Olive’s thriving alright. She’s booked solid for weeks. All the rooms are full, and the shop’s busier than ever too – that’s why she’s had to go and bring in the new girl!’
Luke gripped the steering wheel tightly. He’d been hoping to swing the conversation around to the mysterious Maggie at some point – preferably in a way that wouldn’t alert Uncle Harris to the fact that he had anything other than a passing curiosity in the beautiful new barmaid. Unfortunately – if the look his uncle was now giving him was anything to go by – Mr Harris had already clocked that he’d spent a bit too much time staring at the way her dark hair came alive with thousands of tiny golden lights under the lamps of The Tallyaff.
‘Bonnie lass, mind…’ said his uncle with a decidedly roguish grin.
‘I hadn’t noticed,’ said Luke flatly, slamming on his brakes again. The Cow Taxi had just swerved across the road ahead of them to give the photographer a better angle of a crumbling cottage.
‘Hadn’t noticed, eh?’ chuckled Mr Harris. ‘Be off with you lad, your eyes were out on stalks!’
Alarm bells started ringing somewhere inside Luke’s head, and he glanced at his Uncle. ‘They weren’t… were they? I mean… she wouldn’t have noticed… I mean, she wouldn’t have thought that…’
‘Calm down, lad!’ said Mr Harris kindly. ‘It’s just that I know you well enough to see the signs. You might get a bit of a ribbing from Olive, mind!’
‘I can handle Olive,’ said Luke tightly. ‘But… you don’t think Maggie—’
‘Your Maggie won’t have noticed a thing,’ said Mr Harris calmly. ‘I’d say she had enough on her mind to keep her distracted.’
‘She’snotmy Maggie,’ said Luke. ‘I’ve never met her before… though she seems to know who I am…’
‘Course she does,’ said Mr Harris with a shrug. ‘She’s a local, and we locals know everything.’
