Page 73 of A Secret Cornish Wish
‘Noo!’ I probably say it a little too vehemently. ‘Not yet. I’m not really looking though.’
‘Why not?’
I shrug. ‘Dunno, just a bit busy with work right now. We’re here,’ I say, pointing down the street. ‘That one with the blue door – that’s Claire’s house.’
‘Do you want me to hang back?’ Mack asks.
‘Might be for the best.’
Mack stops walking and allows me to continue. I stop in front of Claire’s door and take a deep breath.
Then I knock.
I look back at Mack while I wait for someone to answer. He’s leaning casually against a wall, as if it’s the most natural thing in the world for him to be hanging around a narrow Cornish street late at night. He smiles at me, so I smile back.
‘Frankie?’ Claire says as she opens the door in her dressing gown. ‘What are you doing here this late – has something happened?’
‘No, nothing’s happened. I wanted to check you were all right, that’s all.’
‘Why wouldn’t I be all right?’ Claire asks a bit too breezily.
‘Er . . . ’ I didn’t really think about what I was going to say to Claire, I just knew that I needed to see her. ‘It’s just you left the pub quite quickly tonight,’ I say as the thought occurs. ‘It seemed a little odd. Is everything OK?’ I glance behind her into the house, not really knowing what I’m looking for.
‘Yes . . . ’ Claire frowns. ‘Why wouldn’t it be? You’re being very odd, Frankie, even for you. And considering I’ve known you since you were four years old, that’s saying something.’
‘How’s Jonathan?’ I try a different tack, knowing this conversation is going nowhere fast.
I see Claire stiffen just a little. She pulls the collar of her dressing gown a little tighter across her chest. ‘He’s fine.’
‘Good. Everything is OK, then?’
‘Frankie, why do you keep asking me that? Is there something I should know?’
I swallow, and glance quickly at Mack. He’s still waiting patiently a little way down the street.
Claire sees me and leans out of her doorway. ‘Is that Rob’s friend, Mack – what is he doing here?’
‘Nothing, he just walked me here. We . . . I just wanted to check you were OK.’
‘And as I keep telling you I’m absolutely fine. The children are fine. Jonathan is fine.’
I nod hurriedly. ‘Good . . . that’s good. It’s just . . . ’
Claire waits for me to finish with a questioning expression.
‘Rob said your mum is worried about you,’ I say eventually.
‘Rob said?’
‘Yeah, he said when he was speaking to his mum, she asked if you were OK because your mum had told her she was worried about you.’
I know I’m starting to sound like we’re back at school again with all the ‘his mum, your mum said’ stuff. But how else can I explain why I’m here?
‘Did she?’ Claire says with pursed lips.
‘Yes, and Mandy said something similar too.’
‘I see how it is. You’re all in the pub getting drunk, you’ve run out of things to talk about, so you’re discussing me, are you?’
