Page 63 of Coming Home to Sturcombe Bay
“You’re looking like the cat pissed in your shoe.”
“We don’t have a cat.”
“Next door’s cat?”
They both laughed.
She was lucky to have such a lovely family, she reflected wistfully. She would really miss them when she left. When she left? The scale had tipped back the other way. New Zealand had its definite advantages — and one of them was that Liam Ellis wasn’t there.
* * *
“Hiya.” Lisa strolled into the kitchen as Cassie was finishing a late breakfast, having already been for her regular early morning swim. “Where’s Mum?”
“Gone into Exeter to look for an outfit for Vicky’s wedding.”
“Oh. I was going to ask if she could mind Kyra for a bit. I’m just going down to the hotel to discuss the arrangements for the wedding with Vicky.”
Cassie laughed, pausing to spread a layer of butter and marmalade on her toast. “I thought you were supposed to be on maternity leave?”
“I am. But I can’t leave it to her to sort out her own wedding, and Mike would get in a right mither. Could you . . . ?”
“Of course. I’ll come down with you, though. I don’t have my full nappy-changing licence yet. Pour yourself a coffee — it’s fresh in the machine. How’s my little bubs?” She tickled the baby’s tiny feet. “Hey, she smiled at me!”
“Wind.”
“Huh!”
Fifteen minutes later they set off down the hill, the baby asleep in her buggy. It was a pleasant stroll in the September sunshine. It was still warm, but there weren’t as many people on the beach as there had been a week ago — just a few pensioners and families with children not yet old enough to have started school.
“When are you going back to work?” Cassie asked.
“Probably in December. We get a surge in bookings around Christmas for the Tinsel and Turkey breaks.”
Cassie laughed. “Tinsel and Turkey?”
“Uh-huh. We get coach parties from all over — they come down for three- or four-day breaks. Mostly older people, but they’re loads of fun. And it gives the bottom line a big boost — without them we’d be pretty dead for most of the winter months. Not so many people want to go on the beach or play golf when it’s freezing cold and raining.”
“Will Mum look after Kyra?”
Lisa nodded. “I wondered if she’d want to go back to work herself, but she said no. It’s been five years since she took early retirement to look after Nanna and Noah, and she’s looking forward to having Kyra too. She’s enjoying being at home with her baking and her knitting.”
“I expect it’ll be much easier on her without Nanna,” Cassie mused.
“Much!” Lisa laughed. “She deserves the chance to take it easy. She’s worked hard for years.”
Cassie nodded in agreement. “She certainly has. I can think of few things I’d less rather do than wrangle a hundred or so primary school kids, all screaming and racing around like banshees.”
“I’m with you there!”
They had reached the hotel and climbed the steps to the front entrance. The door hushed quietly open and they stepped into the reception hall.
Cassie hadn’t paid much attention to her surroundings last weekend, but she noticed now that the place was looking rather shabbier than she remembered from ten years ago.
The wooden floor was slightly scuffed, and the carpet in the lounge area was showing signs of wear. But the view of the bay from the wide windows was stunning.
Vicky was at the reception desk, chatting to Penny, the young receptionist. “Hi.” She greeted them with a happy smile. “I’ll be right with you. Would you like a coffee?”
“I’ll get it,” Penny offered.
