Page 29 of A Snowy Seaside Christmas
‘Aye, that’d be grand, thanks, sweetheart.’
Silas straightened and Lark was shocked by the sight of his jumper hanging loose on him. Being so tall only seemed to accentuate how much weight he’d lost. Her stomach twisted and she was overwhelmed by the urge to hug him close, squeeze him tight and tell him he was going to be okay. Which, come to think of it, he was if he was moving back to Micklewick Bay. She was going to make sure of it. She’d cook him chicken casserole and herby dumplings every night if necessary!
Sensing her face had dropped she pushed her mouth into a smile before he noticed.
‘Oh, I almost forgot.’ Silas reached for the paper bag Lark had carried to the cottage and set down on the sideboard. ‘These are for you.’ He reached inside the bag and lifted out a pink box trimmed with a gold ribbon and gold writing.
She hadn’t noticed the logo on the bag was that of The Chocolate Cherub, the chocolatier in Middleton-le-Moors. ‘Ooh! My favourite! Thanks, Dad!’ She delivered a grateful kiss to his cheek. ‘I’ll take them through to the kitchen, keep them away from the heat of the wood burner. Why don’t you come through? You can update me on the house sale while I make a pot of tea and grate some cheese on the dumplings.’
‘Sounds like a plan. I’ll just take my bag up to my room, then you can tell me all about your trip to the heritage centre.’
‘Deal.’ She flashed him a grin.
Over the course of the meal, she listened as he told her how the sale of Denley House was moving smoothly, and how the couple who were buying it had been round to measure up for curtains and blinds the previous evening. It seemed to pleaseher dad that they were so excited about moving in. She hoped it would make leaving it easier for him.
‘I’m happy to come over on completion day, if you like?’ She didn’t want him to have to face locking up for the last time alone. She couldn’t even begin to imagine how hard that would be for him. In fact, she didn’t like to think about it.
‘I’d like that.’ The smile he gave faltered a little and this time Lark couldn’t help herself. She set her knife and fork down and rushed over to his side of the table, wrapping her arms around him, burying her face into his neck.
‘It’s going to be fine, Dad. I promise. I’m here whenever you need me. And there’s always Mum and Elfie if you’d rather offload onto them, you know. They just want to make sure you’re okay, same as me.’ Her voice cracked and she bit down on the tears that were threatening.
Silas sniffed. ‘I know that, sweetheart, thank you. You’ve all been amazing and I’m so grateful.’ He pulled back, his pale-green eyes shiny with tears. He took her hand, squeezing it as he gave her a smile. ‘I’m sorry I’ve made you all worry about me over the last few years – particularly you. Losing Greer too soon and so quickly was such a shock, but I’ve slowly been managing to work my way through it all and I now feel ready to face the world again.’
‘That’s great, Dad, I’m so pleased.’ Lark sat back down in her seat, squeezing his hand before letting go. There was something about him that told her things were going to get brighter for her dad. An unshakeable feeling of positivity washed over her, filling her with a warm glow. He really was going to be okay.
‘Which is why I want to move back to Micklewick Bay. The only reason I’ve stayed at Denley House is because of my loyalty to Greer. I’ve been clinging on to the memory of her there. It’s taken a while, but I’ve accepted she’s not coming back and it’s time to move on.’
‘It’s the right thing for you, Dad, and you had to do it when the time was right for you, never mind anyone else – I’d have had you moving back in a heartbeat, as you know, but it would have been wrong to force you. You had to be ready.’
Her words raised a smile. ‘I know you would. And I also think you know that I’ve never really felt settled at Denley House. I’ve been fooling myself for these last few years, but I’ve had to be honest and accept that Micklewick Bay is where I belong. It’s where my heart is and it’s where my amazing daughter is.’
‘Well, you might not think I’m so amazing when I tell you it’s your turn to do the washing up!’
His resultant roar of laughter was a joy to hear.
‘So, fill me in on what happened at the heritage museum,’ said Silas as they tackled the washing up together – Lark washed while her dad dried. ‘Was the curator helpful?’
‘Honestly, Dad, it was so interesting, and she had much more information than we expected. She was so full of knowledge. I’ll show you the photocopying she did for us.’ Lark went on to share details of their meeting, her dad listening, his interest obviously piqued. She hoped she’d have an opportunity to introduce her father to Louisa while he was here.
‘It sounds fascinating. I’d love to see the suitcase and the contents. I can’t imagine what it must be like to look upon something with such history attached to it.’ The drying finished, Silas hung the tea towel on the hook by the Butler sink.
‘Tell you what, the heritage centre’s open on Saturdays, why don’t we pop in? I’m sure Louisa would be okay to show you the case. And I’ve organised it so Zara’s holding the fort at the shop, so I’m free all day. We could have a sniff around a few houses for sale, too.’ Zara was the new part-time assistant she’d employed to work at the shop.
‘Wonderful!’ Her dad’s eyes were shining and it felt good to see him so fired up about doing something. She’d call Louisa inthe morning, double check it really would be okay for her dad to take a look at the suitcase.
‘And how’s Nate?’ asked Silas.
That was a loaded question if ever there was one. But Lark was saved from answering by the ping of a text landing on her mobile.
‘That’ll be Mags telling me they’re setting off.’
TWENTY
The Land Rover pulled up just as Lark and Silas arrived at the bottom of the row near the seafront. As soon as Silas opened the rear door, he and Lark were treated to a warm greeting from Maggie and Bear.
‘Hiya, thanks for this,’ said Lark, sliding onto the bench behind Bear while her dad pulled the heavy door shut with a slam. The Landie had a smell to it that was distinctly farm.
‘Now then, Silas, it’s grand to see you,’ said Bear.
