Page 13 of A Second Chance in Seabury
‘And to drink?’
‘Latte please.’
Hannah watched as Sarah quickly got to work, then she glanced behind her. Maybe she had time to find Stanley for a quick cuddle…
‘Oh!’ she gasped.
In the few seconds they’d been chatting, a queue had materialised behind her. Most of them were busy chatting and laughing with each other, clearly more than happy to wait for their caffeine fix.
‘Right, here you go,’ said Sarah, popping a takeaway cup and cardboard cake box down onto the counter. ‘Best of luck.’
‘What do you mean?’ said Hannah in surprise.
‘I mean getting past that lot without spilling your coffee!’ chuckled Sarah.
CHAPTER 7
Sarah was right. It had taken Hannah some serious manoeuvring to squeeze through the crowd waiting to be served in The Sardine. It was a miracle that she managed to get back out onto the seafront without spilling her coffee.
As she reached freedom and fresh air again, Hannah couldn’t help but grin. If that had been London, navigating a packed crowd would have been horrific… perhaps even a bit scary. But here, it had been full of laughter and giggled apologies.
It was such a shame that Stanley hadn’t been in the cafe. She really could have done with a big doggy cuddle. Ah well, she was in Seabury for a while yet. With any luck, she’d get to see him before she left for good. In fact…
‘Maybe I could ask Kate if I can take him for a walk.’
The idea made Hannah’s smile grow even wider. She’d never owned a dog. Gareth was allergic… or at least that’s what he always said. The thing was, she could swear she’d seen photos of him and his parents surrounded by a veritable pack of dogs at his childhood home.
Whatever. She shrugged the thought off. It simply wasn’t important any more.
Hannah took a sip of coffee as she stared out across West Beach. The deckchairs had been set out on the sand, and for a minute she considered commandeering one… but she had a feeling she’d be asleep in seconds if she did that.
‘No, I’ll keep walking for a bit,’ she murmured, turning to amble slowly along the seafront, her eyes drinking in the huge expanse of golden sand as she headed in the direction of Moore Bikes.
The last time she’d been in town, Hannah had walked this way nearly every day… mainly to escape the growing storm clouds back at the house. There was a memorial bench she’d become especially fond of. It was the perfect place to stop—just far enough out of town that there hadn’t been too many people around to notice as she’d dried her tears and sucked in the sea air as if it was a balm for her aching heart.
Hannah nodded to herself. She’d go there now. It would be the perfect place to enjoy her coffee and cake. Besides, it would be nice to sit and actually admire the view minus all the tears and heartache!
It didn’t take before she reached the bench, and Hannah gave the little plaque on the back a gentle pat, just like she always did.
For my Paula. My mermaid. My love.
‘Hi, Paula,’ she sighed. ‘Long time no visit. I brought you some honey cake.’
Hannah lowered herself gently onto the bench, stretching her feet out on the grass in front of her. Ferreting around in the paper box, she broke off a small chunk of cake and popped it in her mouth.
‘Oh… my…goodness!’ she breathed, savouring the richness of butter and honey on her tongue.
Hannah closed her eyes for a moment and raised her face to the sunshine.What could be better than this?
Opening her eyes again, Hannah couldn’t help but grin as she took a swig of her coffee before taking a second, much larger bite of cake.
‘Okay bees, it’s official, I’m your new favourite fan!’ she mumbled through her mouthful, watching as a couple of cyclists set off from the front of Moore Bikes, promptly followed by a smaller figure. A dog, perhaps? The little group appeared to be heading in her direction… but that didn’t matter. Today, there weren’t any tears to hurriedly wipe away, just delicious coffee and cake to enjoy while she watched their approach!
The sight gave Hannah an idea. She’d spotted a sign on the way past Moore Bikes advertising rentals. Perhaps that might be a good idea while she was in town? After all, there wouldn’t be time for a nice, leisurely walk into town every time she needed something, and even though she had the car, parking in the centre of Seabury was a notorious pain in the behind. Cycling down would be easy, though, even if the hill on the way back up to the house might prove to be a bit of a shock to the system!
Hannah nibbled her cake and watched as the bikes came closer. That was definitely a dog lolloping along between the two cyclists. Abigdog with its fluffy ears bouncing and feathery tail wagging furiously.
Thathadto be Stanley!
