Page 38 of Sun, Sea & Strawberry Shortcake
‘What? Don’t be ridiculous! Careful how you’re loading that.If you break anything, we’ll have to replace it,’ he adds testily.
‘Yes. Well, thank you for teaching your granny to suck eggs,’I snap, shutting the machine with a bang. ‘And by the way, I can’t believeyou’d actually trust Joanna to sort the job out herself. She’s yourassistant,for goodness’ sake, not your partner in the business.’
I’m expecting him to hurl something back at me, defendingJoanna’s superhuman abilities. But he just looks at me steadily, a thoughtfulexpression on his face.
‘You’re right, of course,’ he says at last. ‘I can’t put allthat responsibility on her shoulders. I’ll have to go with her.’ He grunts. ‘Atthis rate, the only way we’re going to meet the deadline is if we do the decoratingourselves.’
He walks out, his ear already glued to his phone again,making another call.
And I stand there, flabbergasted by my own stupidity. Whythe hell did I say that about Joanna just being his assistant? If I’d keptquiet, he might have let her go herself and we could have had our lovely dayexploring tomorrow.
Talk about an own bloody goal!
Jaz
CHAPTERFIFTEEN
My early morning walks are becoming a habit – mainlybecause I’m not sleeping too well here.
This morning, I set off soon after seven, breathing in thesalty sea air and walking all the way along to the little cove we found,scrambling over the rocks as I go. Then I sit on the sand, near the water’sedge, staring out to sea and thinking how much Emma would love it here –smashing down sand pies and splashing her toes in the water...
When I get up to leave, mindful that we’re planning to headoff to Cardiff soon after breakfast, I look up at the cliffs behind me, andthere she is, sitting on the bench – the woman from the other day. Same grey,curly hair and purple scarf.
I’ve been holding on to the keepsake box I rescued, eversince I saw her throwing it into the sea. And now I can return it to her...
Hitching my beach bag over my shoulder, with the box inside,I plough my way through the sand to the back of the beach and take the uphillpath I followed the other day, which led me to the clearing and the bench wherethe woman was sitting.
Sure enough, there she is, just staring out to sea.
She looks so still and lost in thought, I almost decide toleave her in peace and head back to the beach. But something makes me cross theclearing towards her. I’m curious, I suppose, to know why she would throw awaysuch a lovely box.
Hearing the crack as I step on a twig, she turns insurprise.
‘Hello.’ I smile. ‘Sorry to disturb you, but...well, I wanted to return this to you.’ I delve into my bag and bring out thelittle red velvet box, holding it up almost apologetically. She thought she’dthrown it into the sea. She might not be pleased to see it again.
But actually, the reverse seems to be true.
When she catches sight of the box, her eyes light up. ‘Oh.You lovely woman! You have my treasure trove!’
I hand it over and she gazes at it for a moment, her blueeyes bright with tears, before reaching into the bag at her side and taking alittle key from her purse. Opening the box with trembling fingers, she smiles atthe contents. (I’d like to look myself but I resist the urge to be nosy.)Apparently satisfied, she smiles up at me, closing the lid and cradling the boxon her lap. ‘Did you find it in the sea?’
I shake my head and sit down beside her. ‘I saw you throw itfrom up here. But it fell onto the beach so I rescued it. I wasn’t sure I’ddone the right thing, though...’
She beams at me. ‘You did exactly the right thing. And Ican’t thank you enough.’ She gives her head a little shake. ‘As soon as I threwit, I regretted it. And I’ve been kicking myself ever since. Memories, youknow?’
I nod. ‘I’m so glad I acted on instinct.’
‘So am I. My name’s Emerald, by the way.’
‘Jasmine. Well, Jaz.’
‘Lovely name. I had a dog called Jaz.’ She smiles at thememory. ‘A cocker spaniel. She was my baby, that one, and she was so wise. Sheknew when I was having a sad day and she’d come and sit close by me and resther head on my lap.’
‘Dogs are so good at making you feel loved when you’redown,’ I murmur.
‘You have dogs yourself?’
‘One. Luna.’ I smile. ‘She’s still a puppy and verymischievous. Chews everything but we love her to bits.’
