Читать книгу Coming Home to Ottercombe Bay: The laugh out loud romantic comedy of the year - Bella Osborne, Bella Osborne - Страница 11

The next morning Aunt Coral was still thrilled to have Bugsy back and was fussing over him, the fact that his escape had caused her ankle strain seemed not to have registered with her. Daisy, on the other hand, was well aware and was watching the dog closely. He wasn’t as daft as he looked, and to her mind he did look daft. The pug was just about as far removed from the origins of the wolf as any dog breed could possibly be. He reminded her of a cork piglet she’d made at school, which still sat on the kitchen windowsill. The squashed face and the curly tail made it a good likeness. The only difference was the piglet was painted pink and had tiny eyes whereas Bugsy was completely black with disproportionally huge eyes like two eight balls stuck in his face. He gave her a smug look when Aunt Coral gave him another small piece of bacon.

Yeah, I’ve got the measure of you, thought Daisy, she wasn’t going to be outsmarted by a tiny bug-eyed dog.

‘Jason says you can get some money for the railway memorabilia you brought home. He knows some specialist who can get you the best price, if that’s what you want.’

Daisy munched on her toast. ‘Sounds good. The place is just a shell. I don’t know what Reg expected me to do with it.’

‘You’ve got a whole year to work that out; you don’t need to trouble yourself right now. And of course you’re welcome to stay with me. I’d be glad of the company but if you wanted to get your own place I’d understand.’ Coral patted her hand.

‘Thanks.’ Daisy knew now probably wasn’t a good juncture to explain her imminent departure. She couldn’t walk out now Aunt Coral was laid up with her ankle. Daisy was lots of things but she wasn’t unkind or callous. She was still set on leaving but she couldn’t dispel the mixed feelings she seemed to be experiencing. Daisy blamed it on Great Uncle Reg’s letter and what Tamsyn had said about her mother – both were playing on her mind. She’d stay for just a couple more days, which would give Aunt Coral’s ankle a chance to recover and her an opportunity to speak to Tamsyn’s mum, Min, and lay that particular ghost to rest, then she could leave.

Seeing as she was here a bit longer than planned she decided she’d call it a holiday. Holidays were what people came to Ottercombe Bay for. She would write it off as a vacation and then at the end she would depart just like all the other tourists. She took a deep breath; she knew leaving also meant walking away from a share of Reg’s money, and money was something she was lacking. But, no, her mind was made up. No amount of cash was worth being trapped for, especially not for a whole year. Daisy finished her toast, ignoring the dog’s whiny pleas for her to share.

Daisy’s bedroom was currently doing a good impression of a bombsite. She amazed herself at how quickly she could turn an ordered space into a chaotic jumble – perhaps it was a skill. She didn’t know anyone else as talented at being untidy as she was. She only had the one rucksack but it was enormous and when she’d left Canterbury she’d had to ram everything in to get it all to fit. She had since had to pull everything out to get to the things at the bottom and now the contents were strewn about the room. Luckily Aunt Coral wasn’t the nosey sort, so Daisy could shut the door and know it would be fine. Well, nobody was perfect after all.

It was mid-afternoon when Daisy found herself lying on the pebble part of the beach on a rather thin towel while she waited for Tamsyn to finish her shift at the beach café. Every summer the council tipped a few tons of sand onto the top half of the bay making it perfect for the holiday crowd, but unless you were there super early you got relegated to the pebbles further down. Despite her bumpy bed she was enjoying herself. The sun was warming her body gently whilst she listened to the sound of the sea washing the shore and parents arguing with small children over sun cream and ice-lollies.

On a summer’s day Ottercombe Bay was a hive of activity, all the rental properties would be full and all the second homers would be maximising their investment, and days like this were ideal for making you feel good about yourself and your decisions. A couple of days of sun and relaxation was going to do Daisy good. She hadn’t had a proper break for months, let alone the chance of a holiday so an opportunity to do nothing was one not to be missed because soon she would be back on the road hunting down her next job.

‘You’ll get a well weird tan line if you leave your necklace on,’ said a voice above her, throwing her into shadow.

‘If you stand there, Tams, I’ll get no tan at all.’ Daisy instinctively put her hand to her locket.

Daisy shuffled over to make room on the towel and Tamsyn bunched up her long flowery skirt and sat down. Daisy gave her the abridged version of the previous evening’s events.

‘How’s Coral now?’ asked Tamsyn.

‘Cheesed off mainly, I think. The painkillers are working but it’s a bad sprain. She’ll be hobbling about for a while.’

‘I’m sorry about her ankle but if it means you’re staying, yay.’ Tamsyn clapped her hands together.

Daisy hauled herself up onto an elbow. ‘It’s only temporary while Aunt Coral recovers.’

‘Okay,’ said Tamsyn despondently. She looked about her. ‘You could’ve brought Bugsy to the beach. He loves it down here.’

Daisy pulled an unimpressed face. She had forgotten about walking the dog, although he’d probably had enough exercise last night to last him for a while. ‘He doesn’t like me much,’ she said.

‘Oh, don’t be silly. Bugsy is totally adorable isn’t he?’

Daisy’s expression didn’t change. ‘He’s totally untrainable.’

‘But he’s the cutest thing imaginable,’ said Tamsyn.

‘He’s ugly.’ Daisy’s face was full of scorn.

‘What?’

‘Oh come on. He looks like he spends every day smacking himself in the face with a frying pan. And those bulbous eyes – they’re way too big for his head.’

Tamsyn was shaking her head. ‘I can’t believe you’re saying that. He has gorgeous eyes and I think he’s beautiful. Maybe it’s your attitude he doesn’t like.’

Daisy took a sharp intake of breath. ‘My attitude? That dog is 99 per cent attitude.’ And one per cent pig she thought to herself as she flopped back onto the towel and was reminded it was lying on a bed of stones; but she wasn’t going to let on to her discomfort.

‘Well, Reg loved him and Reg loved you. It kind of makes you related,’ said Tamsyn, settling herself down.

Daisy shot bolt upright. ‘No, it doesn’t.’ She shook her head at the ridiculous suggestion. ‘I am not related to a bloody pug.’

‘I think you’re in denial,’ said Tamsyn shutting her eyes.

Daisy opened her mouth to argue further but realising it was pointless she shook her head and lay back down, a little more gently this time.

‘I hear you met Jason last night,’ said Tamsyn.

‘Is there some sort of live feed or webcam I don’t know about? Or am I actually part of a TV programme like The Truman Show – The Daisy Wickens Show?’ She was amazed how everyone seemed to know what was going on almost before it had happened. This was the problem with small towns. To the untrained eye, Ottercombe Bay probably seemed an average-sized town but take out all the holiday lets, all the camp sites, the second homers and day trippers and the core of locals was actually a lot smaller. It was most definitely a village and a peculiar one at that.

‘No, silly,’ giggled Tamsyn. ‘There’s a hole in the wall between our cottages.’

‘What?’ Daisy was outraged and found she was covering her precious areas with her hands.

‘Only kidding, but you should have seen your face. No, Jason told me he’d seen you.’

Daisy heaved a sigh of relief. It wouldn’t have surprised her if there were a hole in the wall. She gave up on lying down and sat up. ‘Are you and Jason together?’

Tamsyn gave a tinny laugh. ‘Noooo, he’s not my type. Too geeky.’

Daisy scrunched her face up. Given Tamsyn’s interesting dress sense and love of fantasy novels she thought perhaps she shouldn’t be throwing stones at someone else’s glass house. ‘Okay, who would be your type?’

Tamsyn’s gaze drifted off to sea. Daisy was moments away from waving a hand in front of her face when she eventually spoke. ‘I like my men beefy and broad shouldered. Intelligent but not geeky. Romantic, kind and caring, like Flynn Rider.’

‘The cartoon character?’ queried Daisy, although she wasn’t sure why this should be a surprise to her.

‘Yes, he’s perfect and Tangled is my favourite film ever.’

‘Okay, anything else?’

‘Someone who likes the same things I do, like fantasy novels, vintage, dragons, crafting, pineapples and buttons. And they have to be an animal lover.’ She shot Daisy a withering look.

‘That’s some list. You found anyone who fits your criteria?’

‘Not yet. How about you?’

Daisy felt uncomfortable, she wasn’t big on sharing at the best of times. ‘Nope, no one.’

‘Oh, come on, there must have been someone in the last zillion years. Don’t fob me off. All those trips abroad to exotic destinations full of hotties, there must have been a few.’

Daisy admired Tamsyn’s tenacity. ‘There was one guy.’

‘Only one?’ Tamsyn tilted her head. ‘You guard your heart like a dragon guards its hoard.’

Daisy was momentarily stunned by Tamsyn’s profound insight. ‘Anyway … I meant only one serious one. His name was Guillaume.’

‘Gee-om?’ mimicked Tamsyn with a titter. ‘How do you spell it?’

‘Trust me that won’t help you. He was very French, olive skinned and utterly gorgeous.’

Tamsyn bore the expression of the perpetually bewildered. ‘Was his skin like black or green olives?’

‘Neither,’ said Daisy with a chuckle. ‘It’s a warm tone, like having a good tan.’

‘Okay.’ Tamsyn still looked perplexed but she settled down for the story anyway. ‘What went wrong?’

‘We rowed a lot. Mainly about money. He was a huge risk taker. We had a good thing going in France and we lost the lot because of his stupid get-rich-quick schemes.’ Daisy’s voice was tinged with temper.

‘But now Reg has left you some money, could you try again with Gee-womb?’

Daisy was already shaking her head. ‘No. I couldn’t trust him not to blow every penny. I’m better off on my own.’ She knew this was true, but she also knew it wasn’t that simple. Guillaume had hurt her greatly. It was rare that Daisy let down the barriers she had erected around her heart but she’d let him march in and he’d torn it to shreds. ‘Anyway, I like being on my own.’

‘I don’t believe you,’ said Tamsyn bluntly. Daisy looked taken aback. ‘I mean, you must miss your parents.’

Daisy felt uneasy and pulled in a steadying breath. ‘Dad and I keep in touch. He seems happier in Goa. A little more at peace than he ever was in the UK. And of course, I miss Mum every day.’ Daisy thumbed her locket. She couldn’t begin to explain the emotions just thinking about her mother trawled up.

Tamsyn patted her leg. ‘Your mum was lovely. It was sad she died. Such an awful accident.’

Daisy swallowed. This was a subject she was uncomfortable discussing but she couldn’t let Tamsyn’s comment go unchallenged. ‘But we don’t know it was an accident.’

Tamsyn became animated. ‘You don’t believe the rumours that your dad killed her, do you?’

‘No,’ said Daisy. She was shocked by the statement, even though she was familiar with the rumours. Despite his best efforts, the suspicions had still reached her and she knew it was one of the main reasons they had left the area a few months after her mother’s death, just before her eighth birthday. ‘But someone else could have caused her death. We know she drowned but not how exactly. The inquest was an open verdict.’ This still haunted Daisy.

Tamsyn bit her lip as if considering her next sentence. ‘Or it could have been suicide.’

Daisy shook her head. This was an idea too awful to entertain. ‘But why? Why would she kill herself? She had people who loved her. Dad said she was the happiest person he knew.’ And she had me, she thought, how could she have left me? Daisy concentrated hard to keep control of the emotions starting to bubble inside.

Sadness clouded Tamsyn’s face. ‘I guess we’ll never know,’ she said, giving Daisy’s leg another pat.

Daisy paused for a moment while she considered something. She liked Tamsyn and she was beginning to feel she could trust her. She undid the clasp on the chain of her locket and handed it to Tamsyn. ‘I think this holds the key.’

‘There’s an actual key inside?’ Tamsyn’s eyes were wide like Bugsy’s.

‘No, I think it holds the clue to what happened to my mother.’

‘Is there a message engraved on it or a note inside?’ Tamsyn studied the locket closely.

‘No, there’s no message.’ Sometimes Tamsyn was hard work. ‘It was with my mother’s effects when the police handed them over. Dad has always maintained he’d never seen it before and even tried to give it back to the police but they insisted it was hers.’

‘So who’s right?’ asked Tamsyn.

‘I don’t know, but if my mother had it with her the night she died then I believe it holds the answer to what happened.’