Chapter 9

9

‘This is nice.' Megan finished the last of her chips and leaned back on her elbows, looking up at the summer sun. With the sand beneath her and the gentle hush of the waves lapping at the water's edge, she might have been mistaken for thinking she was on some exotic holiday somewhere or other. She smiled. No, this was much better than a holiday. She had good company and after working on Wagging Tails' books and digging the ground, she actually felt as though she'd done a good morning's work. She felt as though she'd earned this lunch break.

‘It is. You can't beat West Par beach. Especially during the height of the tourist season.' Jay sank against the sand next to her.

Sitting up on her elbows again, Megan glanced up and down the beach. It was desolate. ‘It's empty,' she commented. Not another soul was even wandering across the sand.

‘Exactly.' Jay grinned. ‘That's how I like it. The peace and quiet.'

Megan laughed. ‘I see. Yes, it is rather nice.'

It was definitely a stark contrast to the beaches she, Lyle and their friends would frequent in Mallorca. They'd often be lucky to carve enough space to stretch their legs, let alone to lounge and enjoy the tranquillity of being able to hear the ocean.

She looked down at Jay, suddenly realising that apart from the fact he was divorced, she knew very little about him despite having spent the last few days in each other's company at Wagging Tails.

‘Do you live here?' she asked. ‘In West Par?'

‘I do. Just up the road from the village hall. How about you?'

‘Oh no. I used to live up in Cumbria. I moved out when my soon-to-be ex-husband and I broke up.' She swallowed. After what Jay had said yesterday about Lyle and the proposed development, she was careful not to say his name.

Sitting up again, Jay shielded his eyes from the bright sun's rays with his hand and looked at her. ‘You've got family down here?'

‘No.' Megan shook her head.

‘Friends then?'

‘Nope.'

‘How come you chose West Par, then, if you don't mind me asking? Have you been here before?'

‘I have.' Megan nodded slowly. She could feel the prickle of heat tracing across her cheeks. ‘I came here so I could volunteer at Wagging Tails.'

She looked across at the ocean, picking out a small ship on the horizon. Why had she said that? It was bound to raise more questions. Who would move hundreds of miles away to volunteer at a dogs' home when there were likely a few hundred, if not more, between there and here?

‘You've lived here all your life?'

An awkward silence hung in the air before Jay shook his head ever so slightly. ‘No, I moved down here with my ex-wife when we found out she was expecting our daughter. We were in London and wanted to get out of the rat race and Leanne had family this way, over in Gweek, so it was the natural thing to do. When we were looking, we both fell in love with this area and so when a small cottage came up for sale in West Par we jumped at the chance.'

Megan nodded. He'd bought another place in West Par when they'd divorced then. Likely to be close to his daughter. She couldn't think of anything worse than living in the same city, let alone the same tiny village as your ex. She shuddered. Even just the thought of running into Lyle in the shops or on the street made her feel sick.

‘You decided to stay around here when you divorced then?'

‘Leanne left to move in with Patrick, the bloke she had an affair with. They're over in Trestow so it's not far.'

‘Ah. Sorry to hear that.'

Jay shrugged. ‘It's nice to be able to stay in the same cottage where Mia grew up. It meant she had some sort of stability even when we were going through the break-up.' He shifted position on the sand and looked out to sea. ‘Although of course when she's not there, all I'm left with are the memories of what was supposed to be our family home.'

Megan watched as he rubbed the palm of his hand across his face and looked across at her again. So he lived in his old marital home. She didn't think she could. Everything would have changed and yet nothing. The same house full of the same memories and yet not with the same people.

‘Fancy a paddle?'

‘A paddle?'

‘Yes, in the sea.' He chuckled as he nodded towards the water.

‘Umm, okay!'

‘Great.'

Megan slipped her trainers off while Jay stood up, holding his hand out towards her.

His grip was firm but gentle, and Megan let herself be pulled to standing before following him towards the water's edge. She gingerly dipped her toes in, the water warm against her skin as she stepped forward, her feet sinking into the wet sand beneath the water. She grinned at Jay as he rolled the bottom of his jeans up and waded in up to his knees.

‘Ah, that's lovely.'

‘I was half expecting it to be cold. I'm not even sure why, being as it's so hot today.' Megan laughed. ‘It's probably just memories of holidaying on the coast as a kid and my dad enticing me into the water only for me to discover it was absolutely freezing! I think it put me off getting into any British oceans since then.'

‘Ah, you've not been to Cornwall in the summer before then?' Jay raised his eyebrows.

‘Nope. I haven't.' She looked out across the ocean, the two cliffs on either side of them hugging the cove, the water a clear shade of blue. It really was picture postcard perfect here.

‘Do you go abroad a lot then?'

Megan scrunched up her nose. She had. She and Lyle had always gone on a lot of holidays, four, five or even six a year, flying off to warmer climates, but all of that had stopped when he'd moved from building management to starting up his own company, or companies should she say? It had felt as though he'd started one company after the other in the last five years, one a year probably. Of course, she now guessed the new companies were to cover up some immoral thing or another, but at the time she'd believed him when he'd said he was merely experimenting with different business images and structures.

‘I used to.'

‘You don't like to talk much about yourself, do you?'

Megan looked out towards the horizon in the direction of the ship. It must have passed the opening to the cove now, leaving the waters still and empty.

‘Honestly? It's not that I don't like talking about myself, it's just that I suppose everything about my adult life has included my ex, every holiday, everything really, and I guess I just don't want to dwell on that. It's in the past and I'm grateful it's in the past. This is my time to look to the future now.'

Jay nodded.

‘Does that make sense?' She reached down and, copying Jay, rolled her jeans up before inching further into the water, the warmth a welcome distraction to the thoughts whirring in her mind.

‘It does. It makes perfect sense.' Jay smiled, the lines around his eyes reflecting the kindness in them. ‘In that case, where would you like to go on holiday? In the future. Anywhere you like?'

‘Anywhere?'

‘Anywhere.'

‘Umm…' Megan smiled and dipped her hands into the warm sea. ‘Scotland.'

‘Scotland? Not Bali or the Bahamas or even Alaska? Scotland?'

‘Yep. I've never been, and I've heard so much about it. About how stunning the countryside is, how beautiful Edinburgh is. I'd love to explore the history of Edinburgh too. Take a tour around that underground street, you know the one I mean?' Her eyes lit up as she spoke about it. ‘Oh, and drive out into the middle of nowhere just to see the view.'

‘That does sound wonderful.' Jay grinned. ‘Scotland is a rather magical place.'

‘Have you been? My parents went there on their honeymoon and I can't remember the number of times I looked through their old photo album, wishing they'd take me.' She tucked her hair behind her ears, little droplets of seawater dripping onto her cheeks from her hand as she did so.

They'd planned to go when she'd turned eighteen – a big birthday and a big holiday – only she'd gone and met Lyle three months before and he'd organised a party at his local pub instead. She'd been head over heels in love and so touched that he'd organise something like that for her that she'd insisted they postpone their Scottish holiday until her next birthday. By then, though, she and her parents hardly saw each other.

‘Are you okay?' Jay walked towards her, the water splashing around his shins as he did so.

She smiled, a short, sad smile. ‘I am. I was just thinking about my parents. They were going to take me for my eighteenth only plans got changed at the last minute.' She shook her head and focused on him again. ‘How about you? Where would you go on holiday?'

‘Oh, that's easy. I'd stay here.' Jay met her eyes.

Opening and closing her mouth, Megan then laughed. ‘I don't know if that's allowed!'

‘Ah, I guess it's cheating a little, isn't it?' Chuckling, he glanced around the cove. ‘West Par just has all the ingredients for the perfect getaway, but okay, if I had to choose somewhere else, I'd probably choose somewhere like Lanzarote, I think. I've always wanted to see their rust-coloured beaches.'

‘Fair enough. It's a good choice.' Lanzarote had been a firm favourite of Lyle's and hers, but Jay was right, West Par did have all the ingredients of the perfect holiday, and the bonus was there didn't seem to be many tourists.

‘I suppose we should probably be getting back. Flora will be sending out a search party soon if we don't.' Jay made a face.

‘Yes, you're probably right.' Megan checked her watch. ‘We've been an hour and a half! Where did that time go?'

‘It's a good job we're not employed, isn't it? Or else we'd likely be getting the sack.' He grinned.

‘Ha ha, you're right. Not that I can imagine Flora sacking anyone.'

‘No, we might be lucky. She does seem to be the perfect boss. In fact, Wagging Tails is likely one of the best places to work.' He stepped out of the water and rolled his trouser legs down. ‘It seems like a little family rather than anything else.'

‘Absolutely. I'm really enjoying volunteering there.'

As she walked back onto the sand, Megan brushed as much of it off her wet skin as she could before rolling down the legs of her jeans. She smoothed the fabric down just as Jay tripped beside her. Putting her arm out, she grabbed hold of his forearm to steady him and held it while he found his footing again.

‘Thank you.' Jay chuckled. ‘I'm not even sure what I tripped over. My own feet probably!'

Megan grinned. ‘As long as you're okay. You can't break any bones, not when we've got to finish digging out the foundations.'

‘Ha ha, you're right.' He looked down at his arm, where Megan's hand was still gripping it.

‘Sorry.' As she drew her hand away, she could feel the tingle of embarrassment streak across her face.

‘Hey, don't be sorry.' Jay looked at her, their eyes locking. ‘You just about saved my life there.'

Megan snorted. ‘As if.'

‘Well, thank you again.'

And with that, the moment passed.

Megan tugged on her trainers; her face still tingling with heat. What had that been about? She glanced across at him quickly as he lowered himself to the sand, pulling on his own trainers. Had that been ‘a moment'? The ‘moment', the ‘spark' which every single romance film she'd grown up with portrayed?

She shook her head. Of course, it hadn't. He was divorced and she soon would be too. Lyle hadn't even received the papers yet as far as she knew. She pulled her mobile from her back pocket and checked it quickly. Nope, nothing. Still no missed calls or angry messages to suggest he had.

She picked up their empty chip wrappers and looked towards the top of the beach. She was sure they'd passed a bin on their way on their way here.