Forever at Conwenna Cove Read online

  ‘Nate?’

  He looked up to find Zoe standing next to him. He got to his feet.

  ‘How are you?’

  She’d washed her face and brushed her hair and, apart from a fleck of mud on the shoulder of her cream blouse, there was no evidence that she’d been lying in compost at all.

  ‘I’m okay, thanks. My pride is bruised, or should I say muddied, but that’s all.’

  She was making a joke of it? He smiled in response.

  ‘Here, have a seat.’

  She sat down and he gestured at the tea. ‘I don’t know if you take sugar but I put some in it anyway.’

  ‘For the shock?’

  ‘Yeah…’

  ‘Thank you.’ She peered over his shoulder. ‘Oh no… is your uncle out there tidying up my mess?’

  ‘He’s almost done. I would’ve helped but I wanted to check you were all right.’

  ‘I should help him.’ She went to get up but he put out a hand.

  ‘You’re going nowhere until you’ve drunk your tea and I’m certain that you are fit enough to leave.’

  Her dark eyebrows rose slightly but she picked up the mug and drank.

  Nate wanted to ask about her scar again but he didn’t want to scare her away, so instead he went for what he thought would be a safer topic.

  ‘I noticed that you have tattoos.’

  She lowered the mug and nodded.

  ‘One on your wrist and one on the back of your neck.’

  ‘All down to my foolish and misspent youth.’ She gave a wry smile.

  ‘I like them. The one on your wrist is very cool.’

  Zoe turned her hand over and they both gazed at the wave on her wrist.

  ‘You like the sea?’ After her reaction – when he’d gone to the diner – to his suggestion that she could surf during the greyhound event, Nate thought he knew the answer to this one, but then who had a tattoo of a wave if they didn’t like the water?

  ‘I did.’

  ‘Not any more?’

  She shook her head. ‘I wasn’t confident about swimming as a child but when I got older, I quite liked being out in the sea. Well… I got used to it, at least.’

  ‘Swimming?’

  ‘Surfing.’

  ‘You surfed?’

  ‘Don’t look so surprised. We don’t all need to be blonde and tanned.’

  ‘That’s such a stereotype, and it wasn’t what I meant at all.’

  She pressed her lips together and Nate watched as they blanched.

  ‘Sorry, Zoe. Sometimes, when I’m around you, I don’t quite say what I mean. I’m not sure why… What I meant was that I’m surprised that you surfed. Only because I didn’t know anything about it, not because of what you look like or because I think there’s a type.’

  ‘You have a type though, right?’ As the blood rushed back into her lips, it filled her cheeks too. ‘Sorry. Now it’s me being hasty with my words.’

  ‘Are you trying to say that you only ever see me with a certain kind of woman, Zoe?’

  ‘Well… yes. I guess so. When was the last time you dated a redhead or a brunette? Not that it’s any of my business who you date or why. You obviously only fancy women with blonde hair.’

  ‘That’s not true, actually.’

  Zoe shrugged. ‘As I said, none of my business. Anyway, thanks for the tea. I’d better be getting back to work.’

  ‘Don’t go yet. I wanted to talk to you and I feel like this has gone all wrong. Like we’ve both been a bit… prickly… for want of a better word, and I don’t know why.’

  ‘Prickly?’ Her eyes widened.

  ‘Well, yes. I’m not like this, Zoe. I’m usually calm and able to hold a decent conversation with people… women… but with you, I’m like an awkward teenager again.’

  ‘You were once awkward?’

  He nodded.

  ‘I can’t imagine that.’

  ‘I have photos to prove it.’

  Her lips turned upwards and some of his tension slipped away. He didn’t know why it mattered but he wanted to make her smile, to see laughter dance in those soft brown eyes.

  ‘What about the other tattoo?’

  ‘This one?’ Zoe touched the back of her neck.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘It’s an eternity symbol.’

  ‘Because?’

  ‘You don’t want to know.’

  ‘I do.’

  ‘Okay then, but it makes me sound a bit… harsh, I guess. I had it done to remind me not to trust a man ever again.’

  ‘Oh.’ Now things became a little clearer. Zoe had been hurt in the past. ‘I see.’

  ‘You asked.’ She sighed. ‘Sorry. I just had a bad experience and I wanted something to remind me not to put myself at risk again.’

  ‘But you can’t see it. Doesn’t it need to be where you can see it to remind you?’

  ‘I know it’s there. Besides, I had it put on the back of my neck to symbolize how it’s behind me now. The whole foolish and naive believing in love and happy-ever-after nonsense.’

  Nate nodded. What had she been through to make her so against the idea of falling in love?

  ‘I have some tattoos too.’

  ‘What’ve you got?’

  ‘This one here.’ He lifted the sleeve of his T-shirt slightly to reveal a skull on the underside of his left arm. Either side of the skull were surfboards, and behind those towering waves. ‘It’s about—’

  ‘Respecting the power of the sea.’

  ‘That’s right.’

  ‘One false move and it can crush you.’

  ‘Is that what happened to you?’

  ‘I thought we were looking at your tattoos.’

  ‘Of course. Well, there’s one here.’ He lifted the hem of his T-shirt to reveal the one on his right side that covered his ribs and disappeared beneath his jeans and over his hip.

  ‘It’s a tree.’

  ‘Yggdrasil. The tree from Norse mythology.’

  ‘It must have taken hours.’

  ‘Three sittings.’

  ‘How…’

  ‘How what?’

  ‘How far down does it go?’ she asked him, and he watched as her cheeks darkened.

  ‘You want to see?’

  She glanced around her. ‘Uh…’

  ‘Not here… but I could show you sometime.’

  Was he flirting with her now? He believed he was and he was enjoying himself.

  ‘Ha!’ She shook her head. ‘If I did want to see it, it would be purely because I like tattoos.’

  ‘Of course. Do you have more?’

  She pursed her lips. ‘Perhaps.’

  ‘Well, one day I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.’

  ‘You really have the cheek of the devil, don’t you?’

  He laughed and she joined him.

  ‘In answer to your question, Zoe, it runs down over my hip. The roots tail off at the top of my upper thigh.’

  ‘Gorgeous.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  ‘I meant the tattoo.’

  ‘I know you did.’

  ‘I should be going.’

  Nate pulled his mobile from his pocket and checked the time. He didn’t want her to go now that the ice between them seemed to have thawed. He wanted to keep talking, to find out more about her and to show her the rest of his tattoos, as well as to see hers. If she actually had more, that was, and wasn’t trying to wind him up. But boy, was he curious now…

  ‘Zoe, would you like to grab a drink sometime?’

  ‘A drink?’

  ‘Yes. You know, at the pub or the wine bar.’

  ‘Oh… uh…’

  ‘Just as friends. No expectations, no pressure, no worrying. I’d like to talk to you more.’

  ‘I guess I could join you for a drink.’

  ‘Great. Shall we meet at eight at the wine bar on Saturday?’

  ‘Make it nine, as I keep the diner open a bit later in the summer.’

  ‘Nine it is,
then.’

  Zoe stood up and slid her bag over her shoulder.

  ‘Now, look out for low-flying plant pots, Zoe.’

  ‘Ha ha!’ She shook her head, but just before she went through the door and into the summer afternoon, she flashed him a warm smile, and something inside him fluttered, as if she’d fanned the flames of the spark she’d already lit inside him.

  Chapter 6

  ‘There’s a good girl, Monica.’

  Nate smoothed the soft head of the black and white greyhound. ‘Let’s go for a good long walk, shall we?’

  Monica dropped into a bow, her long tail curving upwards and wagging with delight. Nate clipped the lead onto her collar then waved at Neil as they left the sanctuary and headed off across the fields.

  It was early Saturday morning and the grass was wet with dew. Birds were singing in the hedgerows and everything had that flawless aura that exists first thing in the morning before the day really gets underway. The air smelt of earth, grass and flowers and Nate sucked in deep breaths, enjoying the beauty of the location. That was one of the great things about Conwenna Cove; it was on the coast yet also so rural. You could walk up from the cove and be in the countryside in no time at all.

  Once they reached the main road that led down into Conwenna, all Nate could hear apart from the birds’ morning chorus were his footsteps on the tarmac, the pattering of Monica’s claws and the tinkling of the clasp against the ring on Monica’s collar. They walked briskly, warming their muscles as the sun began to heat the earth, and Monica trotted effortlessly at his side.

  They soon reached the fork in the road that led off to the main street with the shops and the harbour and, in the other direction, to the cove. Nate took a right and followed the route along the cliffs until they got to the path that led down to the beach.

  ‘Let’s be careful going down here, Monica,’ he said, as much for himself as for the greyhound.

  At the bottom, Nate looked around. The beach appeared to be deserted, so he unclipped Monica from the lead then patted her gently.

  ‘Go on, girl. You can have a run!’

  Monica smiled for a moment, her brown eyes assessing him, then gave a skip and raced away, curving in a great arc until she came heading back to him. He laughed as she swerved at the last minute to avoid him, then bolted along the beach in the other direction.

  Monica had only been at the sanctuary for a few weeks but she was proving to be a very sweet and friendly greyhound. At four years old, she had been raced but after winning her first few races, she’d apparently proved to be nothing spectacular on the track, so the owner had passed her on to the rehoming charity. As Nate watched her run, he knew that she did it for the sheer joy of running and not because she was being forced into it. And that was why he knew that he wanted to help the sanctuary financially. It was so important. He would have homed Monica in a second if he’d been staying around, but knowing that he was soon leaving meant that he had to distance himself from falling for her, a bit like he’d always distanced himself from the women in his life. A bit like he knew he should be distancing himself from Zoe, and certainly not taking her out for a drink that evening.

  The pounding of small feet on the sand dragged him back to the present and soon Monica was at his side, leaning against him.

  ‘Come on, let’s have a wander together, shall we?’

  He clipped her lead back on now that she’d had a chance to stretch her legs and they ambled down to the sea that was on its way out. In the morning light, the water appeared dark, deep and vast. There was a haze hanging over the sea that made the horizon blurry, as if a low-lying cloud of smoke was drifting across the water, and he watched as seagulls swooped and soared, apparently oblivious to the fact that they were being watched.

  ‘Hello!’

  Nate turned at the greeting and waved in return. He didn’t recognise the couple approaching him with a fawn greyhound in tow. Greyhound owners tended to be pretty friendly on the whole and, in his experience, they were always keen to talk about their dogs.

  ‘Hi there.’ Nate smiled as the couple neared him.

  ‘You here on holiday?’ the man asked, and Nate noted the musical Welsh accent.

  ‘No, I’m a local. This here’s Monica from the sanctuary up at Foxglove Farm.’

  ‘Not yours, then?’

  ‘No, I exercise the dogs for the sanctuary manager when I can.’

  The man smiled. ‘I’m Nigel Maggs and this is my wife, Gaynor.’ He held out his hand and Nate shook it. ‘And this here’s our boy, Ash.’

  ‘Pleased to meet you.’

  ‘We’re on holiday in Cornwall and thought we’d visit Conwenna Cove today. Got an early start as Ash wanted sausages for breakfast.’

  Nigel leant over and stroked Ash’s head and the greyhound responded by leaning against his legs.

  ‘Sausages, eh?’ Nate laughed when Ash’s ears pricked up.

  ‘He does love his sausages,’ Gaynor said. ‘And he loves cake.’

  At this, Nigel’s grin grew bigger. ‘Oh, we have some stories about this one, believe me.’

  ‘I think most greyhound owners do.’

  ‘Proper food thief he is. Good job we love him so much.’

  ‘I don’t know if you’ll still be around but on the first Saturday of August, we’re having an event to raise money for the charity. It’s called Surf for Sighthounds.’

  ‘We’d have loved that, but we’ll be back home by then and back in work.’

  ‘That’s a shame.’ Nate nodded. ‘But I hope you enjoy your holiday.’

  ‘I’m sure we will. We’ve travelled quite a lot over recent years, but we were just saying that we’ve never been anywhere quite as lovely as Conwenna Cove.’

  ‘It is a beautiful location. Also, if it’s sausages you’re wanting, there’s the cafe on the main street, or you could try the diner down by the harbour. You can get a good meal at both places.’

  ‘Fabulous, thanks.’ Nigel smiled. ‘We’re going to have a long walk now to work up an appetite, then head into the village for a well-earned breakfast.’

  ‘Good for you. Bye!’

  Nate gave a wave then headed back to the path with Monica.

  Nigel and Gaynor had been very friendly and their dog looked so happy and well cared for. Ash was clearly adored, especially if they were laughing at his food-stealing antics. Nate hoped Monica would find a good home too. It was what he wanted for all the hounds that came to the sanctuary.

  As they climbed the path to the cliffs, Nate spoke softly to Monica about the home she would find and the family who would love her, about the happy days she had ahead of her and the good walks she would enjoy. And all the time, she seemed to be listening, because when they reached the top, he sat down on the grass and she came and stood close to him, then licked his cheek. She clearly liked the dream he’d described to her and now he hoped it would come true.

  And as he sat there, gazing at the sea, something inside him lurched. Something Nigel had said was playing on his mind. Conwenna Cove was a beautiful location and Nate lived there, yet he was thinking of leaving it all. He had all this on his doorstep and he realized in that moment exactly how much he was going to miss it.

  Was he doing the right thing after all?

  * * *

  Zoe placed the diner phone back behind the counter and hugged herself. This was brilliant news! Grace Phillips had just phoned and asked if she and Oli could hold their engagement party at the diner the following Saturday. It didn’t give her much time, but Grace had told Zoe what she wanted and it wasn’t too ambitious, and Zoe could certainly manage it. With both her chefs on board, the diner could easily cater for around thirty guests. Grace had told Zoe that they’d decided to bring the engagement party forward because Oli wanted Nate to be there, so they’d decided to do it before he went away and before the Surf for Sighthounds event, when the village was likely to become really busy indeed.

  She jotted a few notes down on her pad then check
ed her watch. It was four-thirty, which meant that she was meeting Nate in four and a half hours. Her stomach did a loop-the-loop and she rolled her eyes. Why was she getting nervous? She was simply meeting a nice local guy for a drink and a chat. And yet… the thought of what they’d discussed the day before was lingering at the back of her mind. He’d said that he’d show her the rest of his tattoo and it led down under his jeans…

  She shook herself. This was silly. Yes, he was an attractive man but Zoe had no intention of getting involved with anyone. Nate represented everything she’d sworn she’d stay away from in life and she wasn’t going to go back on her word, however nice he seemed. Besides, he was leaving at the end of the summer and that was probably a good thing because then Zoe could go back to her normal existence and focus on the diner and…

  And what, exactly?

  What, or who, was waiting for Zoe when she got home at night?

  Who was there to run her a bath or make her a cup of tea or to hold her when she woke from one of her nightmares?

  There was no one.

  Zoe was alone.

  She gripped the edge of the counter and waited for the dark cloud to pass. It would move on, she knew this from experience, but when it loomed, it was as horrid as always. All she needed to do was to remind herself how lucky she was to have her own business; to live in a beautiful seaside village; and to have a lovely Cornish cottage where she could walk around in her pyjamas all day and eat ice cream straight from the tub if she wanted. She could watch reality TV shows all evening without having to compromise on sharing the remote. She could stretch out in the bed and not worry about elbowing someone else in the face or whether she’d shaved her legs in weeks.

  Yes, she was fine. Zoe was just fine… she was more than fine.

  She released her grip on the counter and forced her face into a smile. She had several hours of work left so she would focus on that, on giving her customers the best experience they could have at her diner, then she would go and meet Nate for a drink. And she would not think about his tattoos: the ones she had seen… and the ones she hadn’t.