She climbed into her jeep, feeling like a spoonful of cough syrup. ‘Guess I was just what the doctor ordered,’ she mumbled to the steering wheel. Not that she could complain. After all, she did invite him home because it was exactly what she needed as well. So why was she feeling as though she’d just been dumped? ‘Oh, get a grip, you silly mare.’ She took a deep breath, started the engine, and set off, wondering if Will really would show up to work in her café.
Chapter 7
Will
As soon as Will entered Ginny’s café, he marched directly over to where she sat, visibly uncomfortable, on a hard wooden chair by the back wall. ‘Here, I bought you these to read.’ He handed over two magazines. One was filled with crosswords and short stories, and the other was homestyle and gardens; he wasn’t sure what she would enjoy. ‘Give me two secs.’ He dashed off to the door he figured led out back to the kitchen.
‘Erm, who are you?’ asked a woman in her fifties, adjusting her black apron strings and now looking at him aghast.
He went to hold out a hand but realized he was still holding the soft rectangular cushion he needed to sort. ‘Sorry, I’m Will. I’m helping Ginny today. Did she mention me? Erm, can I just pop this in the microwave to heat up? It’s like a hot water bottle, just safer.’ He glanced around.
‘Oh yeah, she did mention something. Hurt her back this morning. Over here.’ She pointed to the large silver microwave. ‘Let me.’
Will handed her the cushion and waited for it to warm.
‘I’m Annie. You’re new around here, aren’t you?’
He must be sticking out like a sore thumb. The fishing village was small, but not that small. Surely not everyone he laid eyes on would know he was the new kid.
‘How long have you worked here?’ He figured small talk might stop the woman from sizing him up.
‘I was here before Ginny took over. Been working here since I left school. Does me all right.’
The microwave pinged, so retrieving the now warm cushion from Annie, Will quickly headed back to Ginny.
‘Ooh, that’s nice,’ she said, wriggling the heated cushion behind her back.
Will grinned, mightily chuffed with himself for helping her. ‘Thought it might do the trick.’ He waited for her to meet his eyes, then smiled. ‘Tell me what else I can do?’
Ginny gestured at the wooden counter. ‘Best just do whatever Annie says. She could run this place with her eyes closed and one hand tied behind her back.’
‘I was going to do your job.’
‘Yeah, well, you’ll need more experience for that and a few certificates. Don’t worry, she’ll probably have you clearing tables and making sure the floor is obstacle free. Oh, and check the loo every so often. You need to make sure there’s toilet roll, hand soap, and no blockages or mess. Oh, and that no one has stolen the air freshener off the windowsill, because, yeah, that happens sometimes.’
Will was taking mental notes — along with noting that Annie, working the coffee machine, had one beady eye on him.
Giving Ginny a reassuring smile, Will headed over to Annie to report for duty. He was handed an apron, cloth, and spray bottle.
Will swiped a pen from a glass jar by the till which he handed to Ginny with a warm smile. He liked smiling at Ginny, and he especially liked the shy smiles she was giving him in return. He got on with tidying tables, never having put too much thought into plate-stacking techniques before, but at least it helped keep his mind off the one-night stand he’d had with her, not that he wanted to forget how good it was. Normally, he wouldn’t allow such an attachment, for fear of heartache, but for some reason he hadn’t been able to put Ginny out of his mind.
‘Will, right?’ said a man, in hefty yellow boots. ‘Jed pointed you out to me. I’m Shaun. Foreman at S&C Builders. Sorry Iwasn’t around the other week. Jed said you were looking for some work.’
Will lowered his spray bottle as Shaun closed the door behind him, keeping out the wind that had picked up. ‘Oh yeah. I was planning on popping over to see you sometime today.’ He raised his grey cloth. ‘Didn’t know I’d be helping out here.’
Shaun smiled. ‘This is Port Berry. There’s always someone helping out.’ He sank into a nearby chair and picked up the menu. ‘Jed filled me in. I can have you onsite helping out a couple of days a week, but that’s all I’ve got for someone inexperienced.’
‘That’ll do me just fine, cheers, mate. I plan to settle in around here, so doing some odd jobs while I find my feet is all I need. I like to keep busy.’
Shaun laughed as he eyed the fake seagull hanging above him. ‘You might get paid more here.’
‘Nah, this is free.’ Will noticed Ginny studying him, so he left Shaun browsing the menu and got back to work.
The café was busier than he’d anticipated, but at least it kept his mind occupied, because each time it wandered off, it went straight to the petite woman in the corner who looked like she’d just time-travelled from the 1940s.
Will had felt bad all morning, and not just because Ginny had hurt her back. When he was doing a final check around his grandmother’s cottage, he’d heard all the shouting and cursing from next door, and since finding out it was the Ginny he knew being abused, part of him was crushed on her behalf, but he couldn’t say anything. It was best he pretended he didn’t hear a thing. Something told him she would prefer that.
Maybe Sweet Cherry Lane wasn’t as sweet as it sounded. Will made a mental note not to live there. His family hadn’t had the best time there, and by the sound of what happened nextdoor, Ginny hadn’t either. Nope, there was no way he was living on a cursed street. Civvy Street was hard enough to navigate.
