‘I spent a small fortune in her shop, maybe that was her ulterior motive.’
‘You’ll be going back to Windsor with an extra suitcase if you’re not careful.’
‘Don’t joke!’
‘Are you missing home?’
‘I’m getting fed up with living out of a suitcase and in one room. I get bored unless I’m with Barney.’ Or with him, but she wasn’t going to admit that. The other night when she’d gone to his house to tell him about the letter she’d found, she knew deep down it was an excuse. She’d wanted to see him, she wanted to know he hadn’t met up with Casey after going to his mum’s, and her relief when he’d turned up alone had wracked her with guilt when she thought of Jay. At the start of her relationship with Jay she’d got the feeling that complicated emotions weren’t a thing with him and it was a relief after everything that had gone on. But now, spending so much time with Harvey was making her question herself and it was hard to know which way to turn. Part of her longed to leave and head back to familiarity, her job, Jay; the other part of her felt as though she really did belong here, and the more time she spent with Harvey, the harder it got. She knew that her being in another man’s company wouldn’t faze Jay but the history between herself and Harvey might. And the longer she kept his name out of any of their conversations whether by phone or email, the harder it got to mention him.
Harvey gave up skimming stones and sat down beside her, watching the gentle waves coming in to the cove, splaying out and clutching every grain of sand they could before fading away again. ‘Did you see the tears in Barney’s eyes this morning when we showed him the barn?’
‘I did. And I’m glad.’ She nudged him when he pulled a face. ‘Not because we made him cry but because he’s all in. He might not be running the show, but I think perhaps it might go well and make him want it to run next year.’
‘And where will you be next year?’
She shrugged and then asked, ‘What brings you down here anyway?’ He wasn’t walking Winnie so she wondered whether he’d followed her down her. Her suspicions were correct.
‘I saw you head down this way and I wanted to talk to you about Barney. I’ve been thinking about what you said, the reasons behind Barney hosting the ball in the first place.’
‘You don’t think I’m being ridiculous?’
‘No, I don’t. It didn’t occur to me before but after I left his place, after we’d shown him the barn, I remembered a conversation I had with him a few years back. I’d seen the newspaper coverage about the event and for some reason I asked more questions, I wanted to know what gave him the idea and why he picked that charity.’
‘Can you remember what he said?’
‘He always insisted he got the idea from somewhere else and it just seemed a good idea for a community event. He didn’t answer the bit about the charity. From what I remember he avoided that part of my question and changed the subject. He said helping the community was the most important thing.’
‘He always did have everyone else in mind.’
‘He did, still does. You know, he hated that you’d left here and gone to London, not just because he never saw you, but because he said you’d be one in thousands, you probably wouldn’t know your neighbours, nobody looked out for each other anymore.’
‘He told me all that before I left too, but he never once tried to stop me.’
‘He wouldn’t have, he thinks too much of you.’
‘Why didn’t you stop me, Harvey? I mean, you didn’t go with me, but you never told me not to go either.’
The muscles in his forearms twitched when he stood and brushed the sand from his jeans. ‘Let’s focus on Barney, shall we?’
‘We need to talk, Harvey.’ She followed after him when he began to walk away, close to his heels to close the gap. ‘I’m not looking for an argument.’
She hadn’t expected him to turn around so suddenly, their bodies almost touching, the wind lifting her hair and blowing it across her face. She could smell a mixture of the lavender shampoo she used and something more earthy, masculine, a part of him.
He reached a hand up and hooked her hair away from her face and in that moment she saw the regret in his eyes, the love that might still be there. Or was she making up stories in her mind that weren’t really there at all?
‘Hey, you guys!’ The voice behind Harvey broke the moment and it was Tracy coming down onto the sands with her dog, Mischief.
‘Hey.’ Melissa reached down to fuss the dog but it was more intent on barrelling towards the water.
The wind had picked up and Tracy was struggling to keep the strands of her hair away from her face too. ‘Mischief loves it down here, she’s the boss some days when I just have to get her outside.’ She looked from Harvey to Melissa and back again but if she picked up on anything she didn’t mention it.
‘I’ll leave you women to talk,’ said Harvey, waving a goodbye and making his way back up the sands towards the steps that would take him away, back up to the track.
Melissa watched him go as Tracy encouraged Mischief out of the water so they could walk along the shore. The dog had boundless energy but was obedient with it.
‘I’ve already walked her around Heritage Cove,’ said Tracy, ‘but I knew coming down here to the beach would wear her out. She’ll likely sleep all afternoon in the garden.’ She threw a ball she’d brought with her some distance in front of them for Mischief to chase after.
As they walked along Melissa told Tracy all about Barney and his reaction to what they’d done with the barn. ‘I think I may have been right to suspect the ball is more important to him than he’s ever let on.’
