‘Fair enough. Can’t imagine Etna leaving her tea rooms in the care of anyone, let alone staff young enough to be her grandchildren.’
‘Lucy has her own business too so she’s happy to stay put this year. We compromise with a few afternoons out but perhaps next year we’ll get that holiday.’
‘Lucy’s the blacksmith, right?’
‘She sure is. And a good one at that. You should stop by, see what she does – it’s a whole lot more than you’d expect.’
They got into more details of what Daniel needed doing here. He’d hire a digger for the groundwork, the whole fence would need to come out and he wanted bushes put in its place. The ground would then be paved and he’d have half a dozen picnic-style benches with some smaller bistro sets along the very edge for smaller parties.
‘I’ve already talked all this through with Harvey,’ Daniel said, pointing to the corner at the very rear. ‘I’m having a built-in fireplace out here in the seating area as well as outdoor heaters dotted around.’
‘It sounds like it’ll be a real extension of the inside.’
‘That’s what I’m hoping for.’ Daniel was about to talk more when he was called back to the shack again. ‘See, this is why I can’t go on holiday.’
Linc hadn’t ever wanted his own business. A handful of private guitar lessons was as close as he got to that, but for some, it was all they wanted. He’d watched Jade and her sister – well, mostly Jade – since he arrived and she was the same, very happy to be her own boss, make the big decisions, take all the risk. He had to hand it to them all, his auntie Etna included, it took a special person to be that way.
They went inside and after Daniel had jumped in to help with the sudden rush at the waffle shack by taking over serving at the till, dealing with a phone call and then accepting delivery of ice-cream from someone called Zara who ran the local ice-creamery, he and Linc discussed a start date based on Daniel’s plans and Harvey’s. And Linc hadn’t realised before but all this busyness, these distractions, along with an unfamiliar village, were doing the trick. His mind hadn’t felt this clear in ages; he felt more himself than he had in a long while.
‘Harvey says you’re on track to complete the bakery renovations,’ Daniel went on.
‘We’re a tiny bit ahead of schedule, actually. Thanks to the odd early start.’ The corner of his mouth twitched, a hint of a smile as he remembered Jade’s reaction the first day they met.
‘Harvey will do well with this renovations business,’ Daniel assessed proudly. ‘And his fiancée Melissa has given notice for her job as cabin crew. She’ll bring the feminine touch to the business – it’ll be a real success, I’m sure.’
‘Sounds like a good partnership.’
‘How about you?’ Daniel had taken two cans of Coke from the fridge and handed one to Linc. ‘Anyone waiting back in Cambridgeshire for you?’
‘No, I’m young free and single.’ And his previous relationship didn’t get any air time if he could help it.
Daniel’s face brightened as another customer came in but Linc soon realised it wasn’t a customer so much as a personal visit, judging by the hug the owner of the waffle shack received from the attractive blonde. This had to be Lucy. He’d seen her at a distance but this was the first time they’d met.
After Lucy said hello she introduced the young boy who’d come into the shack with her as Peter. ‘I found him outside,’ she told Daniel with a smile. ‘I was on my way back from delivering some items to Tilly’s Bits ’n’ Pieces when I saw Giselle pull up. She had the baby in the back of the car and he’d only just fallen asleep so I said I’d bring Peter up here with me before I headed back to work. She said she’ll see you tomorrow when she picks Peter up.’
Daniel ruffled the boy’s hair and pulled him into a hug that he tried to resist but clearly didn’t mind one bit. ‘How’s your mum coping with you two kids?’
‘The baby keeps her up a lot,’ Peter told him, dragging out the last two words to better make his point, but he loves the car seat.’
‘If I remember rightly, you always did too,’ Daniel grinned. ‘It’s great to have you here again. I’ll warn you though, the sun doesn’t go down until ten o’clock or thereabouts – I think we might still be making waffles at that time. Are you happy to have a late night and, in the meantime, work for your keep?’
Peter beamed. ‘Yes!’
Linc must have looked as though he was trying to work out the relationship between Peter and Daniel because Peter turned to him and said, ‘Daniel is my other dad,’ as though it made perfect sense.
‘You have two?’
Peter thought for a minute. ‘Actually, I have three: Daniel; then there’s Stu, my almost- stepdad when he eventually marries Mum; then my biological dad, who I’ve never met.’
‘Sounds complicated,’ said Linc, pretty confused already.
Lucy did the honours and explained Peter’s claim while Daniel went to help the girl behind the till – Brianna, as Linc overheard – with the credit-card machine, which was playing up.
‘Daniel and Peter’s mum, Giselle, were married once,’ Lucy began, amused by Linc’s obvious surprise. ‘But their friendship was strong and lasted even when they went their separate ways. Giselle helped Daniel out at a particularly difficult time in his life – I’ll leave him to give you the details, should he choose – and in turn Daniel helped Giselle out when her life became more and more difficult without Peter’s biological father anywhere to be seen.’
Linc tried to get it all straight in his head. ‘Definitely complicated.’
Lucy smiled at Peter and gave him a nudge. ‘Definitely. But Peter is pretty happy, aren’t you, mate? Especially when waffles and staying up past your bedtime are involved.’ She leaned in to tell Linc, ‘Daniel went some time without seeing Peter so when they’re together Daniel likes to spoil him.’
