‘You wait,’ Melissa smiled at Linc. ‘You might doubt whether you’ll fit in here, but Heritage Cove has a way of drawing you in and never letting you go.’ She held up her drink in a toast. ‘You have been warned, Lincoln!’
He rolled his eyes at the full address but took it in good humour.
Harvey hugged Melissa to him and kissed her forehead. The pair were getting married at Christmas and Linc had never seen two people so in love – although Lucy and Daniel weren’t far off, the way they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. He thought again about the photograph that had fallen out of Jade’s bag that day and wondered who the guy was, whether she was still pining for him every time she was in the company of couples like they were now.
‘Have you been down to the cove yet?’ Celeste asked him, interrupting his thoughts.
‘No, I haven’t had a chance.’ His admission was met with cries of disbelief as though he’d somehow wronged each one of them. ‘Etna did tell me it was a sight to behold. But I’ve been busy working three jobs, remember.’
‘I don’t think I’ve ever gone more than a few days without going down there since I arrived in Heritage Cove,’ Jade told him, and he wasn’t sure whether it was the drinks or the disbelief that he hadn’t seen it for himself, but she went on to suggest there was no time like the present. Palms flat on the wooden table, she added decisively, ‘Let’s all take a walk down there now. It’s even better at night.’
‘Too late for me,’ said Harvey, arm around Melissa and ready to set off home.
‘Me too,’ said Celeste when she returned from taking a couple of empty glasses to the bar and got the gist of the conversation.
They began to file out and Daniel and Lucy were next to admit they were beat and a beach walk would have to wait. And when they stepped out of the front entrance and made their way down the path, passing between the iron lamp-posts, Linc said, ‘Looks like it’s just you and me then.’
But Jade didn’t answer and so he said, ‘I suppose it is pretty late. Perhaps I’ll leave it until tomorrow.’
She spun round more quickly than he suspected she intended and they both stopped on the pavement. ‘It’s beautiful at night and I’m happy to show you. I could do with the fresh air; I didn’t even make it out for a walk today.’
He couldn’t believe his luck and his heart went against all of his instincts not to get involved, not to leave himself open to any more hurt, when he said, ‘Then that’s settled.’
They were still looking at each other when Celeste interrupted as she walked back to them both as they lagged behind. ‘Do you have a key?’
Jade nodded and they kept walking. Daniel and Lucy crossed over to go to Lucy’s place, Harvey and Melissa were next to say goodnight as they turned down the lane to go to Tumbleweed House, and when they were almost at the archway that separated the tea rooms and the bakery and led down to the cottage at the rear, Celeste told Jade she wouldn’t wait up and waved them goodbye.
‘And then there were two,’ Linc breathed into the night air. He looked up into the blackness of the sky, the stars twinkling by now, a crescent moon fragmented by a few wisps of passing cloud. ‘It’s a nice night, and warm. But I honestly don’t have to see the cove tonight, I can wait. I don’t want you to feel obliged.’
When she smiled her green eyes twinkled with the yellow glow from the nearby street lamp. ‘I promise I’m not just doing it for you. Going down there clears my head and it’s way better when there’s nobody else around.’ She gulped as though she’d just realised her remark sounded a little suggestive and that she might want them to be alone as much as he was starting to.
‘Lead the way,’ he said, wishing he could put an arm around her and hold her close.
They crossed over and, past the chapel, took the track that had hedges in some places and brambles that loomed taller than he was in others. The moonlight above was just enough for now although he was glad someone else was here to be a guide. He knew a bigger beach was further on out of the village but he’d heard plenty about the cove itself and the stretch of sand and sea that locals favoured because of its relative seclusion owing to the questionable walk to get down there.
They gingerly made their way to the very end of the track, where they turned to the right and followed it down towards the sands.
‘Tourists still come this way occasionally,’ Jade explained.
He stumbled on a large stick he hadn’t seen. ‘Do any come back?’
Her laughter told him she was as happy to be here alone with him as he was with her. ‘It’s fine when you know the way but most don’t want to trek down there with inflatables, picnic baskets and without their cars.’
They reached the part-sand-covered steps bordered with a rickety wooden handrail that Jade warned him not to bother holding on to if he wanted to be saved. ‘It needs replacing but locals know the deal. Nobody would ever put their hand on it for balance, put it that way. I think the council are repairing it early October, but don’t tell any tourists, we want them to stay away as long as possible.’
‘I’ll bet.’ He kind of understood why. It was secluded, secret, an escape tonight. It was impressive even when he almost tripped and had to wonder how far he’d fall if he wasn’t careful. He got out his phone and used his torch app to light the way until at last they were at the bottom and Jade jumped off the final step onto the sand.
The night breeze caught her hair as she turned back to look at him. ‘Come on, you wuss!’
‘Hey, you wouldn’t say that if I fell.’ He’d wanted to check how far she’d jumped but it was a pathetic foot at most so he put his phone away and followed after her.
They walked across the sands, their feet sinking into the soft surface and slowing their pace as the sand spilled into his shoes. Before they reached the water’s edge, he followed suit when she sat down. The cool grains beneath them allowed wiggle room to get comfortable as they looked out at the wide oval coastal inlet with a sea as calm as he felt being down here.
‘It’s a hidden gem,’ he readily admitted. ‘Thanks for volunteering to bring me down here.’ He might not have ever believed its beauty if he hadn’t seen it for himself.
‘My pleasure. Didn’t look like anyone else was going to offer. Maybe I felt sorry for you.’
His laughter rippled across the water. ‘Or maybe you plan to drown me in return for stealing a piece of your cake.’ A whoosh of waves as they crashed on the shore and then receded to do it all over again soon grabbed their attention. It was soothing, mesmerising, a way to calm the soul. ‘Looking at the sea makes me think of freedom, of seeing the world, travelling far and wide.’
