‘It’s good to be back in the Cove,’ Etna smiled after she introduced her brother Joseph to the girls. ‘It feels like I’ve been gone a month, not a few days.’ There was a family resemblance between her and her brother as well, the same greying hair and blue eyes that danced as though youth was still on their side.
‘I’ll bet it was nice to take some time away though,’ said Celeste.
‘It actually was,’ Etna admitted. ‘But poor Joseph has had to put up with me bossing him around for the last few days.’
‘Don’t worry,’ Joseph winked at the girls, ‘I’ll get my own back somehow.’
‘Are you staying in the Cove for a while?’ Jade asked.
‘The Cove,’ he repeated. ‘Just the words conjure up a lovely day by the seaside.’
‘You should go down there when you get a chance,’ she recommended.
‘You should, Dad, it’s beautiful.’ Linc’s gaze darted towards Jade but she looked away before Etna or anyone else picked up on the vibe between them. She suspected Celeste had but was keeping schtum after her reaction earlier on.
Jade watched Linc, who couldn’t stop himself walking around the kitchen inspecting joins, light switches, running his hand along cupboards and standing back to check the doors hung right. For a man who was a teacher he took a lot of pride in this side job for the summer. Or perhaps, like her, he’d felt awkward remembering their trip down to the cove together.
‘I’m staying a couple of weeks,’ Joseph informed them. ‘Etna and I both agree that I should’ve done it a long time ago. I was digging my heels in, thought she should come to me, and now that she has – well, it’s my turn to visit her here.’
Linc called over from where he’d been peering into cupboards to see what they’d done with the space. ‘Harvey offered me a room at Tumbleweed House for two weeks, otherwise we’d be tripping over each other.’ He pushed his hands into the pockets of his jeans and on one forearm he had a splash of something he’d likely picked up in the tea rooms – chocolate sauce, or icing perhaps. ‘I don’t mind a change of scene and I’ll be working up at his brother’s waffle shack most of the time anyway.’
‘I’ve heard about this waffle shack.’ Joseph’s eyes lit up. ‘I must say, for a small village you’ve really got your pick of places to go, from a tea rooms, a pub, a waffle shack and’ – he looked around him – ‘what I can tell is going to be a delightful bakery. They say village businesses are dwindling but it doesn’t seem the case around here inthe Cove.’
Celeste called out from where she was stacking loaf tins on top of a shelf. ‘He’s sounding like a local, Etna.’
‘How about a tour?’ Joseph, still curious about this place, clasped his hands together.
Like his son, Joseph was friendly, easy to talk to. Jade gave him a tour of the place, took him through to the front and explained how they’d left the frontage as it was previously so that it wouldn’t look any different apart from the new sign. She pointed out the new shelving and what products would go there, the sorts of items that would soon be on display behind the glass-fronted cabinets.
‘And what are you calling this new business of yours?’ he asked after he and Etna had seen everything. ‘Etna tells me you’re going for another name.’
Jade smiled. ‘Etna is worried it’ll be something out there, something that doesn’t really fit in with the village.’
‘I don’tdisapprove of a change,’ said Etna. ‘So, what’s it to be?’
‘We’re not telling anyone yet,’ Jade said. ‘Not until opening day, when all will be revealed.’
‘Spoilsport,’ Etna tutted.
‘When are you back at work at the tea rooms, Etna?’ Jade could sense that looking around someone else’s business was making her itch to get back to her own.
‘I would’ve been back the minute I arrived in the Cove if I’d been allowed.’ She shot a frown in Linc’s direction but it didn’t take long to give way to a smile. ‘I’ll be back in the tea rooms full-time tomorrow.’
‘Tomorrow?’ Joseph guffawed. ‘You’ve already been in there bossing Patricia about, tidying up the centrepieces on tables and clearing empty mugs. Yes, I saw you.’
She ignored the jibe and clutched her nephew’s hand. ‘Thank you, Linc, thank you for stepping in and helping me. I only hope I can repay the favour one day.’
‘You already have by inviting me to come and stay and finding me work to keep me out of trouble, although it was a bit more demanding with the tea rooms thrown in,’ he grinned. ‘And don’t think that being all nice to me now will stop me checking you’re not pushing yourself too hard. Regular breaks are going to be part of your routine from now on, yes?’
‘Yes,’ she nodded, although each of them in that kitchen knew it wasn’t going to be easy to have her adhere to the plan.
‘Good luck enforcing that,’ Jade whispered to Linc when Etna went over to look at the cake corner and Celeste explained the recipe holder Harvey had built into the shelf at eye height.
‘Don’t worry, I have a plan.’ Linc’s arm brushed against hers ever so slightly the way it had done once before and sent a shiver up her body.
‘And what’s that?’
‘Dad’s going to keep Etna company at the tea rooms. She likes to keep an eye on him anyway, in that bossy-older-sister way of hers, but he’s told me he’ll offer to help out claiming he’s at a loose end and that should do the trick.’
