Page 56 of New Beginnings on Railway Lane

‘For this,’ he replied. ‘For helping dad.’

She looked away, a little embarrassed. ‘Oh, that’s okay.’

‘At least it gives the place a bit of hope,’ said Ryan.

‘I’m sure the coffee shop will be a success,’ she told him.

‘Will you be around long enough to see it?’ He had to ask the question but held his breath for the answer.

‘Once the station’s cleared, there’s no reason for me to stay,’ she said. But she looked upset rather than pleased about that, he thought.

‘Stay anyway,’ he said.

They locked eyes.

‘I don’t know,’ she told him after a short silence. ‘After all, what do I know about running a coffee shop?’

‘About as much as I do,’ he told her. ‘Besides, what is there at home for you anyway?’

She frowned and looked back at the fire, her face telling him everything that he needed to know in reply.

‘You’ve locked yourself away,’ he found himself saying. ‘And I think it’s because of the bankruptcy.’

She sighed heavily and was quiet for a while before finally speaking. ‘It was my dad’s last business in this country,’ she told him. ‘It failed in the winter I was eighteen.’

‘But he’s had failed businesses since then as well?’ asked Ryan.

Katy shrugged her shoulders. ‘I wouldn’t know,’ she told him. ‘He moved out to Asia and started a new family out there. He’s pretty much left all his old life behind, including me. It’s just Mum and me now.’ She looked at him. ‘Have you heard from your mum since she left?’

He took a deep breath. ‘Not really. She was always closer to Ethan. I’ve had the odd text and call, but she tends to go through Ethan because he won’t give her a hard time. When she walked out, I came back to support my dad. I just didn’t expect to have to save the family home too.’ He leaned forward to pick up the toy train. ‘I had no idea how desperate things were.’

He was lost for a moment, looking around the apartment, which felt as if it were a part of him, he knew it so well.

So he jumped a little when Katy reached out across the coffee table to take his hand and squeeze it with hers.

‘I’m sure between us we can save the station,’ she told him.

‘We?’ he asked her, relishing the strength he drew from her touch.

She nodded. ‘Yes.’

For a moment, he closed his eyes, feeling only the touch of her skin on his. He liked the idea that they were a team.

When she finally withdrew her hand, he felt bereft without it, wishing it was back in his once more. He could no longer deny that he was beginning to have feelings for Katy, despite being pretty sure that they weren’t reciprocated. So he would just have to think of her as a friend, no matter how much he wanted her to be so much more.

30

Katy’s visit back to her apartment in London on Saturday was long overdue, she realised, pushing against the large pile of junk mail on the other side of the front door.

She had received an email to say that the work had been completed ahead of schedule and that as the scaffolding was down she could move back in.

In a way, it was odd to be back after so long. It had only been a couple of weeks and yet the place felt almost like a stranger’s home, instead of her own.

She checked each room briefly to ensure all was okay and then opened up the wardrobe to find the clothes that she was looking for. She needed an outfit for Libby’s birthday party that evening but was struggling to decide what to wear as Libby had decided at the last minute that she wanted everyone to wear fancy dress.

At least Bob’s birthday meal out the following weekend would require just a smart outfit of which she had plenty. She had been surprised but pleased when Ryan had invited her and was looking forward to it. And Ryan’s younger brother Ethan would be arriving as well and it would be good to finally meet him. She was sure that Bob would enjoy himself.

They had bonded more and more with each passing day, as they had pored over what objects to keep from the station to put in the coffee shop. Her love of history had come rushing back to her and she was fascinated by the golden era of the station, especially when the steam trains had been arriving and departing.