Page 71 of New Beginnings on Railway Lane

Ryan hung up the phone and had to control himself not to fling his mobile across the floor.

‘What on earth is that?’

He turned around slowly to find Katy staring in horror at the mess of the fireplace beyond.

‘That is Dodgy Del and his bright idea for a TV in our coffee shop,’ Ryan told her. ‘You’ve been Del-ed. Well done. You’re now officially part of Cranfield folklore, along with the rest of us.’

‘But, but…’ spluttered Katy, her blue eyes agog as she stared at the floor. ‘The mess! Look at all that glass!’

Ryan sighed. ‘We’ll clear up the broken TV and pack it away.’

‘And what about that?’ asked Katy, pointing at the hole in the chimney.

‘We’ll get it filled in this week hopefully,’ Ryan told her. ‘In the meantime, just cover it with a railway poster, if you’ve got one spare and hope for the best.’

‘I’m going to kill him when I see him next,’ said Katy, looking angry.

‘Awww,’ said Ryan, breaking into the first smile that morning. ‘Now that you’re mad at my cousin, you’re most definitely part of the family.’

She looked at him exasperated. ‘How can you joke at a time like this? We open in an hour’s time!’

He looked at her. ‘Because if I face up to the reality of my nerves about this making even a small amount of the profit that we need to save the station then I’d never leave the apartment upstairs.’

Katy studied him for a moment before speaking. ‘Look, let me deal with all this,’ she said softly. ‘It’s what I do best, working under pressure.’

He looked at her. ‘Are you actually being nice to me?’

A smile played on her lips. ‘Yes but don’t get used to it,’ she told him.

Then she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek, seemingly to both their surprise given her expression when she pulled back.

She was about to walk out of the door when she turned around. ‘Come on then,’ she said. ‘We need to check we’ve got some spare mugs and those cakes won’t cut themselves. After all, you’re the culinary expert, not me. I’ll find a poster and some nails.’

‘Yes, ma’am,’ he replied, heading for the kitchen.

Was Katy right? Could she handle everything else? Right at that moment, with her bossy tone and head held high, he had a feeling she could take on the world.

And as he stood in front of the kitchen counter, he willed some of Katy’s positivity to rub off on him. Then he remembered the touch of her soft lips on his cheek.

With a smile, he began to ready the coffee shop for the grand opening.

38

Katy was also nervous about the coffee shop being a success.

Thankfully she kept herself busy by clearing up Dodgy Del’s mess. It was unbelievable what chaos one television could cause, but after a good sweep and tidy-up, she was just about hopeful that the hole had been covered, despite one corner of the poster, which kept flapping in the draught coming through from outside.

‘I can’t believe that we’re now sitting in our very own coffee shop!’ said Harriet, later that morning, looking around the waiting room with a smile.

‘I don’t think it’s entirely for just us,’ drawled Libby, before taking a sip of the mug of coffee she was holding.

‘But we’re still the first customers,’ said Flora, holding up a mug.

‘And the best too,’ Katy told them with a smile. ‘Yes, Paddington, even you!’

The dog wagged his tail in response, although Katy thought that might have something to do with the crumbs of cake that he was sneaking out of Harriet’s hand.

Katy was starting to worry though. The girls were the first customers and it was already late morning.