Page 78 of Daydreaming at the Boathouse Cafe

After a dramatic shaking of his coat, Tiny padded over and slumped next to where Alex was still kneeling on the ground.

‘Sorry about that,’ said Maud, looking up at him and still looking a little red in the face. ‘Haven’t had an attack for ages.’

‘It’s fine,’ said Alex. ‘Let’s just sit here quietly for a little while whilst you get your breath back.’

‘And he means literally,’ added Dotty, with a grin. Although she was looking somewhat relieved. ‘Think we’ll need something stronger in our post-swim coffee this morning,’ she said to Hannah as she rushed up to them, looking concerned.

‘What’s happened?’ she asked. ‘I heard Tiny barking and then saw everyone gathered here.’

‘Maud had an asthma attack in the water,’ Dotty told her granddaughter. ‘Alex saved her.’

‘I think “save” is perhaps an over-dramatic way of saying that I helped her to shore,’ said Alex. ‘And actually the hero of the day was Tiny. He barked when he saw Maud in distress.’

‘Good boy,’ murmured Maud, reaching out to stroke the dog’s wet head.

‘Extra treats for Tiny later,’ said Dotty.

The dog’s ears perked up at his favourite word and his tongue lolled out in anticipation.

‘Well, as long as you’re both all right,’ said Hannah, looking from Maud to Alex.

He nodded at her to say that he was fine.

He was a little shaken after the dramatic encounter in the past half an hour and yet grateful that he had insisted on all the safety measures that he had put in place. Also that he had been studying the lifeguard practices for saving and helping people in distress in the water. It had been worth all the reading and studying to be able to help Maud that morning.

When she was ready, they gently helped Maud to her feet and took her into the Boathouse Café for a reviving drink.

Finally, Alex could relax and leant against his lifeguard chair with a heavy sigh of relief.

‘Are you OK?’

He looked up to see Hannah nearby and realised that she had stayed behind, concerned about him.

‘A little shaken,’ he told her. ‘But I was just grateful that I was there to help.’

‘So are we,’ she replied.

She hesitated before stepping forward to give him a hug.

‘And you are a hero,’ he heard her murmur into his shoulder before stepping back. ‘No matter what you say.’

She appeared to hesitate before she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek before walking away towards the boathouse. And that was the greatest prize of all, he realised.

42

The heatwave rolled on. And so did the success of the water sports centre which meant that the whole family were busy as July arrived and the heat showed no signs of abating.

Hannah found that her days were getting busier and busier. The delivery of takeout cups meant that the swimmers could have their drinks outside on Walter’s picnic benches and were able to enjoy their cakes and treats too.

After Alex had rescued Maud, word of her asthma attack whilst in the water had spread and even brought the local newspaper to write up the story, which in turn had meant even more free marketing for both the swimming club and the café.

With the upsurge in customers, Hannah had realised that not everyone wanted cake, some customers wanted savoury items on the menu as well so she had begun to experiment once more with the summer flavours, now confident in her abilities to choose her own bakes. So to the menu she added frittata with feta cheese and red peppers. Salads full of fresh ingredients, with the addition of fresh basil and chicken, or pasta with olives. Tasty crudites and a salmon quiche. Even cold cucumber soup and gazpacho, both of which were easily made, flew off the menu, along with freshly baked crusty bread.

She’d even begun to make home-made ice cream lollies full of fresh summer flavours which were a huge hit in the intense heat. Furthermore, she had another idea.

‘We need to order some doggy ice cream,’ she told Ben, before glancing down at a panting Tiny one hot afternoon as she placed a water bowl next to him.

‘Seriously?’ Ben’s eyebrows shot up as he leant against the bar. ‘I’m not sure.’