Page 48 of Starry Nights over Dragonfly Lake

Obviously desperate to bring about some kind of peace between them, Alex then asked Ella, ‘Are you going to come for the Halloween night swim next weekend?’

Ella shuddered. ‘Not on your life,’ she replied. ‘Besides, I have to work.’

‘She’s like the Wicked Witch of the West,’ announced Jake. ‘She can’t go near water for fear of melting.’

‘I’d wade through that lake if it meant getting away from you,’ snapped Ella.

With one last glare at Jake, she strode out of the room.

Noah thought that Ella was a handful but from what he had seen, she was also a good and supportive friend so he wondered if perhaps it was just Jake who wound her up.

‘And this is why we’re keeping those two apart this evening,’ said Ben, returning to the table. ‘Before anyone ends up in the water unexpectedly.’

‘Yeah and I haven’t got my lifeguard suit with me,’ said Alex, with a grin.

‘So what’s this about a Halloween-themed night swim?’ said Noah.

Alex nodded. ‘Next Friday night. We’ve got a ton of people coming,’ he said, his eyes gleaming with enthusiasm. ‘You’re welcome to join in.’

‘Or you could just remain on dry, warm land like a normal person,’ drawled Jake.

‘I might be busy helping prepare Beth for her stargazing lecture,’ said Noah, thinking quickly of an excuse not to swim in the freezing-cold water that weekend. ‘Especially as it was all my idea.’

All three men turned to look at him.

‘Beth’s what?’ spluttered Alex.

‘She’s just agreed to run a small course on Saturday night teaching some of your hotel guests about the stars,’ Noah told Ben.

Ben’s face lit up. ‘That’s great,’ he said. ‘Was it Lily’s idea? She’s normally spot on with things like that.’

‘Actually I think I take the blame for that particular idea,’ Noah told him.

Ben’s grin grew wider. ‘Brilliant,’ he said. ‘If you keep going with the business ideas then we’ll be in the black by the end of the winter!’

Noah didn’t want to explain to his cousin that he had actually suggested it for Beth’s good rather than the hotel’s. But if both benefitted then perhaps that would be a double win.

‘Hey! I know a guy who’s got loads of space stuff I can get hold of,’ said a man sitting nearby on a bar stool.

Noah recognised him as Frankie’s godson Del who had driven Walter to the hospital in his taxi during the storm.

Despite his kind offer, Noah was surprised to hear the other menimmediately groan.

He looked at Ben with raised eyebrows.

‘Whenever Del decides to help us, we all suffer,’ Ben told him, with a weary smile.

‘Which is why he has the nickname Dodgy Del,’ added Jake.

‘It’s not that he’s not generous,’ said Alex. ‘It just that it always ends in disaster for whoever he tries to help.’

‘Hey!’ protested Del. ‘Don’t be like that.’

‘Might I remind you of the wetsuits you tried to sell me,’ Alex told him. ‘When I tried one out, it immediately filled with water and I nearly drowned in the lake.’

‘Honest mistake,’ said Del, quickly. ‘That was a supplier issue. Listen, let me talk to my mate. He’s into all that space NASA stuff.’

Del picked up his phone and wandered away, seemingly oblivious to the men’s groans.