Page 64 of Starry Nights over Dragonfly Lake

And it was true. He didn’t blame anyone for the tough times in his childhood. It was just how it had been for him, year after year, until he could take control and make sure that he was never hungry again.

‘You’re family,’ said Walter, in a shaky voice. ‘That doesn’t happen to my family. Or rather, it shouldn’t have happened under my watch.’

Uncomfortable at the attention, Noah reached out to stroke Tiny’s soft fur.

‘Dogs are very sensitive animals,’ carried on Walter. ‘They sensewho they can trust.’

‘Maybe he’s wrong,’ joked Noah. He tried to shift the enormous dog from leaning against him with no luck.

‘I don’t think he is,’ said Walter. ‘Besides, I’m not going to argue with Tiny, are you?’

‘Who’s arguing with Tiny?’ asked Alex, appearing at the front door suddenly.

‘Nobody in their right mind,’ replied Ben.

Alex looked down at where Tiny was still leaning against Noah.

‘He’s really taken to you, hasn’t he?’ A frown crossed his forehead. ‘Hang on. You didn’t give him any food, did you?’

Noah shifted awkwardly. ‘He seemed hungry so I gave him a bit of my ham sandwich,’ he confessed.

Alex laughed. ‘Oh, you’ve done it now,’ he said. ‘You’re his best friend for ever. He’s a total scavenger.’

‘Sorry,’ Noah told him.

But Alex just shook his head. ‘No worries but he’s all about the ham now!’

Noah looked down and realised that Tiny was looking up at him in both adoration and expectation at the sandwich in his other hand.

Then he joined in the laughter of the other men, feeling lighter than he had in a very long time.

The conversation might have been awkward for a while but he found that he didn’t mind being honest with his family these days. They were all beginning to understand each other and grow closer because of it.

Even more surprising was the thought that he was enjoying living and working at Maple Tree Lodge. He reminded himself that it was only for the winter but still, he would miss it when he finally had to depart.

For now, he was grateful that his time to leave was a few months away yet.

34

‘Tell me again why we’re doing this on a Saturday night when we could be in some glamorous bar somewhere?’ asked Ella, making a face as she carried on adding to the long paper chain on the table in front of her.

‘Because it’s December tomorrow and we need to decorate the café ready for a hopefully really big Christmas rush next month?’ suggested Lily, trying to unravel some fairy lights on her lap.

‘Because you love coming here and helping out?’ called out Hannah from the top of a stepladder as she hung a star on top of the large Christmas tree in the corner next to the balcony, its reflection sparkling in the glass doors.

‘Er, wrong answers,’ replied Ella.

‘Because we’re all living here in Cranley at the moment and you have to come to us?’ suggested Beth, handing Hannah a couple of baubles to be hung at the top of the tree.

‘Is the right answer.’ Ella sighed. ‘I miss our glamorous nights out in the city.’

‘We haven’t done that for ages,’ replied Hannah, before slowly coming down the stepladder.

‘A fact of which I’m well aware,’ said Ella, in a pointed tone.

Living away from the city for the first time, Beth was beginning to realise that she much preferred living in the countryside. Away from the lure of the Greenwich observatory and her dating disasters, she could see that it wasn’t all that it had promised.

Besides, stars are hard to see at night in the city with all its ambient light, she thought, glancing through the glass. The clouds suddenly parted and the moonlight flooded the lake, making it look like molten silver.