Page 82 of Starry Nights over Dragonfly Lake

These days though, he felt a lightening of thespirit inside of him. Working on the lodges had brought him a newfound sense of being part of a team and he was enjoying Ben’s company. Day by day they were growing closer and he even found that he was automatically included whenever Alex and Jake were around to play a game or two in the snug.

‘What do you think of the blinds?’ asked Ben.

Noah nodded, as he looked at the autumnal pattern on them. ‘Looks good,’ he replied. ‘So it’s going to be decorated differently to my lodge?’

My lodge.He still found that hard to get his head around.

‘Yeah, Lily wanted yours to be more personal,’ Ben told him. ‘Everything in here is a little more durable for the high turnover. Hopefully,’ he added, with a grimace.

‘They’ll come,’ Noah assured him. ‘How could they not? I mean, waking up to this view every day? I tell you, it’s incredible.’

‘For what it’s worth, you seem happy.’

Noah looked at his cousin in surprise. He was happy, he realised, before frowning to himself. The person he had to thank for his happiness was Beth.

Ben shook his head as he watched him but he was smiling. ‘Hey, it’s not the end of the world to be content in life, you know.’

Noah nodded and wandered over to the doorway to look out across the lake. He stood and watched as he spotted Beth rushing along the path towards the Boathouse Café, no doubt to help Hannah out with the busy coffee morning shift.

From the outside, it would appear that nothing had changed between them in the past fortnight. She was as cheerful and chatty as ever whenever they were together. Superficially she was merry as usual but Noah knew she was upset. She hadn’t visited him in the barn where the boat was since Christmas. He knew it was his own fault. He had told her that their kiss on Christmas morning had been a mistake and that had been the truth.

The last thing he ever wanted to do was hurt her. He had always considered his own childhood particularly awful but at least he had had one parent around, most of the time. Beth’s story though had touched him deeply and the more he got to know her, the more he realised just how vastly different their own dreams were. She wanted a serious relationship and love, all the things that he didn’t believe in.

So in order to protect her, he had told her that they should be just friends and he had meant it. He cared too much to lead her on, no matter how much he wanted to kiss her again. It just wouldn’t be fair on her.

Noah felt Ben wander over to join him at the doorway where they both looked across the lake to where Beth was about to reach the boathouse.

‘So you’re enjoying living in the lodge?’ asked Ben.

‘How could I not?’ replied Noah. ‘It’s the most incredible place I’ve ever lived.’

‘You know,’ said Ben, turning around to stare at the inside of the lodge, ‘these places are a great size. Definitely big enough for two people to live here.’

Noah gave his cousin a pained look. ‘That’s not going to happen,’ he said, with a shake of his head.

Ben merely shrugged his shoulders. ‘You never know,’ he replied.

‘If you let someone in, they will only hurt you,’ stated Noah. It had been his mantra from day one, his rule in life to live by.

‘Not here, they won’t,’ said Ben. ‘You know the family wouldn’t hurt you. And I’m pretty certain Beth wouldn’t either.’

Noah looked at his cousin. ‘I didn’t know we were talking about Beth,’ he said.

Ben gave him a long look. ‘My mistake. So,’ he carried on, turning away. ‘What’s next? Thekitchen, I reckon.’

Noah relaxed, knowing that Ben would never push him to open up regarding any kind of relationship with Beth and he was grateful. And yet he couldn’t stop himself from glancing back across the lake. But Beth had already disappeared out of sight.

45

The morning of the first of the predicted meteor shower dawned with yet more rain.

It did nothing to soothe Beth’s troubled soul. Since Christmas, everything had changed and she had no idea what to do about any of it.

The good news was that her blog continued to grow and grow. Ella’s help with the marketing clicks had meant that Beth finally had a steady income week on week. In addition, the magazine wanted to extend her column into a double-page spread which also meant a pay increase. Finally, the stargazing nights were already sold out and proving to be hugely popular. She had done it. She was finally successful in her own right.

So successful, in fact, that she had been offered the job in Antarctica on the cruise ships and they wanted a reply by the end of the week. The offer was incredible and yet she longed to stay at Maple Tree Lodge. But Noah was there permanently now and everything between them was stilted and awkward, ever since he had rejected her, in fact. It was all a muddle and she had no idea what to do about any of it.

‘It’ll clear,’ said Walter, with an assured nod as he looked out of the window at the rain.