Page 9 of Starry Nights over Dragonfly Lake

He hadn’t seen the majority of the Jackson family for many years. Since perhaps his mid-teens. They felt both familiar and yet strangers at the same time.

Finally breaking into the awkward silence, Faye, who had been standing nearby, rushed over to greet him.

‘Noah,’ she said, giving him a brief hug. ‘It’s so good to see you after such a long time. Would you like a coffee? Something to eat?’

‘Just a coffee, thanks,’ he replied, grateful for her diversion away from the stilted atmosphere in the large room.

Next up was Dotty, his great-aunt, her eyes twinkling as she looked up at him. ‘Noah, it’s great to see you again,’ she told him, before reaching up to give him a hug. ‘Do you know, you’re the spitting image of your grandfather this morning?’

‘Thank you,’ he replied, stepping back out of the embrace. Was that a compliment? He couldn’t tell. His grandad had been quite a cold person and they hadn’t had a particularly close relationship.

Ben got up from the table and walked across the room, stretching his hand out in welcome.

‘Hi. Good to see you,’ he said, with a nod, although Noah noted that the smile didn’t reach as far as his cousin’s eyes.

Noah took the proffered hand and shook it.

He knew Ben was the fortunate grandson. After the death of his father, Ben had apparently taken over the running of the hotel. It had been a while since they had last seen each other. They had been rough and tumble boys early on in life. Fighting and scrapping whenever they had met up. Truth be told, Noah had been jealous of everything Ben had. A warm and loving family. A permanent home. Unconditional love. Things that Noah had never had.

Standing nearby was Hannah, lookingupset. She had been the quieter of his two cousins. Always a little shy, despite having grown up so much since they had last met. Now she was an attractive woman in her early thirties and yet she had tears glittering in her eyes as she looked at him.

‘Oh, Noah,’ she said, with a half a sob. ‘I’m so sorry that you heard me say such a terrible thing. How awful. And we haven’t seen each other for so long either. I didn’t mean it, of course.’

Noah felt sorry for her, such was the level of her upset. She was wringing her hands together, looking stressed. ‘It’s okay,’ he told her, with a soft smile. ‘To be honest, I’m not surprised you felt that way. After all, I did cut the hair off your Barbie.’

She sniffed and gave a little laugh, looking a little less strained. ‘I’d forgotten about that! You said it would grow back,’ she reminded him.

‘And did it?’ asked Noah gently.

Hannah shook her head. ‘No, but it did teach me not to ask any more boys if they wanted to play with my dolls.’

‘You talked to boys before you met me?’ asked a large man who had been standing next to Hannah in a protective manner, grinning down at her.

‘Not many,’ said Hannah with a smile. ‘Noah, this is my boyfriend, Alex.’

‘Hi,’ said Alex, holding out his hand for Noah to take.

It was a bone-crushing handshake and Noah hoped his fingers were still intact when they were released. It was a familiar reaction that he was used to. Most men seemed to perceive him as the enemy and he had no inclination to change their pre-conceived perception of him.

‘And this is Tiny,’ said Alex, nodding at the huge black dog who had just wandered over to see what the fuss was about.

‘Tiny?’ repeated Noah in surprise. The dog was absolutely enormous.

‘I know,’ grinned Alex. ‘But it wasn’t my idea, believe me.’

‘I’m Frankie,’ announced a woman in her late fifties stepping forward next to shake his hand. ‘Happy to hear that I’m not the only disreputable soul around here.’

‘Is that everyone?’ asked Dotty, looking around.

‘Not quite,’ said Lily in a pointed tone.

‘Last and by no means least, this is my girlfriend Lily,’ said Ben, putting his arm around Lily’s shoulders. ‘We run the hotel together.’

‘With a bit of help from the rest of us,’ added Hannah, with a grin.

They were a solid unit, thought Noah. Gentle jokes. Teasing. Comfortable. Love. A family. He had never felt more of an outsider.

Faye handed him a large mug of coffee. ‘Are you sure you don’t want anything to eat, Noah?’ she asked. ‘Hannah’s made breakfast muffins.’