Page 2 of The Clifftop Cottage

Dylan appeared from the kitchen, wielding a ladle like a reluctant gladiator.

“Welcome, Erica,” he said.

“Thanks,” Erica replied, her own smile still tentative but a little less forced.

Leah called something up the stairs, leaving Erica hovering awkwardly in the hallway with Dylan.

“So …” Dylan shifted the ladle from one hand to the other. “Long drive?”

Erica gave a small nod. “Yeah.”

“Music good, at least?”

She hesitated, then said, “Very dramatic.”

“Best kind,” he said. “You can’t properly process a life crisis without a solid soundtrack.”

That earned the faintest flicker of a smile from her.

Dylan seemed to take that as a win and nodded at the kitchen door. “Come through when you’re ready. Or when Dusty allows it.”

As if on cue, the dog barked again.

Erica exhaled slowly as Dylan disappeared, the noise and warmth of the house settling around her.

Still in her damp coat, Erica drifted into the low-ceilinged living room. The fire crackled steadily, drawing her in. She held her hands out to the heat.

She wasn’t sure when she’d last felt properly warm.

Her gaze moved to the mantelpiece, cluttered with bits of family life. A toilet roll painted black with glued-on wings wobbled precariously beside a tiny ceramic pumpkin.

Erica tilted her head. “Terrifying,” she murmured.

Two photo frames sat beside it.

The first showed Leah and Dylan, laughing, completely at ease. Maisie, she was sure it was Maisie, sat on Dylan’s shoulders, arms stretched wide like she might take off.

The second frame made her still.

There she was. Perfect, polished, smiling. A version of herself she barely recognised now.

And beside her⁠—

Her breath caught.

She reached instinctively for her phone. Half expecting, half dreading something that would make sense of it all.

But the thought vanished as a blur of energy launched itself at her.

“Auntie Erica!”

Maisie crashed into her, wrapping her arms tightly around Erica’s waist.

Erica blinked in surprise, then rested a hand awkwardly on her back. “Hi, Maisie.”

“I’ve got so much to show you,” Maisie said, already pulling away, words tumbling over each other. “My room’s different and I’ve got a new teacher and Mum says I might be allowed a hamster but only if I⁠—”

“Alright,” Erica said, a faint smile tugging at her lips. “One thing at a time. I’m still processing the hamster.”