Page 24 of The Perfect Gift

‘The more the merrier,’ he assured her before turning back to Ed with a frown. ‘Although Matt might not be best pleased at her staying on. I know he was hoping to get the cottage back once the film crew left and that greedy fool Charlie Hicks hasn’t got anyone to milk for a small fortune.’

Ed felt sick to his stomach at the mention of Charlie. ‘I had no idea about Matt getting kicked out.’ Because he’d lost his phone and hadn’t bothered to keep in touch.

‘It all happened rather suddenly and you know how Matt hates to make a fuss. He didn’t want to risk upsetting Mrs Jenkins, and Harry offered him the flat over the cookery school for free so Matt’s been sorting that out and biding his time hoping he’ll be able to reach an agreement with Charlie, even if it means paying more rent.’

‘Shit. And I’ve gone and messed up those plans by suggesting Frankie stays on.’ Ed hung his head. ‘I need to stop doing stuff on impulse.’

‘Oh, darling, don’t be so hard on yourself. It sounds like you acted with the best of intentions because you didn’t want Frankie to be on her own over the holidays. Quite right too! No one should spend Christmas alone.’

‘It’ll only be a couple of extra weeks,’ his dad added. ‘I’m sure there’s no harm done.’

‘Still, I should’ve spoken to Matt and found out what was going on.’

‘You weren’t to know,’ his mum reassured him.

Only he would’ve known if he’d behaved a bit more responsibly. And he hadn’t been thinking of just Frankie when he’d asked her to stay on, he’d been thinking of himself too. He enjoyed talking to her and the chance to get to know her a bit better had been too tempting to refuse.

‘I’ll talk to Matt tomorrow and see what I can do to help with the cottage. If it’s a case of paying more rent, then I’m happy to increase my share.’ He’d carried on paying the direct debit into his cousin’s account because it had been Ed’s choice to go travelling. He didn’t have to pay rent as his accommodation was included on board as part of his salary package, so the money would’ve only sat in his account.

‘And we’ll help him if he needs it, and Ryan and Helen will too. Don’t worry about it for now, come and sit down and tell us more about what you’ve been up to.’

The shepherd’s pie was as good as Ed remembered and though he still felt bad about leaving his cousin in the lurch, he did his best to put it to the back of his mind and focus on enjoying this precious time with his parents. Being part of a big family meant he didn’t always get one-on-one time with them, and it was nice to be spending time just the three of them for a change.

‘It’s good to see you making the most of your studies,’ his dad said, as his mum rose to clear the plates from the table. ‘How long do you plan to be home for?’

‘I’ve booked a flight back for the fourth of January. They offered me a new six-month contract before I left and I’ve already accepted it.’ His dad nodded as if that was what he expected, but Ed didn’t miss the way his mum’s smile wavered a little. Standing, Ed reached over and hugged her. ‘I know you miss me, and I miss you all too, but it really is the best thing for me.’

Rachel leaned back to smile up at him, her eyes bright with unshed tears. ‘All I’ve ever wanted for you and your brothers is to be happy.’ She raised a hand to cup his cheek. ‘You are happy?’

‘Yes, Mum. I really am.’ She patted his cheek and let him go and Ed took over the task of clearing the plates. ‘The company run schemes in other parts of the world and they’ve got a new polar research vessel launching next year, so if my next contract goes well then I’m hoping to apply for that.’

‘You’ll be away from us for a while, then.’

He set the plates on the counter above the dishwasher and glanced back over his shoulder with a reassuring smile. ‘But I’ll be home to visit and I promise I’ll be better at keeping in touch. It won’t be forever, and once I gain enough experience my long-term plan is to bring the skills I learn home and try and set up something similar for myself.’ It was still only a germ of an idea and when he thought hard about the logistics of it all it made Ed’s stomach tumble with nerves, but they were the good kind of nerves.

‘That’ll take a lot of work to pull off,’ Jago said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

The excited fizz inside Ed subsided. There was no reason for his dad to have any faith in him, given the way he’d managed to screw up so many times, but it still stung to hear it. He yanked open the dishwasher and began stacking the dirty plates. ‘Yeah, I know that.’

Coming over, Jago placed a hand on his shoulder. ‘Hey, now, lad, no need to sound defensive. I think it’s a great idea. I’m just wondering if it might be something we could work on together.’

Surprised, Ed abandoned what he was doing and turned to face him properly. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Being the harbour master is all well and good, but I hanker to be back out on the sea before my best years are past me.’ Jago glanced towards his wife. ‘I’ve already spoken to your mum about it.’

‘And I told you in no uncertain terms that you’ll get on a fishing trawler over my dead body.’ She picked up a tea towel and flicked it at him. ‘Damn fool man.’

Jago held up his hands in surrender. ‘I only mentioned fishing as an option and I’d never get my own rig.’

‘As if being on deck and hauling lobster pots for someone else wouldn’t be worse!’

Jago closed the distance between them and put his arms around his wife’s waist. She struggled for a moment, trying to push him away, but Jago was a solid weight and not moved easily. ‘Look at me, Rachel.’ There was something so intimate in his tone that Ed felt like he was trespassing on a private moment. ‘It was only an idea among many and you know, you know I’d never do anything to make you worry about me.’

Rachel subsided against him. ‘I know.’

Jago pressed a quick kiss to her lips then turned to face Ed, his arm still around Rachel’s waist. ‘The other idea was to build my own boat and give lessons to the kids on the pond. Freya’s going to be old enough to learn before we know it, and if we’re lucky we might get one or two more grandchildren come along in the future.’

‘That sounds like a great idea. You were always so patient with us when we were kids.’ It was Jago who had instilled Ed with such a deep love of the sea. ‘I’m not sure where I’d fit in with any of that, though.’