Page 28 of Mistletoe and Mulled Wine at the Christmas Campervan

What chance did they have of catching anyone now? No-one had been hurt, well, apart from a few emotional bruises. Lucy just wanted to get All Fired Up back on its feet and move on.

‘Well, we’ve got the whole of the village on Neighbourhood Watch alert now. So, if anything else should happen, we’ll be on the case, for sure. We’ll catch the blighters if they dare decide to come back, I’m telling you.’

She suddenly pictured Lou and the café gang out in force with rolling pins and wooden spoons as weapons, and she had to give a smile. ‘Thank you.’ It was good to feel the village had her back. It helped make her feel that bit more secure again.

Walking back to the cottage a while later, however, she felt the anger stirring in her belly. How dare someone threaten her life at the cottage! Not to mention all the hard work she’d put into making All Fired Up a success. It was bloody annoying and, she had to admit, it had cast a real shadow.

And despite the community’s warm and genuine support, Lucy’s newfound foundations here in the village suddenly began to feel a bit shaky.

Chapter Fourteen

Monday morning, and Will’s tow truck arrived outside of Cove Cottage.

After Lucy had called Jack and told him everything that had happened, he’d come right over, staying with her for supper and overnight; keeping her company and making sure she was safe. The pair of them listened out for any unusual noises or signs of bother through the early hours, but, thankfully, there was nothing. Jack had left fairly early, having an appointment to keep with his bank, but made her promise to ring him straight away if she was worried about anything.

Seeing All Fired Up getting winched onto the low loader made her heart contract. Yes, it was just some tyres that were damaged, and they’d get fixed fairly easily, but she still felt hurt and disturbed that someone could do something like that.

She needed a friend, but the person she usually turned to in times like these wasn’t exactly speaking to her … Once again the thought struck her: this was silly, this distance with Becky – they’d been the closest of friends for years, they needed to have this out once and for all. It was time to clear the air.

Lucy took out her phone, bit the bullet and dialled. The tone rang on … and on.

She sighed, hung up, and then punched in a hasty text.

Oh, Becks, am feeling rotten. Something’s happened. She paused, then added: Miss you. x

After making herself a coffee, finally, her mobile rang. Her friend’s voice came through with a tentative, ‘Lucy … h-hi.’ A beat of anxiety was apparent. ‘What’s up? Is everything okay? You’re worrying me.’

‘Hi Becks, hey …’ It was a relief to hear her friend’s voice at last. Lucy ploughed on, ‘How are you?’

‘Ah, yeah, pretty good.’ Becky’s tone stayed fairly cool, however. ‘But what about you? What’s going on?’

This was so hard over a phone. Not being able to see her friend’s face or gauge her body language left Lucy feeling even more confused. ‘Look, I know things haven’t been easy between us lately,’ she ventured, ‘but … I’ve had a shitty couple of days, and to be honest, I could do with a friendly ear. Can we get together? Talk things over a bit. I hate that we’ve been so distant.’ Lucy’s voice broke a little, and there was a horrid tight knot in her throat.

‘So, it’s happened then, has it …?’ Becky ventured.

‘What?’

‘You and Jack … it’s not all so rosy, then.’

‘Becky, it’s nothing to do with Jack. It’s something else …’ Lucy was getting frustrated now. ‘Jack’s been great, actually. Really supportive …’ That was a lot more than could be said of her so-called best friend of late.

‘Okay, sorry …’ Becky’s tone softened.

‘Anyway, it’s to do with my business, the horsebox … and well … look, can we meet up? I’d like to see you, not have some stilted conversation over the phone …’

‘Okay, sure. How does a walk on the beach sound?’

This was progress, Lucy felt a beat of hope. ‘This morning? You mean right now?’

‘Yeah, why not.’

‘But … shouldn’t you be at work?’

‘Hah, well, that’s another story.’

‘Oh, right. Well, we’ll catch up then … about everything.’ There were many gaps to fill in, by the sounds of it. ‘So, Beadnell? We could grab a takeaway coffee and stroll the sands. Daisy would like that too.’

‘That sounds a plan.’