Page 25 of The Summer That Changed Us

‘You moved to Merle Bay to get away from all this family drama,’ Zoe reminded her. ‘You’ve got enough money to do what they ask. Why don’t you ask the solicitor what they’d be happy with and do a deal? Keep it out of court. That way everyone’s happy.’

‘Except me and probably Myles,’ Grace pointed out. ‘He loved his kids, but he always wanted them to have a strong work ethic. It’s too tempting to be lazy if you get handed a fortune on a plate when you’re young. Both of us came from working-class backgrounds, that’s what made us hungry for success.’

‘You know what I think: Austin and Olivia are greedy sods but whether they get twenty-five per cent or thirty-three per cent it is still a fortune. So, if I were you, I’d roll over one more time, agree to their demands and then cut them loose. Move on and forget all about it.’

Grace bit her lip, unconvinced. ‘I don’t know. I want to do the right thing, but sometimes knowing what that is isn’t black and white.’

‘I’m so proud of you, Grace,’ Zoe said softly. ‘You’re such a loyal person, and so good, so honest. You don’t deserve this to happen. You don’t deserve anything bad to happen.’

‘It doesn’t matter about me, I’m tough enough to cope with anything. The sad thing is that Myles was such a good role model for them and then for them to act like this … ’ Grace sighed. ‘Listen, I’d better go, or I’ll be late meeting the girls.’

‘OK, off you go and remember I’m always here for you, you know. Whatever happens.’

Grace ended the call with a wry smile. Losing Myles was the worst thing that could have possibly happened to her. At least from now on the only way was up. She put on her lipstick, jacket and scarf and after locking up, she left the house and headed to the beach via her private path. She was calling her solicitor on the way. The sooner she let Roger Mathers know her position, the sooner she could put the whole will business behind her.

Chapter Nine

‘I’m sure you’ve given yourself the lucky bucket, Robyn,’ said Grace, giving Robyn a nudge. ‘I haven’t found a single piece yet.’

Robyn laughed, she was enjoying collecting sea glass with Katie and Grace much more than she’d imagined. Life had become so serious since her surgery; doing something frivolous made a very welcome change. Being with new people was refreshing too.

‘Ah yes, fortune favours the blue, clearly,’ she replied. ‘Here, swap with me, I’ll even throw in my sea glass.’

The three women had met at the bottom of Grace’s private beach path. The first couple of minutes’ conversation had been a bit stilted; after all, the women were still more or less strangers, but Grace had made a joke about deciding to put clothes on for their second meeting, which broke the ice, and after that they had soon fallen into a gentle banter.

‘No thanks,’ said Grace, ‘I’ll keep the yellow, seeing as it matches my bruises so well.’

She lifted up the hem of her maxi dress and showed them her ankle.

‘Ouch,’ said Katie. ‘Does it hurt?’

‘A bit,’ she replied, ‘but it’s healed a lot faster than I expected, and the doctor said I could walk on it as long as I’m careful not to twist it.’

Robyn winced in sympathy and dropped a piece of bright blue glass into Grace’s bucket. ‘Here you go. To start you off.’

‘Once you find one piece, it gets easier,’ said Katie. ‘You just need to get your eye in. Look at this beauty.’

She waved a chunk of turquoise glass in front of Grace’s face before dropping it in her own pink bucket.

‘Nobody likes a show-off,’ Grace tutted, good-naturedly.

Finn had been so up for Robyn’s beach date with Katie and Grace that he’d bought three buckets for her to take along. It was a thoughtful gesture, but initially Robyn wondered if she’d look as if she was taking their casual meet-up too seriously. The other two had seemed keen to collect sea glass but perhaps it was just a euphemism for a chance to chat? A bit like book clubs, the main purpose of which appeared to be drinking wine and never even getting around to talking about the book. Then she’d given herself a stern talking to; she had become so worried about doing or saying the wrong thing over the last couple of years. Once upon a time she’d have been the one to make outrageous suggestions, not giving two hoots about what others thought of her. So, with a flash of her old self she decided to take them anyway. It was the right decision; the buckets had gone down a treat. She had a rucksack containing refreshments with her too, also provided by Finn. But she’d keep quiet about that for the moment, save it as a surprise for when they needed a break.

The smell of the sea, the gentle rush of the waves, the crunch of shingle beneath her feet were helping her to relax. She felt weightless and free from the worries that had kept her awake since Monday.

‘Nope, still nothing.’ Grace shook her bucket a few minutes later. Her one donated piece of glass rattled about inside it. ‘I think you two must be pouncing on it before I get there.’

‘Like now,’ Robyn laughed, bending down as a flash of yellow glass caught her eye. She rubbed it clean with her fingers and held it up to the light. It was smooth and shiny and as bright as a sliver of sunshine. She wondered where it had come from and how it had ended up on their beach, waiting to be found. She presented the glass to Grace.

‘For you. More yellow to add to your collection.’

‘I shall treasure it,’ said Grace. ‘Which is more than can be said for the bruises.’

‘Let’s try along the tide line.’ Katie pointed down the shingle beach towards the sea. ‘That might be a good place.’

Grace hurried ahead, hobbling slightly and shouting behind her that she was getting there first this time. The sky was white with cloud today and the breeze felt damp and cold against Robyn’s face. She pulled the collar up on her jacket and tucked her chin into her scarf. Beside her, Katie folded her arms across her chest and shivered.

Suddenly Grace punched the air with. ‘YES! Got one! Woohoo!’