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Amelia leaned back against him, enjoying the feel of his solid frame behind her. She wished he hadn’t snapped the picture so quickly, because she then had to move away.
Reaching down to his bag, he pulled out a towel poncho. ‘Okay, what I want you to do now is put this on and walk briskly back to the cabin. That will let your temperature start to adjust.’
Amelia was completely transfixed as he expertly talked her through the instructions.
‘Give me your gloves and boots and I’ll sort them out. Just put your trainers back on.’
‘Thank you, again. I obviously completely forgot that I might need a towel or a change of clothes. What about your wetsuit?’
‘Just hold on to it . . . that’s if you want to try swimming again?’
‘Definitely.’
‘In that case, just hose it down and hang it on the washing line to dry.’
‘I can’t thank you enough,’ she said.
‘So you enjoyed yourself, then?’
‘Oh my God, Fergus, I can’t believe how much I loved it. My skin is completely tingling.’
‘When you get back, jump in the shower but make sure it’s not too hot, and then fix yourself a warm drink.’
Amelia’s teeth had begun to chatter.
‘Off you go.’
Reluctantly, she turned away and started to walk along the pebbles to the gate at the cottage. When she looked back, Fergus had already changed. He raised his hand and waved. Amelia licked her lips and tasted the salt. She felt as though she had just had a really life-affirming and healing experience. Who would have thought that a brief dip in the sea could work such magic?
After her shower, she pulled on her jogging bottoms and sweatshirt and a pair of fleecy socks. Thank goodness she had packed them. She lit the log burner and looked out at the bay. What a magical way to start the day. She opened her journal and saw the prompt for the day was:How do you feel today?Smiling, she grabbed her pen, knowing this would be easy.
Zingy, alive, loving life, proud, brave, awake . . .
Chapter Forty-Two
Over in the cottage, Edie poured herself a cup of tea and was immersed in her thoughts when the phone rang. Even though she had been expecting the call, the news was still a shock. Christine had died in her sleep during the night. She had been at peace and was comfortable, the nurse told her. Edie thanked her for the call and said goodbye. She sat down at the kitchen table and stared out of the window. She looked at the smoke curling up from the chimney of the cabin. It drifted lazily in the early breeze, barely visible in the smir that had started to fall. There was something reassuring about knowing Amelia was only a few hundred metres away. But she had a tremendous sense of longing for Jim and wished he would just appear behind her and wrap his arms tightly around her. ‘I really loved her,’ she said out loud.And I forgive you, Christine. And you, Jim. What I would give to have just one more day with you. How I wish you could give me a sign that everything will be okay.
Just then the rain started to fall harder and she shivered as it began to bounce off the windows. She brushed a lock of hair from her face as she continued to watch the pelting water. Then it stopped as quickly as it started and the sun appeared, flooding the kitchen with bright light. She stood and edged nearer to the window. Peering out, she smiled when she saw the perfect arc of a rainbow with its colours dazzling against the dark sky.Is that a sign, Jim?She smiled, knowing that must have been, surely? She loved rainbows and their symbol of hope and faith. A sense of calm descended on her and she knew that everything was as it should be. She would get through this, and Jim was never far from her side.
Later that afternoon, Amelia called in as planned so they could walk to the high street together to attend the final meeting of the Christmas fair committee.
‘I’m so glad it’s stopped raining,’ said Amelia, as she walked into the kitchen.
‘Yes. And I think that will be it for a few days,’ said Edie, who checked the weather forecast religiously. ‘Fingers crossed, the coming days are set to be fine, albeit cold.’
‘You’ll never guess what I did this morning, Edie.’
‘I won’t. Just tell me.’
‘I went for my first sea swim.’
‘Oh, you are crazy. But well done . . . dare I ask what it was like?’
‘Amazing.’
‘Well, you’re a braver soul than me.’
‘I don’t know about that. Anyway, how are you feeling today?’
