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Chapter1
Nova
My front doorclosed behind me with a click, and I leaned against it, relishing the warmth of my home after coming in from the biting air outside.
Thank God for central heating.
I was already counting down the days until the end of term, when I wouldn’t have to go out in the frigid winter mornings and could instead stay snuggled up in bed.In just over a week, there would be no more teaching for fourteen whole days.No more early starts and long days, only the promise of everything the most magical time of year could bring.
I didn’t take off my coat and scarf because I was going straight back out to see my neighbour; I’d only come into the house to drop off my bag.On Friday afternoons, once I was home from work, we had a long-standing arrangement that I would go to hers for tea and biscuits; a sort of end-of-the-week treat.This particular day, she’d promised warm mince pies with clotted cream—a true Devonshire favourite.
June had been so kind to me when I’d moved in next door eighteen months ago, and she had recently lost her husband, Trevor.He’d had a heart attack six months ago, and this was going to be her first Christmas without him.She was extremely fit for a woman in her mid-seventies, but in the early stages of her grief, she hadn’t wanted to do even the most basic of things, so I’d stepped in to get her shopping and cooked for her when she was struggling.Although things had improved, the festive season had brought her grief to the surface again, and I checked in on her regularly.
Jingling my keys, I opened the front door and locked it on my way out, popping the key into my coat pocket.I wrapped my coat tighter around me as I rushed down my garden path and then hurried up June’s, eager to get somewhere warm again and more than ready for the treats awaiting me.
I reached up to knock on the door just as it opened, and I was met by a man I’d never seen before.I stumbled back, almost falling off her front step.
The tall, dark-haired man frowned as he took me in while I caught my balance.He didn’t even try to steady me.He was clearly not expecting me any more than I was expecting him.
“Can I help you?”he asked.
Words failed me for a moment as I looked at him.He was extremely tall and stocky, and his eyes were a piercing blue.A scruffy beard adorned his chin, and he wore black jeans and a blue denim jacket over a white t-shirt.If it weren’t for the frown causing a deep furrow in his brows, he would have been gorgeous.But he was also surly and abrupt, so I pushed that thought away immediately.
“I… Is June here?”I asked as his eyes surveyed me with distrust.What the hell was his problem?
“Who are you?”
Who areyou?I wondered, taken aback by his rude tone.He was looking at me like I was some annoying salesperson, but I was pretty sure I didn’t have that appearance.I was barely wearing any makeup, and although I was still dressed in my child-friendly work outfit of a knee-length black skirt and a blue jumper under my long black coat, my hair was falling out of its updo.I was sure I looked too dishevelled to appear saleswoman-like.
“Donovan, get out of the way.”
Some of my irritation eased as I heard June’s voice, and she appeared at the man’s side.Her small frame tried to oust him from the doorway, and he shuffled over to accommodate her.
June was a tiny woman with a big personality; her smile lit up her face when she saw me.“Come on in, dear.Don’t mind him.”
The man—Donovan, apparently—looked down at her.“Nan, you haven’t seen me in ten years and you already want me out of here?”His voice held a hint of teasing, but his eyes told a different story.A distant look suggested he didn’t want to be there anyway.
She rolled her eyes behind her rectangular-framed glasses.“Move.You’re letting all the warm air out of the house.Besides, you were just going out anyway.”
I didn’t consider that the car I’d parked behind on the road outside might belong to someone visiting June.Unfamiliar cars parked outside often, grabbing any space they could find.It was rare for anyone to visit June, though, aside from the few friends she had who lived a couple of streets away, but most of them didn’t drive.
Wait.Did he say ‘nan’?I searched my brain, trying to recall if she had ever mentioned Donovan before.
“I’m going to run into town and pick up the clotted cream you forgot,” he said, stepping down onto the same step as me and looking me over once again.“I won’t be long.”
He left before any introduction could be made, prompting June to open the door wider so I could come in.
The warm air enveloped me immediately, and I let out a sigh of relief, rubbing my hands together.Smiling again, June said, “Get your coat off and I’ll make some tea.”
Once we were settled in her cosy living room with our drinks, I said, “So… that was your grandson?”
June nodded at me from her comfy armchair.“Yes.That’s Donovan.”I couldn’t quite gauge her tone or expression, but I wasn’t sure whether I should pry.
“I’m sorry.If I’d known you were having a visitor…”
She waved her hand dismissively.“Ididn’t know I was having a visitor, but even so, nothing would stop our Friday afternoon chats.”Her warm smile relaxed me, but I still couldn’t help wondering why he’d looked at me so suspiciously.Maybe, where he was from, people didn’t just pop in to see their neighbours.“Honestly, I was so surprised to see him that I didn’t get a second to tell him you were coming over for mince pies.He won’t mind, though.It’s been a long time since he was in Dawlish, and he was eager to get a taste of Gay’s Creamery clotted cream again.”
From the way he’d looked at me, it seemed as if he minded a lot, but I didn’t say so.Couldn’t argue with his logic on food, though.If there was one thing I’d missed when my parents moved us to Exeter when I was a kid, it was the taste of the local cream.Luckily, we were close enough to drive down to get some now and again.
