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CHAPTER 8
Rosie climbed higher and higher, her legs aching and her lungs feeling as though they might burst.
She’d chosen the steepest path to Sorrell Head and was glad no one was around to cast judgement on her fitness. Or rather, lack of it. Good grief! She stopped and bent forward with her hands on her thighs. Sleeping in late on precious days off and drinking with work colleagues in the sunshine had made her soft.
A walk to the highest point of the cliffs would toughen her up a little and give her time to think. And she couldn’t face going back to Driftwood House for a while, anyway – not now she knew the house was under threat. Losing her family home to the Eppings had hit her hard, but knowing that this precious link to her mother would likely be smashed into rubble… Biting down hard on her lower lip, she pulled in deep breaths of fresh salty air to steady herself and ease what felt like panic grabbing at her throat. She wasn’t normally a panicky person but now everything felt overwhelming.
She started climbing again, her feet slipping on the stony path. Out here, she felt close to her mum, who loved tramping across the cliffs, with a scarf tied around her hair and the ends flying in the breeze. The two of them would often walk to Sorrell Head, a jagged peak which stretched out into the sea. The red sandstone had been worn away by the pounding waves and Rosie supposed that, one day, it would succumb and the cliff would fall into the sea.
Five minutes later, she was standing close to the cliff edge. Being up so high made Rosie’s stomach flip – it always had, even as a child hanging on to her mother’s hand for dear life. But she walked as far as she dared to the end of the land.
Further along the coastline, tucked in by the beach, Heaven’s Cove was waking up. Shopkeepers were putting out sandwich boards and people were busy on the quay, preparing to take today’s influx of tourists on pleasure trips around the bay. Some would end up feeling queasy, because the water was scattered with white-topped waves today.
The curve of sand was empty except for a couple of dog walkers. Their pets ran in and out of the sea, which had turned from moss-green first thing this morning to a sparkling blue, mirroring the cloudless sky. It was going to be a beautiful spring day and she could almost imagine herself in Spain were it not for the chilly wind blowing through her hair.
Pushing her fringe from her eyes, she sat down heavily on the ground, leaned back on her elbows and stared up at the seagulls wheeling overhead. Her mum wouldn’t be pleased that she was lying on damp grass. No lolling about after a rain shower or heavy dew – that was one of the very few rules she laid down.Think of the grass stains, Rosie!But she’d be heartbroken at the thought of Driftwood House being flattened to make way for a hotel.
Would Charles Epping really be so heartless? Definitely, if all she’d heard of him was true. The Eppings were rarely seen in Heaven’s Cove but their reputation for ice-cold, business-based decisions was common knowledge. And their indecent haste to claim back Driftwood House was testament to that.
Rosie didn’t usually bear grudges but right now she thoroughly disliked Charles Epping and his haughty wife. And she wasn’t too keen on Liam Satterley either, who’d been so irritable and dismissive in the graveyard this morning. Though the sadness coming off him in waves bothered her. Despite the mild hostility that seemed to permeate their encounters, this shared sadness made the two of them almost kindred spirits right now.
The shrill ring of her phone interrupted her thoughts and startled the gull nearby which was eyeing her up as a potential source of food. Walkers were regularly dive-bombed by scavenging seagulls trying to snatch their sandwiches.
‘Hello?’
‘Babe, it’s me, checking up on you. How’s life in boring old Heaven’s Cove?’
Matt’s deep voice was a soothing balm on her troubled thoughts. He’d called her after the funeral yesterday, but they’d only had a brief chat because he was working late.
‘Life is… challenging. I’ve just been to the churchyard to look at the funeral flowers.’
‘Is that a good idea? It’ll only upset you.’
‘I’m upset already so it doesn’t make much difference.’
‘I guess. Hold on a minute.’ Matt’s voice became muffled while he spoke to someone in the office. As his conversation continued, Rosie’s attention drifted to the waves lapping the shore far below. She’d spent some happy times on that beach, swimming in the cold sea before drying off on the sand.
‘Are you still there, babe? Sorry about that. Carmen needed a bit of guidance. She’s taken over some of your work while you’re away and is doing a great job. She sends her love.’
‘That’s kind. Tell her thank you.’
‘I will. Did I tell you that she closed a great sale this week? Those apartments with limited views – she managed to offload a couple of them.’
‘The ones with ridiculously small second bedrooms?’
‘That’s the ones. She guaranteed to the buyers that you could get a double bed in there, though I don’t suppose you can.’
‘So she lied, basically.’
‘She was economical with the truth, Rosie,’ laughed Matt. ‘There’s a difference.’
Not one that Rosie could see, but she’d had this argument with Matt before and couldn’t face rehashing it right now.
‘I had some surprising news today,’ she told him. ‘It looks like the Eppings hope to knock down Driftwood House and build a hotel in its place.’
‘Wow.’ She heard him catch his breath.
‘I know. That’s how I felt.’
