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36
Lettie had said goodbye to Driftwood House and to Rosie. She’d had a last look at the stunning view from the clifftop and had marvelled afresh at the glittering ocean stretching to the horizon and the quaint cottages below her, huddling together on the edge of the land.
She’d also replied to Mum’s text, saying she’d sort out a Lidl trip as soon as she could, while determining to set up online shopping deliveries for her parents. Her mum wouldn’t like it. She enjoyed her shopping trips, but she could always have an exciting trip to Tesco with her friend, Moira, who regularly offered to take her.
Lettie glanced at her watch and frowned. The taxi was late and she’d miss yet another train if it didn’t get a move on.
Usually, Lettie was happy to come home from holiday, however much fun she’d had. The urge to up sticks and escape to the sunshine for good was short-lived, and the pull of her normal life in London was enough to entice her back to reality. But not this time. Life had changed in the few short weeks since Iris had died, she realised. She’d changed. And a growing feeling of belonging in Heaven’s Cove was hard to shake.
‘Get a grip, Starcross,’ she murmured to herself, picking up her case and deciding to walk down the cliff path. She could meet the taxi in the lane at the bottom. ‘Go home, forget this place, and get back to normal.’
Going back to normal would be relatively easy in practical terms. She’d find another tedious customer care job and her family would keep her busy, as always. But forgetting this special place and the people in it wouldn’t be so simple.
She pictured Corey in his yellow uniform, battling through rough seas to reach her and Buster. She could almost feel his arm around her shoulders, and the brush of his cheek against hers when he’d later kissed her goodnight. And she could still picture his disappointed face when he thought she’d deceived him. The fact that he hadn’t believed her would hurt for a long time.
‘Well, damn you, Corey Allford,’ she said out loud to the seagulls swooping over her head as she picked her way down the path. ‘I hope you enjoy your lonely, distrustful life.’
There was no taxi in sight when she got down to the road and she’d just taken out her phone to ring the taxi firm again when she heard pounding feet behind her.
‘I had to stop you,’ puffed Corey, his face lobster-red. He bent over with his hands on his thighs, breathing loudly in and out. ‘Ran… all… way,’ he gasped. ‘Not as fit as I thought. Terrible stitch.’
Lettie could have cried, because seeing Corey was going to make leaving all the harder. ‘If you’re here to have another go at me, don’t bother because I’m leaving Heaven’s Cove, and you don’t need to worry because I have no intention of selling Cora Head to Simon.’
‘I know. I heard you had an argument with him in Bert’s shop.’
Lettie shook her head. ‘Of course you did.’
Much as she’d grown to love Heaven’s Cove, she would never get used to the village grapevine. In London you could drop dead and no one would notice.
‘Look, can we talk?’ asked Corey, massaging his side. His face was returning to its normal colour and his breathing had eased.
‘I’ve got a train to catch.’ A black car had just turned the corner and was heading towards them. ‘And my taxi is here.’
‘Can’t you get the next train?’
‘I could but what’s the point, Corey? I’m leaving the village so I might as well go now.’
‘But I need to apologise. I’ve been such an idiot. I shouldn’t have doubted you and accused you of being so… I don’t know…’
‘Horribly deceitful?’
‘Yeah, fair enough… horribly deceitful. I should have believed you when you said Iris knew nothing about Cornelius leaving her the land.’
‘Of course you should have. Did you think I almost drowned on purpose, just so I could wheedle my way into Cornelius’s room for the night?’ Lettie’s voice was rising in frustration and Corey took a step back.
‘No, of course not. I wasn’t thinking logically at all.’
‘And what about Simon? Did you really think I’d be in cahoots with a complete idiot like him?’
The corner of Corey’s mouth twitched. ‘He really is an idiot, isn’t he?’
‘A complete, grade A version. So it’s all the more insulting that you thought he and I were working together.’
Corey wrinkled his nose. ‘Actually, I thought at times that you might be going out with him.’
‘Really? Jeez, you’re worse than my family when it comes to pairing me off with totally unsuitable men. Simon just kept hanging around and turning up like a bad penny.’
‘He seems to have a talent for doing that.’
