Page 50 of The Path to the Last House Before the Sea

Jack threw back his head and laughed at that. ‘This is very true. You do realise that Belinda saw us and is unlikely to let it drop?’

‘Yep, she’s already mentioned it to me.’

‘Oh, good grief. We’ll be engaged by next weekend.’

Alyssa laughed too, realising how nice it felt to be sitting here with Jack. Though kissing him, she now knew, had been a mistake. Because she’d quite like to do it again.

Helping Jack out had seemed like a good idea at the time – Miri’s patronising sympathy towards him had been hard to stomach, and she’d felt sorry that he was sitting with the man who’d stolen the woman he patently still wanted.

It was only a kiss, she’d told herself when she pulled him into the clinch. She’d close her eyes and get it over with. But it hadn’t turned out that way.

‘What do you think of the view?’ Alyssa asked, trying to distract herself. Sitting so close to Jack while thinking about kissing him was making her feel tense.

He squinted at the horizon. ‘It’s inspiring.’

When she gave him a sideways glance, he shrugged. ‘Now what?’

‘Inspiring? Is that all? Aren’t you going to tell me what happens to all the water when the tide goes out, or why the sky’s blue?’

He shook his head. ‘Nope. I’m appreciating the view for what it is. It makes me feel… I don’t know…’

Alyssa waited and, after a moment, he said: ‘Small.’

She nodded. ‘Me, too. The vastness of the universe puts our worries into perspective, don’t you think?’

When Jack didn’t reply, they sat in silence for a while, watching the sea rise and fall. A grey seal bobbed in the water before pulling itself onto a rock, its sleek body glistening in the sunlight.

‘Actually,’ said Alyssa, ‘what does happen to all the water when the tide goes out? Does the sea get much deeper in the middle?’

Jack smiled. ‘I can tell you if you really want to know. Oops!’ He grabbed hold of Alyssa’s mobile as she shifted and it tumbled from her lap.

The photo of the curious map was still on the screen, and he glanced at it before handing the phone back.‘What’s that you were studying so intently before I interrupted you?’

Alyssa hesitated but it was too late. Jack had already seen it. ‘It’s a photo I took of something that was found in an old wooden box at Driftwood House, hidden in a fireplace. Rosie showed it to me.’

‘Can I see?’

Alyssa reluctantly handed the phone back to Jack, who squinted at the screen. ‘What is it?’

‘A piece of paper. Old paper.’

‘I can see that, but what are the marks on it?’

‘I’m not sure, though…’ She petered off, wanting to discuss her theory with someone, but not necessarily this someone.

‘Though what?’

Alyssa shrugged. ‘Don’t mock me, but I think it could be an old map.’

‘What sort of map?’ he asked, staring at the photo and wrinkling his nose. He moved his thumb and finger across the screen to enlarge the picture. ‘Is that cross supposed to depict a church in the middle?’ He peered more closely at the pen marks. ‘Hey, is this Heaven’s Cove?’

‘I think so.’ Alyssa took a deep breath. In for a penny… ‘I also reckon those lines there – the thicker lines that cut across the roads and merge into one near the cove – could be the route of old smuggling tunnels beneath the village.’

‘Smuggling tunnels?’

She sighed, aware that she was probably inventing things. Just as she’d invented her new life in Heaven’s Cove.There was no evidence or proof that the lines depicted smugglers’ tunnels – and evidence and proof were what Jack cared about.

‘It doesn’t matter,’ she said quietly.

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