Page 48 of The Sisters at the Last House Before the Sea

Isla took a deep breath, pulling Jessie’s scarf even closer to her goose-bumped skin, and walked towards him.

‘Hi, there.’

He looked over his shoulder. ‘Oh, it’s you. I didn’t expect to see you again.’ Ben sounded thoroughly fed up and she couldn’t blame him.

‘I know. I thought we’d said our goodbyes yesterday.’ Isla scuffed her foot into the damp sand.

Ben turned around. ‘It’s quite a coincidence, meeting up again here.’

‘Not really because I was looking for you. Rosie said you’d gone out for a walk, and I bumped into a couple of people who’d seen you heading this way.’

‘This village is full of spies,’ said Ben drily. ‘I thought I might as well spend some time by the ocean, seeing as there’s little else I can do. Why were you looking for me?’

‘I wanted to see you to apologise that you’re trapped in the village and might not make your flight home.’

Ben grimaced. ‘I definitely won’t make my flight early tomorrow unless this snow dump disappears in the next couple of hours, which seems unlikely.’

‘I’m afraid so, and…’ Isla glanced at the heavy sky above them. ‘It looks as if we might get a bit more.’ She watched a few fat flakes drift down and melt into the water. ‘We don’t often get a lot of snow, being so close to the sea, but on this occasion…’ She sighed. ‘Anyway, I’m sorry.’

‘You’re apologising for what exactly?’ Ben raised an eyebrow. ‘For making it snow?’

‘I’m just very aware that if you’d left Heaven’s Cove yesterday, as you’d planned, rather than staying on an extra day to take my tour of the village, you wouldn’t be stuck here now.’

Ben pushed his hands under his armpits in an attempt to warm them up. ‘It’s true I wouldn’t be about to miss my flight if I’d left yesterday as planned. However, you weren’t to know that a blast of cold air from the Arctic was going to drop a ton of snow on us overnight. I have to say, the weather forecasting round here isn’t terribly impressive.’

‘It’s usually much better but this cold snap has taken everyone by surprise. I am sorry, though.’

Ben stared at her for a moment, but then he smiled – a proper smile which chased away every trace of sternness. ‘Don’t worry. I’m not holding you personally responsible for the weather.’

Isla smiled back, feeling relieved. ‘What about you getting home?’

‘I can re-book my flight, but there’s no point in even trying until I know for sure how long I’m going to be stuck here.’ His eyes widened in alarm. ‘This snow won’t last until Christmas, will it?’

‘No, it’ll definitely be gone long before then.’

‘Just as well. Mom will kill me if I’m not home for the holidays, especially with Dad not being around.’

‘Of course. Special times of the year are hard when the people we love aren’t here. It would have been Gran’s birthday tomorrow.’

Isla wished she hadn’t mentioned her grandmother because now she wanted to cry.

‘That’s going to be tough,’ said Ben, his voice full of sympathy. ‘Can you maybe do something to mark the day?’

‘That’s what we’re planning,’ murmured Isla, desperate to change the subject before she dissolved into tears. ‘Anyway, the snow definitely won’t last over three weeks until Christmas. They’re saying on the news it’s likely to start thawing tomorrow, though that’s not guaranteed. But,’ she added brightly, trying to sound upbeat, ‘if you’re going to be stuck anywhere, at least you’ve got great views from Driftwood House. Heaven’s Cove must look like a winter wonderland from up there.’

Ben nodded. ‘I must admit the village does look kind of stunning in the snow. I need to take some photos for Mom, who’ll lap this kinda thing up.’

‘She’ll have to pay us a visit one day. You can give her a tour and show her where William once trod.’

‘Yeah. Maybe.’

Ben would never come back to Heaven’s Cove, thought Isla, snuggling her chin into Gran’s scarf. He would cross the ocean to America, just as Edith had planned to do. Until she’d changed her mind for some reason. Had she bottled out at the last minute?

Isla glanced down at Ben’s feet. He was wearing his grey jacket and jeans, and large green wellies.

‘Do you usually travel with wellies?’

‘With what?’

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