Page 36 of Happy Days Ahead in the Cornish Village

Jay closed his eyes for a moment before looking at her again. ‘I’m sorry, I know it sounds over the top and I understand why you felt you couldn’t tell me. I do. In a way anyway, but that’s what I mean, we need to be able to trust each other.’

‘I agree. Trust is everything, and the lack of trust ruined my marriage with Lyle. But you can trust me. I just…’ She pulled her hands away. Maybe it wasn’t the fact that she hadn’t told him, maybe he was doing just what he said he wasn’t. Maybe this lack of trust talk was to cover up the fact that he simply didn’t want anything to do with her now that he knew she was Lyle’s ex. ‘I need to go.’

‘Megan, wait. Please, let’s talk.’

She turned around. He hadn’t wanted to talk. He hadn’t even cared enough to see how she was after speaking to her ex. He’d made his position clear; he didn’t trust her. And that was fine. She shouldn’t be getting into a relationship so soon after splitting with Lyle, anyway. She needed to give herself space. The few days when she and Jay had had a connection together had been lovely. It had shown her what was possible, what she might have in the future, but not now.

‘Megan?’

Ignoring his voice, she hurried across the courtyard and back into the reception area, grateful that Percy had left to continue going about his day and Flora was on the phone behind the counter.

In the kitchen, sinking into a chair, she pulled Flora’s laptop and the stack of paperwork towards her before leaning her elbows on the table and covering her eyes with her hands. She deserved this. She deserved all of it. She should have told Jay about Lyle when he first brought up the subject of him. And she shouldn’t have spent time with Jay, gotten close to him, kissed him, not so soon after she and Lyle had broken up. She’d brought all this upon herself.

She shouldn’t have even thought for a second that Jay would want her, not after he’d found out who she was, who her ex was. There must be a small part of everyone here who wondered if she’d had anything to do with his behaviour. A small part that must think she’d at least realised what Lyle had been up to. But she hadn’t. She hadn’t known he’d been capable of what he’d done. She hadn’t even seen that he’d changed. Not that much.

As the laptop whirred into action, she let her thoughts drift back to when she and Lyle had married. He’d been so sweet, so kind with his time and money, always there to help others. What had happened to him? And when? Why had he turned into the man he was today? And now to refuse to sign the divorce papers, to threaten to lie about why their marriage had broken down… She shook her head. He was going to throw everything at this divorce, wasn’t he? She wouldn’t stand a chance.

She clicked the folder on the screen, opening the spreadsheet. She’d have to book another appointment with her solicitor, make sure she was prepared for whatever he threw at her. Now, though, she needed to focus, needed to think about something else.

14

Megan poured herself another cup of tea from the small white teapot on the table before looking back at her mobile. She’d been researching about difficult divorces for the past half hour but she was none the wiser, not really.

Loud, raucous laughter sounded from behind her, and she glanced around. A group of women were chatting over their plates of Full English breakfasts, passing a phone around the table. Megan was sure she’d seen them leave the bed and breakfast when she’d come back yesterday. They’d been dressed up in tiaras and bright pink sashes, and the tall one had been wearing an equally bright pink T-shirt announcing she was the ‘Bride-to-Be’.

Megan had heard them arrive back in the early hours, too. Yet after such a late night, they all appeared anything but hungover, all happy and ready for another day of celebrating, no doubt. Megan sighed. Hopefully, the girl would enjoy a long and happy marriage, which didn’t end up in a divorce like hers.

She checked the time. It was gone nine now. She should be at Wagging Tails already. Not that Flora would mind what time she arrived, but she’d enjoyed having a schedule, enjoyed having a reason to get up and begin the day. Today, though, all she could think about was running into Jay again. She knew she couldn’t avoid him forever, not if she wanted to continue to volunteer at Wagging Tails, which she did. But the mere thought of seeing him again reminded her how disappointed he’d looked when she’d spoken to him yesterday.

She put her phone down and picked up her teacup. After downing the now-tepid drink, she stood up. There was no time like the present.

‘Have you finished?’ The manager of the bed and breakfast, Tracey, walked over to her.

‘Yes, thank you. It was lovely, as always.’ Megan smiled. She’d pop back to the room, grab her bag and get going before she put it off any longer.

‘Sorry, Megan. Can I have a quick word please?’ Tracey’s voice was low, her tone serious.

‘Oh sorry. Yes, of course.’ Megan turned back. Why did Tracey want to speak to her? She was friendly enough when Megan had booked in and whenever she saw her around the bed and breakfast, but Tracey had never pulled her aside for a chat before. She glanced back at the hen party. Was Tracey worried they’d been too noisy when they’d returned last night? She didn’t need to apologise. Megan hadn’t minded.

‘Thank you. It’s probably best if we take this in the office.’ Tracey led the way through the breakfast tables and out into the foyer, towards the office behind the counter.

Following her, Megan had to sidestep as she narrowly avoided a toy car being propelled by a young boy. And once inside the office, she waited until Tracey had closed the door behind them before taking a seat in front of the immaculately organised desk.

‘Is there something I can help you with?’

‘Yes, yes, I won’t keep you long. It’s nothing to worry about, but your payment hasn’t gone through this week, the direct debit has been declined so if you have another method of payment, I can get your account updated.’ Tracey pulled a card reader into the middle of the desk.

‘It’s been declined? I’m so sorry.’ Megan pulled her purse from her handbag and pulled out her card. ‘Can we try it again, please? It shouldn’t have.’

‘Of course. It may be that there’s a glitch in the system or something.’ Tracey tapped away on her computer before nodding towards the machine. ‘All ready for you.’

Megan pushed the card into the reader and tapped in her pin number, only to find the small screen blinked with the word ‘declined’.

‘Oh, that’s strange.’ Megan frowned. ‘I’ll try another one.’

‘Maybe it’s not an error on our end, then. It might be a problem with your bank.’

‘Yes, maybe.’ She turned the card over in her hand, checking that it was still in date, before shrugging and pulling out her credit card. ‘Here, I’ll pay with this one instead.’

---