Page 59 of Happy Days Ahead in the Cornish Village

She hadn’t asked for him to come and find her. In fact, she’d done the exact opposite. She hadn’t told anyone where she was sleeping. She hadn’t mentioned Lyle cutting her off. She’d tried desperately to keep attention away from her situation.

Although what was she thinking? He’d probably just spotted her car on his way home. He might not have driven out to look for her. She took a deep breath. It didn’t make any sense. How had he known where she was? He couldn’t have followed her back from Wagging Tails, if he had he would have got to the lay-by when she had and yet he couldn’t have spotted her on his way home either as Flora would have ensured he’d left with everyone else. That only left the scenario, that he’d come looking for her. But would he have? Why?

She gripped the steering wheel tighter and leaned forward. She needed to focus on driving instead of thinking about how Jay had found her. She’d find out soon enough.

As they inched towards the ‘Welcome to West Par’ road sign, she took a deep breath in. They’d made it. She watched Jay pull into a driveway next to a whitewashed thatched cottage and drew her car in behind him, hearing the unmistakable crunch of gravel beneath the tyres.

They were safe. She reached down and squashed her clothes back into her tote bag before opening the door, clutching the door handle as the wind tried to rip it from its hinges, and stepping out.

She ran across the driveway and reached the porch just as Jay swung the front door open.

After letting Megan through first, Jay shut the heavy wooden door and slipped out of his rain-drenched coat.

‘That’s crazy weather,’ he said.

‘It sure is.’ Megan took her trainers off and then just stood there awkwardly.

‘Come on through, I’ll get the kettle on.’ Jay indicated the door behind her.

Nodding, she stepped into the living room. The whitewashed walls here were hung with photographs, and the back of the door decorated with paintings and drawings stuck haphazardly onto the wood. A pink play kitchen stood in the corner of the room, plastic bricks overflowing from a nearby tub, and a small child’s tent had been erected beneath the window overlooking the front garden, a line of teddies positioned in a group by its entrance.

‘Excuse the mess. Mia has made me promise not to touch a thing.’ Jay grinned. ‘She was in the middle of a game when her mum picked her up the other day and, believe me when I tell you that she knows exactly how she’s left everything and if I so much as move one of the teddies a millimetre to the left, she’ll spot it as soon as she walks through the door.’

Megan smiled.

‘What would you like? Tea, coffee, squash?’ Jay began to walk towards the back of the room where Megan could see another door open leading through to the kitchen.

Clutching her tote bag in her hands, she tucked her hair behind her ear. She closed her eyes momentarily, adjusting to the quiet of the room, the wind muffled by the glass. Opening her eyes, she glanced out of the window, rain was still drumming against the glass and the storm still raged but in here it was warm and dry and for the first time since she began sleeping in her car she felt safe.

She looked around the kitchen as Jay filled the kettle with water before switching it on. Everything was so clean, so tidy. She looked down at her hands, her fingers were greasy from the last packet of crisps she’d eaten for dinner and she dreaded to think how her hair looked – she could feel how dirty it was. She felt out of place as it was here, knowing that he was now privy to her secret, but even more so because of how dirty she felt. The last thing she wanted to do was to put him out further but if she didn’t ask him she might not have another chance for a while. ‘I know this sounds really cheeky, but could I have a quick shower, please?’

‘Umm, yes, of course. I’ll get you a towel.’ Jay indicated the door.

‘Thank you.’

Her hair now wrapped in a towel, Megan used her palm to wipe condensation from the mirror and looked at the reflection staring back at her. She looked awful. The dark circles under her eyes had only increased and her skin was paler than ever. She took the towel off, shaking her hair out and using her fingers to comb it through. She might look a mess, but she felt better than she had since she’d begun sleeping in her car. She felt clean, refreshed.

She folded the towel before placing it in the dirty laundry basket in the corner of the room. Taking a quick glance around the bathroom, she ensured she’d left everything as it had been, before opening the door and as she made her way along the landing and down the stairs, she took a deep breath in. Jay was cooking. The aroma of tomatoes and onions hit the back of her throat, and her stomach began to growl with hunger.

She pushed open the door into the living room, where the smell of food was stronger. The radio was on and Jay was singing along to a cheesy eighties song, his voice cracking as he attempted the high notes of the chorus. Unsure whether she should announce her arrival or not, she walked slowly into the kitchen and stood in the doorway.

The song ended, and the DJ began talking, his soft tone filling the kitchen.

Shifting position in the doorway, Megan cleared her throat. ‘Thanks for that.’

Jay turned around, the tinge of embarrassment reaching his ears. ‘How long have you been standing there?’

Megan laughed. ‘Long enough.’

‘Ah.’ Jay looked down at the ladle in his hand as a splodge of red sauce dripped onto the glass hob. ‘Then I apologise.’

Megan grinned and shook her head. ‘You’ve got a nice voice.’

Jay chuckled. ‘You’re only being polite because I’m cooking dinner.’

‘Ha ha, maybe.’ She walked towards him and leaned awkwardly against the counter as he stirred the sauce into a pan of pasta. Keeping her eyes fixed on a framed picture of Mia on the opposite wall, she spoke quietly, her voice catching in her throat. ‘How did you know?’

Jay filled two bowls and passed her one before indicating the pine table in the corner of the room. Sitting down, he poured them both a glass of juice and set the carton down.

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