Page 71 of Happy Days Ahead in the Cornish Village

‘That’s awful. Are you going to contest it?’

‘Maybe. Probably.’

She should do, shouldn’t she? Although part of her wanted to make this new part of her life her own, she wanted to start over and would she be able to do that if she had court hearings and meetings with the solicitor which, knowing Lyle, would go on for years?

‘I don’t know. I’m trying to focus on building my life again and if I eventually receive anything from the divorce, then great, but if I don’t, then at least I’ll have my new life.’

‘That sounds sensible.’

‘Yes, the only thing I can rely on Lyle for is that he’ll make it as difficult as possible for me to get my share of anything.’ She looked up from where she was playing with the napkin. ‘Although it feels almost just as impossible to find a job as it is.’

‘Don’t say that. Any employee will be lucky to have you onboard.’ He reached out and took her hand.

‘Yep, they’ll be lucky to have someone clueless who hasn’t worked for a decade.’ She scrunched up her nose and shook herself. ‘Nope, you’re right. I need to think positively about this. As soon as I find a job which pays me enough to pay Flora something for rent and food, then I’ll invest the rest of my wages in an accountancy course and refresh my skills.’

‘That’s more like it.’ Jay squeezed her hand.

She nodded and squeezed his back. ‘Then I can become a freelance accountant, build my own hours, work from home and still have enough time to help out at Wagging Tails. I can dream, right?’

‘I think that’s more than a dream.’ Jay smiled. ‘That’s a plan.’

‘Yes, maybe you’re right. Okay, that’s my plan.’ She smiled at him. ‘How about you? Any luck on the job front yet?’

‘Maybe.’ He grinned. ‘I got a letter this morning asking me for an interview over at the nature reserve by Penworth Bay.’

‘Really? Why didn’t you say anything?’ She’d been so engrossed in her own problems that she hadn’t thought to ask him.

He shrugged. ‘I didn’t want to jinx it.’

‘But you’re telling me now?’

He shrugged. ‘I just thought I’d take my own advice.’

‘Turn your dreams into a plan?’

‘Exactly and so, now that I’ve told you, hopefully, it’ll be a plan rather than a dream.’

‘I like your way of thinking.’ Megan rubbed the pad of her thumb across the top of his hand. ‘Good luck with your interview.’

Jay glanced out of the window. ‘Where do you want to go now? Do you fancy another ride? Or we could take a look around the Victorian Village?’

‘Umm, maybe the Victorian Village? Let our lunch go down first before we venture back onto the rides?’

‘Sounds sensible.’ Jay piled their empty crockery and used napkins onto the tray.

Pushing her chair back, Megan stood up and pocketed her phone. She wasn’t even going to give Lyle the satisfaction of replying. He was trying to bait her into a conversation. Well, he could wait.

26

‘Megan, are you okay coming in here for a moment?’ Standing at the door into the reception area, Ginny indicated to Megan to join her.

‘Yep, okay.’ Megan held her hand next to Cindy and waited until she’d dropped the tennis ball she’d been carrying into her hand before leading her towards Ginny. ‘Is everything all right?’

‘Yes. I hope so, anyway.’ Ginny lowered her voice. ‘I had a think about what you were saying about Percy and ended up speaking to Susan and Alex, and, well, we’ve decided an intervention is needed.’

‘An intervention?’ Shutting the door, Megan unclipped the lead from Cindy’s collar.

‘That’s right. This has been going on for years. Percy being too nervous to ask Flora out. Certainly before I came and Susan, who’s been here the longest, even remembers when she started volunteering that she thought they were a couple. If Percy doesn’t ask her now, I don’t think he ever will.’

---