Page 7 of Spring Dreams at the Cornish Bakery

‘Hi, sis. Tell me, what’s it like? Are you at the cottage now? Is it everything you dreamed of?’

Swallowing, she blinked as her eyes filled with tears. ‘It’s more.’

‘More? That’s amazing! Hold on, I’ll end the call and ring you back on video call. You can give me the grand tour. I...’

‘No, no. Don’t do that!’ Hearing the panic in her own voice,Lynsey paused and took a deep breath before continuing. ‘I mean, not today. I’d rather give you a virtual tour when it’s... umm... a bit cleaner.’

‘Oh, the previous owners didn’t leave it in a state, did they? I remember when we moved into our last house, the family we bought it from hadn’t even bothered to clean out the kitchen cupboards. There was spilt rice, lentils, cereal, you name it.’ Nina hitched her voice a little. ‘And the shed! Old bike parts, a broken lawn mower and, what else? I can’t remember, but you get the idea. The state it had been left in was downright disgusting. Is yours as bad as that?’

Lynsey pivoted on the spot, her eyes drawn to the bare brickwork exposed by the previous owner’s poor attempts at DIY. She shuddered as she wiped a tear from her cheek. This was supposed to be her new start. This was supposed to be a good day. A good thing. An exciting time for her. And now what?She’d bought a cottage which looked as though it was halfway through a major refurb which had been abandoned and with no builder in sight. ‘Possibly a little worse.’

‘That’s rubbish.’ Concern seeped into Nina’s voice. ‘It’s okay though? It’s what you expected? The previous owner has done work on it since the photos you found from a few years ago?’

Closing her eyes, Lynsey bit down on her bottom lip. She hated lying to her sister, but what could Nina do, anyway? If she told her the truth, she’d only worry. Plus, there was a small part of her who didn’t want to admit that everyone had been right – she’d been stupid to buy a property she hadn’t seen in person. Besides, if she was careful about how she worded things, then she wouldn’t be lying. Not really, would she? ‘Yes, they’ve done a lot of work.’

‘Great! That saves you time and money then! I’m sorry I doubted you so much. I was just worried. You know that, don’t you? I was just trying to look out for you and, to be perfectly honest, I thought you were rushing into the sale just to get away from this place, from Ross, from the job thing. All of it.’

Lynsey nodded. ‘I was. I couldn’t wait any longer. Those eight months living in Dad’s outhouse and dealing with everything else, I just had to get away.’

‘I know. Aw, Lyns, if I could reach down this phone right now, I’d give you a massive hug and tell you how proud I am of my little sis.’

Using the sleeve of her coat, Lynsey rubbed at her cheeks. At this moment in time, she’d do anything for one of Nina’s hugs. She’d always been able to turn to her sister. And she had, throughout this nightmare of a year, Nina had been her rock. Nina and her dad, but now it was time for her to stand on her own two feet. Time to show them, and Ross, that she could cope on her own. That she could thrive. She let out a hollow laugh.That hadn’t gone to plan, had it? ‘Look, Nina. I’m really sorry but I’ve got to go. I’ll call you another time, okay?’

‘Of course. You get back to savouring the moment as you wanted to. Love you.’

‘You too.’ Ending the call, Lynsey began picking her way through the debris towards the small dining room. Walking through the door, she quickly realised the dining room was in the same state as the living room. Running her palm across the wall standing between the kitchen and the tiny dining room, she slumped her shoulders. This was the only thing that she’d prepared herself for doing before moving in – knocking the two smaller rooms through into a gorgeous kitchen/diner. With the light streaming in through the windows, it would have been lovely.

Letting her arm drop to her side, she turned on her heels and made her way back outside. The builder had had the right idea. Maybe she should follow suit and turn her back and run, put the cottage straight back on the market and look elsewhere?

Locking the front door again, she walked through the small front garden, kicking a pathway through the weeds encroaching on the broken pathway as she did so. Reaching the low dry stonewall she pulled the wrought-iron gate open before stepping onto the path and turning back to look at the cottage. The only problem with the idea of giving up and selling was that she’d bought it at auction. For a steal. And she’d been the only bidder. Even if she was lucky enough to find a buyer, she wouldn’t be able to buy down here again. There was no chance her budget would extend to somewhere else in the bay. Or for miles around, for that matter.

If she sold it, she’d be giving up on her dream of moving to Penworth Bay. Letting go of the gate, she watched as it creaked its way to closing before she began walking back down the lane.

She swiped at the tears running down her cheeks as she took a last look at her fading dream and then walked away.

Chapter Eight

‘Oh, Lynsey, love. Why don’t you go back to bed for a bit?’ Elsie rubbed her arm as Lynsey walked past carrying trays of freshly baked cookies.

Pausing, Lynsey turned to her and forced a smile. Unable to keep in her disappointment, she’d broken down in front of Elsie and Ian when she’d arrived back at the flat last night and they’d been nothing but kind to her, talking through her options with her and offering help and support. She may have only known them a little longer than twenty-four hours, but they’d treated her as they would any family friend or relative. ‘I’m okay, thanks. I’d rather keep busy. It means I don’t have to think about what about I’m going to do with my life.’

‘I’d take her up on the offer if I were you.’ Diane looked up from where she was flicking through a parenting magazine on the opposite side of the huge stainless-steel table.

‘You can go and lie down whenever you want, love. I’m not keeping you hostage here.’ Elsie chuckled as she shook her head at Diane.

‘Oh, I know. You’re just refusing to let me go out and work behind the counter.’ Diane crossed her arms and pouted.

‘Are you saying you don’t like keeping me company in here?’ Elsie feigned a look of hurt.

‘Not at all. I love it, but there’re only so many magazines I can flick through.’ Diane patted the pile of magazines she’d brought in with her when she’d arrived earlier.

Rolling her eyes, Elsie turned back to Lynsey, her expression becoming serious. ‘It will be okay, love. I promise you thingshave a way of working out, but you’ve been up helping with the baking since half four and I’m sure you couldn’t have got much sleep last night. I really think a lie down might be the best option.’

Lynsey shook her head. The thought of having to confront her fears of walking away from her dream escape was too much at the moment. No, she just needed to keep her mind off it and have a little longer in Penworth Bay before facing up to the reality of the huge mess her life was now in. ‘I’ll be fine. Thank you for offering, though.’

‘All right. Well, the offer stands all day, so give me a shout if you want to duck out for a while.’ Elsie rubbed her arm again before picking up an icing bag.

‘Thank you.’ Lynsey continued towards the kitchen door and back out into the bustling bakery. Teresa rushed past her, carrying a tray of mugs and plates of cake. Wendy and Molly were showing clients the display of wedding cakes at the wedding counter and Brooke was serving behind the bakery counter, a queue quickly forming behind her customer.

---