Page 39 of Just the Beginning

‘No. It’s fine, I mean it’s free.’ He tilted his head towards the gap in the fence that led out onto the wide promenade. ‘Are you ready?’

‘Yes.’ She tucked the little clutch bag she’d brought with her under one arm and they began to walk.

It was a lovely evening, the lingering heat of the day countered by a refreshing sea breeze. The beach below them was busier than he’d expected, the people all looking in the same direction. Rick followed their gazes, raising a hand to shield his eyes as he did so. The doors to the lifeboat station were open and a tractor was towing the lifeboat down the slipway. The tide was on its way out and had already left the small pleasure boats that could fit into this narrow section of the bay leaning on their sides like a colourful collection of drunks. As the tractor chugged down the concrete ramp and out across the sand, the crew were busy on deck.

‘I hope everything’s okay,’ Anya said at his side.

‘I think it’s a training exercise,’ Rick reassured her. Unable to resist the urge to touch her, he placed one hand on her shoulder and pointed with the other towards the station. ‘There’s no siren or flashing light.’ He swung his arm back in the direction of the boat. ‘And the crew aren’t fully dressed up the way they would be for a call-out.’ Though they were wearing their bright, waterproof trousers, none of them had jackets or safety helmets on.

Anya visibly relaxed against his hand. ‘Oh, that’s okay then.’ She stepped forward to rest her arm on the rail of the promenade, her smile eager as she watched the spectacle below. Rick moved to lean beside her and she grinned up at him, an excited glint in her eye. ‘I’ve never seen one launch before; do you mind if we watch?’

‘Not at all.’

Anya wasn’t the only one who groaned in disappointment when all the crew did when they reached the water was turn the boat in a slow circle and hook it back up to the tractor for the return trip up the ramp.

‘Come on, let’s walk,’ Rick suggested. ‘We can follow the promenade for a bit and then cut down one of the side streets to the restaurant.’

Still looking a little disgruntled, Anya stepped back from the railing, dropping her bag in the process. Rick bent and retrieved it before she had chance to, keeping hold of it in one hand while he held the other one out to her. With that little glance up through her lashes that filled his head with too many distracting thoughts, she accepted his offer and interlinked their fingers.

They didn’t talk much as they strolled along the neatly paved promenade, but it was a pleasant, contented silence and Rick was happy to simply be in the moment. It was surreal getting to experience something he’d wanted for so long, something he’d given up any hope of ever going from dream to reality.

They passed a number of bars with tables and chairs set out for the drinkers to enjoy. Rick thought it would be nice to do that one evening, assuming the rest of the night went as well as it had started and Anya wanted to go on another date with him. Although he knew it was partly down to the size difference, it felt like there were a lot more people out and about here in Port Petroc compared to a typical evening in Halfmoon Quay. The village was bustling during the day, especially during the holiday season, but come evening there simply wasn’t enough for people to do. The proliferation of self-catering rentals didn’t help as lots of families packed up and tucked themselves awayfor the evening, but even for those who wanted to venture out, the night-time economy was lacking. They had a couple of restaurants, but they were always booked up, and the handful of pubs didn’t offer the same kind of ambience the promenade here had. Perhaps he should survey some of the business owners along the seafront in the Quay, see if any of them had thoughts on what could be done to improve things. If there was enough interest in enhancing the night-time offering for visitors, he could help with things like licensing applications, maybe find some cash down the back of the council sofa to improve the lighting…

‘Penny for them?’

Startled, Rick glanced down at Anya, who was studying him with an amused smile. ‘Sorry, I was miles away.’

‘I could tell! Come on, what were you thinking about?’

Rick hesitated. Should he tell a white lie and talk about how much he was enjoying simply being with her? It was true, of course, but that’s not where his train of thought had been when she’d asked. ‘Will you be disappointed if I admit it was council business?’

The merry tinkle of her laughter filled the air. ‘I would expect nothing less! If it’s a problem that’s preoccupying you, then I’m happy to act as a sounding board.’

It made a refreshing change for someone to say that, because his family groaned more often than not when he started banging on. ‘Not a problem as such, just thinking about ways we might make Halfmoon Quay a more attractive prospect for visitors in the evening.’

Anya glanced around them. ‘It is lovely here. I was only thinking how nice it would be to sit at one of these tables and watch the world go by.’

‘Exactly!’ He gave her fingers a quick squeeze, pleased theywere on the same wavelength. ‘We could do that next time you have a free evening.’

‘I’d like that.’ She sighed. ‘It might be a while though, because I can’t expect everyone to babysit for me – and I’m a bit worried about Freya. She was as good as gold about me coming out tonight, but she’s been acting up a little about other stuff. She’s not being naughty or anything, but she’s got really stubborn about what she will and won’t wear. Davy says she’s testing me because she thinks it’s something that’s important to me and deep down she’s worried I might leave her too.’

Her pensive expression tugged at Rick’s heart. Releasing her hand, he put his arm around her. ‘Then we must make sure she feels safe and secure here. Moving won’t have been easy on her either, I’m sure.’

Anya rested her head against his chest. ‘So much change for her to deal with, but there was simply nothing else I could do.’

‘It’ll work itself out. And being surrounded by family can only be a good thing for her.’

She turned in his embrace to look up at him. ‘That’s true. She had so much fun playing on the beach with everyone the other weekend. I know it’s asking a lot of you, but she has to come first.’

‘It’s not asking anything of me that I’m not happy to give. Hey, talking of the beach, the annual regatta’s coming up soon. I’ll be down there all day as part of the volunteer support team?—’

‘Well, of course you will be…’ She cupped his cheek as she said it, her smile full of tender amusement.

He turned his head to give her fingers a playful nip. ‘Don’t tease me, we both know I am a hopeless cause.’

Giggling, she stretched up to peck a kiss on his lips. ‘I’m sorry, you were saying about the regatta?’

‘I just thought you could bring Freya along. There’ll be lots of activities for the kids and it would be a good way for her to get to know me a bit better, away from the summer house. The family will all be there, so it won’t be like a date or anything.’

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