Page 55 of Just the Beginning

The flash of anger was enough to stop her tears and she pulled herself free of his arms. ‘Oh well if you gave him your word, I suppose that’s all right then!’ she snapped. ‘What about your word to me, Rick? Or doesn’t that count?’

‘Of course it counts, but what was I supposed to do? Davy told me it’s too late to do anything but he knows the family will push him into trying anyway and he just wants to be left alone to enjoy what time he’s got left. I didn’t know what to do.’ He held out a hand to her. ‘Anya, please. Can we go somewhere and talk about this? I’m so sorry I kept it from you, but Davy’s told you now, so at least it’s out in the open and he’s obviously coming round to the idea of facing up to things.’ He sounded so relieved, like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. A huge weight he’d hung around her neck instead, without any warning.

She shook her head. ‘Davy didn’t tell me. I opened a letterfrom the hospital by mistake.’ The shock of it hit all over again.Davy was dying. Rick had just said it was too late to do anything. The pain was like a knife shredding her insides. ‘How could you do that to me?’

He held out a hand to her, his face a mask of grief and pain. ‘I’m sorry I lied to you.’

He didn’t get it. ‘It’s not the lie, though God knows that’s bad enough. It’s the fact you put me in that situation in the first place. You let me get attached to him and all the while you knew that he’s going to die. You let me get close to him, to care about him and now he’s going to leave me and I can’t go through all that again. I can’t.’ She turned away, the tears falling too hard to continue speaking. It didn’t matter, she had nothing else she wanted to say to him.

‘Anya, wait.Please.’ He placed a hand on her upper arm to stop her but she shook him off.

‘No, let me go. You’ve broken my heart, Rick Penrose, and I’m never going to forgive you.’

27

Rick stared after Anya in disbelief. Not at what she’d said to him but the fact he’d put her in such a terrible position. The long-term implications of her and Davy working together had never occurred to him. He’d been too focused on finding a quick solution to both issues. He’d told himself he was doing right by both of them, but had he really considered anything beyond what would make life easier for him? Anya was right about him inserting himself into everything. It hadn’t been his responsibility to find her a job, so why had he done it?Because you wanted her to be grateful to you. No, not grateful, but he’d wanted to do something that would make her notice him, make her think kindly of him and perhaps give him a chance for their friendship to develop into something more. He’d thought he was being so clever, and look where it had got him. She would probably never want to speak to him again and, honestly, he couldn’t blame her.

And what about Davy? Rick had promised to respect his wishes and keep his secret and yet from the moment he’d found out he’d been doing everything he could to circumvent thatpromise because he hadn’t liked the burden of it. Blackmail, that’s what his uncle had called it and he was right.Shit. Rick needed to talk to him and apologise. He needed to speak to Anya too and try and persuade her to help him keep Davy’s secret. It wasn’t fair to ask, not after he’d put so much on her shoulders already, but what else could he do?

He took half a dozen steps before reality stopped him in his tracks. His gaze scanned across the water, past the swimmers to the windsurfers and paddle boarders further out to sea. He couldn’t just run off and try and fix this awful mess he’d made because he had customers out there. Responsibilities. Trudging back to his post, Rick picked up the clipboard he used to keep track of his rentals and ran through the list. There was a group of four paddle boarders who were due back within the hour. He raised his head and searched the bay again until he spotted the familiar bright yellow life jackets he issued. They had followed his advice and stuck to the water sports zone on the right-hand side nearest the quay wall. He glanced back down to his list… That left the couple who’d rented a double kayak and the photographer who’d hired a jet ski so he could access some of the more remote bays along the coast. He was a regular customer of Rick’s, so he didn’t have any worries about him being back on time. He surveyed the neat rows of unused equipment in front of him. Even if his current rentals returned soon, he still had to drag all this stuff up to his lockup and secure it.

Frustrated at his inability to do anything, Rick pulled out his phone and sent both Davy and Anya messages, apologising and asking if they could talk later. To Anya’s message he added a request not to talk about Davy being ill to anyone because it was his responsibility to sort it out and he’d already put her in a terrible position.

He heard nothing back from either of them.

It was Anya who was his most immediate concern given the state she’d been in when she’d walked away. Who would she go to? Issy, maybe? No, the café would be busy. Chloe would still be at work and he didn’t have Kat’s number, though she’d probably be working too. What would he say to them, anyway? He could warn them that Anya was upset and that it was his bloody fault, but they would want to know why and he couldn’t tell them without betraying his promise to Davy. Rick tucked away his phone and stared once more out at the sea. For the first time in his life it felt like there was nothing he could do to help two of the people who meant the most to him. And he hated it.

All the customers had come back at their expected times and Rick was busy tidying up when his brother, Ed, came traipsing towards him, hands in his pockets. He was hard to miss, not just because the crowds on the beach had thinned out as people packed up and headed back home to start thinking about their dinner plans. Unlike everyone else, dressed in casual attire, Ed was still wearing the smart dark trousers and white collared shirt that were standard office wear for most men. He had at least taken his shoes off and was carrying them under one arm. Rick hoped he wasn’t going to take after Anya and start flinging them at his head. A strappy sandal was one thing, but a black Oxford dress shoe would hurt like hell.

As his brother got close, Rick recognised the hangdog expression all too well and he swallowed down a sigh. ‘What have you done now?’

Ed scowled. ‘Why do you always assume it’s my fault?’

‘Because it usually is.’ Rick checked his watch. ‘You’ve finished early, not that I’m complaining because you can give me a hand with these.’ He nodded at the paddle boards he’d been stacking onto his wide-wheeled trolley.

‘I’m not exactly dressed for it,’ Ed said, gesturing down at his clothes.

‘And I’ve got neither the time nor the patience to listen to you whine about whatever’s put that look on your face, so you either work and chat or you can piss off and leave me in peace.’

Ed gaped at him. ‘Okay, forget my problems for a minute. What the hell’s the matter with you?’

Rick shook his head as he turned away and bent to lift another board onto the trolley. ‘Nothing, I’m just busy.’

Dropping his shoes onto the sand, Ed leaned over at the waist to roll his suit trouser legs up to his knees, then grabbed the next board. ‘Since when are you too busy to help someone? You are literally the St Bernard of Halfmoon Quay trotting around rescuing everyone.’ Ed grinned, clearly impressed at the comparison. ‘If only you had a little keg of brandy strapped around your neck, you’d be perfect.’

Not feeling remotely amused, Rick planted his hands on his hips and glared at him. ‘What if I’m sick and tired of helping everyone? What if I’ve decided it’s time to mind my own damn business and look after number one for a change?’

Ed mirrored his body language. ‘Then I’d assume there was an alien invasion while I was at work and you’ve been body-snatched.’

Rick huffed out a breath. ‘Stop trying to make me laugh, you annoying brat, and get to work.’

With Ed’s help the boards were soon stacked and they trundled across the sand to his lockup, where they quickly unloaded them onto the racks Ryan and Matt had installed. They were on their way back when Ed stepped in front of Rick and he had to stop or risk mowing him down with the trolley. ‘What?’

Ed tilted his head to one side. ‘You’re really not curious about why I left work early?’

Rolling his eyes, Rick dodged around him and dragged the trolley back towards where the jet skis still needed to be loaded. ‘I can’t say it’s top of my priority list to listen to your latest attempt at self-sabotage, no.’ He lifted the front of the first jet ski with a grunt, glad he’d only put a few out that morning.

‘That’s a bit harsh,’ Ed complained as he bent to lift up the other end. Rick stared at him over the top of the jet ski for a long moment before his little brother sighed. ‘But probably fair.’

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