Page 43 of A Summer of New Beginnings
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Thankfully Zara had slept well enough not to notice her host popping in to her bedroom throughout the night. And the following morning she had showered and dressed early ready to make the call to the bike shop. When she descended to the kitchen Lachy was already sitting at the table eating a bowl of porridge.
‘Afternoon,’ he joked.
She glanced at the clock and was relieved to see it was onlynine o’clock. ‘Funny.’
‘Help yourself to porridge. I’ve to go and check on the sheep. I think Bess might want to stay with you.’ He nodded to the dog, who was patiently waiting at Zara’s feet, whole body wagging as usual. ‘I think she likes you.’
‘Is it okay if I take her down to that little stretch of beach maybe? I could do with just relaxing today, I think. Especially after I’ve called thebike shop.’ Her shoulders slumped as she imagined how the conversation would go.
‘Oh aye, she loves it down there. Take her tennis ball. You’ll have a friend for life. Oh, and I found this. I’m presuming it’s yours?’ He held up her bright pink memory stick.
‘Oh, shit! Yes, where did you find that?’
‘It was just on the floor in the hallway. Guessing you dropped it. Pink’s not my colour. Well,notthatparticular shade anyway.’ He grinned.
She tucked her hair behind her ears and tried to figure out what explanation she could give. She went with the truth. ‘It’s my novel; I’d have been gutted if I lost that.’
He raised his eyebrows. ‘Novel, eh? What’s it about?’
Her cheeks reached the point of near spontaneous combustion. ‘Oh… erm… it’s a kind of gritty romance story, I suppose. Quitedramatic in aWuthering Heightskind of way. It all takes place during one summer and everything changes for the main protagonist. Her life is thrown into chaos.’
‘Great. I love a good book. I’m not into romance but I like the sound of the gritty part so if you need someone to read—’
‘Oh, God, no!’ She gasped as she walked over to pour coffee.
He laughed. ‘Okay, okay. So how far done is it?Your novel?’
She spooned porridge into a bowl and added honey. ‘Oh, I don’t really know,’ she lied. ‘Well, that’s not entirely true. Actually it’s just about finished but I’m struggling with the ending.’
As she sat across the table from Lachy, he folded his arms across his chest and tilted his head inquisitively, his eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled. His teeth were a little crookedbut white and his biceps were huge.
She realised she was staring when he started speaking again. ‘What made you start writing a book?’
‘I just love stories. Creating worlds and characters. Controlling their lives. Living vicariously too, I suppose.’
He chuckled. ‘Ah, so youarea control freak, eh? I knew it.’
‘I guess I must be.’ She laughed too. ‘But there’s something magical about losingyourself in a book. I can lose hours if a story grips me. I wanted to see ifIcould create that reaction in readers.’
‘I’m sure your articles have that effect.’
She scrunched her nose. ‘Oh, I don’t know about that.’ She felt her cheeks warming. He seemed to have the effect of a teenage crush on her and she had no clue why. ‘But anyway, if it paid the bills I’d rather be a novelist. It’s a bitof a dream though. Probably won’t ever happen.’
He leaned forwards, his gaze fixed firmly on her. ‘You know, you really light up when you talk about writing. In my opinion you should do what you love. Your passion will shine through that way. And if you’re passionate you’ll excel.’
‘In an ideal world I would. But… well, we don’t live in an ideal world, do we?’
‘No. That’s true. But we haveto make the best of the world wedolive in. And I still think you should make time for your passion.’ He stood from the table. ‘Anyway, the offer stands if you want someone to read it. And you might be here a few days so if you fancy working on your story just let me know. I can get you my laptop.’
She shook her head vehemently. ‘A few days? No-o-o-o, I’ll be on my way tomorrow, I reckon. Evenif I’m heading home on the train. I… I don’t want to impose.’
‘See what the bike people and your boss say, eh? You’re really not imposing. As you can see, I’m not exactly cramped for space.’ He placed his bowl in the sink, drained his coffee cup and grabbed his fleece from the chair. ‘See you later. Oh, and don’t bother trying to lock the door when you go out. You’ll not find a key.’
*
‘Twomore bloody days, Bess,’ Zara huffed as she threw the tennis ball for her new canine friend. ‘I can’t believe there were no suitable bikes available to send right away. It’s a bloody bike-hire place. And, okay, so it’s peak season, but surely they have spares? Although I suppose they could’ve refused to send a bike at all.’ The dog ran off up the slip of beach, tongue lolling out as she chased theball. ‘I honestly thought Noah would’ve just asked me to go home. But no-o-o-o,“This article’s going to be so good, Zara, you’re doing such a brilliant job.”Pah! Doesn’t matter to him that I could’ve died several times.’ She paused and looked round to make sure no one was witnessing her ranty monologue. Thankfully she was still alone apart from the dog. She gazed out at the still water and inhaledthe fresh, cool air. How come she always felt so much calmer when she did that? She turned and glanced up the hill to where the farmhouse stood with its pretty view and sighed. What was the point of getting wound up? There was nothing she could do until the bike arrived.Whoa, I’m not worried or stressed? Bloody hell, what do they put in the water around here?
