Page 21 of Sanctuary at MacLeod's Cove
‘Well,’ said Lucy sarcastically, ‘hasn’t he done well? Geez, it makes my blood boil.’ She screwed up her face into a frown. ‘What makes a person behave like that?’
‘It was all about control.’ Jen shrugged. ‘I don’t get it, but there was no doubt about it. He wanted to control me.’
‘Evil bastard.’
‘He most definitely is,’ agreed Kate. ‘And,’ she said, holding up her hands as if to ward off any further talk, ‘we don’t need to know any more details other than what Jenny wants to tell us. So I suggest that you two go for a walk along the beach while there’s still some light, while I clear up. And don’t worry, Jenny,’ she said as if reading her mind, ‘I’ll go and check on Liam. We have the baby monitor here, too. He’ll be fine.’
‘Nice one, Mum,’ said Lucy, giving her mother a passing kiss on the cheek as she ran down the steps and onto the springy grass.
‘So,’ said Lucy, linking arms with Jen as she joined her. ‘At last, I have my big sister to myself. You know, I used to dream we’d do this someday.’
‘Ah,’ said Jen, touched by Lucy’s admission, pulling her to her side in a swift hug, ‘that’s sweet. I guess I was so caught up in my new world that I lost sight of my old one. And when I realised I was too caught up, I looked around for my old one, only to find it was out of reach.’
‘How long ago was that?’ asked Lucy. ‘When did you realise things had gone sour between you and Alistair?’
Jen followed Lucy as they scrambled down the path, which led from the grassy dunes to the beach.
‘After I got pregnant. Bad timing. The warning signs were there — control, jealousy — but I mistook them.’
‘How did you do that?’ asked Lucy, taking off her sandals and hooking them onto her fingers. ‘Surely the signs were pretty clear.’
Jen grunted. ‘You’d think so.’ They walked in silence for a few moments towards the sea, their footprints the only marks on the pristine damp sand left by the retreating tide. ‘But…’ Jen sighed and looked out to the horizon, barely visible as a darker line against the deepening dusk. ‘I was young and dumb.’
‘You were never dumb,’ said Lucy, following Jen’s gaze. ‘Perhaps “young” was your only problem.’
Jen looked at Lucy. ‘When did you get so wise?’
‘When you weren’t looking,’ said Lucy. Her smile faltered when she saw Jen’s face fall. ‘Come on, I’ll race you.’ She began to run towards the sea.
‘Hey, that’s not fair,’ said Jen, kicking off her flip-flops, ‘you’ve already got your shoes off.’
Lucy glanced over her shoulder. ‘There’s nothing fair about life.’
‘Don’t I know it!’ said Jen, grinning anyway as she ran into the sea to join Lucy, gasping at its freshness. She turned in a slow circle, taking in the shadowed shapes of the islands and the village of MacLeod’s Cove, nestled in front of the hills, their details indistinct in the gathering darkness.
‘I can’t believe I’m here, you know?’ Then she felt cold water splash down her back. She gasped. ‘What the…?’ She turned to Lucy who was laughing and about to splash her again. ‘Hey, don’t you?—’
This time the cold water smacked her full in the face.
‘There will be no mercy, Lucy MacLeod!’ she said, wiping the salt water from her cheeks.
By the time they emerged from the sea, they were both soaked to the skin and arm-in-arm.
Jen shivered.
‘You’re too skinny,’ said Lucy. ‘We’ll soon get some flesh back on you with butter, cream, cheese and all that good New Zealand stuff. Then you’ll be hardier and can join us in our mid-winter swims.’
‘I don’t think I’ll ever be hardy enough for that!’
‘You know,’ said Lucy, ‘you didn’t really answer me before, when I asked about the warning signs.’
‘Ah, them.’
‘What could you possibly have mistaken warning signs for?’
They’d reached the sand dunes that separated the beach from the house, and Jen stopped, and looked around. ‘For love, of course.’
Lucy turned to her, her shaggy blonde hair bright in the dimming light. ‘Since when have control and jealousy been a part of love?’
