Page 6 of The Beach Cottage
“Thanks. I hope it is. It’s my grandmother’s recipe. One of the few things I make well.”
Bea sliced two pieces and set them on mismatched china plates.
Evie handed her a mug of steaming coffee with chocolate-sprinkled froth on top and sat opposite her with a sigh. “My feet hurt.”
“How’s the bookshop today?” Bea took a bite of cake. The moist flavour burst across her tongue — pineapple, cinnamon and coconut.
“Busy, which is good. But I’m trying to do some research at the same time, and it’s hard to concentrate with all those customers interrupting me constantly.”
Bea laughed. “What are you researching?”
“Those photos you had me develop. The fifty-year-old ones you and Dani found in the kitchen wall when you were renovating your cottage. I kept a copy of them for myself—I hope you don’t mind. And I’ve been trying to identify everyone in the images.” Evie’s dimples deepened as she spoke.
“Wow. I didn’t realise you were doing that. I think it’s a great idea. Have you had any luck?”
“Actually, I have. You know how we figured that it was Penny’s beach house in the photos?”
Bea nodded, chewing.
“Well, I decided to go back through every record I could find with photographs of her beach house and her family to see if I could identify the people in them. We already identified Rowan’s mum, June, so that made the job a little easier.”
“I love this. It’s like you’re a spy or something.” Bea took a sip of coffee.
Evie reached for an envelope, pulled the photographs out and laid them on the table. “So, in this one, we’ve got a whole lot of people — these are the ones I’ve identified so far. This is June Clements. This stern-looking woman is her mother. I’m not sure who these people are, but this man seems to be Rowan’s dad.”
“Oh, and that other lady is Penny’s mother, I think. At least, that’s what Penny said, although she’s much younger than the last time I saw her. And the woman behind her is Penny’s grandmother, but I never knew her. She died when we were all very young.”
“She was murdered, right?”
Bea’s nose wrinkled. “Yep, but I can’t recall any of the details. We were so young, and Penny never talks about her.”
“I’m going to the library later to see if I can find some resources — maybe an old newspaper article or something.”
“I’ll come with you.” Bea finished her cup of coffee. “I could use a distraction.”
“How’re things going with Aidan?”
She shrugged. “He wants us to take some time apart.”
“Already?”
“Yep. Says he needs to spend the time getting to know his daughter and he can’t give our relationship the attention it deserves.”
Evie grimaced. “Oh, I’m sorry, honey.”
“It’s fine—we were moving too quickly anyway. I wasn’t ready for the kind of relationship he wanted.”
“So, maybe it’s for the best?” Evie squeezed her shoulder.
“Maybe, but it still hurts.”
“There’s a chance you’ll be able to work things out, though.”
Bea sighed. “I hope so. The more time we spend apart, the more I realise how much I care about him. It’s funny—before he broke things off, I was so cautious about moving forward and wanted to make sure I was ready so I wouldn’t hurt him. But every day that we’re apart, it’s like there’s this wound that’s opened up inside me and it aches more and more.”
Evie shook her head. “It’s all going to work out. Trust me, the two of you are meant to be together. Everyone can see that.”
“Do you think so?”
