Page 9 of The Beach Cottage
“Hello? Anyone home?”
“In the kitchen,” she said.
He found her there and wrapped her in a bear hug, lifting her feet from the ground. “How’s my little sister?”
Ever since he was fifteen years old, he’d towered over her and liked to joke about her being the little sister.
She laughed, slapping his shoulder playfully. “Put me down, you giant.” They’d struggled to get along over the years, but after some long overdue discussions where they confessed their concerns and insecurities, they were doing their best to put the past behind them.
They’d both agreed to build a new, more mature relationship that didn’t involve bringing up the pain of the past as a battering ram to use against one another whenever they were irritated or frustrated.
He spied the plate of dumplings. “Yum! That looks delicious. I heard you were cooking, and I knew I couldn’t miss it. These days, I don’t get much in the way of home-cooked meals made by someone other than myself. And I tend to be lazy and throw salad and fish on a plate most nights.”
“Not exactly lazy when you’ve been working all day,” Bea said.
He shrugged. “True. But then I eat half a loaf of bread because the salad isn’t enough and I’m starving.”
“Sounds about right,” Bea replied with a grin. “So, I’m going to fatten you up tonight. I’ve got gyoza, san choi bow, stir-fried barramundi and coconut rice.”
He licked his lips. “I can’t wait. How’s the café coming?”
“It’s good. The renovations are almost done. Actually, I thought I should probably have a grand opening or something. Would you like to come?”
“Of course. That’s a great idea. I can help—just let me know what you need from the mainland and I’ll get it for you. I’m there every day for work.”
“Sounds like business is booming.”
He nodded. “We can barely keep up. Every single one of the boats is booked. We’ve got people sailing around the islands, or deep-sea fishing, or even holding corporate events on the water. I’ll probably have to expand, but I don’t want to overextend myself, so we’re trying to keep up as best we can right now.”
“Sounds wise,” she said. “Do you remember when we were kids and we used to swim with the dolphins off Point Prospect every summer to mark the end of the school holidays?”
He grabbed a beer from the fridge and popped the lid. “Yes, of course. It was fun.”
“Apparently, some of them are still doing it. Evie invited me to go with them next week. You should come too.”
He took a gulp of beer. “I’d like that. I’ll bring one of the yachts, and we can make a day of it.”
“That would be amazing,” Bea said. “I’ll let Evie know. We can pack a picnic.”
“It’ll be much more civilised than it used to be, when we’d starve for half the day and then someone would scrounge up a few dollars to buy hot chips at the local corner shop.”
“Much more civilised.” She washed a strainer full of rice in the sink before putting it in the rice cooker and switching it on.
“Hey, has Dad talked to you about his health lately?” Bradford leaned against the bench, crossing one foot over the other.
Bea’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“He really should talk to you about it. It’s not my place to say anything.”
Bea stopped what she was doing and spun to face Bradford. “Brad, spill it. What’s going on?”
He sighed. “Dad’s been having some dizzy spells and not feeling great in general. They’re running tests, but they’re not sure what’s wrong with him yet. I told him to talk to you about it, but he thinks it’ll only worry you.”
“Of course it worries me!” Bea shouted.
“Shhhh!” Bradford waved a hand. “He’s sleeping.”
“Of course it worries me,” Bea repeated in a whisper. “I can’t believe he’d keep that from me. I had no idea he wasn’t feeling well.”
