CHAPTER1

‘Oh no… it’s happening!’ Ellen Chenery grabbed hold of the back of the kitchen chair and grimaced.

‘What?’ Panic gripped Lucy Chenery and she dashed to her sister’s side. ‘I’ve only been here for ten minutes and you’re telling me it’s happening already?’

‘So sorry…’ Ellen panted as she leant forwards slightly and wiggled her hips from side to side while Lucy rubbed her back. ‘It’s annoying, I know.’

This wasn’t how it was meant to happen. Lucy had come to stay with her heavily pregnant sister for the final weeks of her pregnancy while her partner, Billy Herbert, was away on a work trip. Ellen had started her maternity leave from her job as a pharmacist earlier than she’d planned because she was feeling so exhausted and wanted to rest before the baby arrived. The plan was that Lucy would stay with Ellen until January to help out before and after the baby was born. Billy was due home on Christmas Eve, which was five weeks away, and the baby was due on New Year’s Eve. But now… Lucy had barely taken her shoes off and Ellen was going into labour?

‘It’s not annoying, sweetheart, and it’s not something you can control.’

Ellen grunted in response.

‘Where’s the number for the midwife?’ Lucy asked while continuing to rub Ellen’s back.

‘The midwife?’ Ellen turned and frowned at Lucy. ‘Why would I want to phone the midwife?’

‘Because you said it’s happening.’ Lucy stopped moving her hand on Ellen’s lower back. ‘Surely we need the midwife? Or are you going to make me wait until your contractions are like…’ She searched her memory for what she’d read about the frequency of contractions and when to call for help. ‘Five minutes apart?’

‘I’m not in labour.’ Ellen stood upright and placed her hands on her hips.

‘You’re not? Well, what’s happening then?’

‘This!’ Ellen squatted and let out a long, loud fart. ‘Ahhhhhhh… that’s better.’

Lucy winced as the smell hit her and raised a hand to her nose. ‘Dear god, whathaveyou been eating?’

‘Sprouts. Can’t get enough of them covered with baked beans and grated cheese!’ Ellen grinned. ‘Problem is… they give me chronic wind and because I’m so enormous, it gets trapped.’

Lucy eyed Ellen’s large belly and nodded. ‘I can see how that might happen.’

‘Breaking wind helps relieve the pain. And I tell you what else helps… hot, mint tea.’

‘Perhaps not eating sprouts and beans together would help?’

Ellen shook her head then scratched at her short dark hair. It was the same raven’s wing colour as Lucy’s, but she’d had it cut short recently, stating that it would be easier to manage than her long curls when the baby arrived. ‘I’m not giving up the food I enjoy. The food Icrave!’

‘Mint tea it is then.’ Lucy filled the kettle and switched it on then started looking for the mugs and tea bags. Her own curly hair was damp from making the short journey from her car, that she’d parked on the driveway, to the front door. It was cold and drizzly out and the kind of weather that made her want to snuggle indoors with a mug of tea and a good book. She hoped the weather would improve soon because if she was going to spend the next seven or eight weeks here, she’d like to do more than stare through the window as rain fell outside.

Tea made, she carried both mugs to the table and sat down. Ellen was writing on a notepad, and she looked up and tapped the pad with her pen. ‘Possible names for the baby.’

‘You don’t know what you’re calling her yet?’

‘We still can’t agree on a name.’

‘You have time.’

Elle nodded then chewed at her bottom lip. ‘We do but… it’s hard now that Billy’s away. We can talk on video calls and message but it’s not the same as having him here.’ Her eyes glistened and Lucy reached across the table and squeezed her hand.

Lucy knew that Ellen and Billy had debated about whether he should take this job so close to her due date. Billy was a decent guy who loved her sister, so the fact that he’d taken the job in Norway had surprised her. It had also made up her mind that she’d come and stay with Ellen because there was no way she was leaving her sister to struggle alone. Lucy was lucky she had no one relying on her at home in Cardiff and that her job was flexible so she could do it anywhere.

‘He didn’t have to go but the money was too good to pass up, plus it’s a brilliant opportunity for him to get his name out there, you know? This job is an investment in his photography career.’

‘I can see that, but even so… this is such an important time.’ A year ago, when Ellen had told Lucy that Billy was quitting his secure job as a maths teacher — at a high school not far from Cwtch Cove — to become a freelance photographer, she’d been shocked, but understood the desire he felt to follow his dreams. However, now that he and Ellen had a baby on the way, she was wondering if it had been such a good move.

‘He’ll be back for the birth and that’s what matters.’ Ellen wrapped her hands around her mug and Lucy decided to bite her tongue. Ellen loved Billy and Billy loved Ellen, and how they conducted their relationship was up to them. Lucy also had a sneaking suspicion that Billy was terrified that something might go wrong and going away right now was his way of sticking his head in the sand. Moving to Cwtch Cove ten years ago, after they’d purchased their dream home by the sea, had been part of Ellen’s plan to build the perfect family life. It hadn’t worked out quite how she’d planned though. In the past five years, Ellen had been pregnant twice before, and both times, she’d lost the baby during the first trimester. This time, she’d got to thirty-four weeks, and while the medical team had reassured Ellen and Billy that everything should be fine this time around, Lucy knew they wouldn’t believe it until they had the baby safely in their arms.

‘So what names do you like?’ Lucy reached for the pad. ‘Wow! Some interesting ones on here.’ She winked at Ellen. ‘Little Mature Cheddar or Mushy Peas will certainly stand out when the teacher calls the register in class.’