They’d talked a lot over the last week, the three of them. About what the island meant to them, about family, and most of all about the future. What they each wanted and how to get it. There had been more surprises there than he’d anticipated, Leo had to admit. It turned out he was even less in tune with his sisters than he’d thought, although he hoped the last week had gone some way to changing that.
Listening to Miranda talk about their nomadic life before they moved to the Lighthouse, he’d finally started to understand something of the draw that had kept her on Seashell Island for so long. And started to wonder about his own need for security.
‘I barely remember it,’ he’d admitted. ‘I remember things being tight once we were here, how Mum had to stretch things to keep everyone fed and clothed, plus getting the Lighthouse up to scratch. But before that it’s all a bit fuzzy. Did we really move around that much?’
‘Twice in one term, once,’ Miranda had said. ‘But in the end, I told Mum and Dad how unhappy I was, and I think they realised they needed something more stable for the two of you as you were starting school.’
‘So they bought the Lighthouse,’ Juliet shook her head. ‘Well, at least we know where I got my itchy feet from.’
‘And the whole extended vacation makes a bit more sense now,’ Leo had added. ‘I mean, they stayed in one place for so long, for us, and now they had the chance to go and explore the world again . . . I guess it isn’t such a huge surprise they decided to keep doing it.’
And now it was Miranda’s turn to let go of the security of Seashell Island and find her own adventures, for a while at least.
The girls had been more interested in adjusting Lucy’s costume for the festival than listening to their aunt talk. They’d even enlisted Tom’s help, much to Leo’s amusement. His assistant might claim to be rubbish with kids, but he handled the girls well enough. Plus he had a feeling Tom had a soft spot for Lucy.
‘What do you think, Dad?’ Mia asked. There was still a little distance there, he could feel, but he realised now that wasn’t something he could fix with one perfect summer. They’d made progress since the llama wedding, and he’d worked hard on being really there with them when they were together, and putting the same focus on his work when they were busy doing something else. But building a relationship with them, one that would last, well. That was the work of a lifetime. One summer couldn’t achieve it – and one mistake wouldn’t ruin it either. As long as he kept trying.
‘She looks beautiful.’ He took in the full effect of Lucy’s flower crown and lacy tutu, and turned away. ‘Now, why don’t you let Tom go and enjoy the festival?’ Tom gave him a grateful thumbs-up, and made a swift exit, towards the beer tent, Leo suspected.
‘We need to head to the gates, anyway,’ Leo went on. ‘There are some guests arriving you’ll want to see.’ He’d had a long, frank talk with Emily, too. It hadn’t been too difficult to persuade her and Mark to join them for the festival, and he knew the girls would be excited to see them and show them all the hard work they’d put in, helping make the Lighthouse Festival a success.
‘Grandma and Grandad!’ Abby guessed, as Leo grabbed her hand and led her the other way, Mia following behind.
Damn. He hadn’t thought of that. Of course they’d assume it was his parents.
‘Ah, no. Sorry, sweetheart.’
‘No, there!’ Abby pointed and, turning around, Leo blinked, twice, to make sure he wasn’t imagining things. Because there, walking up the path from the gates, were his parents.
Across Gull Bay, back in the town, the church clock chimed midday, the bells carrying on the breeze, faint but audible, and the festival gates opened at last. The crowds flooded in, and Leo hurried after his daughters to get them and his parents out of the way.
‘Mum! Dad! You didn’t tell us you were coming home this weekend!’
In fact, they hadn’t answered any texts for days. Miranda had been starting to panic about them, although Leo and Juliet had been more relaxed. Probably because they were used to going weeks without speaking to their parents, unlike their big sister.
‘Did you really think we’d miss the Lighthouse Festival?’ Josie asked, hugging Mia and Abby tightly. ‘Besides, we have presents for my two favourite grandchildren, so we had to bring them before you headed back to London.’
‘I have to say, I don’t remember the festival looking like this last year,’ Iestyn joked, as he surveyed the field. ‘Miranda’s really pulled it out of the bag. But what was she saying up there about leaving the island? I can’t imagine Paul’s very happy about that – or rather, his mother won’t be.’
Leo winced. ‘Um, there’s actually quite a lot to catch you up on. It’s been a bit of a busy summer. It was too much to put in text messages. And we have a few questions for you guys too. But first . . .’ he looked past them, and spotted the guests he was expecting walking towards them. ‘Girls, look who it is.’
Abby and Mia let go of their grandma’s arms, and looked.
‘Mum!’ Abby yelled. ‘It’s Mum and Mark!’
And then they were running again, and there were more hugs and shouts and Abby demanding that they all come and meet Lucy immediately . . .
‘Are you OK?’ his mum asked, as she hugged him gently.
‘I’m fine.’ He put his own arm around her though, so she didn’t move away too fast. What was it about parents that however long they’d been away or apart, no matter how old he got, sometimes they were the only people he needed at his side? He wanted to share everything he’d learned this summer with them. Wanted to ask their advice, hear their perspective, their stories.
He hoped he could be that for his girls, too. Someone who would always listen, always help, but never judge.
That was the sort of father he wanted to be. He knew that now, thanks to this summer, and Seashell Island, and his parents. And Christabel.
‘I know it can’t be easy seeing her married to someone else,’ his mum went on, studying his face as Emily greeted the girls with huge hugs. ‘Or watching him with the girls, for that matter.’
‘It’s not,’ Leo admitted. ‘But you know, I think it will be OK. The girls will have more people to love them. That can’t be a bad thing.’
‘No it’s not,’ Josie agreed. ‘And I’m very proud of you for realising that. Now, come on. I want to meet a llama.’
Lucy was completely ambivalent to meeting them, as always. Everyone admired her flower crown, and nobody seemed to notice that her tutu used to be a wedding dress. As Mia dragged them all over to the family area to see Christabel juggle, Leo caught Emily’s arm. ‘Can I have a word?’
Emily exchanged glances with Mark, and Leo felt his heart pang just a little at the easy communication between them. ‘Mark too, if that’s OK?’ he added, to make it simpler for them.
God, this hurt. This was hard. But it was also the right thing. And he and his sisters had made a pact. They were all going to do the hard, right things they needed to for their future. They were going to fix the relationships they’d spent too long ignoring. They were going to be brave, and step outside the comfortable barriers they’d built for themselves in their lives – whether that was their own expectations of who they could be, or other people’s.
If Miranda could leave Seashell Island, if Juliet could remake her life and become a mother, then he could ask his ex-wife for what he needed.
‘What’s up? Is it the girls?’ Emily asked, as they perched on the bench by the family area. Across the grass, Christabel looked over and met his gaze, giving him an encouraging smile.
‘In a way.’ Leo took a breath, deep and centring – just like Christabel had taught him, when they’d worked on what he wanted to say this week. ‘This summer, having this time with them . . . it hasn’t always been easy. But it has been important. And it’s made me realise some things.’
‘Like what?’ E
mily’s shoulders were tense, like she was preparing for the worst. Mark moved behind her and placed his hands on them, rubbing them gently. Leo looked away.
‘My relationship with the girls matters to me,’ he said, staring down at his hands. ‘And until this summer I didn’t realise how close I was to letting it slip away. I don’t want to be a weekends-only dad, or the dad who swoops in and takes them to the cinema or whatever, but isn’t ever there for homework or long talks when it matters.’
‘What are you saying, Leo?’ He wasn’t explaining himself right. Emily sounded defensive, like she expected him to announce some court battle for their children’s hearts, when that was the last thing he wanted.
He looked up, into her eyes, and willed her to understand. ‘I want to work with you both to find a way for us all to be important parts of the girls’ lives,’ he said, finally remembering the phrase he and Christabel had come up with late the other night, curled up together in her ambulance bed after a few glasses of her elderflower brandy. ‘I’m glad that they have you as their mother, Emily, and Mark, I know you’re going to be a great stepdad. But I want to be part of their family too. Someone they can trust and turn to and talk to – not just the guy who shows up with presents at Christmas. I want to help with homework, I want to know who their friends are. And I want to bring them here to Seashell Island every summer, if that’s possible. Even if it’s just for a week.’
Biting her lip, Emily broke away from his gaze and met Mark’s, and Leo waited, heart thumping, to see what she said next. He knew that, whatever happened, he’d find a way to be important in his daughters’ lives. But if they could work together to make it happen, it would be easier for everyone.
Which was why, however much it hurt his pride and his heart, he had to ask.
‘I think . . . I think that would be great for the girls,’ Emily said, at last, and Leo felt his heart start beating again. ‘What did you have in mind?’
Across the field, Leo spotted the beer tent. ‘Why don’t we talk about it over a drink?’
He’d done the hardest part, for today. And he knew now he could keep doing the hard things, over and over, as long as it was what his girls needed him to do.
JULIET
The last week had been so full, so busy and so chaotic, that Juliet had known she couldn’t risk talking to Rory. Not when her feelings were still all over the place, and she was panicking about food stalls. But in between all the emails, calls and hard work – plus redecorating the back bedrooms and painting the front door of the Lighthouse – when she lay down to sleep at night, she thought about him.
She thought about why she’d run, again. About why he’d done what he’d done, what he’d been trying to achieve. And she thought about how, ten years later, she still imagined kissing him, one last time.
Just like she’d been encouraging Miranda and Leo to do, she thought about what she wanted from the world, from her life. And by the day of the festival, she was sure.
The Flying Fish had been booked to have a stall at the festival since the first day of planning, so Juliet knew that Rory would at least have to show up for that. If she hadn’t been avoiding him anyway, he’d definitely been conspicuous by his absence this week. But this would be the perfect opportunity for them to talk – if she could just persuade him to leave the stall in someone else’s capable hands for a while.
Luckily, she found an ally early on.
‘Oh, thank goodness.’ Rory’s colleague, Debbie, grinned as Juliet approached the stall. ‘He’s been like a bear with a sore head all week. Please, for the love of all that is holy, take him away from here and make up, or whatever you guys need to do. I want my cool boss back, please.’
‘I’ll see what I can do,’ Juliet promised, just as Rory appeared from the van. ‘I’m missing your Welsh rarebit, anyway.’
‘Juliet.’
‘Hi, Rory. Um, can we talk?’
‘I am absolutely fine here with the stall,’ Debbie said. ‘No need to worry about me. And look! Here comes Kieran to take his shift too. You are absolutely surplus to requirements, boss.’
‘Apparently you haven’t been a lot of fun to work with this week,’ Juliet added, in a stage whisper.
Rory didn’t even crack a smile. But he followed her back towards the Lighthouse all the same.
‘Where are we going?’ he asked, as they passed the house. ‘Because I really don’t want to leave Debbie and Kieran on their own for too long—’
‘Just trust me on this one?’ she asked. ‘I promise, I’m going to get to all the apologising and the explaining any minute now. OK?’
He nodded, but he didn’t look happy about it. God, she hoped this worked.
Finally, they crested the rise that brought them to the base of the old lighthouse itself. And there, surrounded by fairy lights that shone pointlessly in the sunlight, because she really hadn’t thought this through as well as she should have, was the sign she’d made.
It was just a slice of wood, found out in the wood pile, but with enough good, smooth area to write on with Mia’s sharpies. And it read, The Lighthouse Restaurant.
Rory stared at it. Then he turned to her. ‘What’s going on, Juliet?’
She took a deep breath. ‘Miranda and Leo and I, we’ve been doing a lot of thinking the last few days. A lot of talking too, more than we’ve ever managed before without an argument.’
Rory raised his eyebrows at that. ‘Talking about what?’
‘About what we all want from our lives. Each of us . . . we’d reached a sort of . . .’
‘Crossroads?’ He sank down to sit on the step of the lighthouse, and Juliet took his lead, settling beside him.
‘More of an impasse, I think,’ she said, with a small smile. ‘Like we’d reached the end of the roads on our plans for our lives, and didn’t know where to go next. Miranda . . . she’s leaving the island, probably with Owain, I expect. And Leo, he’s rebuilding his family relationships, trying to focus on a more balanced life than just obsessing about work. And I . . . it took me a while to admit it, even to myself. But London didn’t give me what I’d hoped it would. I didn’t feel any more grown up or in charge of my life. In fact, I didn’t feel in control of my future at all . . . until I came back to Seashell Island.’
Rory stilled beside her, and she could feel the tension radiating off him. ‘What are you saying, Juliet?’
‘This island has given me everything I needed this summer – and a lot of things I didn’t even know I needed. It’s given me support, it’s given me purpose, it’s given me hope for the kind of future I can offer my baby. It’s given me my family back. And most of all . . . it’s given me you. I hope.’
Rory stayed silent, just watching her. Juliet, trying not to panic as the adrenalin flooded her body, finally laid her plans out in front of the person who mattered the most.
‘Running the Lighthouse B&B this summer has been a lot more satisfying than I could have imagined as a child. I want to keep doing it. I want to stay here on Seashell Island, raise my baby with sunshine and beaches and llamas, and a community who cares a lot more than I ever realised. I want to make the Lighthouse the best place to stay on the island.’
‘And you want to open a restaurant and you called me here for pointers?’ Rory nodded towards her makeshift sign.
‘Actually, I was kind of hoping you might want to open a second restaurant,’ Juliet explained, her fingers firmly crossed beside her thigh. ‘I mean, I need to talk it all through with Mum and Dad, except they’ve gone radio silent the last few days. But with Miranda leaving, and summer coming to an end . . . there are no bookings at the B&B from here on in. And I don’t know what Mum and Dad have planned for it, but I’m placing bets that they’re ready for someone else to take responsibility around here. And for the first time in my life, I think I might be ready for it to be me. So I want to turn the B&B into more of
a boutique hotel, and transform the lighthouse itself into a phenomenal restaurant that will bring in people from miles around, but I need you to run it because I don’t know anything about restaurants and I’m still learning about B&Bs.’
Rory didn’t answer. And when she turned to ask him what he thought, she found him just looking at her, a small smile on his face.
‘What?’
‘I think that sounds brilliant.’ He shook his head. ‘I just can’t believe you’re staying on Seashell Island. When you ran the other day—’
Juliet winced. ‘Sorry. I meant to apologise for that first. Running out on you on the carriage ride, when you, you know.’
‘When I asked you to marry me.’
‘Yeah. That was rude.’
‘Just a little bit.’ With a sigh, Rory stretched his legs out in front of him in the sunshine. ‘Of course, it probably wasn’t my best idea. I just thought . . .’ He trailed off.
‘What exactly were you thinking?’ She had her own ideas, but she’d like to hear it from him.
Rory sighed again. ‘When you walked back into my life this summer, it was almost as if the last ten years never happened. I tried to keep my distance, but there’s not a hell of a lot of distance to keep on an island like this. But I knew that if I spent too much time with you, let you get too close . . . I’d fall in love with you all over again.’
Juliet’s breath caught in her throat. She wanted to ask And did you? But Rory wasn’t done.
‘And I didn’t want to love you, because I knew you’d leave me again and break my heart. But then you told me about the baby . . .’ He shook his head. ‘Part of me was angry – irrationally, I know. Not at you being pregnant, or being with another man – well, a bit. But not really. I was mostly angry because the only reason you’d come back here was because you were desperate. It wasn’t about wanting to be here at all. And I should have realised that already, I know, but I don’t think I had, quite. Even when you said point blank to Leo that you weren’t here for me, there was a part of me that still hoped.’
Summer on Seashell Island: Escape to an island this summer for the perfect heartwarming romance in 2020 (Riley Wolfe 1) Page 29
