The Little Guesthouse of New Beginnings: A gorgeously feel-good and heart-warming romance to escape with

by Donna Ashcroft

  Georgie looked out of the window again, as fields and houses flew past. ‘Have you ever travelled?’ she asked suddenly. ‘You were never here when I visited – where did you go?’

  Madison swallowed the bubble of panic, wondering what to say. She didn’t want to lie to Georgie, but she didn’t want to make things worse either. She was finally getting somewhere with Connor, and he’d be disappointed if he thought she’d gone back on a promise. ‘I’ve been to a lot of places but I think of Sunflower Island as my home.’

  ‘Where have you been?’ Georgie perked up.

  ‘Oh, all over.’ Madison switched on the radio. They were probably only fifteen minutes from Connor’s house, but every one of them would feel like a lifetime if Georgie kept asking questions like that.

  ‘Sounds amazing. Where? What about Thailand?’ Georgie prodded. ‘It’s where we’re planning on visiting first.’

  ‘I was there for a few months.’

  ‘How about Australia?’

  Reluctantly, Madison nodded.

  ‘America, South Africa, Nigeria, Morocco, Italy, China?’ Georgie continued. Madison nodded at each one, feeling terrible.

  Georgie bounced on her seat. ‘Oh, wow. We need to go to the pub tonight so you can tell me about everywhere you’ve been, give me advice on what to see. I can’t believe I stumbled on you. Or that you’re actually friends with my brother.’

  ‘But wherever I go, I always wish I was here,’ Madison added desperately, trying to steer Georgie in a new direction. ‘I know wanderlust – I was raised on a diet of it – but I also understand the value of having a home and security. Certainly finishing your degree will go some way towards securing that.’

  ‘Not if it’s in something I don’t even want to do.’ Georgie pouted.

  ‘Yet.’

  When Georgie didn’t say anything, Madison added, ‘I understand about not knowing your place in the world. I think that’s normal for some of us, but don’t give up opportunities in your eagerness to escape. I started a degree in law a few years ago and dropped out after the first year.’ She grimaced. ‘I really regret it now…’

  ‘I hear you.’ Georgie looked thoughtful. ‘But I really don’t think that will happen to me. When we go to the pub tonight you can tell me more about your travels.’

  Madison’s hands gripped the steering wheel. She was sure Georgie would regret dropping out of university, unless she could convince her to change course tonight. And Connor would be furious when he heard what his sister was planning. Would he be mad at her too for telling Georgie about her own travelling? Dammit, she should never have offered to help out in the first place, as whatever progress she’d made with Connor had just been undone.

  Seventeen

  Amy gave Madison a huge, welcoming hug as soon as she arrived back at The Hideaway after dropping Georgie off at Connor’s. The house had been empty, but Georgie had fished out a key from her bag and disappeared inside, with a promise of catching up over a drink later. Connor was going to murder Madison when he found out about their conversation in the car.

  ‘Our new guests are in their rooms.’ Amy grinned. ‘They’re just making themselves comfortable, getting changed. They wanted to take a walk this afternoon.’

  ‘They don’t fancy yoga?’ Madison’s heart sank when Amy shook her head. ‘I haven’t sorted out a route.’ She’d been meaning to do it this morning, but picking up Georgie had meant she hadn’t had time. ‘I know a couple of walks, but I’m worried I might get us all lost and ruin everything.’

  ‘No matter.’ Stanley walked into the hall and patted Madison on the shoulder. ‘You can play it by ear and I’ll join you. I’ve been walking a lot since I arrived. I’m sure I’ll recognise where we are once we get going. I’ll just pack some supplies.’ He headed for the kitchen.

  ‘And there’s always your phone, Mads,’ Amy added. ‘I can’t believe we’ve got guests! Dee is practically yodelling in the kitchen, getting dinner ready for tonight, and I took another booking this afternoon for next week. You’re a genius.’ Amy threw her arms around Madison’s neck, looking so excited she couldn’t help but get caught up in it.

  ‘I think we owe Stanley our thanks – he’s the one who had the idea and dropped the leaflets into the tourist information office,’ Madison said.

  ‘Dee’s been baking Stanley’s favourite food as a thank you for the last two days – she won’t admit it but I think she’s falling for him.’ Amy smiled.

  ‘Maybe one of us needs to plan another spying visit to Lake Lodge to see if that sparks any more inspiration – or romances?’ Madison looked down at her outfit. ‘I’d better change so we can start this walk. I guess there’s no time like the present.’

  Half an hour later, Madison trotted down the steps into the hall where Stanley was now waiting, kitted out in his walking gear, chatting to a petite woman who looked about thirty.

  ‘I’m Sophia Brown.’ The woman stepped forwards so she could shake Madison’s hand. She had cropped white-blonde hair and a huge bright smile. ‘I’m here on a break with my new boyfriend. He sprang this on me yesterday, booked time off for both of us – a surprise for my birthday. He says he’s been here before, but this is my first time. I’ve fallen in love with The Hideaway already, it’s so cosy and there’s so much character – so much nicer than Lake Lodge.’ She wrinkled her nose. ‘I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of it before.’ Sophia swept an arm around the room, clearly oblivious to the greying paintwork and chips in the banister.

  Charmed, Madison led Sophia to the front door, where a bulging green backpack sat on the polished oak floor. ‘Snacks and drinks packed by Dee, along with a first aid kit – all the essentials really,’ Stanley explained, picking it up before Madison got the chance. ‘I reckon if we look hard enough we’ll find a kitchen sink.’

  ‘Is your boyfriend walking too?’ Madison asked Sophia, as a man appeared from the sitting room.

  ‘David O’Sullivan,’ he barked, shaking Madison’s hand. He was tall – around Connor’s height – but thicker in the waist. His hair was thinning but his light blue eyes were sharp. He focused them on her. ‘I met the owners last time I stayed. I understand they’re away.’ He didn’t wait for Madison to respond. ‘Nice place though.’ He looked around the room. ‘It was busier last time I came – is it just the four of us today?’

  ‘It is. We’ve only just started advertising the yoga and walks – we weren’t expecting anyone to book in so quickly. But it’s wonderful to have you,’ Madison added quickly.

  ‘So you introduced the walks and yoga sessions? I don’t remember them from before. And they’re popular?’ David looked at Madison intently.

  ‘You’re our first clients. I’ve just moved back to the area, and we’re in the process of implementing some changes to The Hideaway to make it even more appealing to our customers.’

  David nodded. ‘Sounds like a good business plan. Places like this need an angle.’ He frowned as he looked around. ‘This is a very nice space, but we must all move with the times – stay competitive – if we want to succeed. There’s no room for sentimentality. Where are we walking today?’ he asked, his attention switching to something else.

  ‘Ah…’ Madison cleared her throat, trying to remember the last walk she’d done with her uncle. She’d probably remember the route once they started. ‘Um, through the woods behind the house, across the meadow to the left of them which leads to a lovely rocky climb down to the beach.’ She paused, trying to remember the rest. ‘We’ll walk along the sand for about half an hour before heading back up to the top of the cliffs. It’s a loop walk, around six miles.’ She hadn’t done it for at least five years, but the landscape wouldn’t have changed, and even if she lost the pathway, there were always the maps on her phone.

  ‘Sounds great.’ Sophia beamed, looking excited. ‘I’m a really keen walker and I’ve been getting David into it recently – you’ll see from the form Amy asked us to fill in. I’ve not been to this side of the i
sland before… We normally stay near the ferry…’ David frowned at her, seeming annoyed that she was holding them up.

  ‘Shall we go? Or it’ll be dark before we get back,’ he grumbled.

  ‘There are torches in the backpack, just in case.’ Stanley jumped in. ‘But you’re right, we probably ought to get going.’ He dipped his head towards the door in a silent message to Madison to get on with it and, feeling a lot less confident than she looked, she opened the door.

  The weather was good for an afternoon in early March. The air had a chill in it, but the sun was high and the sky was blue, with just a few cotton-wool clouds spaced across it. This part of the walk was easy and Madison knew exactly where to go. She strode confidently behind the house, and took the small gravel pathway that led all the way along the long field at the back to the small woodland you could see from the kitchen and dining room. As they entered the woods, the sun was hidden by trees and the light dimmed. The gravel was replaced by a spongy bed of leaves that crunched underfoot.

  ‘We’ve got a variety of trees on the island.’ Madison racked her brains to remember the species, but once again Stanley helped her out.

  ‘That’s an elm, and you’ll see pines further up – the island’s filled with them, birds too. If you walk here in the morning you’ll hear a lot of birdsong.’

  ‘I used to come with my uncle,’ Madison reminisced, remembering the early morning walks, sometimes before school, when he’d taken her out with a pair of binoculars and breakfast so they could bird-watch. She’d been a teenager, but had still savoured the time with him – he’d been so knowledgeable, so keen to teach her. Those had been some of her favourite mornings on the island. Everything had been so quiet, aside from the birds, and she’d felt settled and happy. Trees endured: you always knew where they were. Madison even recognised a couple as they walked past. ‘We won’t stay in the woods for long – soon we’ll walk through the meadow, and beyond that are a couple of sunflower fields, which are definitely worth a visit in the summer.’ She honestly couldn’t remember how long it would take to get across them. ‘After those, we’ll get to the pathway that leads to the beach.’ Assuming she remembered where it was.

  ‘I love being outside.’ Beside Madison, Sophia tipped her face upwards so she could look at the tops of the trees. ‘I’m a midwife and enjoy what I do, but there’s not much call for babies being born in nature. I do miss the air on my face and the smell—’

  ‘How long will the walk take exactly?’ David interrupted, looking at his watch with a frown.

  ‘About two hours,’ Madison guessed. ‘We’ll definitely be back before it gets dark, although we’ll need to keep up our pace.’ And she’d have to remember the route. Madison’s stomach fluttered uncomfortably as she wondered if she’d bitten off more than she could chew, then she dismissed the thought. She’d been in plenty of situations like this and had worked her way through them – life didn’t always need a plan. Sometimes you just had to wing it.

  Twenty minutes later they reached the edge of the forest. The trees ended abruptly but she could see the path across the meadow that led to the top of the hill, and another track that led to the right. Madison’s brow furrowed as she tried to recall which way her uncle normally walked to the beach. Her sense of direction suggested straight ahead, but it wasn’t obvious. Ahead might lead to a dead end and then she’d look like an idiot. Madison sneaked a look at her phone but there was no signal, probably because they were in the valley. Once they got to higher ground she’d be able to check.

  ‘Does anyone want a drink or a snack?’ Stanley walked up beside Madison. ‘I think it’s straight ahead,’ he whispered. ‘Not sure after that, but your uncle took me this way on my first week at The Hideaway. We didn’t go to the beach though, so I can’t help you there.’

  ‘I’m sure I’ll recognise it when we get there. The two paths just confused me,’ Madison confessed, as Sophia joined them and took a mug of hot chocolate from Stanley’s flask. David refused. Instead he walked ahead and stood looking at the pathway.

  ‘David’s great once you get to know him.’ Sophia looked embarrassed. ‘He works too hard – things haven’t been going so well at work – and he doesn’t know how to de-stress. It always takes a few days for him to calm down and go with the flow.’

  ‘I know someone a little like that,’ Madison confided, wondering if Connor had talked to Georgie yet and exactly how long it would take him to come looking for her.

  Once they’d finished the drinks and packed up, they marched across the field, taking it more quickly because Madison was worried about them losing light. Finding the way in daylight was hard enough – doing it in the dark would be impossible. When they got to the top of the meadow, she recognised the next field immediately.

  ‘We need to take this path over here.’ Madison pointed to the right. ‘And there’s another beyond it. After that we’ll find the start of the trail that will take us to the beach. It’s a little later than I wanted, so we need to speed up. Does anyone want one of Dee’s cakes?’

  Sophia nodded, but David shook his head. Stanley opened the bag, taking one for himself too. ‘Sunset’s at five forty-five and it’s a half past four,’ he said quietly.

  ‘Then we’d better head off,’ Madison replied, feeling a lot less confident than she sounded. In the end it only took thirty-five minutes to walk through the meadow and the next two fields. David strode ahead of all of them, setting the pace – to the point that Sophia was struggling to keep up with him. Madison dropped behind for a few seconds to check her phone. There was signal by the meadow and she quickly found the rest of the walk, even though the battery on her mobile was beginning to die. So when they reached the edge of the second field, which was framed with rough hedges, she had an approximate idea of where the track to the beach began.

  ‘The pathway might be a little overgrown,’ Madison guessed, leading them to a small gap. ‘And it’s narrow in places. You’ll need to tread carefully, take it slow. It’s probably best if I go ahead.’ David’s expression clouded. Sophia was right: he didn’t know how to relax. It took almost fifteen minutes to negotiate the trail. It was rocky in places, and at times more of a scramble. She’d have to research the next walk, especially if The Hideaway’s guests weren’t so physically able.

  The beach was empty and the tide wasn’t that far out. The sky, which had been bright blue earlier, had turned a darker, less friendly colour. Madison swallowed a bubble of uneasiness and faced the group with a smile. ‘So we’re going to take a walk up the beach this way.’ She pointed to the right. ‘We might have to take the shorter route today because the sea’s coming in. We’ll go about a mile and then there’s a path back to the top of the cliffs. It’s another brisk walk of about twenty minutes back to The Hideaway from there.’

  Sophia shivered. ‘That might be a good thing. I should have worn more clothes, it’s getting chilly.’

  ‘There’s a spare fleece in the backpack if you’d like it?’ Stanley jumped in again, making Madison feel useless. Stanley was doing a far better job of leading – she was just in the way.

  ‘I’ll take it.’ They waited as Sophia took off her jacket and pulled on the fleece. Madison studied the sea. It had moved into the shore by about a foot. When the tide was in, the water would reach right up to the edge of the cliffs, which meant there would be nowhere to walk. Thankfully the group sped up and they walked silently for another fifteen minutes.

  ‘Don’t worry about the sea coming in, we’re almost there,’ Madison commented as she noticed Sophia’s worried glances. As they approached the place where the pathway was, Madison’s stomach did a little somersault, because the gap she recognised as the way up to safety was now a mass of fallen white rocks.

  ‘Looks like there’s been a rock fall.’ David sounded irritated.

  ‘The path was clear last time I came.’ Madison didn’t mention it had been five years ago. But the route had still been marked on the map on her phone, so the ro
ck fall couldn’t have happened that long ago. Madison looked to the left and the right. The sea was coming in too quickly for them to make it back the way they’d come.

  ‘Perhaps there’s another track further up?’ Stanley suggested. ‘If this pathway’s been closed off, walkers will have found another one.’

  ‘Of course,’ Madison agreed. ‘There’s one in about four miles, but we won’t have time to get to it. I’m sure you’re right and we’ll find another one sooner.’ If they didn’t, they’d all be stranded on the rocks and she’d be using someone’s mobile to call the coastguard. She could only imagine Amy and Dee’s faces when she screwed up the first of their walks. This was such a typical Madison move – she couldn’t do anything right.

  ‘Let’s continue to walk up here.’ Madison pointed up the beach, and pulled the mobile out of her pocket again to check the route: there weren’t any other paths she could see. Her fingers danced across the screen. Connor lived close by. She knew he walked Jaws on the beach and ran too. He might know more about hidden entrances and exits? But would he answer the phone if she called?

  Madison watched as Sophia picked her way across the sand, following David who was back to marching. Stanley took up the rear. They looked a motley crew but they all trusted her and she didn’t want to let them down. She dialled.

  ‘Madison,’ Connor barked. In the background Madison could hear a cheerful tune on the radio. ‘What’s happened? Did you get Georgie?’ She heard a clatter and the music stopped.

  ‘You haven’t seen her yet?’ Madison was incredulous. She’d dropped Georgie at Connor’s house over three hours before.

  ‘Dammit, is that the time?’ Connor sounded annoyed. ‘I’ll be heading home in a minute.’

  ‘Could you do a detour on the way, please? I have a problem.’

  ‘Which is?’

  Madison dropped back from the others and put her hand over her mouth so they couldn’t hear. ‘I don’t have long, because the battery on my phone’s almost dead. I’m out with guests, it’s getting dark, we’re on the beach and the tide’s almost in.’ She glanced towards the waves, which had inched further towards them. ‘The walkway up to the top of the cliffs which brings us out near the main road is blocked.’