by Holly Martin
She grinned. ‘About two seconds.’
He groaned.
‘I’ve had my suspicions for a while, you two aren’t that discreet.’
He shook his head. He was an idiot. His own wounds from divorcing Ginny had still been so sore when he’d agreed to marry Skye. And he supposed he had never really got over his own messed-up childhood so he’d pushed Skye away and made the biggest mistake of his life.
‘That’s why I never understood why you divorced her,’ Bea said. ‘It’s very clear you love her.’
‘I made a terrible mistake in letting her go,’ Jesse said. The cat was well and truly out of the bag now, there was no point denying it any more.
‘But it’s not too late to change things. She loves you.’
‘I know,’ Jesse sighed. ‘But if we can’t sort out our visas and coming to the UK I’m not sure how we will move forward.’
Bea nodded and when she spoke her voice had a definite wobble to it. ‘You could come and I could stay with Madison.’
‘Bea, no, that is not how this is going to work.’
‘But at least then you’d get to be with Skye.’
He shook his head and pulled her into a tight hug. ‘You are my entire world and I’m not leaving you behind for anything, do you understand? We’re a team. If you can’t come then neither will I.’
‘OK,’ Bea said, quietly. ‘But what will we do if we can’t come?’
‘We’ll just have to continue popping over every few months. Maybe we can spend six months of the year here and six months back home with Skye. We can home-school you so it won’t interfere with your education – hell, you’re smart enough, I’m pretty sure you could home-school yourself.’
Bea giggled and he was gratified to hear it. But would that life be enough for Skye? He pulled back to look at her. ‘We’ll figure something out, I promise.’
She nodded.
‘And you have to promise me that you won’t tell Skye any of this, not our potential plans to come here, none of this conversation. I have to make sure we can go ahead with it before I tell her. Can you keep a secret?’
Bea nodded and zipped her lips shut and threw away the key.
‘I mean it, this isn’t one of those times when you promise not to tell anyone and then blab it everywhere.’
‘I promise, my lips are sealed.’
He nodded, feeling like he was going to regret this.
‘I don’t want you to get your hopes up either. I will do everything I can to sort out our visas so we can both come but it might not happen.’
‘I won’t get my hopes up. I’m not excited at all. Who wants to move to crappy old England? In fact, let’s just change the subject because this is boring me,’ Bea said, picking up the pie recipe again and he couldn’t help but smile at her attempt to be blasé about it. ‘So are we making this now?’
‘Yes, I’m going to give it a go. Want to give me a hand?’
Bea nodded.
‘OK, you can help me make the pastry, I know you love that bit.’
‘You know me so well.’ Bea moved to the sink to wash her hands as Jesse started laying out the ingredients for the pie filling. The rhubarb, he knew, had come from Seamus, the mayor, but although there was quite a lot stored in the walk-in fridge, there wouldn’t be anywhere near enough to make the entire pie.
Just then Skye walked in and he watched as his daughter’s face lit up at seeing her.
‘We’re practising making the pie,’ Bea said. ‘But there is a secret ingredient in the recipe and we have no idea what it is.’
‘Really? A secret ingredient?’ Skye gave Bea her fullest attention as Bea showed her Walter’s recipe. ‘Well, that’s not especially helpful.’
‘And we found this key.’ Bea showed her. ‘And we wondered if it was a key to a storage shed where Walter kept the ingredients.’
‘It could be, but if that’s the case I can’t think where it would be. It’s certainly not in here.’
‘I’ll find it,’ Bea said.
Skye smiled. ‘I’m sure you will.’
‘While we’re talking about the parade,’ Jesse said. ‘We haven’t got anywhere near enough rhubarb to make this pie. The recipe talks about fifteen kilos of rhubarb. I would imagine you might have two or three kilos in there and we’re going to need some of that to make some test pies.’
‘Oh god, I didn’t realise we would need so much – pretty stupid really when you consider the size of the pie tray. I could ask Stephen, the hotel gardener. I know there’s some that grows in the grounds but I don’t know how much. I was going to use some to make some more rhubarb ice cream too. Fifteen kilos is a lot.’
‘I know, tell me about it,’ Jesse said. ‘Even the amount of pastry we need is immense. I think I might make most of that well in advance so I just have the filling to make. I might even make batches of that too and then freeze it.’
‘We’re going to make a small pie now,’ Bea said. ‘Do you want to help?’
‘Of course,’ Skye said, rolling up her sleeves. ‘What do you need me to do?’
‘Wash your hands,’ Bea said and Jesse couldn’t help smiling.
Skye grinned and moved over to the sink. ‘Of course.’
‘Are we just going to make a normal-size pie like we do at home?’ Bea asked.
‘Well, as we’re a bit short of rhubarb, let’s do half the size of that.’
Bea nodded and Jesse watched as she carefully measured out the flour and butter. She started squishing the butter into the flour.
‘Let me help you with that,’ Skye said, as she came over. She stuck her hands in the bowl too and Bea laughed as Skye squished Bea’s fingers. ‘Oh sorry,’ Skye said innocently and then squished Bea’s fingers again, causing Bea to laugh even more.
Jesse smiled as he watched them, his chest hurting. They made a good team. He had to fight to keep Skye, not just for him but for Bea too.
The timer went off on the oven and Skye hopped down from her stool, eagerly wanting to see the rhubarb pie. The café was going to be opened soon for lunch but they still had time to taste the pie before the crowds descended.
Jesse opened the oven and the sweet, comforting scent of rhubarb drifted out. He lifted the pie out.
‘It smells amazing,’ Skye said.
‘I’ll go and get Sylvia,’ Bea said, hopping off her stool too. They’d decided that as Sylvia was the only person they knew who had tasted the original pie, she should be the one to judge whether it was good enough. When Bea had spotted Sylvia hovering outside earlier, she’d hauled her inside so she could be chief taste-tester.
As soon as the kitchen door swung closed behind Bea, Skye moved over to Jesse. She knew it wasn’t the ideal time to talk about their future with Bea and Sylvia coming back in shortly but she needed something from him, some kind of sign that they were going to make a go of things. Surely after the way he had made love to her the night before he still didn’t intend to say goodbye at the end of his stay? But he hadn’t said anything to the contrary either so she was feeling kind of confused and more than a little anxious. She felt like she’d started the ball rolling on a path she wasn’t sure she wanted to take. She knew that they couldn’t carry on like they were but she wasn’t ready to say goodbye to him either.
She stroked a hand down his back and he turned, giving a quick glance to the door before taking her face in his hands and kissing her.
Oh god, when he held her like this, kissed her with such adoration and tenderness, everything was right with the world and she could easily let herself believe that he did love her.
Suddenly, at a noise out in the eating area, Jesse pulled away and turned his attention back to the notebook as if the kiss hadn’t happened at all.
‘This notebook is fascinating,’ he said. ‘There are so many recipes in here that I’m keen to try but there’s other things in there too, diary entries and personal notes.’
He was so confusing, but Skye supposed now wasn’t the right
time to have a proper conversation about their future.
She cleared her throat. ‘I know, I sort of promised Sylvia that we wouldn’t read any of those.’
‘Well, you probably should have mentioned that to me. I’ve read quite a few of them. I think Walter was having an affair.’
‘Really?’ Skye said eagerly. ‘No, wait, I don’t want to know. Sylvia gave me a big lecture about invading Walter’s privacy.’
‘With the greatest respect, Walter is dead and as far as we know he doesn’t have any living relations. What harm could it do?’
‘Have you ever written a diary?’
Jesse shook his head.
‘I have, many years ago, and I wouldn’t want anyone to read it, not even after I’m dead.’
‘Oooh, what sordid little secrets are you hiding?’ he teased.
She smiled. ‘It’s not like that.’
‘I’d like to read young Skye’s diary.’
Skye shook her head. ‘I really don’t think you’d want to read this.’
‘Now you have me intrigued.’
‘The point is, when Walter wrote those diary entries, he probably had no idea that a bunch of strangers would be poring over them sixty or seventy years later.’
Jesse looked at the notebook and then back at Skye. ‘A large part of recreating this pudding parade is to honour his legacy though. Don’t you want to know more about the man we are immortalising? We don’t want to be holding him up as some kind of pudding hero if he was secretly an axe murderer or enjoyed pulling the wings off butterflies.’
‘That’s true…’ Skye could feel her restraint slipping.
‘And historians read this kind of thing all the time, I don’t think any of them feel bad about that.’
‘That’s true too,’ she said.
‘There’s stuff in there about the pudding parade as well, surely you want to read about that.’
Skye laughed. ‘You’re a bad influence.’
‘I just want someone else to read it now so I don’t feel bad.’
‘OK, OK, I’ll read the stuff about the parade, not anything about his affair.’
‘But you don’t mind if I do?’ Jesse said.
Skye hesitated in giving her permission, but she was intrigued about Walter and it was wonderful to have this glimpse into island life, sixty or seventy years before. ‘You can tell me the best bits.’
‘OK, deal. Although I’m not sure there are any best bits. I haven’t read all of them but it didn’t end well for him. The woman left and it broke his heart.’
‘Oh no, that’s a bit sad. What happened?’
‘I’m not sure.’ Jesse started flicking through the pages again. ‘I’ll let you know when I get there.’
Just then the kitchen door swung open and Bea and Sylvia came in laughing and chatting. It was so nice to see the two of them getting on so well. Skye got the sense that Sylvia was a bit lonely sometimes when she came to the island and Bea didn’t really have any family beyond Jesse and Madison so she’d missed out on having that grandparent relationship.
‘Right, where is this amazing pie?’ Sylvia said, climbing up onto one of the stools so her feet were dangling off the floor.
‘Would you like it with custard or ice cream?’ Jesse said, waving his towel over the pie to get it to cool down.
‘Oooh, normally I’d say custard, but if I’m going to appreciate the pie to its fullest, I think I better have it on its own.’
Jesse dished out four small slices and passed them round. Skye, Bea and Sylvia tucked in eagerly, while Jesse, who wasn’t a fan of rhubarb, took a more conservative bite.
‘This is really nice,’ Bea said.
‘Wow, for someone who doesn’t like rhubarb, you’ve definitely nailed the rhubarb pie, this is lovely,’ Skye said.
‘The pastry is good,’ Jesse said to Bea. ‘I’m wondering if the filling needs a bit more sugar?’
‘It’s kind of supposed to have that tang,’ Skye said. ‘This is delicious. Sylvia, what do you think?’
Sylvia took another bite and chewed it carefully and slowly and everyone seemed to wait with bated breath for her verdict. Eventually she spoke.
‘The pie tastes really good. I don’t think it needs any more sugar, you have that perfect tangy and sweet consistency. The pastry is great too, whoever made that really knows what they are doing,’ Sylvia said and Skye watched Bea glow with pride.
‘Why do I get the sense there’s a “but” coming,’ Jesse said.
‘Well, there is. The pie is great – if I ordered rhubarb pie in any of the finest restaurants in the world, I’d be really happy to be served this. But, this doesn’t taste like Walter’s pie, I’m afraid.’
Jesse groaned. ‘I knew it.’
‘But no one else will know that,’ Sylvia quickly added. ‘I’m pretty sure there is no one left on the island who would have been here at the time of the parade.’
‘There are quite a few old ladies who live on the island,’ Bea said, doubtfully.
‘Yeah, but I don’t think they have been here all their lives,’ Skye said. ‘I’m pretty sure that most of the elderly ladies that live here now have retired here. I don’t think I have any memory of them growing up.’
‘There you go,’ Sylvia said. ‘The pie will be fine for the parade, no one will be any wiser.’
Bea sighed. ‘Dad doesn’t do fine. It has to be right.’
‘Maybe it’s just my old taste buds playing tricks on me,’ Sylvia said. ‘If you followed Walter’s recipe, it must be right.’
‘There’s a missing secret ingredient,’ Bea explained.
‘We have no idea what it is,’ Jesse said.
‘Oh, he’s a crafty one, that Walter,’ Sylvia said, shaking her head.
‘Do you have any idea what the secret ingredient could be?’ Skye asked.
Sylvia carried on eating her pie for a few moments as she thought. ‘I really don’t. My mum used to help Walter with the pie – she worked in the cake shop with Kendra’s gran – but I don’t remember what went into it. Other than I remember there being an abundance of rhubarb, everywhere.’
‘Your mum helped Walter with the pie?’ Jesse said, clearly that piece of information had piqued his interest.
‘Yes, but I wasn’t really there when they made the pie. I was never really into cooking or baking and watching them make a giant pie was never really of interest to me when there were beaches and caves to explore. I wish I could help you with the secret ingredient, but I can’t.’
Skye could tell they were all feeling a bit deflated at that news. How could they ever work out what the secret ingredient was? It could be apples or strawberries or even something weird like carrots or cheese that somehow combined perfectly with the rhubarb.
‘I guess we just go ahead with this recipe,’ Jesse said.
‘It does taste really good, Dad,’ Bea said.
Skye nodded. ‘And actually, this parade isn’t about exactly copying how it was seventy years ago. The whole point of it is to celebrate puddings and desserts, to showcase our ice creams and our little café. It’d be nice to bring back some of the traditional elements, like the horse-drawn carriage, the bagpipes and the navy escort if we can, but we can combine the traditional with the new. We’re honouring Walter who started the parade but we can put our own twist on it. As Sylvia said, there won’t be anyone there who remembers how it was done anyway, so I really don’t think it matters.’
Jesse nodded to concede this but he still didn’t look happy.
‘Right, Bea, how about another game of chess?’ Sylvia said.
Bea quickly snaffled up the rest of her pie and then hopped down from the stool. ‘You were so close to beating me last time, I think this time you might actually do it.’
Sylvia smiled. ‘Let’s see.’
They left the kitchen and Skye quickly pulled on her apron. They were already a few minutes past opening time and although she doubted that there would be a queue, she knew people
would start arriving soon.
‘Wait, before they come back in,’ Jesse said, eyeing the door. ‘You know I told you Walter was having an affair.’
‘Yes?’
‘He was having an affair with a lady that worked in the bakery.’
Skye felt her eyes widen. ‘Hang on. That means Walter was either having an affair with Kendra’s gran or…’
Jesse nodded. ‘Sylvia’s mum.’
Chapter Fourteen
Skye was walking through the hotel gardens on her way to a meeting with Aria and Clover. The café had just closed after lunch and she had a few hours before it opened for the evening. She’d left Jesse in the café trying to figure out what the missing ingredient was for the rhubarb pie. He seemed happier today, although she wasn’t sure why. Maybe the chat the night before had helped in some way but she’d even caught him singing to himself earlier.
‘Hey!’
Skye turned round to see Bea running to catch up with her.
‘Where are you going?’ Bea said, linking arms with her. ‘Can I come?’
‘Oh, just a boring hotel meeting,’ Skye said, not sharing that she hoped to speak to Aria and Clover about Jesse before the meeting started.
‘Is that code for not wanting me around?’ Bea said, not taking it remotely seriously.
‘I always want you around. Always. But this is really just a boring hotel meeting. Clover wants to discuss the job applications for the new banqueting and events management role.’
‘Is Clover not doing that any more?’ Bea asked.
Skye shook her head. ‘Not for much longer. Events management is becoming a bigger thing at the hotel now and she either needs someone to help her or give up her dance lessons and she doesn’t want to do that, so we’re looking at hiring someone new. Aria wants to talk about the hotel plans for the summer as well. I really don’t think it would interest you. But if you want to sit in, you’d be very welcome,’ she said, crossing her fingers that Bea wouldn’t want that. It would be kind of awkward to talk about Jesse with his daughter present.
‘That’s OK, I’m going to see Seamus anyway to ask if he has any idea what the secret ingredient is for the rhubarb pie. I figured as mayor he might know, or at least he might be able to point me towards some old newspaper articles or archive information about the pudding parade.’
