‘No!’ she murmured. ‘No, no, no…’
She ran from room to room again, as if her eyes might have deceived her the first time and she’d find her grandma after all, hiding in one of them. But she wasn’t there, and neither were the keys, and the door was locked. Did that mean Gammy had wandered off, locked the door and taken the keys with her, leaving Sadie trapped inside?
Sadie wondered for a moment if she was the one who’d gone off to fairyland. Surely her grandma wouldn’t do that. But if she had where would she have gone? She couldn’t have got far, wherever it was.
Sadie checked around again one last time. And then she checked the front door. And the back door that was always locked and that, stupidly she realised now, she’d never bothered asking for keys for. Gammy had the only set for that door and she’d left all her keys at home that morning, which meant the only way to get out was to get some keys from Gammy somehow. Which meant finding out where she’d gone.
Pulling her phone from her pocket, she was forced to ignore the new text from Luke. Instead, she dialled Ewan’s number. It went straight to voicemail. So she tried Kat and gave a thankful sigh as her sister-in-law answered.
‘Hey—’
‘Kat… I know this is going to sound a bit desperate but is Gammy there?’
‘April? No, but—’
Sadie hadn’t imagined for a moment that her grandma could have got to the dive school offices that quick but she hadn’t known what else to say. The fact was she’d lost Gammy – or rather, Gammy had lost her – and there was no way to dress that up as anything except what it was.
‘What’s wrong?’ Kat asked.
‘Gammy’s gone off somewhere and locked me in.’
‘You’re at the waffle house?’
‘Yes. Is Ewan there?’
‘No, he’s on a lesson. But we don’t have keys for the waffle house anyway so we can’t let you out.’
‘I know, but if you could find Gammy that’s probably a bigger priority at the moment anyway. She just took off without a word, and she doesn’t even have her bag or coat with her. I just can’t imagine where she’s gone but she can’t have got that far because it was only a few minutes ago.’
‘I can go and look for you. What are you going to do about getting out?’
‘I suppose I’ll have to sit tight until you find her. Unless someone can go home to get Gammy’s set. She left them there this morning, which is why there’s only one set here. I can only guess that she must have picked these up today thinking they were hers, but I still don’t understand why she just left knowing I was still in here cleaning up. I mean, she’d never leave me to clean up alone and she certainly wouldn’t go without telling me.’
‘She wouldn’t go without her bag either – she even takes that to the toilet.’
Sadie gave a tight smile. On any other day Kat’s statement would have made her laugh, but not today.
‘What about your parents?’ Kat asked. ‘Could they come down to you with the keys?’
‘I think they’ll be out on the boat. Dad said he thought they’d have a pretty full day. I’ll try them, but if they are then there won’t be much hope of getting hold of them.’
‘I’ll go and look for your gran now,’ Kat said. ‘Try not to worry; I’ll call you as soon as I find her. Like you said, she can’t have got that far in a few minutes.’
‘Thanks, Kat.’
Sadie ended the call and put her phone on the counter. She looked around the still messy dining room. There wasn’t much she could do, but at least, she supposed, if she was captive here, she might as well make herself useful rather than stand around worrying. But first, she ought to reply to Luke’s text.
Don’t eat too much dinner – I thought we could drive out of town to eat somewhere new.
* * *
Sounds good. X
After setting the ringtone to its loudest setting so she’d be sure to hear it if Kat called, she set about cleaning up. It would take longer than usual, and would probably mean she’d miss out on that nap she’d promised herself, but hopefully it wouldn’t delay her too much. She was worried to death about Gammy, but she still couldn’t help but look forward to her date with Luke, though she had to admit that this turn of events did put a damper on things a little. For now, she had to hold on to the hope that things would be resolved quickly.
A few moments later her phone started to ring. Sadie dropped the mop and raced to answer it.
‘Sadie…’ Her mum sounded tense on the line. ‘What’s this about April going missing?’
‘Mum, how did you… never mind. Where are you?’
‘About five miles off the coast but as soon as we’ve docked we’re going to cancel the last trip of the day.’
‘No, Mum, you can’t do that.’
‘We’ve got to look for your grandmother!’
‘Kat’s looking for her now.’
‘I know, she said so, but she can’t do it alone.’
‘Has she told you that Gammy has only been missing for about ten minutes now?’
‘A lot can happen in ten minutes to a confused old lady,’ Henny said sternly, and Sadie’s blood froze. She’d been worried, but she hadn’t even considered that something truly catastrophic might happen.
‘But…’
‘What are you doing now?’
‘Well, I’m cleaning the dining room.’
‘You’re cleaning the dining room at a time like this?’
‘I didn’t see what else I could do – I’m stuck here.’
‘You didn’t think to call the police?’
‘Well, no…’
‘I’m going to hang up now and call them because you—’
Sadie didn’t get to hear the end of her mum’s sentence because there was a rap on the window. She looked to see Declan standing outside with April.
‘Mum!’ she cried. ‘Mum, Gammy’s back! I’ll call you later!’
Cutting short the call, Sadie ran to the door.
‘It’s locked!’ she shouted. ‘Gammy… do you have the keys?’
April looked confused and shook her head. ‘How on earth have you managed to lock yourself in and lose the keys?’
Sadie held in a scream of frustration. She shot a look at Declan that silently pleaded for help. She couldn’t say it in front of April, but she hoped he’d understand because he at least knew that something hadn’t been right at the waffle house since it had reopened.
He turned to Sadie’s grandma. ‘April, maybe you want to check your pockets for those keys?’
‘I’ve told you I haven’t got any… Oh…’ She held them up. ‘How strange,’ she added with a shaky laugh.
‘Could you open up?’ Sadie called through the glass.
‘Why don’t you have your keys?’ April asked as she unlocked the door and shoved it open.
‘They are my keys,’ Sadie said.
‘No, they’re mine,’ April replied serenely.
Sadie let out a long sigh. Without a care in the world, April wandered through to the kitchen, tutting as she stopped to pick up the dirty dishes from the still uncleared tables.
‘Thank you,’ Sadie said, turning to Declan.
‘Want to tell me what’s going on?’
‘Have you got a week or two?’
‘You could summarise?’
Sadie smiled. ‘I could, but even that might take more time than we have. I’d better just call Kat first.’
Declan nodded and went to take a seat while Sadie phoned Kat to tell her that April had turned up and all was well. The only problem was that Kat had already sent Ewan a message to call when his lesson was done and he’d soon know about what had happened. When he did, and when the whole family got together, serious questions would have to be asked now about the wisdom of Sadie and April running the waffle house together when April clearly wasn’t up to it. Once she’d ended the call she went back to Declan.
‘It’s lucky you found her. Where was she?’
&nbs
p; ‘On the promenade. She was outside the ice-cream parlour asking when it had opened and why nobody had told her about it. I could tell straight away that something wasn’t right when she said she needed to get back here to tell Kenneth about it. I thought you might be closed but I thought I’d better come with her just in case.’
‘But the ice-cream parlour…’ Sadie began.
‘I know,’ Declan said. ‘It’s been there at least five years.’
‘And to be fair, she never got upset about it when it first opened up because she always said there was plenty of trade to go around and the waffle house had their loyal regulars.’
‘She’s not well, is she?’
‘I don’t think she is,’ Sadie said, taking a seat next to Declan with a heavy sigh. ‘I’ve been in denial this whole time but it’s been staring me in the face. I didn’t think she would do anything dangerous, though, but now I think that she might. I know my parents will think so and they won’t want to take that risk.’
‘Where does that leave you and the waffle house?’
Sadie shrugged. ‘I don’t honestly know.’
Declan leaned forward and took her hand. ‘You love this old place, don’t you?’
‘There are a lot of memories here for me.’ She smiled up at him. ‘For all of us.’
‘That’s true,’ he said slowly. ‘But the memories are going nowhere, even if the waffle house does.’
Sadie shook her head, her eyes beginning to mist. ‘What am I going to do?’
‘Hey, hey…’ Declan moved closer and pulled her into a hug. ‘It looks bad now but it’ll be OK. You’re stronger and more resourceful than you think and you can get through this.’
‘You think? I’m glad you can see that because I can’t.’
‘I’ve always seen it in you…’
He tipped her face to his and smiled down at her. For one stolen moment, she wondered if he might kiss her. But then she stood up and moved to the counter because she didn’t want to know the answer to that question. It would cause more problems than it solved and she had enough right now.
‘You want a coffee?’ she asked, drying her eyes. ‘It’s the least I can do to thank you.’
‘For walking along the pier on a sunny day with your lovely grandma?’ he asked with a smile. ‘I was hardly crossing the Gobi Desert on an epic quest – there’s really no need to thank me.’
‘You do seem to be there when I need you. Like my knight in shining armour.’
‘I’m glad someone thinks so,’ he said, and Sadie frowned at his tone. It had been a long time since she’d heard it, and even longer since it had been directed at her.
‘Melissa? Is everything… Never mind, it’s none of my business.’
‘Out of all the people I could tell about it, you’re the one who would understand the most.’
‘But you can’t? A burden shared… and after all, I’ve dumped enough on you these past few days.’
‘I can’t, Sadie. I would if I could.’
She nodded slowly as she went to the coffee machine behind the counter with two mugs. It hadn’t been cleaned yet, along with a lot of other things, and if it had to wait a minute or two longer while she used it then it would have to wait.
‘Well if you do feel you want to offload and it’s something you can tell me about, you know I’ll always be there, don’t you? No matter what else happens.’
‘I know that. You know, Sadie, I sometimes wonder…’ He sighed. ‘What’s the point?’
‘What it might be like if we’d stayed together? If I’d never gone away?’
‘I love Melissa – you have to know that.’
‘I do know that, but it doesn’t stop you wondering. Just as it doesn’t stop me from wondering either.’
‘I think about it a lot more than I should. Especially at times like this.’
‘I’d be lying if I said I didn’t too.’
The coffee machine chugged and frothed as Sadie made the drinks and she watched it, silently contemplating what he’d said. What was happening here? Was something changing between them? This conversation – whatever it was – should have taken place a long time ago, when she’d first returned to Sea Salt Bay, but they’d both been too scared to have it.
So why were they having it now? What did it mean? Was it something to do with Luke? Was it because she found herself at some sudden and unexpected crossroads? She’d spent so long thinking that the only man who mattered was Declan, but someone new was in her thoughts now – and not as someone who was an idle prop to pass an hour, but as someone who might one day really mean something to her. Perhaps she had to deal with her unresolved feelings for Declan before she could give Luke the attention he deserved, and yet, dealing with her feelings for Declan meant accepting that she had given him up, and that he’d moved on, and that she had to move on too, and she wasn’t sure she was ready for that reality just yet. Today proved it, because when the chips were down and she’d needed someone, it was Declan who’d been there, and she’d been glad it was him rather than anyone else.
Part of her wondered whether it would always be Declan. And part of her still didn’t know enough about Luke to be certain that he was someone worth putting her faith in as the man who might change all that. She had a great time with him and they had such fun, and yet she felt the presence of some dark secret hanging over him, some heartache she hadn’t yet been allowed to see. She had to wonder whether, if Luke’s secret came out into the light, it might be something big enough to scupper anything she might hope for with him.
When the drinks were done Sadie went back to the table and handed a mug to Declan. As he took it, his hand brushed hers, sending a shockwave through her. It rested there, longer than it needed to, and his gaze caught hers and held it, and that was longer than it needed to be too.
Involuntarily, Sadie tore her eyes away and glanced at the windows. She should have closed the blinds, but to do it now might somehow imply that they were doing something wrong, something that needed to be hidden. But they were, weren’t they? Even having this conversation was wrong. Declan had just said he loved Melissa, and in a matter of hours Sadie would be with Luke again. This conversation was very wrong.
In movies and books, right about now, Melissa would appear and catch them in the act, and she’d dump Declan on the spot and then Declan would fall into Sadie’s arms and they’d live happily ever after – except for Melissa, who would prove to be a nasty person, and Luke, who would also prove to be equally nasty. They’d probably end up together and live in nastiness for the rest of their lives. But they weren’t nasty. Melissa might have been cold and distant where Sadie was concerned, but Sadie knew she was a good person. As for Luke, Sadie didn’t know all that much about him, yet she felt she’d got the measure of the man and that he was a good, kind, considerate one.
Instead of Melissa appearing at the window, April came back from the kitchen. She paused for a moment, taking in the scene, and then she smiled.
‘You two lovebirds… where are you headed tonight? To see a movie? I don’t know what’s showing but I’m sure you wouldn’t be seeing much of it anyway. Too busy kissing and hugging in the back row.’ Chuckling to herself, April went to fetch the mop and bucket from where Sadie had left it earlier. ‘Oh, if this water isn’t cold. How did that happen?’
And just like that, the spell was broken. Sadie looked at Declan, tears once more in her eyes. This time he put down his coffee and leapt up to hug her, and there was no frisson of desire, just the warm, dependable support of a good friend, one of the oldest and most reliable she had. She dragged in a breath and, despite the comfort it gave her, pulled herself from his arms.
‘I should get cleaned up.’ She forced a smile. ‘I’ve got a date tonight, you know, and I need to get ready as soon as I’m done here.’
‘Is this with the guy who just bought the Old Chapel?’
‘Ah.’ Sadie laughed through her tears. ‘Vivien told you?’
‘Oh, no, my d
ad. I don’t know who told him but you know what it’s like around here.’
‘Only too well.’
‘He seems OK,’ Declan said.
‘Yeah, I think so too,’ Sadie agreed. ‘It’s early days but… well, I like him.’
‘Good.’
Declan smiled, but Sadie had to wonder if he meant it. Was that why the conversation had happened? But Sadie had dated loads of men since him and none of them had prompted Declan to say anything about any unresolved feelings he might have for her. She hadn’t even been sure there had ever been any on his part, though today had told her otherwise. Was he feeling as uncertain as she was about that crossroads? Did he feel it was there for him too, the final chance to take a path that might soon be blocked forever? Was he testing the ground as Sadie felt she was, checking that it was the right way to go, terrified that she’d make the wrong turn and forever regret it?
He tipped his coffee cup to his lips and drank deep before taking it to the kitchen. When he returned he gave April a quick kiss on the cheek.
‘Stay out of trouble,’ he said with mock sternness.
‘You know it, darlin’,’ April replied with a laugh. And then Declan turned to Sadie.
‘You know where I am if you need me,’ he said.
Sadie nodded. She knew alright, and maybe that was the problem. Maybe she knew too well where he was, what made him tick, and that, no matter what, if she called he would be there. Maybe all that needed to change.
She let him out of the doors, and before he’d gone ten feet she saw Melissa come from the direction of the amusement arcade to catch up with him. Melissa threw a last glance back at the waffle house, and Sadie felt her cheeks flare. It was obvious where he’d been, and Melissa made certain that Sadie could see that she knew. Sadie quickly dropped the blinds, feeling as guilty for a crime she hadn’t committed as she would have done for one she had.
Chapter Thirteen
Of course, the thing that Sadie had most been dreading happened. There was no way it wasn’t going to happen but she had hoped for a stay of execution, if she couldn’t hope for anything else. But moments after she and April had finished cleaning (later and with more urgency than usual after the drama of the afternoon) and locked up for the night, Sadie looked up to see Ewan’s car screech to a halt on the promenade. Well, as screeching as a station wagon could be – it was hardly Starsky & Hutch.
The Waffle House on the Pier: A gorgeous feel-good romantic comedy Page 18
