Christmas on the Little Cornish Isles

by Phillipa Ashley

  Maisie had already had a quick word with Una and Phyllis Barton, the sisters who owned the aptly named Hell Cove Cottages on the rugged western coast of Gull Island, which was open to the full brunt of the Atlantic storms. They’d sat on the terrace with a coffee while they waited for the island ferry to St Mary’s. Every Saturday morning, come hell or high water, they did their shopping in Hugh Town after they’d finished the breakfast service at Hell Cove.

  Then there was Archie Pendower, an elderly artist from St Piran’s island to the north of Gull. If the weather was as good as it was today, and Archie was feeling inspired, he might sail across to the Driftwood. Thinking of the growing gallery of paintings that adorned the first floor bistro, Maisie smiled to herself. Sooner or later, Archie might settle his bill – but not in cash. The Driftwood already had a dozen of his paintings and Maisie reckoned they were worth a lot more, financially and creatively, than a few quid. Such bartering would never have been allowed in the big pub where she used to work, which was another reason why Maisie loved the Driftwood, even if its lax and quirky ways would never make her family rich.

  Time flew by while Maisie made her ‘figure of eight’ between the bistro, bar, kitchen and terrace, checking that everything was running smoothly and helping out where needed. With only a handful of seasonal staff compared to the big pub she had managed, she was used to mucking in on any task and loved it despite the long hours.

  She was halfway through serving pints to some kayakers when a new customer blocked the doorway, obviously deciding whether he could be bothered to queue up. He shone out from among the khaki-clad twitchers like an exotic toucan among a group of sparrows. Dark-blond hair brushed the collar of his faded blue-and-yellow hooped polo shirt. His navy cargo shorts showed off a pair of muscular calves the colour of tea and he wore olive Goretex hiking boots. The frame of his red rucksack brushed the door lintel and blocked out the view of the terrace and sea completely.

  He ducked under the wooden door beam and stepped into the shade of the bar. Maisie’s breath caught in her throat. For a few seconds she couldn’t quite believe her eyes.

  Now she was certain.

  It was him.

  So what was he doing on Gull Island?

  Chapter 2

  With most people she’d met before, Maisie might have called out a ‘hello’ or waved a greeting. The problem was she didn’t know this man’s name nor did she want to draw attention to herself – she was still flustered and shocked at his appearance in her pub.

  She might not know the exotic guy’s name but she could never forget how amazing his lips had felt on hers when they’d shared a passionate kiss outside the Galleon Inn on St Mary’s the previous week. She’d nicknamed him ‘The Blond’ in her mind and tried to forget about him, knowing she’d been tipsy and that she’d never see him again.

  Her hands fumbled with the change she’d just taken off the previous customer, but she shut the till drawer and tried to concentrate on serving the person in the queue in front of him.

  Who had she been kidding? She hadn’t forgotten about him. How could she? They’d bumped into each other at a food festival being held at the pub. She’d gone along on her own, really to check out how the event was going with a view to running one at the Driftwood. She’d meant to stay for a couple of drinks, make mental notes and then leave, but the Blond had struck up a conversation with her.

  Or maybe she’d spoken to him? Her memory of how it had all started was fuzzy, especially as a couple of drinks had turned into more. Somehow, they’d ended up walking away from the pub up the beach. She didn’t remembering exchanging names – bloody hell, she must have been tiddly – but she did know that names hadn’t seemed to matter as they’d wandered away from the pub towards the headland at Porthmellon.

  Apart from a brief word about him travelling around the UK on holiday and her working in a bar, neither of them had seemed to care about pasts or futures. They’d sat for a while on the rocks by the headland, watching the sun sinking and making the odd comment about the festival before the conversation had trailed off.

  He’d taken her hand and it had happened. She didn’t know who’d instigated the kiss. She only knew that their lips had come together and that it had been amazing.

  Too amazing. The feelings it had aroused had scared her. She’d backed away, laughing and mumbling about having had too much to drink. Without a goodbye, she’d almost run back up the beach and joined the tourists in the streets of Hugh Town.

  She’d bought a black coffee from the deli-café and found a quiet corner in which to drink it, dreading he’d walk in and find her. She’d sobered up fast. If she’d been herself – watchful and on guard – she’d never have kissed a stranger whose name she didn’t even know … and never have let herself respond so rashly, holding on to his waist, pressing against him, drinking in that kiss.

  ‘Thanks.’

  Smile fixed in place, Maisie watched the customer turn away, pint in hand, and the Blond approach the bar. He shrugged off his backpack, and dug out his phone. Perhaps he hadn’t recognised her. He was next in line after a kayaker who ordered several pints of beer.

  Maisie tried to focus on pulling the pints. There was too much head on the last one and the foamy beer overflowed onto the drip tray.

  She gave an apologetic grimace at the kayaker. ‘Sorry.’

  He sipped the excess froth. ‘No problem.’

  She gave him his change and he joined his mates outside.

  The Blond was next.

  Maisie flashed her customer smile. ‘Good afternoon, sir. What can I get you?’

  He smiled back. ‘Coke, please.’

  ‘Pint or half. Diet or full-fat?’

  ‘I don’t do diet anything and a pint will do nicely. I’m dry as a drover’s dog.’

  That accent. It struck her again, as it had the day at the food festival. He was every bit as sexy as she remembered: and she’d tried very hard to forget him over the past few days.

  ‘Ice?’ she asked.

  ‘What do you think?’ His blue eyes, not far off the colour of the deepest part of the Petroc channel, sparkled with amusement and mischief. Maisie could have done with some ice herself to cool her down.

  Maisie scooped the cubes into a pint glass. ‘Where’s the accent from? Sydney?’ she teased.

  He pulled a face. ‘You have to be joking. Wouldn’t be seen dead within a hundred miles of the place.’ His eyes twinkled. ‘Try again.’

  ‘Adelaide?’ said Maisie, testing him to see how much of their conversation he remembered. She’d joked that her knowledge of Aussie cities was confined to having to listen to endless hours of Test Match Special droning out from her dad’s radio.

  He winced. ‘Too hot for me and I’m not impressed by the wine. I’m from Melbourne. Sunshine, penguins and tennis.’

  ‘And Fosters,’ Maisie shot back.

  ‘Hey, there has to be a downside to every dream location.’

  Maisie rested his glass on the drip mat but he didn’t pick it up. Their eyes met over the top of the bar. The look was at his instigation so she felt duty bound, as the hostess, to return it, even if gazing into those roguish blue eyes had the same effect on her as it had the first time. ‘I bet no one gets the better of you, Maisie Samson,’ he said so quietly that even she could barely hear.

  She snapped out of her momentary trance. ‘How do you know my name? Has the Gull Island grapevine been at it again?’ she said, wondering if he’d made enquiries about her after she’d hurried away from him. She knew now why she’d run away. Having him here in the flesh in front of her brought all those emotions flooding back: desire, lust, longing. Those feelings had overwhelmed her. It was too soon to feel so strongly attracted to a man again … Too soon after losing Keegan. Too soon after losing everything.

  The Blond was cool as a cucumber. He grinned and flipped his thumb over his shoulder. ‘No grapevine. It’s over the door.’

  ‘That could have been my mum’s name.’ In
fact, her father’s name had hung there until she’d taken over the new licence earlier in the year.

  ‘What’s your mum’s name?’

  ‘Hazel.’

  ‘Nah. You’re no Hazel.’

  ‘What do you mean, “I’m no Hazel”?’ said Maisie, fascinated despite the fact that a couple of the regulars had started to pay attention to her conversation with the Blond.

  Almost as if he sensed they were being watched, he lowered his voice but still made no move to pick up his drink. ‘There’s nothing wrong with Hazel. Sure it’s a very nice name and your mother is a lovely woman, but Maisie … hints at mischief. Trouble.’

  Maisie rolled her eyes while her heart thumped. ‘Trouble for you if you keep on with the cheesy lines.’

  ‘Cheesy?’ He laughed out loud. ‘I’m the customer here. Aren’t I always right?’

  ‘You’re forgetting the other sign.’

  ‘And what sign would that be?’

  She pointed to a small plaque hanging off a nail on the brickwork next to her. ‘The landlady’s never wrong.’

  The smile made his eyes crinkle at the corners. Close up, she could see a few more lines on his face, around the eyes and on his forehead. She reckoned he was about her own age, or a couple of years younger.

  Maisie heard the nerves in her laugh, and inwardly cursed herself. What the hell had got into her, flirting with him again and reacting like a schoolgirl? He’d probably be gone in five minutes, five seconds, in fact, when he took the Coke outside onto the terrace. She didn’t dare assume he’d sought her out and she didn’t want him to have come looking for her. She wasn’t interested in a man and definitely not one charming enough to tempt her into a passionate kiss on half an hour’s acquaintance. She felt suddenly embarrassed for appearing to fall for his blarney, so she told him the price of the drink and nodded at the door. ‘I expect you’ll want to take it outside, sir, and enjoy the last of the sunshine while you can.’

  She glanced over his shoulder as if she’d seen more customers enter, signalling politely but firmly she wasn’t interested in anything beyond the cash for his Coke – saving herself from rejection, even of the smallest kind, because she’d had it up to here with types like the Blond. She’d met plenty of men like him before, and that included her ex, Keegan.

  She didn’t even want to know this one’s name.

  The Blond handed over some coins and took his drink. ‘Keep the change,’ he said cheerfully, obviously fine at being passed over for an imaginary customer.

  ‘Thanks. Enjoy your day, sir.’

  Maisie popped the coins in the RNLI tin in full view of him and turned her back to polish some glasses that didn’t need it. The buzz of chatter rose as more customers walked through the front door. She turned back ready to greet them, joking about the late ‘heat wave’ that had hit Scilly.

  When she finally made it out onto the terrace again to take a break, the Blond had gone.

  The disappointment was like being plunged into cold water on a sweltering day but Maisie told herself to get a grip. She should be relieved he’d walked away this time and that she wouldn’t have to see him again. She wasn’t sure she would be so strong the next time he came across her path.

  Fortunately she was kept busy as the pre-ferry rush started. Maisie’s parents and her seasonal barman joined her behind the bar and they served up a constant stream of cold drinks, coffees and teas. Restaurant customers from the bistro ordered after-lunch liqueurs and took them onto the terrace. Maisie was pinned behind the bar, the flood of people never letting up until finally she heard the warning toot of the ferry as it moored at the jetty.

  Five minutes later, the Driftwood was as deserted as the Mary Celeste.

  Chapter 3

  Abandoned glasses, bottles, packets of crisps and dirty plates littered the tables in the bar area. Maisie wiped her forehead. Her feet throbbed and her arms ached. It had been non-stop pretty much all day apart from the few minutes she’d spent sparring with the Blond.

  ‘I need a breath of air,’ she told Debbie, the Kiwi bistro manager who was setting off on her long journey home later that week now that the season was almost over. Maisie was already wondering how she was going to manage once the staff had all left. It might be the quiet season but there was still a ton of essential maintenance work to get through on top of opening the pub over the weekends and for special events – not to mention Christmas. She’d already resigned herself to being just as busy in the off-season unless she could get some of the locals to lend a hand with the repair work and some shifts behind the bar.

  Grabbing a bottle of spring water, she slipped out of the side door for a breather after the rush, and to give herself time to think after her encounter with the Blond. The terrace still held a few people, the odd local and a party of students from the campsite finishing pints and eating their own picnics. A couple of middle-aged yachties and a few clients from a local holiday home lingered over their G&Ts. She recognised some of them and nodded.

  She considered having a sneaky fag, as she had every day at around this time since she’d given up ten years before. Then decided, again, that she could manage without one today and walked across the narrow road to the beach in front of the inn. She’d quit long ago but had lapsed back for a few weeks after Keegan had left. She’d got a grip on it again now, fingers crossed.

  As the afternoon drew to a close, the sun sank lower over the sea. Rocks glistening with bright green seaweed cast long shadows over the shell-pink sand. Maisie selected a dry perch on her favourite rock, which was tucked away out of sight of the inn but had a great view of the Petroc channel. She kicked off her Skechers and buried her toes in the cool sand. Yachts glided past, or bobbed at anchor over sandbars. On a spring tide, you could wade right across to Petroc Island, where people stood on the battlements of a ruined fort, looking down at the Driftwood.

  Petroc had been owned by the Scorrier family for centuries and all of its original buildings had been converted to luxury holiday homes, unlike Gull Island, where most of the buildings were still largely owned by the families who lived there. Most people on Gull just about made enough to get them through the winter, but that was the price of living in paradise, she reminded herself, and the Driftwood provided a living for her and her family, and jobs for a few seasonal staff.

  Maisie rested her gaze on the fortified tower across the channel, telling herself to get a grip. She’d accepted that with her fortieth birthday coming up on New Year’s Eve, some things probably weren’t going to happen for her and she should be content with the life she had. She should have known better than to fall for a good-looking smoothie who’d promised her the moon but legged it faster than Usain Bolt just when she needed him.

  Her, Maisie Samson, of all people. Streetwise, on-the-ball Maisie who had an answer for everyone and everything. How had she let herself need someone – something – so very badly? How had she been left with a heart that resembled a smashed bag of crisps?

  The memories were still painful, even now she’d physically recovered.

  On Christmas Day the previous year she’d had everything to look forward to. She was happy living with Keegan, her boyfriend and boss at the brewery, and she was looking forward to the birth of her baby – Little Scrap – in the summer. She’d been thinking about what colour to paint the nursery while she worked in the pub that Christmas Day, and how she could combine her job with looking after the baby once she’d returned from maternity leave. She’d even thought she’d felt him or her kick, though it was too early according to the textbooks.

  Within the hour, she was on her way to hospital and, sadly, there had been nothing that could be done to save her baby.

  As it was Christmas, her parents hadn’t been able to get a flight over until it was all over. Maisie had told them not to come, and that she’d be fine. Keegan would look after her, she’d told them, thinking that although the pain of grief was agonising, her partner was by her side to comfort her.

 
; A couple of weeks later, Keegan had told her he wanted to end their relationship.

  Her parents had been horrified. Her mum had flown in to care for her and her father had immediately asked her to take over at the Driftwood, if she wanted to. They said they would stay on as part-owners and help out when required but Maisie would manage the place and have full responsibility and control of the pub.

  Maisie didn’t hesitate to say ‘yes’. She wanted a new start and to leave the unhappy associations behind her, but they hadn’t all been so easy to shake off.

  Maybe that was why she’d been so reckless in taking a chance with the Blond on the beach: she’d wanted a moment of escape – a moment of abandon – even if it wasn’t like her.

  Who knew?

  She stayed a few minutes longer, finishing her water, when she spotted something guaranteed to make her smile. A small and elderly yacht had dropped anchor off shore and a man with a long grey beard was rowing a small RIB towards the shore. Maisie grinned. She’d recognised the yacht as it had sailed into the channel.

  She slipped off the rock and hurried forward as the old man reached the shore and jumped into the shallows with a splash. Archie Pendower was as much a part of the landscape of the isles as any rock or tree. He was well over eighty and his work had won a reputation that spread beyond the isles, although you wouldn’t know it to look at the sorry state of the Starfish Studio these days. Like many islanders and many artists, even he found making a living tough. Not that Archie cared about money.

  Water soaked the ragged hems of his denim dungarees as Maisie paddled into the water to help him haul out the RIB. He wore a salt-encrusted fisherman’s cap and a chunky jersey with patches on the elbows. Funnily enough, Maisie couldn’t recall ever seeing him wearing any other clothes, although he smelled fresh enough apart from a faint tang of cigars.

  ‘Hi, Archie. I wasn’t expecting you today,’ she said as they hauled the RIB onto the sand.