‘So…Megan. What’s so urgent?’
She gave him a withering look. ‘Thank you, Ben. I had a lovely Christmas. How about you?’
‘Dad? Look at this journal…It’s got an electronic lock and a password. I can keep all my private stuff in here. Mum says it’ll help me grow emotionally to keep a diary.’
Ben resisted the urge to growl. ‘It’s lovely, Jas.’
Placated, his daughter started to flick through the book, full of ‘all about me’ pages. He steadfastly ignored the page entitled: ‘
Turning back to Megan, he raised his eyebrows. She glanced at Jasmine, then motioned for him to join her on the other side of the kitchen. Too cloak-and-dagger for him, but it was easier to play along than have a row in front of Jasmine. He hauled himself back out of the chair and followed her, hoping that filling in the diary would command one hundred per cent of Jas’s attention.
Megan’s idea of ‘subtle’ was talking in a stage whisper.
‘I want Jasmine to come and live with me.’
He shook his head. Nah-hah. No way. They’d decided all of this when Megan had moved out. Jas needed to stay in Lower Hadwell for school, for continuity. It had been Megan’s idea to up and move to South Devon’s New Age hotspot to ‘discover’ herself. He didn’t like the idea of Jas being influenced by all of that mumbo-jumbo at such a young age. And some of Megan’s friends…
Megan’s voice rose. ‘She’s going to be in senior school come September. I think a girl that age needs her mother close by.’
The rustling noises reaching them from the direction of the kitchen table stopped.
He grabbed his ex-wife by the arm and propelled her out of the kitchen. Megan forgot her stage whisper and protested loudly.
‘Pity you didn’t think she needed a mother when you upped and left us.’
She ran a hand through her long hair. ‘I realise what a mistake that was now, and it’s time to put it right.’
‘Right for whom?’
Not for him, not even for Jasmine. This was all about what Megan wanted, about what was good for Megan.
‘Dad?’ A nervous shout came from inside the kitchen.
Still fixing Megan with his fiercest stare, he yelled back, ‘I’ll be right there, Jellybean.’
‘Yes, that’s right, Ben. Take the easy way out, run away from the main issue.’
Lord, he really wanted to grab this woman by the shoulders and shake her.
‘Megan,’ he said from between clenched teeth, ‘wouldn’t it have been more appropriate
She made a gesture he could only describe as a flounce. ‘It should be her decision, you know.’
Give him strength! ‘We are not doing this now! Okay? You are going to collect your handbag, say goodbye to your daughter and leave. And I will phone you during the week so we can discuss this properly.’
Megan glared at him. ‘Fine.’ She stalked into the kitchen, followed his suggestions to the letter-which had to be a first-slamming the front door behind her. She was going to stew on this for days, he just knew it. Which was only going to make the coming negotiations worse, but how could he let Jas overhear? It would have to be handled carefully, properly.
As he headed back into the kitchen, prepared to dole out plenty of cuddles and one-to-one attention, he heard the screech of tyres in the lane.
Well, that ought to put any of her ridiculous ideas that he was still carrying a torch for her to rest. And about time too.
Louise put her phone away. The coast was clear. Although, from the sound of it, it would be better to leave father and daughter to some quality time this evening. Despite Ben’s protests, she insisted she was merely returning to collect her car, then she’d be on her way.
She stepped over the low wooden fence that separated the lane from the stony beach and headed back towards Ben’s cottage. Only a moment later, she had to flatten herself against the hedge as a flashy four-wheel drive hurtled towards her.
Megan was in the driving seat and she looked as if she’d just sucked a whole pound of lemons. The car slowed slightly as she spotted Louise. At first, Megan’s face registered surprise, but when she got closer her face contorted further and she gunned the engine, leaving Louise coughing on exhaust fumes.
The following day was Sunday. Through a series of text messages, Louise and Ben had decided that he should come to Whitehaven as usual and, after testing the water, they would tell Jasmine they were together.
As Ben motored across the river in the dinghy, he couldn’t wipe the smile from his face. Life had a funny way of throwing surprises at you. If someone had told him six months ago that he’d fall in love with one of the glitzy women from the magazine covers, he’d probably have hurt himself by laughing too hard. But, in his eyes, Louise wasn’t one of
The hike up the hill towards the house seemed to last for ever. It didn’t stop Jas complaining that he was going too fast and pulling on his jacket to slow him down. Finally, he caught a glimpse of white masonry between the trees. Jas started running-probably because she had cakes on the brain.
Two seconds later, he sprinted after her.
When he laid eyes on Louise, who had obviously been hovering in the empty kitchen waiting for him, he hadn’t counted on how hard it would be to be only feet away but not able to pull her into his arms and kiss her senseless. Not yet, anyway.
It was torture, having to go out to the greenhouse and look at the plants while Louise and Jas made banana muffins together. They’d decided a little ‘bonding’ time might help before he broke the news. When he returned, he drank his cup of tea so fast he scalded his throat. Did he care?
‘Come on, Jas. You and I are going for a bit of a walk.’
Jas rolled her eyes. ‘Aw. Can’t I have another muffin?’
‘When we get back.’ He walked over to the back door and handed her coat to her, then, over the top of Jas’s head, he winked at Louise. She rewarded him with the sweetest of smiles.
As soon as the door closed behind them and they started making their way along the path towards the old stable complex, his heart began to thump. ‘Jas? You like Louise, don’t you?’
Jas bent down to pick up a stick. ‘Yeah. She’s cool-and really pretty.’
No arguments from him there.
Suddenly his mouth went dry. ‘How would you feel if she…if we…’ heck, this was more nerve-racking than when he’d proposed to Megan ‘…if she was my girlfriend?’ he finished in a rush.
Jas twiddled the stick in her fingers. ‘Cool!’ she said, suddenly smiling up at him. ‘Can I have another muffin now?’ And, without waiting for him, she ran off back to the house.
He shook his head as a grin spread on his face. How easy had that been? He’d been expecting tears, arguments about why couldn’t he and Mummy live together again, but Jas had taken it totally in her stride. Maybe he wasn’t doing such a bad job of bringing her up after all.
Then, realising he could now go back to the house and, at the very least, hug Louise in front of Jas, he started to jog. If only telling the rest of the world could be that simple and uneventful, but he didn’t have to worry about that yet. For now, this was their little secret.
Ben should have suspected something was up as soon as he walked into the little newsagent’s in the village to collect his morning paper. Instead of the buzz of gossip, the rustle of paper and the ding of the old-fashioned till, there was silence, only broken by the echo of the brass bell that had announced his arrival.
There were around six people in the shop and they all stopped what they were doing and looked at him.
He felt decidedly uncomfortable as he headed for the rack full of newspapers. Had he turned green overnight or grown an extra head? What was up with these people?
As he bent to pick up his usual broadsheet there was a collective gasp.
Okay, that was enough. He stood up and turned around to face them, his arms wide. ‘What?’
