The Cosy Canal Boat Dream: A funny, feel-good romantic comedy you won’t be able to put down!

‘Kittens?’

Nell nodded.

‘How wonderful!’

‘The little mews made my heart melt; utterly gorgeous to say the least.’

‘What’s Gilly going to do with them?’

‘She’s placed a notice in the vets and the local post office, but as yet no one has come forward to claim her. At the moment she’s named her Rosie, because she was lying on the bag of compost she uses to plant her roses, and knowing Mum I think she would be quite happy to keep them all!’

‘Maybe I could talk Nathan into homing one. I just need to make him think it’s his idea and we’d be on to a winner,’ she grinned. ‘Jacob would love a kitten.’

Nell smiled at Bea. She pictured her curled up in front of the fire after a long hard day at the deli with a kitten snoozing on her lap.

They both finished their tea, then Bea glanced at her watch, ‘The scones are due out any minute; I’d best nip back to the shop.’

‘What time is it? I feel like I’ve been up for hours.’

‘Just gone 6.45.’

‘I have been up for hours.’

‘I can easily sort out some cover if you don’t feel up to coming in.’

Nell shook her head, ‘Thanks, but I need to keep busy. I’ll be along as soon as I’m ready.’

Bea gave her a quick hug before flicking the latch and stooping down to climb through the door. Her footsteps echoed on the plank that connected the towpath to the boat as she ambled across towards the deli.

‘Right, Nell Andrews, it’s time to paint a smile on your face, life must go on,’ she murmured to herself, unconvinced, standing up and running her hand over Ollie’s photograph while she blinked away the tears. Birthdays and anniversaries always hit her hard.

Five minutes later, she stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. ‘Jeez, Andrews,’ she said out loud, smoothing down her wild hair and washing away the smudged eyeliner.

‘I really need to learn to take my mascara off before climbing into bed,’ she muttered, reaching for her wash bag. Then, just like every morning, she took out her pack of contraceptive pills. She stared down at Tuesday’s pill in the palm of her hand and suddenly had no idea why she was still taking these little pills after all this time. Everything had carried on in the same routine for the last two years. Her life had been on auto-pilot and she’d never wanted to completely let go of it, up until now. Even though Ollie wasn’t coming back, she felt strong enough to look towards the future. Nell switched on the tap and made the decision to swill the pill down the sink.

After a quick shower, she twisted her blonde hair up into a bun, threw on her favourite jumper and dabbed on a smidgen of lipgloss. She was ready to face the world. Once outside, the cool morning breeze whispered around her ears as Nell stood on the deck of the ‘Nollie’ and breathed in the early morning fresh air.

She glanced across towards the blue and gold lettering of a neighbouring boat, ‘The Old Geezer’. Fred Bramley had been their neighbour since they’d moved on to the ‘Nollie’. Nell found him an interesting character with his grey bushy eyebrows and matching beard. He always wore a flat cap and a nattily kempt white cable knit that resembled a cricket jumper. He was retired and spent most of his days sitting on the deck of the boat fishing, even though in all these years she’d never actually seen him catch anything. For a brief moment the doors of the flagship opened and Fred appeared on the deck clutching a mug of tea.

‘Good morning,’ chirped Nell, catching his eye.

He tipped his cap in acknowledgement. He was a man of few words but always gave a nod and a smile.

‘Have a good day,’ Nell called cheerfully before he disappeared back inside his boat. She gazed across at the other narrowboats with their brightly coloured names and flowerpots scattered on the roofs. Even in winter the marina was arrayed with colours that glistened in the early morning frost. This morning there was a chill in the air and, according to the weather forecast on the radio, it threatened snow.

‘Happy birthday, Ollie. I miss you so much,’ she whispered up into the grey sky.

As she stepped down onto the towpath she stumbled, then heard a loud yelp as she was knocked clean off her feet and landed with a bump.

‘Ouch.’

‘You okay?’

Startled, she looked up and then was yanked to her feet by two strapping arms.

‘Down boy, sit still.’ The man’s voice was firm. He clipped a lead on to an excited red setter, whose front paws excitedly danced.

Feeling like a fool, Nell swallowed, ‘Handsome dog.’ She had no idea where either of them had sprung from. A second ago, there’d been no one even in sight.

‘Killer dog this one. Not one for making friends,’ the man replied, with a massive smile etched on his face.

‘Really?’ she answered slightly bewildered. The dog looked harmless enough to her, in fact kind of dopey.

‘Yep, really, trained to kill, this one.’

Nell took a step back but didn’t take her eyes off the dog.

‘Watch this,’ the man cleared his throat. ‘Roll over.’

Immediately the dog dropped to the ground and swiftly rolled on to his back and waved his gangly legs into the air.

‘Killer dog, indeed,’ she chuckled.

‘Daft as a brush,’ the man replied with a playful grin. ‘I’m sorry, we weren’t looking where we were going.’

‘No harm done,’ replied Nell, brushing down her coat.

‘Are you sure?’

She nodded, ‘No broken bones, this time.’

The man was of average height, and as he raked his hand through his dark floppy fringe and pushed it to one side, Nell noticed his glistening hazel eyes. ‘Let’s hope there isn’t a next time,’ he smiled.

They held each other’s gaze for a moment longer than necessary and for the first time in a long time Nell felt a strange sensation, her heart gave a little flutter.

‘Your accent, Irish?’

He gave her a lop-sided grin, ‘It sure is.’

‘Not one you often hear around here.’

Nell was just about to introduce herself properly when his phone rang and he delved into his jacket pocket. ‘Excuse me,’ he smiled, glancing at his screen, then answered the call. Nell watched as he strolled up the path towards the boathouse. He flicked a glance over his shoulder and caught Nell’s eye, then waved his hand above his head. Who was that handsome stranger? She hadn’t seen him around these parts before.

She was just about to make her way to the deli when she remembered she needed to refill the water tank.

Damn.

If she didn’t fill it up now she’d be kicking herself later, especially if the weather turned any colder today. Unravelling the hosepipe from outside the marina shower block she stretched it towards the water tank of the ‘Nollie’. After hooking up the pipe to the tap and dangling the hose inside the tank, she switched it on, then stood and waited.