Summer at Coastguard Cottages: a feel-good holiday read

Once they were seated in one of the old-fashioned booths at the restaurant, Dom having declined a table in the garden on the grounds it would be too busy, Carrie said, ‘So, what’s your news?’

Dom shook his head. ‘I’m intrigued by your suitcases – you first.’

Carrie took a deep breath and told him about being adopted and the inheritance. ‘I’ve taken a sabbatical from work until the 1

September, so I’ve had to clear stuff from the flat for the locum. I’m on my way to my parents’ for a few days and then I’m off to Devon.’

‘How do your parents feel about this legacy?’

‘It was as big a shock for them as it was for me. But Mum pointed out that I could do a lot of good with the money, so on that basis I agreed. Though heaven only knows what I’ll end up doing with it.’

‘What are you going to do with the property – rent it out or sell it?’ Dom asked.

‘I’m thinking of renting the Bristol flat to somebody from the university,’ Carrie said. ‘I need to see the Devon house before I decide what to do with it. Apparently it’s still full of furniture and stuff from the flat.’

‘Well, don’t forget your friendly antique dealer,’ Dom said, grinning. ‘You know I’ll give you fair prices.’

Carrie laughed, remembering the day they’d met, when she’d tried to haggle over the price of a chair she wanted to buy from Dom’s stall at a local antique fair – and lost.

‘Right – your turn. Tell me about your holiday and give me your news,’ she said. ‘Have you found a rare piece of furniture that’s going to make your fortune at auction?’

‘I wish.’ A shadow seemed to pass over Dom’s face and he hesitated for a couple of seconds before adding, ‘Holidays in the south of France are always good. The kids spent most of their time either in the water or on it, sailing, paddleboarding or surfing.’

The waitress arrived at that moment with their drinks and the menu and Carrie’s repeated question, ‘So, what’s your news?’, got lost in the business of ordering their lunch.

It wasn’t until much later that she realised Dom hadn’t told her what his news was.

*

Sunday afternoon and Wills was in the sitting room watching the British Grand Prix. Two dozen sausage rolls were baking in the oven ready for him to take to that evening’s sundowner. Karen, in the kitchen, was trying not to think about recent events and taking her frustration out on the bread dough she was attempting to thump into submission.

It was impossible to stop thoughts about Derek selling the house crowding into her mind, though. How far did he mean to downsize? Smaller house in the same area? A flat on the coast? A cottage in the country? A house each out of the proceeds? Was that what he was really telling her by putting the house up for sale without her knowledge? That this trial separation could truly be the beginning of the end?

She banged the dough down hard onto the board and pushed her fist into it. He’d known she wanted to talk to him and had deliberately ignored her request, something that made her more determined than ever to confront him over the state of their marriage. If Derek thought he could continue to bully her into doing things his way, he was in for a shock.

Pushing the dough into a baking tin before leaving it to rise, Karen wondered what exactly had prompted this latest move from Derek. He’d always been jealous of her owning The Captain’s House. Was that it? Or was there something else? Financial trouble?