The Little Guesthouse of New Beginnings: A gorgeously feel-good and heart-warming romance to escape with

by Donna Ashcroft

  ‘I’ll do the ceiling and edges later,’ Connor explained, putting a paint tray on the floor and handing them each a roller. Madison avoided his eyes and turned to look at Amy, who was watching them both with a concerned expression. ‘The walls are in reasonable shape, so I haven’t had to fill any holes,’ Connor continued. ‘If you can concentrate on the middle and leave me the edges.’

  ‘Looks like a late one, which is fine with me – beats spending the evening by myself again.’ Amy picked up her roller and filled it with paint before swiping some onto the wall. The colour looked good. It was bright yellow, which would work in summer when the sunflowers were in full bloom and in winter when the room needed a lift. Madison watched Connor fill a brush using his left arm before painting around the doorway. He was a determined man, one she couldn’t help appreciating in spite of their differences.

  ‘Where’s Jesse?’ Madison asked without thinking, in an effort to fill the silence. ‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked,’ she added, remembering.

  ‘Don’t mind me,’ Amy sang, sounding more cheerful than she’d been the day before. ‘I’ve got a date with Finn next Friday so it’s all good – after our conversation in the pub, Madison, I decided it’s time to move on, hence the shoes. I’m done waiting for Jesse to work out what went wrong. I’ve realised I’ve spent too many years waiting for him to grow up and take our relationship to the next level. Too many years wondering when he’ll decide to put me first. I’ve been a golf, darts, football and running widow – I’m not prepared to play second fiddle to a car.’

  ‘I’m not sure how the boy will feel about that.’ Connor finished the edges of the doorway before starting on the paintwork next to the skirting boards. ‘And you’ll be doing me a favour if you don’t mention this date. If Jesse finds out, he’ll be even more useless than he already is.’

  ‘He’s useless?’ Amy frowned.

  ‘Your ex will be fine when he takes his nose out of the bottle and puts it into work.’ Connor didn’t turn around, oblivious to the chaos he’d created with those few words.

  ‘He’s drinking?’ Amy squeaked, looking devastated.

  ‘We were drinking Pink Flamingos the other night,’ Madison soothed. ‘And I’m guessing Jesse has to find his own way through this. A broken heart takes time to mend.’

  Amy frowned as she bashed the roller over the walls, swishing this way and that without concentrating. Madison was no perfectionist, but even she itched to snatch the roller away and had no idea how Connor managed to restrain himself.

  ‘It does when there’s no reason for it,’ Jesse said from the doorway, dropping his coat and backpack in the hall, ignoring Jaws, who barked briefly. ‘If you’re going to ask me to leave, I’d suggest you think again,’ Jesse added, looking a whole lot more confident than he had in The Moon and Mermaid. ‘Because I know we divided up the pub, but no one said anything about The Hideaway, and this is my job so I’m not going anywhere.’ Proving it, Jesse marched across the room and dipped a fresh roller into the paint before turning his back on everyone else. The room fell silent as they watched him work. ‘We need to learn to spend time in the same space – avoiding each other isn’t going to solve anything.’

  ‘I’m not going anywhere.’ Amy cleared her throat. ‘And I’m not hiding either, so I guess we’re going to have to learn to live with each other.’

  ‘I did learn how to live with you and I liked it,’ Jesse said quietly. ‘I know I missed our anniversary – and I want to make it up to you.’

  ‘It’s too late…’ Amy waved her roller in the air, splattering drops of yellow paint onto the dust sheets. ‘And it’s more than the anniversary. I need more than you’re willing to give. I need someone who sees me and loves me more than anything else…’ Madison could hear the hurt in Amy’s voice and ached to step in, but knew from her own experiences that some things you had to fix yourself.

  ‘I do love you,’ Jesse replied eagerly. ‘Let me prove it.’

  ‘Where’s the Morgan?’ Amy turned around, splattering more paint on the floor as she glared at Jesse.

  ‘My car – what?’ Jesse looked confused.

  ‘Where is it?’

  ‘She’s outside,’ Jesse said. ‘I didn’t want to leave her alone at Connor’s. I can give you a lift home if you like?’

  Amy hissed out a long breath. ‘I’m not changing my mind, Jesse. I’m sorry but it’s time to move on.’

  Jesse closed his eyes. ‘I don’t understand… Whatever I’ve done wrong, I know I can make it right.’

  Amy dropped her roller into the paint tray before marching towards the door. ‘I’m sorry, Mads, I’m done for the night. I’ll help again when the company improves.’

  ‘I’ll join you if you like? I could do with a walk,’ Madison offered, knowing Amy probably needed to talk.

  Her friend shook her head. ‘My car’s outside too and I’d like to be alone.’

  ‘I got it wrong again,’ Jesse said sadly as the door slammed, plunging the room into another uneasy silence. ‘Every time I talk to Amy, I mess up.’

  ‘You hurt her,’ Madison said. ‘She can’t see past that.’

  ‘But how do I make it right?’

  ‘Amy needs you to figure that out yourself.’ Madison wished she could help, but knew Amy would hate her if she tried. Besides, if Jesse couldn’t see what he’d done wrong now, maybe he never would.

  Fourteen

  Connor’s eyes hurt, perhaps because he hadn’t slept for more than four hours in the last two days. Madison had left late on Wednesday after finishing the first coat of paint, and he and Jesse had stayed on to do the ceiling. He’d done another late one with Jesse last night, putting on a second coat and glossing, until the new yoga space gleamed.

  He was exhausted, but had decided to go for a run anyway. Probably because the morning jog was so ingrained into his routine it had become part of his DNA. Ahead of him, Jaws trotted along the dark pathway lined with tall pine trees that would take them to the beach near his house. The dog had a blue torch on his collar and Connor had the same on his head – together they lit the ground well enough to see. It was a tricky, rocky descent that wound itself downwards like a zigzag for about forty metres, before hitting sand. Connor’s father had shown it to him when he’d been a child and he used to pick his way at a snail’s pace, afraid of tripping and getting injured in case it meant he couldn’t work. This morning he felt reckless, so he took it at a speedy jog.

  Connor was uncomfortable and it had nothing to do with the ache in his shoulder, which jarred as he ran. He’d hurt Madison. So much that the usually chatty, opinionated pain in his neck had been silent for most of Wednesday night and had avoided him completely yesterday. He should have been happy, but in many ways he felt like he’d stomped on a butterfly, which reminded him of the way his father had handled all of his relationships. He’d spent his whole life trying not to be like his father – why then did he turn into such an ass when Madison was around?

  Reaching the beach, he stood for a couple of seconds deciding his route. The moon was low, but threw enough light along the shoreline to help him follow it. He knew the tide was going out so there would be no danger of them getting caught somewhere. And he needed to run, to work off the frustration and irritation that had taken up residence in his mind and body like a virus. In front of him, Jaws went to sniff at the breaking waves. The foam and spray tickled his nose but didn’t scare the dog away.

  Connor had put his father in that same spot eighteen months before. Stood with his sister at the water’s edge and dropped the ashes into the foam before watching them float away. Sometimes he wondered if it had been a mistake, leaving his father in the one place he came to clear his head – the only spot on Sunflower Island that wasn’t tied up in or wedded to the family business.

  ‘You thinking of going in?’ Finn asked from behind him. ‘Because be warned, I’ve no intention of saving you. It’s cold and my head hurts, and even if it didn’t, I’ve never b
een a hero. But if you are, can you take that running jacket off first? I must admit, I’ve always admired it.’

  ‘What are you doing here?’ Connor turned, frowning. He ran this way most days and never bumped into anyone. He’d been at school with Finn, but didn’t frequent the pub so their paths rarely crossed.

  ‘I discovered this part of the beach a couple of weeks ago, thought I’d check it out again – I couldn’t sleep,’ Finn explained. He wore black jeans, a fleece and a grey woolly hat that he’d pulled down to cover his ears. ‘What are you doing here?’ he echoed.

  ‘Running. Thinking,’ Connor answered, turning back to look at the waves.

  ‘About what?’

  Connor let the question hang in the air, reluctant to share. But in the end tiredness – or perhaps an unexpected need to connect – got the better of him. He kicked a stone into the water, watching it bounce before sinking. ‘Do you think souls stay in the place you leave them?’

  ‘No,’ Finn said sharply, sounding unhappy. He came to stand beside Connor and they looked out into the horizon. ‘And it’s way too early for a philosophical discussion, especially without beer. Why are you asking about souls anyway? And just to be clear, I’m only checking because I’m a barman – getting people to open up is in the job description.’

  Connor shrugged, letting his eyes run across the water, stopping at the black, jagged rocks jutting out of the sea. The waves hit them, spraying an arc of foam into the air. ‘I sprinkled my father’s ashes here after he died. I’m not sentimental, but since he had such a low opinion of me, I wonder if he’s hanging around so he can say I told you so if I screw up.’

  Finn cocked a hand against his ear. ‘Now you mention it, I can hear something. There it is again, I can just make it out… yep, he’s saying sucker.’ Connor barked out a loud laugh, caught unawares by Finn’s unexpected humour as the man in question scratched his chin. ‘We all know your dad was a bastard, Connor. I’m not sure why you still care about his opinion.’

  ‘I don’t.’ Connor moved to stand on a stray branch buried in the sand, cracking a piece off before picking it up to toss it for Jaws. Tall cliffs framed the beach, throwing squiggly shadows over the sand. Jaws chased the stick, disappearing into the darkness. ‘He said I was born to fail – I’m proving him wrong.’

  ‘But?’

  ‘Nothing. Jeez, I’m just thinking out loud. I’m not even sure why I told you that.’ Connor rolled his eyes.

  ‘It’s the barman in me.’ Finn looked smug. Jaws headed back and dropped the branch at Connor’s feet, but Finn picked it up instead and threw it back into the shadows. ‘And if I’m honest you gave it up way too easily – usually I have to get my customers drunk first. On a more serious note, if you need to talk, come to the pub,’ he offered. ‘The beer’s not free, but the ear is. Sometimes death dumps a whole heap of baggage on you, which falls into a black hole initially, then turns up years later. It’s best not to ignore it – just unpack the whole case and see if any of it still fits.’

  ‘I don’t need to unpack anything,’ Connor said, feeling uncomfortable and surprised at himself for sharing with someone he’d barely spoken to since school. Maybe it was just a sad, sorry testament to his life and how few people he had in it since his father had died – and even before, he’d hardly been overrun with friends. ‘I came for a run, so I could clear my head.’ He waved at the sand. ‘A few hours’ work –’ not to mention getting the house ready for Georgie – ‘and I’ll be fine. My father was wrong… and I’m going to prove it. He’s not here.’ Connor nodded at the waves, dismissing them and the sentimental claptrap he’d just been thinking.

  ‘Well, I can’t see him.’ Finn looked thoughtful. ‘But the offer still stands. I’m not sure you’ve ever been to The Moon and Mermaid. It’s a good place to visit – for company or beer, and the ear’s not a requirement.’

  ‘I’ll bear that in mind.’ Connor began to jog on the spot, warming his legs, ready to take off and end this conversation, until something occurred to him. Maybe another conversational itch he needed to scratch that wasn’t going away. ‘You know Madison Skylar, right?’

  ‘Sure.’ Finn took a step backwards, almost tripping over Jaws, who’d returned with the stick. ‘Not intimately – just in case you’re sweet on her and are looking to beat me up?’

  Connor shook his head, ignoring the voice inside that disagreed.

  Finn looked relieved but he still took another step backwards, stepping on Jaws’s stick, which he threw again as the dog began to growl. ‘We dated once, I can’t remember when. I’m more of a love ’em and leave ’em type, but I think in this case she may have left me. That’s the way of a wanderer. She’s back – you’ve seen her?’

  ‘I have.’ The words were loaded with a weight even Connor could hear. ‘I may have upset her. In your capacity as a barman, and in your clearly vast experience of lending an ear, what would you do about a woman like Madison if you’d hurt her?’

  ‘My go-to is flowers.’ Finn scratched his head, his eyes roaming the beach again as he considered the question. ‘But that won’t work with a woman who cares more for seeing the world and for people than possessions. How did you hurt her? Because Madison’s a friend of mine, so I might have a mind to rescind that invitation to my pub.’

  Connor sighed. ‘I told Madison I didn’t want her to meet my sister Georgie – I’m worried she might lead her astray.’

  ‘Ouch. Your interpersonal skills haven’t improved since school, have they? Georgie.’ Finn nodded. ‘I remember from when she first turned up on your doorstep. Since starting uni she’s been to the pub a few times – blonde, pretty, funny and very friendly. She’s nothing like you, right?’

  Connor raised an eyebrow.

  ‘Have you thought about apologising to Madison? I’m thinking words would have more of an impact. Perhaps let her meet your sister if she wants to? It’s not like you can stop them bumping into each other – at least this way you might have some control over the conversation.’ He paused. ‘I’m guessing control is a big thing for you.’

  ‘Isn’t it for everyone?’ Connor asked, but Finn didn’t answer. ‘Flowers would be easier, but I think you’re right. They won’t work on Madison.’ He looked out to sea again. He usually didn’t care how other people felt, but there was an ache in his chest that was worse than the one in his shoulder and he needed to fix it. ‘Thanks for the advice. I’ll think about it on my run.’ He checked his watch. ‘It’s getting late, and I’ve got work to do.’

  ‘Good luck with Madison.’ Finn flipped a hand in the air as he walked in the opposite direction down the beach. He cut a lonely figure, and for a moment Connor wondered if he needed to talk himself before dismissing the thought. A man like Finn had a million people to confide in. He didn’t need a stranger to offload to.

  Connor began to jog again. He’d do a quick sprint up the beach before returning home to shower. He had work to do this morning, a meeting in town and an unhappy woman to appease.

  Fifteen

  ‘You don’t need to cook breakfast for me,’ Madison said to Dee, feeling a combination of exasperation and gratefulness. She wasn’t used to anyone looking out for her – it would be easy to get used to, but years of holding back from people had made her careful.

  ‘It’s my job.’ Dee fussed around the breakfast bar as she whisked eggs for an omelette. It was a nice day and rays of sunshine hit the blinds on the window, spraying shafts of light onto the kitchen cabinets and counter. ‘Besides, I’ve only had to cook for Stanley for the last few weeks and that’s going to change, thanks to you.’ Dee squeezed Madison’s shoulder, making her insides warm with emotion.

  ‘I hope it works,’ Madison confided, as Dee placed a cup of peppermint tea on the counter and pointed to it.

  ‘Sit, tell me what you were up to the night before last. There’s paint in your hair so I’m guessing it had something to do with Connor.’ Dee waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

  Madison
ran her fingers through her hair and found a couple of lumps that hadn’t washed out when she’d showered. She picked them out. ‘I helped him paint our new yoga studio so it’s ready to go when the guests arrive. Nothing else to report.’

  Dee’s face fell but she didn’t ask any more questions. Instead, she put some vegetables into the pan on the hob and the air filled with the sound of frying and the sweet scent of onions. They sat silently until the kitchen door banged behind them.

  ‘Connor,’ Dee exclaimed. ‘Are you here for breakfast? I can pop something on the hob.’

  ‘Tea please, I don’t need anything to eat.’ Connor pulled up a bar stool and Madison felt his large body beside her, but didn’t turn to look even though she wanted to. His comments from the other night still stung and she wasn’t ready to forgive him yet.

  ‘I came to apologise and to take you up on your offer,’ Connor explained quietly, leaning closer as Dee bustled around the kitchen making tea and stirring the frying vegetables. In the end Madison gave in and looked at him. His hair was still wet, probably from a shower because it wasn’t raining, he had a light dusting of dark stubble on his chin and he smelled of sawdust and paint, which was strangely sexy. ‘I have that meeting at lunchtime, so if you could pick Georgie up from the ferry I’d appreciate it.’

  ‘Well… I… Okay.’ Madison nodded her head, surprised but oddly touched. ‘If Dee will lend me her car, that’s fine.’

  ‘That’s it?’ Connor sounded mildly put out. ‘You’re not going to tell me how bad I made you feel the other night, or ask me why I changed my mind?’

  ‘You did hurt me, but I think you know that,’ Madison said simply. ‘If you want to tell me why, you’re welcome to. I don’t get the impression you enjoy talking about your feelings, and I’ve learned people normally keep their thoughts to themselves for a reason. I’m just trying to make it easier.’ She sipped some of her drink as Connor stared at her. ‘Although if I’m honest, I would like to know.’ She allowed herself an embarrassed smile.