by Heidi Swain
‘How’s everything shaping up?’ I asked Sam, as I crossed the pub threshold extra early to help set up and run through the lists we had devised to ensure nothing was forgotten.
‘Very well,’ said Sam, puffing out his cheeks. ‘Running like clockwork so far.’
‘Well, you needn’t sound so surprised,’ I laughed.
His tone implied he couldn’t believe his luck.
‘This is, for the most part, a Tess Tyler production,’ I reminded him. ‘Everything will run like clockwork.’
‘Are you going to let me take the credit for anything?’
‘Only if something goes wrong,’ I said, with a grin. ‘Which it won’t, so . . . no.’
Sam stuck out his tongue and I laughed again. It might not have been what I had planned to do when I first booked my secret seaside escape, but I was thoroughly enjoying myself and having a lot of fun. Fun in my life had been rather thin on the ground of late, so it was very much appreciated, even if I was still, every now and again, having to force myself to stop thinking about family, phones and the fact that I’d run away.
‘Coming through,’ said a voice behind me, and I quickly moved out of the way. ‘I’ve got the surf here,’ said Toby, the lad from the fishmonger’s, ‘and Mike’s right behind me with the turf. Where do you want it all, Sam?’
I left the menfolk organizing the eats and mulling over the best spot in the garden for the barbecue – what was it with men, meat and fire? – and began clearing the area next to the fireplace where the Sea Dogs would be setting up. If the evening turned chilly, Sam had said he would light the fire, but I reckoned there were going to be so many bodies crammed into the place we wouldn’t need to worry about providing any extra warmth. Consequently, I dotted a few extra candles in jars around the hearth and redistributed the lanterns, both of which would provide a cosy atmosphere without throwing out too much heat when the light began to fade.
‘You were right about the fire,’ said Sam, once the doors were open and the place began to steadily fill ahead of the early musical performances. ‘If folk keep turning up at this rate, there won’t even be standing room by tonight.’
‘I told you this was a good idea,’ I smiled back at him. ‘Those extra customers you said you wouldn’t mind drawing in have just been waiting for a reason, aside from your wonderfully kept beer, to come along.’
‘I think you might be right,’ he said, looking about him.
‘Of course, I am.’
Sam rolled his eyes and, spotting the arrival of the first, slightly nervous-looking musician, rushed off to help him carry in his equipment. The poor lad looked even greener around the gills when he realized how many people were waiting to hear him, but I had a feeling he’d feel more confident once he’d sung his first few lines.
‘How are things in here?’ I asked Sophie when I popped through to the kitchen to check she had everything she needed. ‘It smells divine!’
For the first time ever, I thought she looked a little flustered, or at least she seemed to appear so when she spotted me.
‘Tess,’ she said, her eyes trained on the huge pan she was stirring, ‘I didn’t hear you come in.’
‘Is everything all right?’
‘Yes,’ she said, although I wasn’t sure I believed her. ‘Everything’s fine.’
‘And you’ve got everything you need.’
‘I think so.’
I waited for her to carry on, but she didn’t and I was just about to ask her again if all was well, when Sam poked his head around the door.
‘Tess, can you spare a sec?’ he asked. ‘I could do with a hand behind the bar.’
Now it was my turn to look flustered. Earlier in the week, I had told Sam about my stint working in the union bar at university and he had made me pull or pint or two to see if my skills were still up to scratch, just in case he ended up needing them. They hadn’t been to begin with, but as with most things in life, the more I’d practised, the better I’d got and Sam had said it was good to know that I would be able to help the others keep up if the evening got as busy as he thought it might.
‘What, already?’ I squeaked, following him out of the kitchen.
I hadn’t scheduled the extra bar support to show up until later.
‘Already,’ he said, pointing at the quickly forming queue.
It was all hands on deck after that. There were a couple of brief lulls while the young singers were giving a rendition of their rather accomplished repertoires, but the till rang long and loud all afternoon and the evening looked set to be an even bigger draw.
‘Thank you so much for this, Sam,’ said Harry, the lad who had ended the afternoon together with Delilah, the other performer, singing a moving acoustic version of an Ed Sheeran track.
I had thought there was a spark between the pair and having had the opportunity to sing together now, they looked like starstruck lovers. It was really very sweet.
‘My pleasure,’ said Sam, handing an envelope to each of them. ‘This isn’t much,’ he said, ‘but you’ve both done such a great job, and I know you said you just wanted the experience of singing in front of a crowd, but you deserve to be paid after such fantastic performances.’
They looked delighted.
‘And I’d love you both to come back,’ Sam carried on. ‘If you’d like to?’
They nodded in perfect synchronicity, looking more dumbstruck than loved up.
‘Tess and I will be having a talk about how the evening has gone at some point, so come back next week and I’ll let you know what we’ve decided.’
‘Wow,’ grinned Delilah, her cat-like features lighting up. ‘Thanks, Sam.’
They wandered off looking far happier than they had when they arrived and now I was the dumbstruck one.
‘That is all right, isn’t it?’ Sam asked, turning his green gaze back on me. ‘I probably shouldn’t have just assumed, but it would be great if you could spare the time to talk it all through with me.’
‘Of course,’ I said. I’d felt rather a thrill when I heard him refer to the two of us as the decision-makers about potential future events, even though I wasn’t going to be around all that long to see them happening. ‘I’m more than happy to do that.’
‘Great,’ he said, squeezing my arm and making my heart race again as he held my gaze. ‘You know, Tess . . .’
He stopped and let out a long breath. I could tell he was gearing up to say something really important, and not about the pub either.
‘What?’ I nudged, ‘what do I know?’
‘Well . . .’ he began.
‘Sam!’
He closed his eyes and took another breath. I was desperate to find out what he was trying to say, but he wasn’t going to get the chance to enlighten me.
‘Sam!’
‘Yeah!’ he called back, ‘I’m coming now.’
The Sea Dogs were everything you could hope for from a traditional sea-shanty group. From the spotted neckerchief to the abundance of beards and big boots, they fitted my expectations to a T. They even had the obligatory scruffy terrier, wearing his own little necktie, who stalked in with an air of superiority and sent Skipper’s hackles soaring. The pair took their time sizing each other up and then, thankfully, decided to ignore each other completely, assuming ownership of opposite ends of the room.
‘Here,’ said Sophie, popping up behind the bar with a tray, just before the group began to play, ‘stop and have something to eat, Tess. You’ve been on the go for hours. I’ll take over here if anyone needs serving.’
‘Oh, thank you, Sophie,’ I said gratefully. We had almost sold out of food and I hadn’t had so much as a bite. ‘I thought I was going to miss out.’
‘Not a chance,’ she smiled. I was pleased to see her looking and sounding more like her usual self again. ‘I told Mike to save you a couple of these.’
‘What exactly are these?’ I asked, looking at the sizzling shells.
‘Fresh cooked scallops and chorizo,’ Sop
hie said proudly. ‘There’s a little chilli too and some honey to balance out the heat.’
They looked fantastic served in the scallop shells and I hungrily dived in, dipping buttered crusty bread into the spicy sauce.
‘Oh Sophie,’ I groaned, after the first delectable mouthful, ‘they’re orgasmic.’
‘Well,’ she laughed. ‘I don’t know about that, but we thought they were pretty good.’
‘What’s orgasmic?’ Sam asked throatily, leaning over my shoulder.
‘These scallops,’ I said, blushing. I hadn’t realized he was behind me.
He reached around and pinched one of the shells, dithering as the heat scolded the ends of his fingers. I spun around just in time to see him pop it into his mouth.
‘Hey,’ I protested, as he looked down at me and raised his eyebrows, his mouth working appreciatively. ‘Hands off, they’re mine.’
I wasn’t sure if his pupils had widened because of the food-heaven ecstasy the combination of flavours had unleashed or because of our close proximity.
‘You’re right, Tess,’ he smiled, licking his lips, ‘utterly orgasmic.’
‘Sam,’ said Sophie, clearing her throat, ‘I think the musicians are waiting for you to introduce them.’
‘On my way,’ he said, his eyes never leaving my face.
Once I had cooled down a bit and finished the divine scallop dinner, I had time to relax and listen to the songs, even joining in with a chorus of one or two. The shanties were a stimulating mix, telling tales of high seas, lost loves and bewitching mermaids. They were rousing, stirring and all in perfect keeping with the pub ambience. Sam had been right to take the traditional route on his first foray into offering entertainment and George’s atmospheric storytelling was the perfect wrap-up to the night.
I listened to the first couple of tall tales and then began quietly helping with the clear-up. Sticking to the shadows, I had the chance to watch the audience as well as listen to George. The rapt expressions and the way everyone jumped in unison when he thumped his glass down on the table, proved that he had them all in the palm of his hand. George was a truly great storyteller and I hoped I would get the chance to hear him again before I had to leave the village, which then annoyingly reminded me that I would have to tell Dad about my change of plans tomorrow. A task I was definitely not looking forward to.
It took a while for everyone to leave and it was well after midnight by the time the Sea Dogs had packed their van and driven off into the night and the rest of the volunteers had drifted away to their beds.
Sam locked the door after making sure Sophie had an escort to walk her home (not that Wynmouth was a dangerous place in any sense, but George’s ghostly tales had got us all a little spooked), and leant heavily against it.
‘Well now,’ I said, stifling a yawn as I gave the bar one last wipe down and hung the cloth over the pumps as I’d seen being done on the television, ‘I think that could be called a roaring success, wouldn’t you agree, landlord?’
‘It was amazing,’ said Sam. ‘Absolutely brilliant.’
‘So,’ I said, ‘just remind me again, why you haven’t been doing things like this before?’
‘I told you,’ he said, ‘I just haven’t had the time to organize something like this properly.’
Had he asked for help before, that wouldn’t have been an issue, but I didn’t say as much because I was pretty certain he’d worked it out for himself now.
‘And everyone’s mightily impressed with you, Tess.’
‘Are they?’
‘Oh yes,’ he smiled. ‘They all know how you stepped up when I asked and Sophie has been telling them all about the suggestions you’ve made to improve the café too.’
I hoped I hadn’t made a mistake in sticking my head above the parapet. I had been planning a quiet holiday originally, where no one took much notice of me. If Dad tried to track me down and thought Wynmouth might be a good place to look, he wouldn’t have to make many enquiries before he found me, would he?
‘They weren’t really my suggestions,’ I modestly reminded Sam, pushing thoughts of Dad to the sidelines again. ‘From what Sophie said, her daughter has been suggesting most of them for far longer than I have. It’s just for some reason that she decided to take them on board when I came along.’
‘Well,’ said Sam, coming to join me behind the bar and pulling me in for a hug I hadn’t seen coming or had time to for prepare for but still very much enjoyed, ‘you can’t deny that tonight has been down to you, can you?’
‘Of course, I can,’ I said, pulling away a little so I could look up at him. ‘This has been a joint effort right from the start.’
Sam looked doubtful.
‘You were just like Sophie,’ I insisted. ‘All you needed was a little nudge in the right direction to get the ball rolling.’
Sam laughed, the sound resonating through his chest and into mine.
‘And you,’ he said, ‘in spite of the fact that you’ve only been in the village for five minutes, turned out to be the girl capable of administering that little nudge.’
His sultry tone made my knees buckle a bit. It was just as well he still had his arms around me.
‘I suppose I did . . .’
The words died in my throat as I realized he was going to kiss me. I moistened my lips in anticipation and took a preparatory breath. He lowered his head and was so close I could almost feel his breath caressing my mouth.
‘Are you still there, Sam?’ someone suddenly shouted as they hammered on the pub door, and we sprang apart. ‘I think I’ve left my keys behind!’
*
I lay in bed in the early hours, imagining the kiss that hadn’t quite happened, and remembering how wonderful it had felt to be held. However, even though Sam was gorgeousness personified and had got me all stirred up, with my sensible hat on, the one that wasn’t fuelled by my sex drive, I knew it was probably just as well that nothing had happened. I hadn’t come to Wynmouth looking for a love affair. My life was already complicated enough.
I rolled on to my side, my ears trained to the sound of the waves as they gently broke upon the beach, and I felt sleep start to take me. Even though I was relieved Sam and I had been interrupted earlier, I couldn’t seem to stop my head playing out what might have happened had someone not forgotten their keys . . .
*
‘Morning!’ I cheerily shouted, announcing my arrival, as I slipped into the pub kitchen via the beer garden a few hours later. ‘How’s your head?’
Neither Sam or I had drunk a great deal; in fact, now I thought about it, I don’t think I’d seen him with a beer in his hand all evening. In fact, I didn’t think I’d ever seen him take a drink, other than the occasional fully loaded Coke, at all.
‘Clear as a bell!’ he called straight back. ‘Not even a hint of a headache. How about you?’
‘Oh, I’m all right,’ I said happily, ‘in fact . . .’
The words died on my lips as I walked through to the bar and found him framed in the doorway with his arms wrapped tightly around a young woman.
‘Oh,’ I choked, feeling a complete fool for just marching in. ‘Sorry, I didn’t realize. I didn’t mean to interrupt.’
I turned back to the kitchen, wondering if he made a habit of going around hugging women and then reminded myself that I wasn’t supposed to be bothered about things like that. The little fantasy I had indulged in as I nodded off had been just that, a fantasy. I stopped again, not sure what to do.
‘I’ll come back later,’ I squeaked, my cheeks burning.
‘No, don’t go,’ Sam insisted. ‘You aren’t interrupting. Come through. I want to introduce you to someone.’
My body temperature felt about a thousand degrees and I knew I was sweating. I must have looked a right mess.
‘Tess,’ Sam smiled, not noticing my discomfiture as he casually released the woman and steered her over to where I was standing, ‘this is Sophie’s daughter, Hope. Hope, this is Tess.’
/> ‘Oh, my god!’ Hope squealed, as if I was the most exciting thing since sliced bread. ‘It’s so good to finally meet you!’
With her dark, heavily lashed eyes and thick curls, coupled with the way she reached out and pulled me in for a suffocating hug, she couldn’t possibly have been anyone other than Sophie’s daughter. I was rather taken aback to be greeted like a long-lost relative as opposed to a stranger, but I shouldn’t have been surprised really.
‘Mum has told me so much about you,’ she beamed. ‘I can’t believe you’ve got her surfing the net. I’ve been trying forever! And now Sam tells me that last night you pulled off the most amazing evening Wynmouth has seen in years. I can’t believe I missed that. Had I known I would have definitely made it back in time, but I was with my aunt Blossom in Norwich, and hadn’t spoken to Mum all week—’
‘Hope,’ said Sam, catching her hand and giving it a squeeze, ‘slow down. You’re making me feel light-headed.’
‘Sorry,’ she laughed, taking her hand back and covering her mouth, ‘I’m just so excited to be back! It feels so good to be home. I’ve got tonnes to tell you.’
She was off and running again and Sam looked at me over the top of her head and grinned. I was fast beginning to feel like I’d been steamrollered, but in a good way.
‘Well,’ said Sam, quickly butting in the next time Hope drew breath, ‘you don’t need to tell us everything you’ve been up to in the next three seconds, do you? We’ve got plenty of time to catch up, especially now Tess has extended her stay.’
I was surprised that he had included me in their party, but something told me I was going to be seeing a lot of Hope in the next few weeks.
‘I’m so pleased you aren’t rushing off,’ she said to me. She sounded genuinely delighted. ‘Now we’ll really have a chance to get to know each other. I know Mum’s very fond of you already.’
I was very fond of her too, but I didn’t get the chance to say that.
‘Shall I make us some coffee?’ Sam suggested. ‘We’ve got a couple of hours before I have to open and there’s no clearing up left to do. You two could get to know each other a bit better now and we can talk about last night and what we’re going to do next.’